Professional Development - page 7

In the world of education, nobody wants to risk compromising the privacy of their students – whether in a public or private language school. Often, the teacher is held accountable by both parents and the school. This is where Mobile Device Management software shines by providing a user-friendly way to handle data protection in the digital classroom.

What do Google, Microsoft, SAP, Samsung and IBM have in common? Except for being tech and software giants, they, and many more, all use Mobile Device Management software (MDM).
MDM means securing, monitoring, managing and supporting mobile devices – smartphones, tablets and laptops – through software.

The whole industry has steady financial growth and growing importance in all parts of the world. In 2020, the MDM software industry was valued at about 3.5 billion dollars on a global level.

What’s the secret sauce here?

The answer is probably not too exciting – demand. That’s right, good old market demand for the type of software that could make the difference between a successful company and a scandal-ridden one. Millions or even billions could be lost if security is breached and clients’ data stolen or leaked.

What if…?

Let’s consider the following example: a medium-sized and family-owned marketing agency has around 100 employees. They are a reliable company with an impressive portfolio and some global players as their clients. One of the graphic designers, David, likes bowling and is a member of the local bowling club.

Great news! David’s team has made it to the regional bowling cup’s final tournament. The team takes a mini bus and goes on a weekend getaway to have fun and win the tournament.

You win some, you lose some. This time, they won. Super!

Fast forward: David comes to the office on Monday morning, wearing a freshly-printed T-shirt saying “Bowling Champion”. Everyone in his team is excited for him. After sharing a few stories, hard-working David returns to his desk.

Around 2 pm on the same day, the emails start pouring in. The majority of their customers from the last six months are emailing them to check their IT security system. Someone has hacked clients’ accounts using data the marketing company had access to. The company is rapidly bleeding client data. At that stage, it’s impossible to keep it a secret or to be discreet about it.

Their reputation as a reliable company is out the window for the most part.

Innocent actions – calamitous side effects

How did we get from bowling to a security breach? Relatively simple. When David was at the bowling center at the tournament, he logged onto a public Wi-Fi and that’s when things went sour.

A not-so-nice IT professional used the public Wi-Fi network to infect David’s laptop with a new type of malware. New is the key word here. All types of malware (viruses, trojan horses, spyware etc.) develop and transform very quickly. Thus, even with the best security software, it’s not possible to keep up with all the modifications and new versions out there.

These days, information is everything.

The bottom line is: every time someone logs onto a network, whether a free Wi-Fi Hotspot, home or office network, both sides are exposed to potential security issues or breaches. Perhaps even by no fault of their own. They could simply be a carrier for the malware – just like David was.

The example illustrates why numerous companies now use MDM software in order to protect themselves and their data. Because these days, information is everything. A company’s reputation can thus be damaged beyond repair in a matter of days.

Data Protection in Education

Similarly, in the world of education, nobody wants to risk compromising the privacy of their students; whether in a public or private language school. This is especially important when thinking about safeguarding the privacy of data when you have 25 minors in the classroom.

Therefore, MDM software plays an increasingly vital role in the classroom of the 21st century. Many US school districts already use it. A few obvious examples of schools’ uses are: preventing students from visiting distracting websites and content, serving as an additional layer of security and simultaneous management of multiple logged in users (students).

There is an extensive list of pros for using MDM software in education, whereas the cons list is getting shorter and shorter.
Using MDM software solutions typically has these advantages:

• Enhanced security
• Remote management
• Improved efficiency
• Achieving policy compliance

This kind of software is very much in use in the global market, so most big MDM names are already GDPR compliant or CCPA compliant and their product is readily available. In that sense, data protection is completely taken care of.

Good news: the teacher doesn’t need to do anything special.

So if we start thinking about what this means for the teacher, there is good news: the teacher doesn’t need to do anything special. Using MDM software means that the added layer of security is in place and teaching activities can get more time and attention.

MDM software brings many benefits. Anything from managing two devices to 100, the uniformity of using MDM software saves time while ensuring equal conditions for students.

What does all of this mean for your teaching?

The variety of situations in which MDM software may become the norm include, but are by no means limited to:

• public/private schools
• language schools
• universities
• companies
• one-on-one training/tutoring situations

We as teachers may not even be the ones using or administrating it, but we could find ourselves on the receiving end of it. For example, doing in-company training, you may need to connect to the company’s internal network for resource sharing. They will add your laptop or phone to their MDM software’s trusted device list and only then will you have access to their network.

MDM software is here to stay. In two years from now, we may not have a choice any more.

My best recommendation about this type of software is to try it. Take advantage of the fact that there are more and more companies making great MDM platforms. Most of them have the option of having a free account, a trial period or product demo. That is exactly what you want to do – register a free account and try using it now or at least this year because in two years from now, we may not have a choice any more.

Mobile Guardian is a company which focuses on education and covers schools in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the UK. You can find out more about it in this short video demo and this Mobile Guardian tutorial.

Every few months ELTABB — in its boundless generosity — offers scholarship opportunities to members. And ELTABB members — in their equally boundless humility —  refuse to apply for said scholarships. Except that this time, I applied and found myself the lucky recipient of a Spotlight Magazine subscription.

Normally ELTABB directs this funding towards workshops, conference attendance, and other jet-setting pursuits…but 2020 is no normal year. With travel verboten, conferences are out of the question. In their stead, the scholarship can now be used toward teaching materials and magazine subscriptions (bid for champagne and cigars rejected).

(**Seriously ELTABB folks, apply for the scholarship! The money is there for your benefit!’**)

Shedding Light on Spotlight

Spotlight is a magazine aimed at Germans learning English and is published monthly alongside two supplements: Spotlight Plus and an Audio Trainer supplement. It’s a general-interest magazine with a variety of light reading, featuring articles ranging from cake baking to fighting knife crime. Alongside the articles are language pages (courtroom vocabulary; uses of the word ‘about’), episodic stories, reviews, word puzzles, jokes, etc.

Each section is graded from Beginner to Advanced, with a short German introduction and vocabulary offered in translation. Certain sections also have companion audio, with the full audio supplement available at extra cost.

For my subscription, I purchased the base magazine and Spotlight Plus. This is a book full of extra exercises related to the articles in Spotlight itself — reading comprehension tests on the articles, extra practice exercises for the language sections, and so on. I also purchased access to the online back catalogue of both. Thanks to The Virus, online teaching is now de rigueur, and the ability to read the magazine on a computer is pretty much essential.

Placing Spotlight under the Spotlight

Of course, this wealth of material means nothing if it’s no good. So, does Spotlight actually hold up when placed under the spotlight itself?

One important thing to consider — and a shortcoming for us teachers — is that this magazine is for learners, not teachers. As such, it is written with a certain assumed interest on the part of the reader. Whereas a student might buy the magazine simply to enjoy it, a teacher will need to tailor the material to a lesson. In this respect Spotlight Plus is fairly essential: its exercises give the student a reason to read.

However, some of the articles are too lengthy and lacking enough follow-up questions for classroom use without extra preparation. I have found myself reading an interesting article, but without enough time to build a lesson from it. That said, the same is true for any magazine article — compared to selecting an article from a website, at least Spotlight grades the articles by difficulty.

The majority of the magazine is general reading with only a few specific grammar topics, so it’s the luck-of-the-draw whether these will fit into your lesson. If you’re following a syllabus, you might find it hard to incorporate them. If you have creative freedom, however, they can cover useful lexis you might otherwise neglect.

The articles themselves are interesting and engaging. I have found myself reading them simply out of curiosity, and students have expressed interest in buying the magazine themselves. If you can’t find anything directly relevant to your lesson, there will still be something interesting to work from, provided you put in some effort.

Shiny but not all Bright Side

So far, many of these downsides aren’t really the magazine’s fault. I’m a teacher using a students’ magazine — I’m not its target audience. Therefore, I can’t really criticise the magazine for being general interest or not classroom ready.

A much more valid criticism is that, aside from the online magazines themselves, the company’s digital presence is challenging. After opening a digital copy of the magazine, everything works smoothly…but the process to do so is painful.

When I first tried to place my subscription, I found that it simply wasn’t listed in the online shop. I could order a print or online subscription, but not both. Also, there was no Spotlight Plus subscription available. Even the shop was hard to find. Eventually, I gave up and ordered by email.

Now that I’m a subscriber, I get the magazine in the post, but finding the online library isn’t easy. Logging in, I can see only a very barebones library — a list of months, with no clue as to the content. I can download PDFs, but not read articles online.

To find the fully-featured library I have to return to the link in my email order confirmation each time. Even then, when I close the magazine it deposits me back into a third online archive, somewhere between the other two, with no clue as to content, but readable online.

Bright when Burning, Hard to Light

This sums up my overall experience with Spotlight: when it shines, it shines bright. It has engaging articles with targeted exercises, covering a range of topics with variety in its supplementary materials. However, like lighting a campfire in the rain, one must put in a lot of work to extract value.

Subscribing and accessing the online catalogue is difficult, and once the magazine is in front of you, you still have to figure out how to adapt it. You can’t choose an article and throw it into a lesson as a matter of convenience. Be prepared to make full, re-usable plans. This much effort is only worth it if the results will last years.

Shadowy Legal Territory

The teacher also needs to remember they are dealing with copyrighted material, so no direct photocopying and sending to students! If you work from the magazine and develop it for teaching, you’re in a bit of a shadowy legal area regarding fair use. If you copy articles verbatim and distribute them to your students, you’d better hope they’re not lawyers.

Conclusion: Prometheus Didn’t Have it Easy

For my part, I enjoy reading the articles, and having each one graded and with supplementary exercises from Spotlight Plus is fantastic!

It still takes an effort, though. The supplementary materials are a starting point, but not comprehensive. The articles are interesting but rarely targeted towards lexis. The grammar pages are useful but scattershot. The online library is huge, but the interface leaves a lot ot be desired.

In short, Spotlight can help when you would normally scour the internet for material to base your lesson on. If you’re lucky, the article will be relevant or even brilliant. Mostly, however, it can only provide the kindling for your own lesson plan.

When I joined ELTABB sometime last year, one of my incentives was the chance to improve my skills as an English teacher. Therefore, when Evan Frendo formed an FTBE (First Certificate for Teachers of Business English) study group, I eagerly polished off my post-it notes and ring-binder and got ready to swot up.

At the last meeting, it was my turn to give a presentation on ‘Roleplays and Simulations’. Read on to get an overview of what exactly roleplays and simulations are (sadly without the aid of my trusty Zoom laser pointer).

Wait, they’re different things?

As the title suggests, simulations and roleplays are related, but not identical, tools in the arsenal of the business English teacher. Indeed, a roleplay may stand alone or it may form part of a larger simulation. As almost all of our readers here are English teachers (bar one or two exceptions…hi Dad!), I’m sure I can skim quickly over the broader points of a roleplay:

When you get students to make-believe that they are somebody else, they are performing a roleplay. Perhaps one is a hotel receptionist and the other is planning a holiday, or one is a flatmate at home and the other is on the phone, doing the weekly shop.

Roleplays: focusing on needs and linguistic expression

Roleplays are “Problem-solving activities in which the participants take a role to resolve a conflict” (Waylink, 2020). In business English of course, these must be targeted towards the client’s needs. You don’t want clients to feel alienated by the lack of relevance in the setting!

It is up to a business English teacher to try and find a suitable activity (from a lexical point of view) and a suitable conflict and roles, from a business-relevance point of view.

Roleplays tend to be adversarial by nature – they are ‘information-gap activities’. Thus, each participant is lacking information that the other needs (what the flatmates needs vs what is available at the shops, to continue the example).

This doesn’t mean that there is a winner or loser. Rather, each participant poses some difficulty that the other must overcome through the medium of the English language.

This challenge will also be chosen in order to elicit a particular piece of language. For instance, a business English roleplay might have two students debating a purchasing decision. This will centre on persuasive language in a ‘focussed situation’; an isolated decision with no further consequences.

There is no need for agreement and the exercise monitors language, not business results.

Simulations: focusing on roles and context

In contrast to roleplays, simulations are a broader, more diverse tool. They might engage multiple students representing multiple departments within a business, working together to achieve positive results such as a successful product launch or make a profit.

Here, the focus isn’t on language in isolation, but rather in context – such as how it is used for inter-departmental communication. This breadth of context also applies to the period of time a simulation can encompass.

Rather than a short encounter such as a phone call, a product launch example could last from first concept to release or even after-sale support.

Designing simulations, blending in roleplays

A roleplay might be part of a simulation, such as interaction between researcher and focus group. But that will only be one activity of multiple; a simulation is “a set of activities that will gradually lead the learner to perform a business operation” (Orlando, 2020).

Each activity has a fixed role but no fixed outcome – the result is up to the students, not the teacher.  For example, the supermarket roleplay phone-call might be part of a larger, longer household-management simulation. The shopper successfully buying milk isn’t guaranteed and the outcome will affect the results of the simulation as a whole.

While in a roleplay students play a role other than their own, in a simulation students explore their own reactions to a given situation (Allison, 2017, cited in Frendo, 2020, personal communication, 6 November).

Setting goals and adapting on the go

In designing simulations, you must establish not just linguistic, but also learning and social goals. You must then find a possible and relevant problem-solving scenario. Finally, create a setting to illustrate and develop this scenario.

A string of activities that guide students to the result must then be incorporated and, once the students have been let loose on your simulation, a follow-up and assessment completed. The students will want to know what they have accomplished, and how they can improve.

Keep in mind that, like any simulation, once tested in use it may well ‘break’. Evan told us of a simulation he had made in which engineers had to install machinery on a remote hilltop. The students decided they would rent a helicopter and completed the week-long simulation within a day! 

This illustrates that you must be prepared to adapt and alter your simulation as it progresses. Rather than artificial restrictions, offer plausible adaptations to avoid breaking suspension of disbelief (“No helicopters! That’s cheating!”). Evan, thinking quickly, announced that a helicopter crash had cancelled all flights for a week.

And if all goes to plan…

Used correctly, a simulation (and within it, roleplays) can provide realistic and engaging opportunities for your students. They will not only practice and improve their English, but also get a feel for it in a real-world situation. This will then further demonstrate how you are improving their outcomes at work.

In applying their English skills to a relevant and interesting scenario, your students should also feel that they are conquering an enjoyable challenge rather than simply studying a language because their boss told them to.

A successful simulation is also an opportunity to demonstrate to your client (for example the aforementioned boss) how your work has practical results that will ultimately benefit their bottom line…

And what is good for the business is good for the business English teacher!

References:

Orlando, M (ND). The role of business simulations in the business English syllabus: some considerations. International House Journal of Education and Development. Available at The Role of Business Simulations in the Business English Syllabus: Some Considerations « IH Journal (accessed on 06.11.20).

Waylink English (ND). Simulation games with business English. Waylink English. Available at https://waylink-english.co.uk/teaching/simulation-games (accessed on 06.11.20).

As more of us are working from home, what networking opportunities are we missing? Why is networking still important? And how can we continue making connections?  

WFH: working from home

For many of us who freelance from home or tutor English online, the pandemic didn’t change our working habits too much. The main difference is that our partners and friends have learned how tough it is to balance working where we live. 

We’ve learned how to structure our days with kids at home, classes online, and teaching in new ways. And we’ve had to meet these new challenges without being able to commiserate with colleagues around the proverbial water cooler.

Unknown quantities

A recent article in The Atlantic noted that for those who have established careers and strong professional networks, the lack of “face time” in an office or school may not be detrimental. But, “for those still trying to make such ties, remote work can be alienating” and have long-term career consequences. 

The author notes that remote workers are “unknown quantities [who] don’t become beloved colleagues, or get promoted.” It turns out that time chatting in the hall or prepping lessons in the same room is vital to establishing social connections that aid professional advancement. 

And, as we’ve known for some time, 70% of jobs are found through our connections.

Creating Connections

We don’t know when we might next be able to chat with a fellow teacher over a cup of coffee during a workshop break. Meeting with industry reps in an exhibit hall or grabbing a drink with newly-met friends after a weekend conference are opportunities that we may not have for a very long time. 

So what can we do in the meantime to make sure we’re growing that all-important professional network?

Maintain an online presence

Even if you weren’t teaching online prior to the pandemic, chances are that you’ve taught or taken at least a few classes via video chat since this all began. 

That means you may be meeting new students and colleagues for the first time in a virtual environment. You’re an unknown quantity that they’re going to want to get to know. 

When they google your name, what comes up? Do you have a professional online presence? 

LinkedIn is a great place to create an online professional persona. It’s the first place I check when I meet someone new in my field. After last year’s Business English conference in Berlin, I connected with everyone whose talks I’d seen. I went through business cards I’d collected, connected on LinkedIn, and threw out the cards. 

Create digital business cards

Today, there’s even less of a reason than ever before to buy old-fashioned business cards. Digital business cards are simple to set up. They offer your contacts a quick way to find your social media profiles. Also, digital business cards make it easy to set up a video chat with you.

At HiHello you can even install a virtual background for Zoom that includes a QR code so that participants in workshops can scan and go straight to your “business card.” Check out my business card.

Attend online workshops and conferences

An unexpected side effect of moving everything online is greater access to professional development opportunities from around the globe. 

Case in point: the English Language Teacher’s Associations (ELTAs) in Germany have banded together to offer free attendance to each other’s workshops, increasing opportunities to make connections across the country. 

On Nov 28th, we’re hosting the first-ever Inter-ELTA day–a full-day online conference with speakers from each of the seven ELTAs. Sure, it’s not the same as meeting in person. However, you can still get that boost of inspiration, learn from your colleagues, and chat about teaching topics. 

Organizers are wisely offering an online “lounge” where participants can hang out and chat. This will provide a vital opportunity for you to get to know other teachers…and for them to get to know you! 

 (ELTABB members can sign up here.)

Set up coffee dates and masterminds

Just because we can’t meet in person, doesn’t mean we can’t meet. After I connected on LinkedIn with people from last year’s Business English conference, several suggested we set up a video chat to talk some more. 

These virtual coffees have now become the norm. I regularly meet with fellow teachers from France, Chile, Switzerland, Indonesia, and Italy. And I’ve made helpful connections with folks in the US, China, and Germany. 

Scheduling software like Calendly can help you find convenient times to connect, while slimmer video apps like Whereby make it easier to meet with those who have slower Internet speeds or greater privacy concerns. 

Whether it’s a one-off chat after a workshop or a continuing support group or mastermind, these connections can be vital for professional feedback and support. 

Volunteer

Getting involved in your local teaching association is a great way to grow your professional network.

Not only can you create professional development opportunities for other teachers, but also, you’ll build lasting relationships with those you’re working alongside.

This year’s ELTABB board has navigated a lot of new challenges, starting back in February when the keynote speaker for our Annual General Meeting had to join virtually due to a recent trip to a Covid hotspot.

Since then, we’ve become Zoom experts, moving our monthly workshops online, figuring out how to continue networking Stammtische, and constantly working on better ways to support our members. Through it all, we’ve had each others’ backs.

If you’re interested in getting involved, several Board positions will open up in the new year. (for members: check the Ning for more info).

As the teaching world as we know it continues to evolve, who knows what opportunities these new professional networks may provide in the future?

The traditional role of an English teacher is slowly but surely adapting to the needs of the 21st century. Slobodan Kelečević has taken some time to share his own ELT journey – from teacher to trainer and coach – with us.

ELTABB: Hi Slobodan, it’s great having you here for an interview on continuing professional development for teachers.

Slobodan: Thank you for having me. I am always happy to contribute within the ELT community in any way I can. Also, I follow and am a big fan of the work you do here at ELTABB.

ELTABB: Thanks Slobodan  –  we can’t wait to learn about your adventurous ELT story! So let’s jump right in:

How did you start your career as an English teacher?

Like many non-native language professionals, my career in the world of teaching EFL started after university (those four great years of youth!). Uni explicitly prepared me to work in a public-school type of environment.

But I never worked in a public school nor with children. I’ve spent most of my career teaching adults and working in the private sector for language schools.

These days you’re a bit of a jack-of-all-trades in ELT. Can you tell us more about this?

Truth be told, to be and stay competitive in a dog eat dog “private” market situation, I had to learn extremely fast everything I needed to know about teaching adults – of all age groups and every possible background.

After a number of years of teaching and exploring, and having specialized in Cambridge Exams preparation, I started to feel that I needed to take all that to a new level.

So I went and did my CELTA about eight years into my teaching career. My entire CELTA experience was quite eye-opening and riddled with “aha” moments.

That’s when I truly realized that my learning and professional development were genuine lifelong processes that could be utilized to yield marvelous results down the line.

With remote learning being the new normal, what role does technology play in your teaching?

Since I was 16, I’ve been very interested in computers and how far technology can take us in terms of improving our lives and everyday experiences.

That’s why I implemented tech from the earliest days of my career as much as I realistically could. There were certainly limitations to how far a single PC could take the classroom teaching/learning experience back in 2009.

In 2015, right after my CELTA course, I took a leap of faith and started teaching for a Chinese online school…and got the first taste of what it’s like to teach people from another country, culture, basically, a different civilization.

It was fun and exciting at first, but it soon became a real burden to struggle with an eight hour time difference for six days a week. I was determined to find an online teaching job closer to home.

Within a few weeks’ time, I managed to get a job interview with an online school that only had a two hour time difference and webcams working on both sides. Those two things were enough for me. I got the job and I’m doing it part-time even today.

Sure enough, the adventure continued: you mentioned that you got into ESL training after that. How did that come about?

After a couple of years, I was itching for something more – again. I felt confined by the bulk of the material being used in that online school. I felt I was outgrowing those strictly book-based lessons.

That’s when LinkedIn made a fateful match, and I got an opportunity to start working as a business English trainer for a German online school.

From your personal experience, what do you think is the big difference between an ESL teacher and a trainer?

My take on the difference is this – as a teacher, I:

• introduce
• explain
• practice
• follow a coursebook
• prepare for tests/exams

This means that I follow the prescribed steps of a curriculum toward a given date (the end of the course or semester).
Simply put, a teacher will ask themselves,

Can I cover all the material from the book today and introduce additional activities to help practice it so we’re on track in the curriculum?

As a language trainer, I:

• demonstrate
• simulate
• discuss and debate (using the target/specialized language)
• build up particular language skills/subskills
• use case studies
• advise on learning strategies
• use metalanguage
• have particular needs and/or company goals in mind
• prepare people for possibly life-changing events, e.g. job interviews

A trainer will ask themselves,

What real-world types of activities should we focus on, and are they in line with the learners’ (language) goals?

You may have also noticed that I prefer the word “learners” as the word “students” sounds more classroomy and traditional (e.g. the teacher holds the information and power).

You see, I never trained traditionally to become a language trainer – I grew into the role thanks to all my previous experiences. It seems to me that happens to a lot of teachers over time. It’s like an evolutionary step if one is interested in that kind of work.

That’s not the end of my development story: roughly one year ago I got a chance to do a course to become a language coach.

Can you tell us what being a language coach means to you?

A coaching mindset was another game-changer for me: absolutely full focus on the learner, active listening and asking meaningful questions at the right time. These are so powerful in language acquisition.

Language coaching is done over a small number of sessions, but it’s highly fulfilling for both the learner and myself. In a sense, it’s the step toward self-awareness in the learning process that learners benefit from so much.

I look at coaching as the helping hand for them to realize their own truth and answer those all-important language development questions: why, what, and how.

Having moments of silence and other coaching tools are all marvelous additions to my existing teaching/training practices.

What would you say to teachers who want to evolve their career path?

I’ve just told you everything worth mentioning about myself and my career. Now, what am I –  a teacher, a trainer, a coach? Or some hybrid of all of those things?

To be perfectly honest, I was puzzled by that question for a while as well.

The truth is that I am the latter. Yes, I mutated into a new type of language professional. It’s a kind of one-size-fits-many, according to the needs and goals of the learners.

All those things would not have been possible if there hadn’t been one important ingredient on my side—a growth mindset. That was the driver of all the little things that amounted to the final result.

In conclusion, it’s not about which school or university you went to; it all boils down to your actions after you finish your formal education.

The steps you take today as a language professional (or don’t take) will determine your future career path. If done properly, a teacher/trainer’s career improves over time and through experience. Like good-quality wine, it gets better with age.

***

Slobodan Kelečević started out as an EFL teacher but has found his true calling in language training and coaching. He is excited to work in this age of great changes in language learning. For more information about him, check out his LinkedIn profile.