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In the final episode of season 1 of ELTtime, our Senior Editor, Chris, speaks to Zarina Subhan about experiencing racial bias in ELT. They dive into discussions about different kinds of privilege, what it’s like to be judged by the colour of your skin before your teaching ability, and how the representation of race in ELT coursebooks and other materials can be improved. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKS Book: Color, Race and ELT, Shades of meaning by Andy Curtis and Mary Romney Book: Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge Book: Race and ethnicity in English Language Teaching, Korea in focus by Christopher Joseph Jenks Article: The intersectionality of gender, sexuality, race and native-speakerness: Investigating ELT teacher identity through duoethnography by Luke Lawrence and Yuzuko Nagashima (Journal of Language, Identity and Education) Zarina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zarina-subhan-a9372052/ CHAPTERS0:19 – Introduction 1:17 – English identity: assumptions and credibility 11:08 – Being a woman in ELT 13:09 – Intersectionality: race and gender 16:31 – Racism in the workplace: classroom vs colleague experience 21:19 – Privilege and awareness 23:25 – The question of responsibility: educating people on racism 30:44 – Defining and understanding privilege 32:48 – The portrayal of race in ELT materials 41:20 – The loss of indigenous culture to economic power 43:16 – Perceptions of traditional non-western clothing 45:13 – Final comments 47:06 – Outro 47:25 – Bonus: Season 2 news!

In today’s episode of ELTtime, Rachel, Matt, Ella and Jaz all sat down together (whilst we were still in the office) for a TeaBreak! With Jaz as the moderator, Rachel, Matt and Ella look back at their teaching experiences and discuss how well teaching English prepared them for a career in ELT publishing. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode. Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSThere are no links for this episode. CHAPTERS0:20 – Intro 0:48 – Teaching experience 1:10 – Rachel’s teaching experience – Greece 2:07 – Matt’s teaching experience – Japan 3:31 – Ella’s teaching experience – Spain 4:55 – Pressure to get through materials quickly 7:12 – Transitioning into publishing 7:23 – Rachel: started as a writer before moving into editing 8:39 – Matt: did a publishing masters, worked in other publishing fields 10:11 – Ella: did an English Literature masters, work experience 11:20 – Does teaching prepare you for working in ELT publishing? 13:22 – Skills needed for editing vs teaching 15:23 – Teaching grammar 16:32 – Content development and teaching 17:45 – Using Teacher’s Books as a tool 18:53 – Time management as a teacher vs editor 23:05 – What parts of teaching doesn’t prepare you for publishing? 27:25 – Thinking about the publishing process as teacher 29:05 – What do you miss about teaching? 32:22 – Favourite thing about ELT publishing 35:03 – Outro

In the sixth episode of ELTtime, our Digital Editor, Jaz, chats with Julietta Schoenmann about how best to incorporate the wide topic of global issues into your lessons. How do you talk about the climate crisis without frightening young learners? How can you include the UN sustainable development goals in your lesson plans? Should any topics be avoided? Let us know if you enjoyed the episode. Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSUN sustainable development goals UN student resources IATEFL Global issues SIG Article: Helping young learners deal with the climate crisis 21st century skills in ELT classroom book: coming soon! CHAPTERS0:19 – Intro 1:46 – Defining what we mean by ‘global issues’ 2:28 – Connecting global issues to ELT 4:18 – Modern student experience 5:26 – Empathy and understanding 6:44 – Taking action 7:56 – Global citizenship, not political 9:13 – UN sustainable development goals 10:55 – UN student resources 11:28 – Should any topics be avoided in the classroom? 13:26 – Being realistic about how serious the topics can be 14:56 – Allowing students to express a preference on topics 15:46 – Teaching the climate crisis 17:02 – Using Greta Thunberg and Malala in the classroom 18:25 – Listening to students 19:28 – Activity of ‘personifying’ climate change 21:51 – Outro

Today’s special episode of ELTtime addresses the global COVID-19 pandemic. The virus is causing unprecedented levels of disruption to education – schools are closed, students are unable to attend lessons in person, international students can’t travel overseas, and institutions are forced to reschedule courses and exams. As a result, now more than ever before, English language teachers around the world are finding themselves with an urgent need to become effective online educators. In today’s episode, Garnet’s Digital Manager Matthew George talks to experienced English language Teacher/Teacher Trainer, Julietta Schoenmann. Julietta talks over the nuts and bolts of how to get going as an online teacher, and then offers a wide range of insights into how to manage online classes, how to make the most of the tools and resources at your disposal and how to maintain student motivation. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode. Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSHands Up charity project Online platforms: Zoom, Adobe connect, Blackboard Collaborate Padlet: online collaboration tool Vialogues: dynamic video discussions Flipgrid: video discussions and respsonses Eaquals Webinars: Teaching live online using Zoom CHAPTERS0:20 – Intro 1:17 – Julietta’s background in online teaching 2:20 – The Hands Up Project 3:18 – Online platforms: Zoom 5:20 – Zoom features – breakout rooms, screen sharing, polls 7:22 – Tips for using online tools for the first time 9:44 – Green screens in Zoom 10:44 – Online tools for teachers (Padlet, Flipgrid, Vialogues) 13:26 – How do teaching styles differ online? 16:33 – Disruptive home environments 18:05 – Online breakout rooms for group work 18:59 – Activity types in the virtual classroom and encouraging student autonomy 23:22 – Motivation and keeping students engaged 26:24 – Online tools can provide more variety in activities (e.g., using Google Street view) 27:29 – Encouragement and praise 27:56 – Pitfalls of online teaching: connectivity issues 29:20 – Orientation to working online and multitasking 32:18 – Boundaries and limits 33:37 –What can institutions and teachers do to ensure a positive outcome from this move online? 36:07 – Outro

In today’s episode our Publisher, Rachel, and Academic Director, Chris, sit down to discuss why integrated skills are beneficial in the classroom. They discuss how the real-life application of language is not separated into the four skills, why there is a reluctance from educational institutions to change and how integrated skills provides a way to exploit materials and engage students. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSJournal article: Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL classroom by Rebecca Oxford (10:28) CHAPTERS0:20 – Intro 0:52 – What are integrated skills? 1:33 – Are integrated skills a good thing for ELT? 2:54 – Do integrated skills reflect how we use language in real life? 4:22 – Teaching skills in isolation; focusing on specific skills 6:01 – Skills are already integrated: learning to write by speaking 7:28 – Teaching ‘speaking’ by using texts, pictures or audio 8:33 – Going from receptive to productive skills 9:36 – Focusing on the function of language 10:12 – Is there evidence that integrated skills are more effective? 11:51 – Learning strategies and ‘learning to learn’ skills 13:31 – Formative assessments and switching skills in daily life 15:52 – Integrated skills can flag up specific skills that need working on 17:11 – Reluctance to change: educational, institutional and exam culture 19:33 – Logistical change: institutional infrastructure and scheduling 21:27 – Exploiting materials and engaging students 22:13 – Technology has forced us to integrate skills 22:52 – Final thoughts

In the fourth episode of ELTtime, we introduce a new feature: TeaBreak. A few of us here at Garnet grab a cuppa, and take half an hour to discuss something we’re passionate about within ELT. Today, Alice, Ella, Jaz and Rosie dive into why it’s problematic that RP is used as a standard, make some light-hearted observations about the differences between the way they speak, and discuss some interesting but bizarre Australian words – do you know what Manchester is? (And no, we don’t mean the city!) Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSArticle: Is RP outdated? Article: Why people will beat machines in recognising speech for a long time yet Article: Australian English in the 20th century CHAPTERS0:20 – What’s TeaBreak? 1:03 – Introductions (Jaz, Alice, Ella and Rosie) 1:40 – Word (antipodean) Australia 2:21 – Alice’s Australian accent (8:45) 2:41 – Alice’s Background 3:12 – British and American spellings and pronunciations 3:53 – Non-English speakers and non-British 4:41 – Australian vs British words 8:08 – Australian stereotypes 8:22 – Australian word (galah) Scotland 8:59 – Rosie’s Scottish accent 9:39 – Alice’s Australian accent 10:02 – Is this a ‘dialect’ thing or a ‘my family’ thing? America 10:52 – Ella’s American background Received Pronunciation (RP) 11:23 – What is RP and why can it be problematic? 11:46 – Class and region divides in pronunciation 12:42 – Issues with digital activities Is there a ‘correct pronunciation’? 15:24 – Regional accent differences 16:02 – Slang and class 17:26 – Voice recognition and audio issues 19:02 – Students mimicking accents 19:49 – American media 20:07 – Australian word (Manchester) 21:00 – Australian idiom (shag on a rock) 21:34 – Final thoughts  

In the third episode of ELTtime, we speak to Nicola Meldrum to dispel the myth that non-native speakers can’t teach pronunciation. Expect discussions about the validity of all teachers and accents, some useful tips for teaching pronunciation, and some practical advice to take back to your classroom. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSNicola and Mark’s blog all about teaching pronunciation Teach Pronunciation Facebook Page Teach Pronunciation Instagram 21st Century Skills in the ELT Classroom – coming soon! CHAPTERS0:20 – Intro 0:46 – Nicola’s background in ELT 2:57 – Diverse nationalities of students and teachers Nicola works with in Barcelona 4:50 – Programme of pronunciation training Nicola offers 7:55 – Bridging the gap between accessibility for the student and clear pronunciation 9:20 – Being intelligible vs. being effective 11:47 – Assessing effective pronunciation 14:32 – Correcting pronunciation 16:51 – Tips for non-native teachers 18:55 – Common pronunciation issues in Middle Eastern students 21:14 – Practical classroom advice 25:53 – Outro

In the second episode of ELTtime, our Senior Editor, Chris, dives into the importance of teacher well-being with teacher and life coach Rachael Roberts. Expect some helpful tips for incorporating mindfulness into your teaching day, insights into the science of the brain, as well as a discussion about the responsibility of teacher well-being on the employer. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKSELT-resourceful.com – Rachael’s ELT website life-resourceful.com – Rachael’s life coaching and training website. Her mindfulness eBook is available to download there, just scroll to the bottom of the page. Join Rachael’s Life-Resourceful Lightbulb Moments Facebook group for lots of videos, discussions, and a book club! CHAPTERS 0:00 – Intro 0:55 – Rachael’s Current Work 2:29 – Rachael’s Personal Experiences 4:00 – Understanding Mindfulness 8:06 – Mindfulness for Teachers and Educators 10:45 – The Brain 16:40 – Tips and Techniques for Mindfulness Practice 22:42 – Responsibility: Employer vs. Personal 27:28 – Technology 30:35 – Mindfulness in Schools 34:43 – Outro

In the very first episode of ELTtime, our Digital Manager, Matt, chats with Nik Peachey, a well-known teacher trainer and learning technology consultant. Expect inspiring discussions about creativity and innovation in the classroom, recommendations for handy apps to use, as well as hidden pitfalls to avoid when using tech in the classroom. Let us know if you enjoyed the episode! Get in touch with any suggestions or questions – you can find us at @garneteducation everywhere! LINKS Nik’s publications: – Digital Video a Manual for Language Teachers, Hacking Creativity, Digital Tools for Teachers and Thinking Critically through Digital Media Nik’s EdTech and ELT blog Nik’s Learning technology and ELT newsletter 21st Century Skills in the ELT classroom – Coming soon. Nik wrote chapter 2: Creativity and Innovation in ELT classes Shot clip – a social movie making app with different templates. Lyrics training – You can watch music videos and recreate the lyrics Hypersay – Nik uses this in presentations and conferences CHAPTERS 0 – 0:19 – Intro 0:19 – 5:20 – ELTons and blended learning 5:20 – 9:48 – Creativity and innovation in the classroom 9:48 – 12:13 – How to create videos in a classroom setting 12:13 – 13:44 – Recommended resources, apps and websites for teachers to use 13:44 – 16:35 – Classroom management and video making 16:35 – 18:49 – Do activities such as video making favour outgoing students? 18:49 – 21:49 – Music podcasts 21:49 – 24:39 – Creative writing and texting 24:39 – 27:29 – Pitfalls to avoid when using tech 27:29 – 28:56 – Digital divide between teachers and students 28:56 – 30:28 – Do teachers actually want to use tech in their classroom? 30:28 – 32:00 – Have attention spans been ruined by social media? 32:00 – 35:38 – Are translation apps putting teachers out of business? 35:38 – Outro

An introduction to our new ELT podcast – ELTtime. The first episode will be available on 29th January. Visit www.garneteducation.com/podcast to sign up for podcast updates. LINKSThere are no links for this episode CHAPTERSThere are no chapters for this episode