Excite Young Learners with Real-world Video

Short video clips with engaging National Geographic content have the power to initiate lively classroom discussion! In fact, video is an effective communication tool that presents language in context and offers visual clues to aid comprehension. Real-world video can also spark interest, wonder and curiosity, making student language learning more fun and meaningful.

In this webinar, the presenter, Werner Kuhn, will discuss:

• How real-world video opened up a world of opportunity for one of his students
• Why it will become an essential tool of language education
• How real-world video can be used to teach the most common young learner topics
• How to create an unforgettable real-world video experience in the classroom

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Presented by:
Werner Kuhn

Werner Kuhn has been an ESL teacher for over 16 years in Taiwan, with experience teaching at all levels from kindergarten through to adults. Werner is a strong believer in life-long learning, believing that teachers should constantly examine their own teaching in order to grow as educators. He has been a featured speaker for National Geographic Learning and the distributor, Caves Bookstore, and had led teacher training locally as well as abroad. For the last three years he has operated his own children’s school. Werner loves living in Taiwan with his beautiful wife and two dogs, enjoying everything that his adopted hometown has to offer.

Inspire Young Learners with Images: Breathe Life into the Skills-Integrated Classroom

Young learners today are growing up in an increasingly interconnected global community in which English is the lingua franca. As educators, how can we tap into their natural curiosity and inspire them to learn the skills necessary to thrive in a 21st century, multi-cultural world? Using stimulating National Geographic Learning content and modern approaches for teaching young learners, Mari will share practical ideas on how the imagery of National Geographic can motivate students to learn and at the same time nurture children’s linguistic, cognitive and social skills in an integrated manner.

In this session, she will:

• demonstrate how to use inspiring photography to increase children's willingness to communicate
• show innovative approaches that use imagery to develop higher order thinking skills
• share how child-friendly activities and carefully selected National Geographic images can build multicultural awareness and extend a child’s knowledge of the world

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Presented by:
Mari Nakamura

Mari Nakamura has more than 20 years’ experience in teaching children and teenagers at her own language school, English Square, in Kanazawa City. She has also provided teacher training seminars all around Japan and has authored numerous ELT textbooks, picture books and dictionaries. She earned a master’s degree in TEYL from Aston University, and was awarded Best of JALT in 2013. She is a series consultant of Look, a new course for young learners from National Geographic Learning.

Wow!-ing Parents with Projects: How Teachers can Educate Parents about Project-based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach to teaching and learning that engages students in rich and authentic learning experiences. PBL can be life-changing for your teaching practice but requires strong, supportive leadership in the classroom as well as outside the classroom and in students’ homes. Educating the parents about this dynamic classroom approach is key to its success in private language schools.

In the webinar, I will:

• discuss ways to prevent the misunderstanding of project work as a time filler
• share my own first-hand experiences of educating parents about the why and how of project-based learning as a private language school owner in China
• share a personal observation on why I believe projects are especially beneficial for Chinese students and other students within an Asia EFL context

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Presented by:
Harold Becherer

Harold’s teaching journey in China began over a decade ago after quitting his day job as a scientist in the United States of America. During his time in China, he has gained experience with English learners of every grade and skill level. In 2010, he started his own private language school in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, and ran this until recently. Harold continues to enjoy sharing ideas with fellow teachers through trainings while still teaching students on occasion. He lives with his wife and daughter in Foshan, Guangdong Province.

The Flipped Classroom: The role TED and technology can play to get students speaking

Getting students engaged in meaningful conversation in English can be a challenge for teachers. This presentation will share how a flipped-learning approach can promote effective in-class discussions and learner autonomy. With the use of TED Talks and technology, learners can be provided with more opportunities to practice English with immediate feedback outside the classroom, so they can show up and take part in purposeful interaction in class.

In the webinar, we will discuss:

• the main factors that hinder oral production
• techniques to help learners overcome speaking difficulties and enhance oral language development
• concrete ideas for designing tasks for talks

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Presented by:
Hsu-Ping Tuan

Hsu-Ping Tuan received her M.A. in TESOL through the PK-12 program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds an M.S. in Brain Science from National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan. She was awarded the Teachers College, Columbia University John F. Fanselow Award for developing outstanding ESL materials. She is a certified ESL/ENL teacher in New York State, and has extensive teaching experience in the US and Taiwan. She dedicates herself to adapting ESL curriculum for students in EFL contexts so that students can achieve better learning outcomes. She is also interested in integrating the latest research findings of neuroscience and English teaching to facilitate students’ learning. Currently, she trains teachers for publishers and delivers talks on flipped learning for universities in Asia.

Helping Children to Read – What Can Parents Do?

Parents have a key role to play in helping children love reading books and stories. There are many challenges in doing this for parents in their increasingly busy lives. In this webinar, you will learn how to help your child to love reading for both pleasure and information. We will show strategies for making the most of reading time and how to engage children to love the time spent reading with their parents. This webinar will show how parental support makes a difference and the strategies that will make reading time a special time with your child.

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Presented by:
Alison Davis

With 45 years of teaching experience in more than 50 countries, Alison Davis has held a wide variety of leadership roles in education from Principal to that of Early Years Director, Curriculum Leader, Head Teacher and classroom teacher. More recently, Alison has been responsible for the development of quality professional development and product-specific training programs across K-12 curriculum including Common Core State Standards, assessment, differentiation, personalised instruction and digital learning. Alison was also a Training & Development Consultant for Cengage Learning where she was responsible for the training and development of literacy for leaders and teachers across Asia, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

Learn English with TED Talks: Student-centered Lessons that Emphasize 21st Century Skills

More than ever before, technology makes it possible for teachers to create student-centered classrooms that promote communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, often known as the “Four Cs” of the 21st century skills.

In this webinar, we will briefly review the research supporting flipped classrooms and discuss 21st century skills. We will then discuss ideas for effectively integrating these ideas in the classroom, including examples from the program, Learn English with TED Talks Experience. As part of the discussion, the speaker will share personal classroom experiences, including student reactions.

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Presented by:
Carmella Lieske

With over 25 years of teaching experience, Carmella Lieske has taught a wide variety of English learners from young children to mature adults. Carmella has also worked with various international publishers writing student books, teacher’s editions, workbooks and worksheets, and test packages. Carmella’s work can also be seen in a number of National Geographic Learning publications that include Go For It!,Our World, Impact, Pathways, Time Zones, and Reading Adventures.

She is an avid believer in the exchange of ideas both within and outside the classroom, and she has helped establish relationships between Shimane University and various universities in Asia and the United States to promote student engagement. Working with her colleague, Carmella visited 13 countries/areas where they administered questionnaires to over 13,000 university students, interviewing over 1,000 of these students.

Balanced Reader: Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

The Balanced Reader approach focuses on balancing learning to read and reading to learn. PM Readers provide highly supportive text to enhance reading for meaning rather than just decoding of text.

In this webinar, you will learn how to engage learners in meaningful reading by getting the right book into the hands of the reader at the right time and for the right purpose.

This webinar will show how PM Readers can be used in any learning environment to support decoding, comprehension and fluency. Strategies for classroom instruction, organization and parental support will be discussed.

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Presented by:
Alison Davis

With 45 years of teaching experience in more than 50 countries, Alison Davis has held a wide variety of leadership roles in education from Principal to that of Early Years Director, Curriculum Leader, Head Teacher and classroom teacher. More recently, Alison has been responsible for the development of quality professional development and product-specific training programs across K-12 curriculum including Common Core State Standards, assessment, differentiation, personalized instruction and digital learning. Alison was also a Training & Development Consultant for Cengage Learning where she was responsible for the training and development of literacy for leaders and teachers across Asia, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand

Teaching Common Core Reading with National Geographic Reach

English Language Learners in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context often face more challenges than students in an English as a Second Language (ESL) context when learning to read for comprehension, primarily related to the lack of a language environment and input that supports learning in and outside of the classroom. However, these challenges can be addressed through systematic instruction, which can empower students to become strategic readers and achieve high levels of comprehension.

In the webinar, we will discuss:

• The Common Core State Standards approach to meeting ELL learning needs in reading
• research-based methods and hands-on activities that can be implemented prior to, during, and after reading to enhance EL reading comprehension,
• and concrete ideas for both scaffolding techniques and overall approaches for teaching reading.

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Presented by:
Hsu-Ping Tuan

Hsu-Ping Tuan received her M.A. in TESOL through the PK-12 program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds an M.S. in Brain Science from National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan. She was awarded the Teachers College, Columbia University John F. Fanselow Award for developing outstanding ESL materials. She is a certified ESL/ENL teacher in New York State, and has extensive teaching experience in the US and Taiwan. She dedicates herself to adapting ESL curriculum for students in EFL contexts so that students can achieve better learning outcomes. She is also interested in integrating the latest research findings of neuroscience and English teaching to facilitate students’ learning. Currently, she trains teachers for publishers and delivers talks on flipped learning for universities in Asia.