Opportunities to learn through Remote Language Teaching (Cuba, June 2018)
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•172 views
Plenary given at 4th British Council ELT Conference in Havana, 20th June 2018
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Opportunities to learn through Remote Language Teaching (Cuba, June 2018)
Similar to Opportunities to learn through Remote Language Teaching (Cuba, June 2018) (20)
More from Graham Stanley
More from Graham Stanley (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Opportunities to learn through Remote Language Teaching (Cuba, June 2018)
- 1. Opportunities to Learn through Remote Language Teaching 20th June 2018 graham.stanley@britishcouncil.org British Council Uruguay
- 2. Agenda 1. Remote Language Teaching: Overview Remote Language Teaching - Ceibal en Ingles (RLT in Uruguay) 2. Research findings Student results 2014-17 – Quality Management (observations) 3. Practical pedagogical applications RT skills – Team Teaching – Learning from Case Studies 4. Questions & Answers
- 4. What is Remote Language Teaching? • Synchronous (i.e. in real time) interactive online meetings of teachers and learners through videoconferencing (VC) in order to learn and practise a language • Context specific (low cost/high cost varieties adaptable to available infrastructure and local contexts) • Teachers and learners can be anywhere there is Internet access
- 5. Why use Remote Language Teaching? To solve the problem of the shortage of English teachers across the country. To bridge the social divide and give opportunities to children and teachers who otherwise would be excluded. To provide teachers and trainers to places and people where there are problems with supply. To offer new opportunities for teachers to work in an interesting and different way.
- 6. RLT in context: Ceibal en Ingles • 3,000 weekly classes of 80,000 9-11 yr-olds in 650 primary schools • Project is now in its 5th year and starting to show results • Purpose-made VC equipment and dedicated fibre-optic lines • High-definition visuals / zooming and panning / reliable See 4 minutes of a Plan Ceibal class in action: https://vimeo.com/126996354
- 7. How is it done? • 1x45 minute class for groups of up to 25 children delivered by remote teacher (Lesson A) • Followed by 2x45 minute practice sessions (Lessons B & C) delivered by local classroom • Relationship between remote teacher and local classroom teacher are key to the success of this project.
- 8. Curriculum • 3x45 minute lessons per week • Core syllabus of 30 weeks per level x 3 levels = 200+ hours • 67.5 hours planned classroom instruction per level • Aim = students to move from A0-A2 level (CEFR) in 3 years • Can do statements for programme developed, adapted from CEFR
- 15. 2013 Impact Test 40 questions
- 16. 2015-2017 Adaptive Test CEFR descriptors for 2016 adaptive test
- 17. Student performance 59.4% students reached an A2 level in VRG and 37.7% reached A2 in L
- 18. Comparison of programmes Reults were similar in the two programmes (VC & F2F)
- 19. Development of results Student performance in the test is improving over time
- 20. Results: VRG 6th grade by socio-economic context Results are improving in all socio-economic contexts The difference between high and low critical context school students has decreased since 2014 44.0% 47.0% 52.2% 55.7% 70.4% 52.7% 58.5% 63.1% 69.8% 77.8% 69.2% 71.1% 72.8% 77.3% 83.2% 71.6% 72.9% 78.2% 82.2% 87.8% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0% Nivel 1 más crítico Nivel 2 Nivel 3 Nivel 4 Nivel 5 menos crítico (En % de alumnos de 6º que obtuvieron A2 o +) 2014 2015 2016 2017
- 21. Quality Management • The British Council’s Quality Management system set up for Plan Ceibal’s remote teaching programme is the largest in the British Council global network • In the 5 year period from 2013 to 2017, Quality Managers (QMs) based in Uruguay, Argentina and the Philippines conducted over 1,000 observations of remote English lessons • During this same period, the QM team carried out over 50 evaluations of remote teaching centre operations • QMs are also instrumental in context-specific CPD for teachers, planning and delivering induction face-to-face and online training sessions based on needs, facilitating induction for new teachers and working with individuals when necessary.
- 24. What have we discovered? • Team teaching. For the programme to be effective, RTs and CTs need to work closely together. Research has shown how best to facilitate this: regular coordination, language used and mutual respect are the key factors. • RT skills. Many factors look similar to what is required in good f2f primary teaching. Other factors are special to remote teaching: use of technology, body language and voice, camera presence, relationship building at a distance, e-moderation skills • Recuitment. We interview via Skype to get a feel for the online presence of the RT and to make sure they are not phased by technology. However, first and foremost, the RTs need to be good with primary
- 26. Other RLT projects • Remote teacher training to Cuba. • Teacher training into Iraq. To train teachers in Iraq from Argentina to prepare them to teach Syrian and Iraqi refugees. • Teaching Spanish to UK. Supporting Spanish language classes in London with remote lessons from Buenos Aires. • Cuauhtémoc Connected. Teaching English remotely to Mexican secondary schools from Argentina. • Language for resilience. Teaching Spanish to Syrian refugees to Argentina. • Computational thinking. A new Plan Ceibal programme in Uruguay to teach primary students computational thinking. Using home-based teachers of IT to deliver classes in Spanish.
- 27. What next? Planned for July 2018: British Council publication on Remote Teaching With special focus on Uruguay’s Ceibal en Ingles.
Editor's Notes
- Opportunities to learn through remote teaching In Uruguay, the British Council works in association with the government agency Plan Ceibal, to teach English to 80,000 state school primary children, who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn. We do this using videoconferencing technology, and teachers based in Montevideo, Argentina, the Philippines and the UK. In this session, I will outline the way this is done and what we have learned, as well as discussing the potential of this form of teaching to bridge the digital divide in other circumstances. Bio: Graham Stanley is Country Director of the British Council in Uruguay, where videoconferencing technology is being used to provide access to English in primary schools across the country. Graham’s special interest is in emerging technologies for language learning and he is newsletter editor of the IATEFL LTSIG. He has an M.Ed. in ELT and Educational Technology and is author of ‘Language Learning with Technology’ (CUP, 2013), which won the English Speaking Union’s ELT Book of the year. Graham is also co-author of ‘Digital Play: Computer games and language aims’ (Delta, 2011), which won a British Council ELT Innovation (ELTon) award.
- So, this is what I will be talking about today. I’ll start by briefly looking at what RLT is and how, over the last 5 years it has been put into practice in Uruguay as a solution to the lack of trained and qualified English teachers in state primary schools across the country. Then, I’ll move on to discuss some of the findings of research we have been conducting over the last few years. I will focus on student results and also on what we have learned about team teaching with tech when one of the teachers is physically different location and present an example case study from the research that shows how a local CT’s life is being transformed by this experience. I will also look at how different models of RLT have been used around the world. Finally, I’ll respond to any questions you may have during the presentation.
- In Uy example of technology applied to primary classroom as a practical solution that has been allowed to develop and mature – BC & PC actively collecting research data in order to implement changes to the prog (classroom or programme level) to improve results and experience. 95 % of classes in urban schools of 4th, 5th & 6th grade of Primary have English classes. 73 % of these students learn English through videoconferencing. 64 % of these students now leave primary education with a level approaching A2 (CEFR). Let’s now watch an introductory video featuring a school teacher and children in Tacuarembo, in the north west of Uruguay.
- ‘Remote language teaching’ is the practice of teaching a language live online through videoconferencing (VC). Usually combined (blended learning) with asynchronous use of a Learning Management System (LMS) e.g. Moodle, Schoology, etc. RLT is an example of applying technology to language teaching and learning with an eye to what Stephen Bax in 2003 called “normalisation” (http://www.tesl-ej.org/ej36/f1.pdf) i.e. the technology should as far as possible disappear, to become invisible. In Uruguay, when RLT works well, particularly when you have a skilled RT, we have observed that this is what happens. The ss forget that the teacher is not physically in the classroom
- What reasons are there for implementing a RLT programme?
- The British Council in partnership with Plan Ceibal in Uruguay project manages the remote teaching of 80,000 primary state schoolchildren aged 8-11. Remote teachers in the Uruguay, Argentina, the Philippines and the UK use high-end VC equipment to teach 3,500 lessons per week to schools across the country, providing access to English to students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn the language. The technology is used as a bridge between teacher and students and the teachers replicate as far as possible the interaction found in a face-to-face young learner lesson. In addition, the remote teacher (RT) works closely with a local classroom teacher (CT), who facilitates language practice after the weekly remote lesson is taught.
- The British Council in partnership with Plan Ceibal in Uruguay project manages the remote teaching of 80,000 primary state schoolchildren aged 8-11. Remote teachers in the Uruguay, Argentina, the Philippines and the UK use high-end VC equipment to teach 3,500 lessons per week to schools across the country, providing access to English to students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn the language. The technology is used as a bridge between teacher and students and the teachers replicate as far as possible the interaction found in a face-to-face young learner lesson. In addition, the remote teacher (RT) works closely with a local classroom teacher (CT), who facilitates language practice after the weekly remote lesson is taught.
- Curriculum details
- Detail from the can do statements, adapted from and aligned to CEFR
- Page from short syllabus level 3
- Page from complete syllabus for L3 (30 pages) – written in Spanish
- Example of start of lesson plan for L3 week 83
- In tandem with the teaching, research has been undertaken during the last two years, looking at the differences and similarities of remote teaching with face-to-face teaching, and exploring the impact on all areas of language teaching and learning. This includes:- - Design and development of the curriculum, lesson plans and materials design - Skills required by teachers and how that affects recruitment - Continuous professional development (CPD). - Team teaching. For the programme to be effective, RT and CT need to work closely together. Data has been collected from RTs and CTs that shows best practice working as a team. - Managing online teaching quality. Teachers are observed and given support and guidance on improving the quality of their lessons. - Assessment of students through a computer-based adaptive test. An annual test shows the results of those students learning online and face-to-face are similar.
- An overview of the assessment of children learning English in Uruguay 2013-2017
- An overview of the assessment of children learning English in Uruguay 2013-2017
- An overview of the assessment of children learning English in Uruguay 2013-2017
- An overview of the assessment of children learning English in Uruguay 2013-2017
- 20
- One of the key factors is the focus on improving teaching quality, and to this end we have set up an extensive QM system to observe remote teachers based on three different continents. CPD starts with induction and VC training of new teachers and continues with regular online and f2f sessions throughout the year, adapted to the needs of the teachers and their local contexts.
- Remote Teaching quality Observation flowchart. Teachers are observed and given support and guidance on improving the quality of their lessons. Our partner, Plan Ceibal, also receives reports on the overall teaching quality on the project, by provider.
- After 4+ years of observations of teachers, surveys, data collection and constant improvement based on the findings, we have learned a lot about this form of teaching and learning. How can these findings be put into practice?
- Case studies have been produced based on interviews with specific teachers such as this one of a classroom teacher (CT) Andres Viera from Tacuarembo in the north of Uruguay. As this example shows, not only are the children learning English, but classroom teachers are learning alongside the children. In the case of Andres, he feels close to realising a personal goal: becoming a teacher of English. Andrés says the experience of English has changed the way he teaches other subjects. He has been able to identify that in English lessons, remote teachers work with a sequence of interrelated concepts which gradually become more complex. This same structure of interrelated units is what he is now incorporating to the teaching of the curricular areas. Also the way he plans his lessons has changed as a result. He now looks for connections between different topics which are essential for a successful acquisition of knowledge and skills. This is an unexpected benefit of Ceibal en Ingles and something that Andrés says he didn’t do before. English has opened doors for Andrés Andrés still cannot afford to attend private English lessons, so LearnEnglish Pathways has opened doors for him - not just the chance to learn English but also the chance to meet colleagues from all over the country, who work in similar and different contexts, When he started with Ceibal en Ingles, he was taking a postgraduate course in Autism and all the materials he had were in English. Luckily, after he started LearnEnglish Pathways, working with the tutors and the course allowed him to read the Autism materials. ‘If it hadn’t been for this, I wouldn’t have been able to pass my specialist degree’ Andrés says.
- Here are some of the implementations of RLT that have been done recently.