Overview

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

About the Speaker

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.