2Ts in a Pod: Podcast, Campaigns, Listening Classes

2Ts in a Pod: Green Movements in ELT Part 2

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Tim Warre

Part 2 of our 2 part series on green movements in ELT is now live on the SoundCloud page.

Tim spoke to Colm Downes from the British Council’s Climate Action in Language Education department and Daniel Barber from ELT Footprint about the great work their organisations are doing to raise awareness of issues surrounding the climate crisis and drive change in the industry and wider society in general. Check it out!

If you want any further information about the movements and the topics discussed, take a look at the links below:

Colm Downes – British Council – Climate Action in Language Education

Website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/climate-connection/get-involved/action-language-education

The Climate Connection Podcast: https://www.britishcouncil.cn/en/teach/climate-connection/CALE/podcast

Daniel Barber – ELT Footprint Worldwide

Website: https://eltfootprint.org/

Twitter: @ELTfootprint

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/eltfootprint

2Ts in a Pod: Podcast, Campaigns, Listening Classes

2Ts in a Pod: Green Movements in ELT Part 1

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Tim Warre

Part 1 of our climate special on green movements in ELT is now live on our SoundCloud page.

We spoke to Harry Waters from Renewable English and Chris Etchells and Johanna Stirling from ELT Footprint UK about the great work their organisations are doing to raise awareness of the effects of climate change and strive towards a greener future!

Listen to the episode and then follow the links below to get involved in the movements!

Harry Waters – Renewable English
Website: renewableenglish.com/
Twitter: @Renewablenglish
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Renewable-English-100488502126874

Johanna Stirling & Christopher Etchells – ELT Footprint UK
Website: eltfootprint.uk/
Twitter: @ELTFootprintUK

Campaigns, Recommended Websites

Freeed: The Online Teaching Community

Posted on February 12, 2020February 12, 2020 by Tim Warre

I’ve recently made an account and started connecting with other teachers on freeed.com a great new platform and online community for teachers. It’s completely free to create an account and it’s full of useful lesson plans and other resources created and shared by teachers all over the world. The types of content range from ready-to-use class materials to book reviews and blog posts. It’s an easy way to share materials and make connections with like-minded teachers.

Myles Klynhout is a member of the Freeed team and here he is talking about the origins of the platform and giving advice on how to get started:

“Teachers already face many challenges and pressures. Good practice now means working with efficiency, consistency and creativity. The problem is that too many teachers are working alone, adapting authentic and published materials, or developing their own.”

“Too often, these materials never see the light! If more educators shared their great ideas, everyone would benefit. Freeed’s mission is to make that happen, by ensuring that the process of sharing is as quick and easy as possible.”

“We understand the importance of teachers connecting and developing materials locally. Freeed’s first community in Finland has achieved just this and now has more than 3000 active users – primary and secondary school teachers, all sharing lesson ideas and teaching tips.”

“Since then, communities have been established in the Netherlands and Tanzania. As our number of teachers grow, what we want to do next is link these local communities to one another, creating a global network of educators.”

“The new ELT community is a great opportunity for us to understand the challenges teachers face in different contexts around the world.

“How can I join the Freeed ELT community?”

Step 1: Go to the Freeed website and Get Started.

Step 2: Quickly create your free account and join the ELT community (Freeed will always be free for teachers!).

Step 3: Start sharing ideas with other English teachers. You might even find the perfect materials for tomorrow’s lesson.

The situation Myles describes definitely resonated with me and it was that urge to share and swap materials that initially got me started with this blog. Check out the full blog post here. Then create your account and dive straight in! See you there!

https://www.freeed.com/

Campaigns

Register to Vote!

Posted on November 24, 2019 by Tim Warre

I was being lazy about it, then I saw someone’s cajoling post and I just did it, took less than 20 minutes including setting up a proxy vote. Hopefully my cajoling post will give one more person that little push.

You have until the 26th November to register, only 2 days left! I don’t care who you vote for (well maybe a little bit) but at least use your vote!

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Campaigns

Fundraising: Mental Health Friendly

Posted on April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 by Tim Warre

A quick post to promote a really good cause; Shay Coyne is fundraising in order to set up a support group to help people with mental health problems access services such as English classes. Shay explains below, follow the link at the bottom to make a donation:

Mental Health Friendly

My Background:

I studied psychology as a double major, specialising in clinical psychology. I then changed careers and became passionate about education, gaining my Trinity CertTESOL, and MA in applied linguistics.

With my psychology background I became very interested in those students who were SEN but still marginalised from society. The majority are unable to attend a language academy or the EOI because their illness leaves them with memory challenges, behaviour challenges, for example one student freaks out when we do something new, I have to really break it down for them to feel confident in their learning. These students are a challenge to teach but they are my favourite group. I teach them voluntary in Gràcia every Thursday morning.

If anyone could make a donation, that would be amazing. If anyone could share the project with their contacts, that would be a great help.

The Project:

After 3 years working from home as a private English teacher, I am taking the next step to be more professional. I’m currently in the process of creating my own start-up business and have found a place for my work office to rent. Thanks to the location of this office, I would reduce travel time, which means I would have more free time for my end goal: I work as a volunteer for Salut Mental Catalunya, teaching English to people with mental health disorders in Barcelona, and from September I would like to open a new group in my city of Sabadell so that people with mental health problems have a space that is inclusive and allows them to access services, like English classes, to have the same opportunities to make use of these services. Any donation would be greatly appreciated, even if it’s 1€. I feel that this start-up will allow me to be part of more volunteer projects, and I’d love for you to help me if you can. Click on the link to find out more about the Mental Health Friendly project. If you are a teacher and would be interested in volunteering, send me a message and I can put you in contact with the person responsible for this project.

https://gogetfunding.com/shay-educational-consultant/