Pete Sharma rocks Milan (with a little help from his friends): full report from the PSA Symposium, 2012 (Part 2)

Hold that thought: Luke Baxter of Richmond ELT

Next up were Luke Baxter and Cathy Smith of Richmond ELT, the Oxford-based publisher that is also part of the Santillana Publishing Group which is in turn owned by Prisa, the world’s leading Spanish and Portuguese-language business group in the fields of education, information and entertainment.

Richmond chose to ponder the theme of convergence and Luke started off by quoting the business technology consultant Ifeanyi O. Asonye, who defined convergence as 'the priming of underlying digital technology components and features such as voice, texts, video, pictures, broadcasts, presentation, streaming media, global connectivity and personalized services; the combination of all of these features and abilities from multiple electronic systems into a simplified, converged and computer-mediated communication system to enable individuals to interact, play, communicate, collaborate and share information in many new and different ways'. 

As an experienced EFL teacher, Luke brought along some realia to underline how “old media” from the real world – books and vinyl records are now available on just about any digital platform, including  the cloud. Newspapers and maps can be accessed from an iPad and even analogue gadgets such as a compass and a spirit level have been transformed into digital versions as apps.

In the field of language learning this process of convergence is well under way as content from books, audio and CD-ROM activities is gradually integrated with Virtual Learning Environments. 

Luke Baxter and Cathy Smith of Richmond ELT converge on
the British Consulate-General, Milan for the PSA Symposium

Convergence is also changing both attitudes and behaviour towards learning. As Luke pointed out, when he taught English in Spain, students used CD-ROMs but their teachers really knew exactly what they were doing with them. As learning becomes more integrated this kind of self-study activity can be managed more effectively by teachers with access to students’ activity profile and results (e.g. via the Learning Platforms accompanying several Richmond series – and also in Little Bridge, as we heard earlier).

Cathy demonstrated media convergence in action by introducing delegates to The BigPicture – Richmond’s new course for young adults. This includes wordlists, transcripts and online resources available through the Learning Platform, which has a special interface for teachers. Some of the features designed to enhance learning (and make teachers’ lives easier) include the ability to create drag and drop exercises, detailed student record-keeping functions, e.g. attendance and instant scores on exercises.

Cathy and The Big Picture Learning Platform

The Big Picture also features specially-made videos, Richmond Vodcasts, which are integrated with the course content. Other highlights include the Big Picture blog and the Forum which has a social networking interface. The Test Studio allows teachers to generate tests based on material from any part of the book being used in class and to get instant feedback from students, who can complete tests on the learning platform. Test material can be created as Word files or made interactive.

The Learning Platform also boasts an audio player where students can do listening activities either with or without the audio script. The Teachers Book for each course can be found online and there is a wealth of ready-made extension activities available.

Continuing with the theme of convergence, Luke looked at the (even) bigger picture of how new technology is impacting on teaching languages. He started by considering the Cloud, which, as he pointed out, is not really a new concept. Web mail accounts, such as Hotmail, which send messages to your account not your computer, have been around for a long time. Services such as Google Cloud and Dropbox now allow us access our media wherever we are. This is a huge boon for teachers working in different places who no longer have to cart books, student records and audio devices around. Integrated learning environments, such as Richmond’s, allow teachers to use different media in more flexible and productive ways. (The “golden age of EFL” when students would sit patiently watching their teacher spool through cassette tapes to find the right bit are now becoming a distant memory.) 

The challenge for publishers is to get the content right and produce material that can work both in class and at home or on the move – which is increasingly where a lot of learning and practice takes place (a point picked up during the Open Forum later). Mundane but valuable “heads down” activity, such as grammar exercises can more profitably be done outside of the classroom, while valuable class time can be spent on more engaging activities, such as discussing language problems. (This is especially true nowadays as there is less and less time available for class teaching.)

Richmond's New Framework series for adults and young adults

However, publishers also face an increasing threat from the phenomenon of convergence and digitalisation. While photocopying may become less of an issue as more content goes online, the publishing industry increasingly faces the problems that have beset the music industry. Trying to retain ownership of the music, as Luke pointed out, the music industry nearly managed to kill itself. Publishers should make material available in the cloud, but also ensure that they can generate sufficient revenue from it.

In order for content to appeal to both students and teachers it should be social, updated, fresh and alive. Interest can only be sustained if there is a constant supply of new material , podcasts and blogs. Sourcing and distributing this content sets publishers an extra challenge.

As with Little Bridge, Richmond’s Learning Platform allows students to interact socially. Indeed, it is this social element of online learning that could become the most significant factor in the convergence of “old” and “new” media, a process that could still up to five years in the ELT publishing industry.

The gradual process of media convergence (Richmond ELT)

It should be noted that convergence does not mean “total digitalisation”. There will always be books, for example, and publishers such as Richmond have no intention of completely abandoning printed or “optical” media (CDs / DVDs etc). The key thing is to make content available on as wide a range of platforms as possible – including online – and to give teachers and students the widest possible choice in how they decide to access material. Cathy and Luke pointed out that they themselves are a good example of convergence in action: while Cathy still has a Filofax, Luke is fixated on his iPad. People are free to choose the medium they are most comfortable with.

Interested in Learning Management Systems? Read my write-up of the Pearson / British Council Digital Transformation in the English Teaching World event earlier this year on NetworkMilan.com, which featured Pearson's LMS / VLE MyEnglishLab. 

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Valeria Mordenti of SMART Technologies at the PSA Symposium

Valeria Mordenti, Marketing Manager Italy and South East Europe at SMART Technologies, spoke (in Italian) about solutions for teaching foreign languages using SMART’s Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) known in Italian as Lavagne Interattive Multimediale (LMI).

She started by giving an overview of the company and its mission. As the creator of the world’s first interactive whiteboard in 1991 SMART remains the world’s leading provider of this technology to mainly educational institutions around the world. (It has just under half of the IWB market according to a 2010 study by Futuresource Consulting.)

SMART has been providing solutions for the education,
business and government communities for 25 years.

SMART is based in Calgary, Canada, and has offices worldwide. More than two million SMART Board interactive whiteboards are used by over 40 million students and their teachers, and SMART products are used in more than 175 countries. The company has over 1700 employees, of which 500 work in R&D (40% hardware, 60% software R&D). SMART is the market leader in collaborative solutions for education


SMART’s global distribution network includes 300 resellers in North America and 65 distributors worldwide. Over 400 SMART resources are available for sales, service training and support through its Ecosystem network. SMART Ecosystem Network (SEN), a community designed to nurture the growth of companies and individuals interested in working with SMART. The network provides technical resources, accreditation programs and marketing support to its members, ensuring they are given the resources they need to develop and market software and content that work well with award-winning SMART products, such as the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, the SMART Table interactive learning center and the SMART Response interactive response system.

SMART’s company mission is to improve the learning and teaching experience through the use of technology in lessons. To achieve this objective, the company brings vast technical experience in both hardware and software. It also has extensive experience and know-how in the areas of integrating technology in educational contexts; pedagogy and methodology; and, of course, in implementation and support for its products and services. SMART is also particularly strong in developing online communities, particularly those in the Ecosystem Network.

What will the school learning environment look like in the future?

Valeria then painted a picture of how SMART technology is currently used in different learning environments and she also looked forward to consider what the school of the future will be like.

Typical learning environments include the classic situation of a teacher standing at the front of a class arranged in rows. Another environment is group learning where students work more collaboratively (often the case in communicative language classes). More modern settings include personal learning, where different technologies and devices are integrated and customised for each individual student and finally remote learning, which allows students to share material without the need for the teacher being physically present.

SMART solutions can help educational institutions and
teachers transform the classroom as we know it.

The challenge for educational institutions in the 21st century is to transform the classroom as we know it today, while retaining the benefits of traditional teacher-led instruction. The needs of educators themselves are changing. Digital natives now represent the majority of students in today’s classrooms and the relationship between students and computer technology is growing ever stronger. Encouragingly, the levels of IT competence among teachers is generally increasing and the role of personal devices in education (netbooks, tablets, e-readers, smartphones) is set to increase. 

In SMART’s vision the class of the future will integrate the various learning environments into a single system in which teachers can move easily from environment to another. This will allow them to create and share materials and use them to teach. They will also be able to check students’ progress in learning and provide support both in and outside the classroom.

While SMART is very much a technology company, it recognises that educational institutions often make basic errors when they decide to introduce or upgrade their computer technology. The most common mistake is to consider the various phases as separate projects without a coherent strategy or familiarity with the software architecture that supports the whole system. There are four main “sub projects” that need to be viewed within a single frame. These are: selecting IWB technology, accessing content on the system, intergrating personal devices and setting up distance learning.  While the development can happen in different phases it is critical that the choice made at the outset is correct.

The main advantages of the SMART platform are that it is easy to implement and easy to extend later. The architecture at its core emphasises ease of use. And, of course, the SMART classroom is an integrated learning environment which allows training and professional development to take place, as well as community resources to be accessed and developed. Additional services and support are also easily accessible.

The SMART software architecture has three main benefits. These are that the system is:

1. Open – Software Development Kits (SDKs) to integrate 3rd party applications and its Application Programming Interface (API) allows third party developers to create resources that can be integrated into the LMS and VLE.

2. Interoperable – SMART works with a wide range of platforms and operating systems including Microsoft, Apple, Linux and cloud-based services. It uses standard file formats to allow the widest possible use of existing and new material.

3. Scalable – based on a modular concept using software plug-ins that can be downloaded and customised, it is easy to extend and integrate new SMART hardware components and devices.

The SMART architecture also allows ICT solutions to be developed over time. It is able to meet new demands in training environments and it also “future proof” as technology evolves.

SMART has a range of software solutions designed to complement its state-of-the-art hardware. These include its SMART Notebook collaborative software; SMART Sync classroom management software; SMART Response CE assessment software; SMART Notebook SE (Student Edition) software; and the new SMART Classroom Suite, the first integrated learning software suite specially created for teachers and students, which organises and simplifies all entire teaching and learning activity.

The company also provides a range of complementary hardware including the SMART document camera which allows a teacher give students a close-up of both documents and 3D objects on the screen. The SMART Response handheld devices allow students to give instant feedback and take part in “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”-style votes and quizzes, which can be highly motivating. Other technology on offer includes SMART Audio and the SMART Wireless slate, an input device specially adapted for class teaching.

Despite the relative lack of research about the efficacy and impact of new technology in the classroom, SMART’s IWB has been studied by Fabienne Gérard and Jamey Widener [1]. The authors of the study found that the SMART IWB can facilitate both the learning and teaching processes by supporting oral skills and cognitive processes  and by sustaining student motivation and encouraging emulation. However, the researchers also pointed to potential problems with the technology if teachers are not properly trained in its use. (The study also highlighted certain practical problems relating to pens, which have to replaced in the pen tray in order for the system to recognise that the teacher no longer wishes to write on the board.)

Overall, then SMART’s interactive whiteboards in conjunction with their supporting software and community resources can provide a bridge that allows the benefits of computer technology to be accesses while encouraging human-to-human communication. Its SMART classroom enhances new kinds of learning and it brings the internet into every foreign language class. The technology also provides access to authentic documents and both represents and encourages a major shift in attitudes and practice in modern language learning and teaching practices.

As a postscript to her talk, Valeria added an example of SMART technology in action in the language learning classroom. She showed us “Teacher's Kitchen”, a resource created by Maite Cervera, Susana Zaera at Colegio Montserrat, which allows students to followa recipe in a bilingual class.

Using the Document Camera, the teachers created “A Tasty Salad” that included some useful lexis along with video “explanations” (e.g. chop, slice, etc). The lesson also involved a multiple choice component, which students could complete using their SMART Response devices. (Ingredients that you don't find in a salad: a) Vinegar b) Olives, c) Flour d) Pepper e) Lettuce – if you’re not sure of the answer, you’re either a) not a very good cook b) English or c) both!)

1. Gerard, F., &Widener, J. A SMARTer Way to Teach Foreign Language: The SMART Board Interactive Whiteboard as a Language Learning Tool[online]. Edcomapss. 1999. [cit. 2011-06-17]. Available at: http://edcompass.smarttech.com/en/learning/research/SBforeignlanguageclass.pdf.

SMART Board 885ix interactive whiteboard system:
Up to 4 students can work together anywhere on the surface

Pete Sharma rocks Milan (with a little help from his friends): full report from the PSA Symposium, 2012 (Part 1)

Pete Sharma (left) talking at the PSA Symposium, Milan 2012 with Fabrizio Colombo,
Area Manager Italy, Greece & SEEU at SMART Technologies (centre) and
Cathy Smith, Sales & Marketing Director of Richmond ELT (right)

The theme of this “mini summit”, presented by Pete Sharma Associates at the British Consulate-General in Milan on 5th Ocotber 2012 was “The Impact of New Technology on Language Teaching”. It's almost a law of nature that whenever the subject of a conference is to do with technology, the gremlins will swarm. Such was the case with the Symposium, although to be fair to the people who came Milan to present their sites, materials, equipment and ideas, the technical problems that beset the first part of the proceedings were due rather to the extra-robust security at the British Consulate-General, rather than with any flaws in the technology on display. Indeed, the all the speakers who appeared early on were not only prime examples of British stiff upper lip, but also inadvertently underlined an important  point: while people can manage without technology, technology on its own cannot substitute for real, live humans (especially the redoubtable techies who were on-hand to sort everything out) - at least, not yet.

Vic Annells, the British Consul General in Milan (left), addressing
 the PSA Symposium, with presenter Byron Russell of PSA (right) 

Byron Russell, a PSA director, kicked off the event by welcoming everyone and explaining that Pete Sharma Associates is an international blended learning consultancy that aims to help people get over their fear of technology. In addition to its consultancy activities, PSA runs online courses and helps institutions integrate technology into their learning programmes.

Byron then introduced Vic Annells, the British Consul General in Milan and Director of UK Trade Investment Italy. He apologised for the tech difficulties and reassured everyone that the tight security at the British Consulate General is necessary in these difficult times, a point which everyone present accepted. Having recently completed an online course himself at Cambridge University, Vic was very enthusiastic about the motivating power of technology in the educational sphere.

Paul Rogers, founder and Director of Little Bridge (left)

With the original running order re-jigged, it fell to Paul Rogers of Little Bridge to open the batting, a task which he accepted manfully despite some continuing technical hitches.

Paul introduced us to Little Bridge, which is a virtual world which young learners can explore and learn English in a highly engaging, entertaining and safe environment.  Paul explained that he has a background in school teaching, at both primary and secondary level, as well as in universities. He has taught French, German, Spanish and English. The key to getting children involved in language learning, he feels, is to capture their imagination.

Teaching in the language classroom is somewhat strange. Paul likened it to teaching someone to swim without actually getting into the in water: what’s missing is the reality.

A bird's eye view of Little Bridge (plant not included)

Little Bridge is a small town, with a quintessentially English look and feel (stone buildings nestling among trees and hedges), but with a modern, diverse cast of characters that make it inclusive and accessible for a wide range of learners from around the world. 

The beauty of Little Bridge is that every story, song and activity is related to the Little Bridge world. This gives language learning a context, which is especially important for maintaining interest among young learners.

According to Paul there are two key requirements for language teaching. The first of these is motivation: all learners, not just children, have to want to learn if they are going to succeed. The second requirement is practice. However, given the constraints of school life and the competing demands of other subjects, there just isn’t enough classroom time for children to get the amount of practice they need in order to really develop their language skills: Little Bridge aims to address both of these issues, by providing kids with a highly absorbing and motivating virtual world and also the opportunity to gain extensive language practice both within and outside the classroom.

Little Bridge is matched to the CambridgeEnglish: Young Learners levels (Starters, Movers and Flyers). 

Inside the Little Bridge School

Paul took us into the School, where learners can access activities from familiar-looking drawers in the classroom. Activities include songs, speaking and extras. There is also a range of accompanying materials, including books, audio, worksheets. This is significant and proved to be one of the main themes of the Symposium: how “old media” works both alongside and in conjunction with the brave new digital world. Little Bridge in this context forms an actual bridge linking traditional media with new online resources that together form a continuum. (By the way, Little Bridge takes its name from the hump-backed bridge at the centre of the town.)

Little Bridge caters for a group of people who are for the most part perfectly comfortable with new, interactive forms of digital media: children. They are also some of the most demanding and critical consumers of learning resources. “We have to rise to the expectations of the kids,” says Paul.

One of the main features of Little Bridge is its wealth of different activity types – essential for holding the very limited attention span of its young guests. Interaction is at the heart of the project. For example, you can record yourself  taking part in dialogues and then play them back (normally a relatively simple task which somehow even the Consulate General’s fiendish security managed to thwart on the day).

Little Bridge is multi-sensory. Every unit contains a song, which is played from a cool animated mp3 player.

Learning in Little Bridge is carefully structured: it’s highly enjoyable, but it’s not “just” fun. Of course, learning should be enjoyable and motivating but there also needs to be a pedagogical backbone and logic to the learning that is taking place.

An interactive exercise on Little Bridge - with Domino (left)

There are however, some nice touches that are tailored to a younger audience. For example, Paul demonstrated a gap fill exercise in which the learner has to drag and drop the correct word. In addition adult voice saying either “Yes” or “No”, there is also a dog Domino, Little Bridge's mascot, who sits in the corner of the screen and helpfully nods or shakes his head.

This kind of instant feedback is critical in maintaining interest an attention. It also encourages learners to take more risks and be prepared to make mistakes, which as Paul pointed out, is how we learn, e.g. you learn to walk by falling over. “Mistakes get a bad press,” he said. One of the advantages of interactive, online learning is that you can make your mistakes in private.

However, Little Bridge also has an integrated Learning Management System. All the results from every activity undertaken by learners is sent through to the LMS, where the teacher can analyse an individual student’s progress and keep a check on how the entire group is performing.

Little Bridge supports learning with a naturalistic and engaging enviornment

Another subtle but very powerful feature of Little Bridge is that it uses sophisticated non-verbal – often visual – cues to support learner’s understanding and create a rich, naturalistic context for communication. For example, in a relatively straightforward dialogue between a boy and a girl we discover that the girl has been shopping and as bought a tee-shirt. While the language is fairly simple and well adapted to the learner’s level, the reaction of the boy when he sees the less-than-covetable fashion item the girl has bought is one of exaggerated horror (that would roughly be rendered as “Yeech!” if it were in a US sitcom). In another example, the sentence “I don’t like table tennis” is set in a mini animated drama in which the ping-pong ball glances off the table edge past the bemused player. Reactions, expressions  and “collateral” content that isn’t verbalised tend to provide human depth and naturalness, even though the grammar structures and lexis (vocabulary) employed are pitched at an accessible level.

Manufacturing content: the Grammar Factory in Little Bridge

Another area where Little Bridge can appeal to children is grammar - again, another area of language learning that more often than not is greeted in class with groans rather than grins. Paul suggested that grammar is really a short cut to the underlying concepts of what’s going in the language: it allows us to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Little Bridge aims to make grammar more engaging and not just treat it as a separate part of learning the language. The Grammar Factory looks like real fun: it attempts to demystify grammar by presenting it as matter-of -fact set of structures and procedures all beautifully animated with industrial machinery, robot arms and conveyor belts. Watching bits of language being transformed in the Little Bridge Grammar Factory induces a strangely calming, almost hypnotic state in which grammatical structures literally appear before your eyes: it’s almost like watching a cognitive process externalised and set in a friendly, non-threatening environment – a grammar factory.

Little Bridge is used in schools worldwide, for example the US, Scandinavia, Turkey, Russia, where it is a mainstay of English teaching in some of the largest schools in St Petersburg). Every school in Mexico has Little Bridge.

The feedback from teachers has been both positive and insightful. ‘Our students talk about the characters as if they are friends’ is a typical comment.

Another important feature for learning English in a global context is that you can switch the whole platform between British and American English. This is significant especially in regions where US English is the preferred variety, such as Asia.

(Chatting to Paul later, I asked him if they had considered making a version of Little Bridge which looks more American – Little Bridge, USA? However, he told me that international students are quite happy with the typically British look and it is the ability to switch between UK / US English that has proved more significant.)

Learners can create their own character and room in the
safe, moderated Little Bridge community environment

As with all the other platforms and products presented at the Symposium, the social element of blended learning is an integral part of the Little Bridge experience. All users can access the online community, which is moderated to ensure safety. All comments on the community have to be in English and there is a messaging system (DigiTalk) that allows children to share their experiences and feelings about learning English in the Little Bridge microcosm. (You can find more discussion of this in the Open Forum section of this report.)

Perhaps the main advantage of Little Bridge is that it can be used both at school and at home, allowing students to maximise practice time away from the classroom but also to benefit from their familiarity with the environment in classroom activities. Teachers can also save valuable time as all results are sent to the LMS, which cuts out the need for endless marking. 

"Friendly English" by Derek Allen: a hilarious and moving book written with warmth and a unique sense of humour

I’m currently reading Derek Allen’s “Friendly English”, published by Sperling & Kupfer. It’s a unique blend of autobiography and English language exercise book. It covers many topics normally ignored by conventional language books, e.g. sport (especially football), religion, (real) family relationships and humour. What comes through from this book is Derek’s personality and quirky sense of humour. Written in a conversational and richly-idiomatic style, “Friendly English” is the reading equivalent of spending a few hours in Derek’s company (which is always a delight!).

As with the originator of the “English tailored for Italians” genre, John Peter Sloan (with whom both Derek and I have worked on the Speak Now! series), Derek has managed to strike a careful balance between entertainment and education. Just as John’s brand of humour and insights reflect his experiences  of living in Italy and interacting with Italians, so Derek has also captured the magic and absurdity of being an Englishman in Italy in his own way. (There are many moments that will strike a chord with British expats, such as myself, and which Italian readers will also find revealing.) However, Derek’s approach and voice differ markedly from those of John. “Friendly English” is an incredibly personal and revealing account of key moments in Derek’s life, many of which are both moving and surprising at the same time. (I even found myself laughing out loud at certain points – not something you usually do with an English language course book!) Derek is a natural raconteur and storyteller. He also wears his learning lightly and is able to explore some quite deep subjects with a typically light touch.

The overall impression you get from reading “Friendly English” is of a wry sense of humour combined with a genuinely warm and forgiving personality (i.e. Derek Allen!).

Here’s a typical example of Derek’s finely-honed comic writing skills chosen at random from the book: I’m only 1.65 metres tall and as a result I have a full length portrait in my passport instead of the usual “face and shoulders”.

The book also offers some beautifully-observed details that open a window onto the strange and wonderful place that is Italy. Here’s Derek describing an “epiphany” moment while visiting Trapani in Sicily during his tour of the South:

I was walking along the promenade minding my own business when an old couple sitting on a stone bench called me over with their hands. The man was peeling a peach and wanted to offer me a piece, so I sat down and shared the fruit with them. We couldn’t really communicate at all – we were all gestures and broken-toothed smiles beside a deserted midday beach. I don’t think I’d ever experienced anything so completely unlooked-for in my life.

"Your Bard, mate!" Derek in Shakespearean
 mode from the "Speak Now!" series

However, “Friendly English” is also a well-structured English language book with a wealth of exercises, glossaries, notes, quotations, snippets of history, puns galore and odd facts. You can either read it through as a narrative and sequential course – or you can just dip in and read snippets. (It’s a great “bog read” – a book you can read on the toilet (!) as well as the perfect thing to read when you are moving around the city on the metro or tram.)

Click here to order your copy of "Friendly English" on Amazon.

You can find out more about "Friendly English" and stay up to date with Derek's English activities by visiting the "Friendly English" page on Facebook.

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UPDATE: Derek will be presenting “Friendly English” at the Mondadori Multicenter in Piazza Duomo, Milan on Thursday, 18 October 2012 at 18:30.

Meet Derek Allen and have your copy of “Friendly English” signed by the author!

Find out more: http://www.facebook.com/events/122437037906020/?fref=ts

Learning how to market yourself should be part of every EFL teacher training course

Sandwich board: Even the most passionate and
enthusiastic teacher has to be able to earn a crust.
(Image: Boston Street Characters, 1859
via Wikimedia Commons)

Every year an increasing number of newly-qualified English teachers enter the profession, many of whom will be heading abroad to find work. The training courses they have done – CELTA, Trinity College, etc – will have equipped them with a basic knowledge of how to survive in the EFL classroom; how to field those tricky questions about the Present Perfect; and also given them an insight into key teaching areas such as classroom management, preparing materials and maybe a taster of some linguistic and educational theories. Clutching their shiny new certificates this cohort of newbies will mainly be applying for teaching jobs in language schools and possibly with companies. A lot of teachers will also want to teach private students and find work on a freelance basis.

While the training courses they have taken provide a good foundation on which to build their career as teachers in terms of the language and teaching, how many of these bright-eyed hopefuls will have the business skills and resources to really thrive in their new profession? The answer, sadly, is not many. Of course, people who already have a business background and have decided to branch out into teaching (either as a form of escape from the corporate world or maybe because of a life-event, such as retirement or moving to another country for personal reasons) will be able to apply their knowledge to their career. Others will pick up ideas and tips along the way – and, generally, learn the hard way (often by realising that if they continue to work as an employee for a school they have virtually no chance of earning a decent salary without a Stakhanovite workload of contact hours).

As a freelance business English teacher who has learnt the hard way rather than coming from a business background, I am in a good position to see the problem clearly. I have termed this the “missing middle” – basically, a vacuum of know-how and strategy that teachers find themselves facing when they try to branch out on their own. Some people just rely on word of mouth and building up their clientele locally via their ex-students and contacts; others try their hand at social media to find people willing to pay to them to teach; and a small minority will actually decide that it’s much more profitable not to teach at all, but rather to set up a school and focus on developing the business side while others take care of the teaching.

The truth is that most teachers are generally ill-equipped to build up a business based on freelance teaching. Luckily, there is a now an eco-system of online resources, blogs and websites where teachers can network and share ideas. But even here, finding the information and contacts you need requires a lot of dedication and input from the individual teacher.

Wouldn’t it be useful if every teacher entering the profession had at least a basic grounding in how to sell their language and teaching skills? I am not suggesting that every freelance English teacher needs to do an MBA in order to make a living. I just think it would be really helpful if at the end of their training course there was a module / component on how to take all this fantastic knowledge and the teaching techniques you have acquired and plug them into a system or structure that can help you earn a decent living.

This mini-crash course in marketing yourself could include:

·         Understanding how the EFL market is structured
·         Different types of trader (e.g. self-employed sole trader, partnership, limited company)
·         How to find an accountant and sort out your tax status, contributions, pension, etc
·         An introduction to Google, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), copywriting
·         Using social media to promote yourself and your business
·         Networking, LinkedIn and membership of professional organisations
·         Information on how to specialise and find more lucrative sectors (e.g. Business English)
·         Other information and ideas relating to the specific market you want to work in

I have also floated the idea of a publically-owned brand that freelancers could use to promote themselves as a profession; as well as being involved in the production of high-quality EFL materials distributed under a Creative Commons licence (using the freelancers’ brand).

I would be very interested to hear the opinions of other freelance EFL teachers regarding this suggestion. And I would be very much like to hear what people involved in teacher training think as well – especially Cambridge, Trinity College, the British Council, FE, IATEFL, BESIG and other organisations based in countries other than the UK.

Have your say here by leaving a comment. You can also air your opinions on the Global Business English Network on LinkedIn.

Note: I have developed some of these ideas further on my English Revolution! blog ("Justice and luxury spa holidays for freelance English teachers... NOW!")

Team Writing: a new project for people who want to write well in English... together!

Would you like to improve your writing skills in English, connect with other professionals and raise your profile? Freelancers, bloggers, students and teachers, welcome!

Team Writing: Join us!

Good writing is a both an art and a science. It’s an ability you can be born with – but it’s also a set of techniques that you can learn. Anyone can write: it’s not always easy to say exactly what you mean, but with practice you can get better. It’s also more fun when you do it with other people.

I am starting a project, called Team Writing, which is for people who want to write collaboratively and produce interesting material other people want to read. This is a not-for-profit exercise – you won’t receive any money, but you won’t have to pay anything either. It’s just a group of people who like writing.

Team Writing will take place online and will make use of various different tools for collaboration. The most important part of writing is what you actually do BEFORE you start: organising your ideas and material, finding sources, links and images, etc. We will use collaborative platforms such as Google Docs to share our ideas and resources.

For the actual writing itself I would like people in Team Writing to experiment with different collaborative writing tools. These will allow us to work together on the same text, but they also have several advantages, such as the ability to comment, edit other people’s work, rank or rate material and generally provide an overview of the project and its development over time.

One of the main things about this project is the ongoing discussions that take place around the writing itself and the comments generated by working together. These can sometimes be more instructive and entertaining than the text itself! This will also be a great opportunity to discuss problems and share ideas about writing and expressing yourself clearly.

Finally, we will publish the material we have created collaboratively. The easiest way to do this is by using blogs, which also allow other people to comment on the article or post and share it as well. (We can also use self-publishing platforms such as Slideshare.)

Why should you get involved with Team Writing?

There are a number of reasons why you might want to be part of this project:

·         Improve your English: this will be of interest mainly to learners of English as a foreign language and non-native speakers, but many of the discussions will also be useful for native speakers who need to sharpen their knowledge of how to use English grammar and vocabulary accurately.

·         Develop your skills as a writer: this applies to both native and non-native speakers of English. You are not automatically a better writer because you’re a native speaker. Some of the greatest writers in the English language (e.g. Joseph Conrad and Vladimir Nabokov) learnt English as a foreign language but went on to become literary titans. You can always pick up some tips and techniques as a writer. And even professional writers and journalists have editors.

·         Gain experience of working on a collaborative creative project: while most people will just visit the group and stay for a short while, there will eventually be a “core” team of people who spend quite a lot of time and effort working on the material produced by Team Writing. These writers will benefit most from learning to collaborate online and use a wide range of digital tools. The skills and knowledge you gain from working with Team Writing will impact directly on your ability to find paid work outside of the group – e.g. as a copywriter, editor or other job that requires strong writing and editing ability.

·         Networking opportunities: Team Writing will attract people who are interested in developing their network of collaborators and professional contacts. If you work in (or would to like to work in) social media, marketing or any field that requires the ability to co-operate effectively with other creative people, Team Writing will enable you to get to know the other members of the team and to share useful contacts and job opportunities. Team Writing will also make use of business social networking sites such as LinkedIn.

·         Promote yourself as a writer: The best way to show people your ability as a writer is to write for blogs and websites where people can find your work. You may already have your own blog. (If you don’t, start one now – it’s easy!) The members of Team Writing will be able to share and link to the material they have worked on.  Having a series of co-authored articles in your portfolio (and on your blog) will demonstrate to potential employers and clients that you are a serious professional with the ability to collaborate in a team and produce high-quality written material.

Organisation

Team Writing is not a company or association: it’s just a group of people who like writing. There are no real rules about what you can and can’t do, but as with any group there will tend to be people with more experience and knowledge and others who need to learn and acquire greater skills. The main direction and focus of Team writing will be determined by the people who spend more time and energy on writing the material (as well as supporting, editing and commenting). I imagine that eventually some fairly distinct groups will emerge in Team Writing. These groups will be determined by the interests and ambitions of the people in them. However, I have already thought about some of the topics and themes that writers for Team writing will be interested in. These include:

·         Social media: a group dedicated to writing about social media topics. This will include bloggers and people who are either working in social media or an area that involves using social media tools (e.g. online marketing, public relations, etc)

·         New technology and startups: this group will overlap with social media and the type of material written here will be mainly focused on using technology to improve the way people live and work. We will also look at new and creative ways that people are starting their own companies and funding them (e.g. venture capital).

·         English language learning: mainly for students and teachers. Subjects will include: online learning; new, social approaches to learning English; business English; global culture and the impact of English.

·         National and local interest: I am based in Milan, Italy. I tend to write about things that have some connection to either Milan or Italy in general. I am also collaborating with Danielle Dalkie, who is organising Network Roma. As a web-based project, however, Team Writing is open to people based anywhere in the world. However, if you are a freelancer, social media professional, language teacher or learner, you will probably want to find people in your location so that you can use your writing to make contact with partners and clients mainly where you are based. It will be interesting to see how this develops. I can see a network of groups springing up, all drawing on and feeding into the main Team Writing “cluster”.

We can also write about social and cultural topics, science, music, history, food, fashion... anything, really. But I suspect that the main value of this group will be topics that are quite closely related to people's activities as freelancers and social media practitioners.

Copyright and intellectual property

Of course, a group of people writing together raises the question of who owns the material produced. Since we are not a commercial organisation and we do not intend to sell our writing,  I think the best solution is to make whatever we write available under a Creative Commons Share-alike licence. (You can find more information about Creative Commons here.)

There are lots of issues about intellectual property and blogging (e.g. the sometimes controversial use of copyright images used to illustrate a post). This will be part of our discussion and could also be the theme of a series of posts itself.

Team Writing and English Revolution! / Open Source English

I am developing a parallel project (currently with the working title of Open Source English). I have also created a blog: English Revolution! The main idea of this project is to create a set of free, high-quality materials for English learners and language teachers. These will be available under a Creative Commons licence and will be the main tools for “Open Source English” teaching, a professional movement modelled on the Open Source community in the world of computer programming.

OK, you’re interested. How do you get involved?

All you need to do is contact me, Robert Dennis, and tell me a bit about yourself: who you are, what you want to achieve and what sort of things you are interested in. I will then give you access to the collaborative tools and platforms used by Team Writing. This is not a completely open group: there will be some selection based on what you want to do. You will also need a fairly good level of English. (Unfortunately, this is not a language training course, although you will be able to improve your English by taking part.) I envisage a sort of floating community of writers with people joining and drifting away, coming back, introducing friends and colleagues, etc. Over time, the core Team will emerge and other members of the group will take over some of the administrative roles (e.g. setting up blogs, groups, wikis, etc).

Contact me now! Send an email to Robert.dennis@gmail.com or join any of my groups on LinkedIn or Facebook. I don’t need your CV, but it would help if you can provide some background information about yourself and links to your blog or website, if you have one.