Getting Creative with Resources

17-30 April 2023
29 May - 11 June 2023
6-19 November 2023

2 weeks
5 hours of study per week
For English language teachers (primary, secondary or adult)
Fees: £150

- Exploit authentic materials effectively
- Design your own materials to engage students
- Develop your own adaptable toolkit of resources

This is a course for English language teachers who want to develop their ability to both find and create engaging materials for classroom use. Whether you work with a course book, follow a curriculum or design your own materials, ensuring that your resources are current, relevant and engaging is going to maximise their effectiveness.

Sourcing teaching materials can be very time-consuming, so we will look at how to exploit authentic materials, saving on planning time and exposing your learners to real-world language. We will also look at how to create materials from scratch and build up a bank of templates for adaptable, low-prep and engaging activities that you can rely on time and time again.

Over the 2 weeks, you will be working on collaborative tasks with your peers and sharing good practice, with guidance and support from your online tutor.

Course Overview

Module 1

- Familiarisation with the online platform, Moodle
- Evaluating materials
- Sourcing and exploiting authentic materials for language development

Module 2

- Creating materials from scratch
- Adaptable, low-prep activities
- Conclusions

Each module should take about 5 hours. You can study at a time convenient for you, but each task must be completed by the specified deadline. There will be a variety of tasks to complete. Collaboration is a key part of the course, although this doesn't mean you have to be online at the same time as your peers. However, it's important you keep to the task deadlines to enable everyone to complete the necessary work. At the end of each module there will be an online live chat session, timetabled for a day and time that suits the majority. For those that are unable to attend the live session, it will be recorded and uploaded to the site.

Study at any time
With 24-hour access, you can study at a time that suits you. Each course requires just 5 hours per week of your time.

Explore new ideas
As you complete a range of engaging tasks, you’ll pick up techniques and ideas that you can use straight away in the classroom.

Interact
Collaborate with other English teachers and receive helpful feedback from your tutor. Each week concludes with a live lesson, too!

Receive a certificate
Get a digital certificate as a record of your professional development activity when you successfully complete the course.

What do I need?

Equipment
You'll need access to a computer (mobile or tablet access is possible too, but with reduced functionality) with an up-to-date web browser, PDF reader and media player. You'll also need a webcam and microphone.

Time Commitment
We recommend dedicating at least 5 hours per week to the course. You can study at a time convenient for you, but each task must be completed by the specified deadline.

English Language Level
If English isn't your first language, you'll need a level of B1 (Intermediate) or higher.