Innovative Teaching Methods to Promote a Contemporary Learning Process
LATE held its second January Seminar on 4 January 2019 at Riga Teika Secondary School. Fifty-five teachers braved the snow and cold to attend five seminars on a variety of topics.
Džefrijs Grinvalds spoke on Public Speaking – Training Your Students and Yourself to be a Persuasive Public Speaker. The presentation focused on practical skills for engaging students in public speaking activities. It covered the basics of verbal, vocal, and nonverbal delivery and take a look at some activities for your classroom.
Tatjana Kunda spoke on Assessment as Learning. The session provided an insight into the change in classroom assessment where assessment becomes a powerful tool for involving learners in the process of looking at their learning and reflecting on their abilities. It looked at ways how assessment can help language learners to develop skills for self-evaluation and metacognition.
M. Lee Alexander spoke on Rhyme and Reason: Using Poetry to Teach Expository Writing and Speaking Skills. Teachers have long been aware of the power of creative writing in the ELL Classroom. This workshop focused on applying a number of different classic and contemporary poetic forms not just as a creative activity but also as a way to teach and reinforce content, academic/ expository writing, and speaking and pronunciation skills. Participants tried their hands at a variety of forms and examine potential application to a wide range of subjects and levels. Participants received handouts to take away with them to add to their pedagogical toolkit.
Robert Buckmaster spoke on Speaking and Speaking Skills, and Listening Skills. In the workshops Rob outlined what students need to know and to be able to do in order to listen and speak, and then showed a number of speaking and listening activities.
