We at the English Ideas Project strongly believe that training can be effective in developing professional practice if the participants have an open mind and a positive attitude towards being trained, and if the training content is relevant to the participants needs, and the trainer is completely professional and supportive of the participants engaged in the transformation process.
We also believe that face-to-face training is generally more effective than on-line training, but recognize that there are situations where in-person training is not possible. In these cases on-line courses can be developed which are effective and worthwhile. In some cases, like courses to develop writing skills, on-line is better, and so we offer two specialized on-line writing courses, as you can see below.
All our events and courses are run-on-demand. Please contact us if you are intContact ‘courses at englishideas.org’ for further information.erested in any of our courses or you would like us to develop a bespoke course to exactly match your training needs: ‘courses at englishideas.org’
F2F Training
We offer a wide range of tailored training events to meet your specific requirements.
We can offer training in these areas:
- English for teachers (see below for more information)
- language awareness for teachers (see below for more information)
- general English teaching methodology
- ESP teaching methodology
- materials development for teachers (see below for more information)
- assessment for teachers (see below for more information)
- corpus linguistics for teachers
- on-line teaching and learning
We also offer the new Certificate for Teachers of Uniformed Personnel (CTUP), which is a professional in-service qualification for English language teachers working with the military, police and border guards. This course can be offered face-to-face or online (please see below for more details).
Please contact courses at englishideas.org for more information about these courses.
Online Courses for Teachers
We run a variety of short and effective on-line courses for teachers.
The principles behind our on-line courses are:
- on-line courses need to be short to be effective, as extended courses have high drop out rates. Most of our courses are 10 – 15 hours in duration. These can be delivered over two days, over a week or over a three week period for example, or a longer period.
- on-line courses need to have a synchronous component to maintain engagement. Our courses use Big Blue Button within the Moodle platform to engage our participants with the learning materials and tutor, or Teams and Zoom.
- on-line courses need to have flexibility. Our courses can be delivered entirely synchronously or in a mixed mode of synchronous study and self-directed learning through engagement with asynchronously presented materials.
- on-line learning is best done in small groups. Anyone can lecture to the whole planet, but for real, in-depth development of professional practice or learning a skill like a language small group learning is best, which is why our courses are restricted to 5 -10 participants.
- attending an on-line course is not enough to ‘learn’; it is only the first step. Learning happens through deep engagement with the learning materials and tutor and then through a process of reflection, reconciliation and incorporation of the lessons learned into the participants’ professional practice. This is why we offer a two stage certification process. Stage One is successful attendance during the course and meeting all the course’s formal requirements. Stage Two is the completion of one of a choice of assignments or a portfolio of work with is evaluated according to public criteria. Once the assignment or portfolio has been satisfactorily completed the full certificate is issued.
- Our course design is based on the Essential Content vs Total Cost course design method, which you can read about here.
At the moment we are offering these online courses:
- English for Teachers
- Language Awareness for Teachers
- Materials Development for Teachers
- Assessment for Teachers
- the Certificate for Teachers of Uniformed Personnel
See below for more information about these courses, and contact ‘courses at englishideas.org’ for further information.
English for Teachers
Teachers, like learners, need to practice and study English to maintain and improve their language level. If you teach lower levels, for example, then your English level will deteriorate unless you make an effort to use English at a higher level.
You should read in English and watch videos, films etc. to engage with the language, and speak with people in English. This is not enough though. You should also study the language to learn more about it. This course will give you the tools and techniques you need to be able to develop and maintain your language level independently.
This course consists of:
Twelve hours of online instruction with a highly experienced English native speaker teacher and language researcher.
The first session (1.5 hours) will introduce you to ways of looking at the language, and the tools and tasks of the course assignments.
The other sessions of the course (10 x 1 hour) will look at the language of a particular topic, and then you will have some homework assignments as follow-up tasks.
At the end of the course you will be asked to find 1-3 texts on a topic of your choice and will have to produce a portfolio of language analysis to show you are equipped with the skills you need to continue to study the language on your own or with a colleague.
The final session (30 mins) includes feedback and planning for the future.
Course Outcomes:
- improved understanding of how English works
- knowledge of tools you can use to actively develop your level of English
- improved understanding of the grammar and lexis associated with common topics in English
- improved English
- a portfolio of your research into English
- and new ideas how to teach English
Course entry requirements: None, open to all teachers of English with a B2+ level of English.
Course size: minimum 5, maximum 10 participants.
Cost: 100 euros per participant (not including VAT, if applicable)
If you are interested in this course please email us and we will contact you with information about start dates etc. Please note that we will only be able to run the course if there is sufficient demand. Contact ‘courses at englishideas.org’ for further information.
Special Offer: 20% discount on this course for members of recognised teacher associations. Please indicate your membership status of an association in your email if you wish to take up this offer.
Language Awareness for Teachers
An exploratory practice course for teachers interested in different ways of viewing language. While there is a traditional, dominant view of language, there are other ways of viewing grammar and lexis, and teachers and learners can benefit from considering these other perspectives and ways of understanding.
This 15 hour course will consider these areas:
- how verb tense operates in time, reality and formality
- the key ideas of verb forms, including modal forms
- the structure of the verb phrase
- the structure of noun and prepositional phrases
- the role of collocations
- the information structure of English
- diagramming English sentences according to the Associative Model of English
Course Outcomes: a greater understanding of alternative views of English language structure and the ability to introduce these ideas to language learners
Course entry requirements: None, open to all teachers of English.
Course size: minimum 5, maximum 10 participants.
Cost: 100 euros per participant (not including VAT, if applicable)
If you are interested in this course please email us and we will contact you with information about start dates etc. Please note that we will only be able to run the course if there is sufficient demand.
In-Service Certificate for Teachers of Uniformed Personnel
The new Certificate for Teachers of Uniformed Personnel (CTUP) is a professional in-service qualification for English language teachers working with the military, police and border guards.
This is our flagship course which builds on our years of expertise training teachers of uniformed personnel, and teaching the police, border guards and military personnel directly.
The basic course of 15 hours covers input on the following areas:
- Approaches to teaching uniformed personnel
- Approaches to testing uniformed personal
- The language we teach
- Approaches to teaching grammar and vocabulary
- Approaches to teaching reading and listening
- Approaches to teaching speaking and writing
- Using maps, images and video
Course Outcomes: a full professional understanding of how to meet the specific needs of uniformed personnel in their language learning.
Course entry requirements: Only open to teachers of police, border guard and military personnel.
Course size: This course can be run on a 1:1 basis or in small groups: minimum 5, maximum 10 participants.
This basic course can be extended with modules focused on these areas:
- Approaches to needs analysis
- Corpus linguistics for teachers of uniformed personnel
- Scenarios for teachers of uniformed personnel
- Materials development for teachers of uniformed personnel
Contact ‘courses at englishideas.org’ for further information.
Materials Development for Teachers
An introductory course for teachers who would like to start making their own teaching materials.
This 15 hour practical hands-on course introduces the key concepts behind materials development for teenage and adult learners and then engages the participants in the collaborative process of creating a set of learning materials.
Course Outcomes: an understanding of the materials development process and a portfolio of language learning tasks
Course entry requirements: None, open to all teachers of English.
Course size: minimum 5, maximum 10 participants.
Contact ‘courses at englishideas.org’ for further information.
Testing for Teachers
An introduction to formative assessment and ways to evaluate speaking and writing effectively. This approach draws on teacher competencies to make them effective assessors of spoken and written language rather than attempting to train them as ‘objective testers’. The proper role of teacher-led assessment is in providing evaluation through scenario and competency-based assessment of demonstrated language ability.
Course Outcomes: the ability to devise effective and meaningful formative assessment tasks for language learners
Course entry requirements: None, open to all teachers of English.
Course size: minimum 5, maximum 10 participants.
Contact ‘courses at englishideas.org’ for further information.