Inclusion, neurodiversity and neuromyths in ELT
Here you can watch the videos of three practical webinars that help English teachers think more about their learners. You will reflect on how to make sure all learners are included in project-based classes. You will explore some of the myths surrounding neurodiverse learners and learn effective accommodation strategies. There is also a session that looks at recent research into how we learn, and what this means for the primary classroom.
The event took place on December 5, 2023.
About the webinars
Session 1: Making participation in project-based learning more inclusive
Speaker:
Elsa O'Brien (Spain)
Time and date:
15:00 - 16:00 (UK time) December 5, 2023
Session information:
This workshop will look at how to include all learners in project-based learning. Whether our learners have special educational needs or not, we can help them reach their full potential by guiding them through the project. In this session we will recall some general techniques to foster participation, but we will also look at more specific ways of scaffolding projects and giving our learners the self-confidence they need to participate in their own way while respecting their learning preferences.
Session 2: Understanding and accommodating neurodiversity in ELT
Speaker:
Claire Hart (Germany)
Time and date:
16:15 - 17:15 (UK time) December 5, 2023
Session information:
This workshop will open your eyes to the experiences of neurologically diverse learners in the classroom. More specifically, we will focus on autistic children and people and children and people with ADHD. We will look at myths that exist around neurodiversity and learning, and what you can actually expect neurologically diverse learners to do and not do in your classroom (both on and offline) and the reasons for this. Finally, we will look at how accommodation strategies can be successfully implemented in a classroom where some students are neuro-typical and some are neurologically diverse.
Session 3: Neuromyths in language teaching
Speaker:
Jane Delaney (Spain)
Time and date:
17:30 - 18:30 (UK time) December 5, 2023
Session information:
This workshop will start by taking a look at some commonly held beliefs about the brain and how students learn. The next stage will take a look at what's new in the last twenty years of research in our understanding of how the brain works. We will then consider what this means in practical terms in the primary language classroom.
About the speakers
Elsa O'Brien is a young learner teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator at the British Council Madrid, Spain. Her master's in Applied Linguistics specialising in bilingual policymaking has led her to carry out research in the area of equality and inclusion in bilingual education programmes. Elsa is a teacher trainer on inclusion and best practices for Primary and Secondary teachers in state bilingual programmes in Spain.
Claire Hart has been involved in ELT since 2005. Having worked as a secondary teacher, a university instructor and communication coach for in-work adult learners, Claire began combining materials writing with teaching and teacher training ten years ago. Claire's current focus is on creating high-quality and inclusive ELT materials and on using her lived experience as an autistic woman to help other educators understand what it means to be a neurologically diverse human being and learner.
Jane Delaney has worked in language assessment and education for more than 25 years. She is a trained primary and secondary school teacher. She is a CELTA and DELTA tutor and materials writer. She works with various organisations helping them with the writing and delivery of their teacher training programmes. She is a regular conference speaker on a wide range of topics, especially in the area of primary school teaching and CLIL. She has recently become extremely interested in how the brain works, and how students, especially children, learn languages.
