Emily Bryson ELT

visual thinking

Emily Bryson ELT Blog posts: a collection of English Language Teaching topics

Emily Bryson ELT blog posts: a collection of English Language Teaching topics!

One of the things I love most about blogging is the opportunity to explore different ascpects of teaching English in more detail. It’s a great way to learn and share teaching ideas with the world.

Over the years, I’ve been writing blog posts less for my website and more as a professional blogger. I’ve now written for Ellii ( formerly ESL Library), British Council, Cambridge University Press and National Geographic Learning, not to mention all the magazine articles.

As I feel like I’ve been neglecting my own blog here, I thought I’d write a post collating some of the articles I’ve written for other organisations.

Resident blogging for Ellii (formerly ESL Library)

I’ll start with Ellii, because I’m thrilled to be writing fortnightly blog posts for them. I love their approach to language learning, and their engaging and accessible resources. Their blog is full of ELT related topics from teaching tips to wellbeing advice.

Here are a few of the posts I’ve written them:

Translanguaging: Embracing the Power of Multilingualism in Your Classroom

The Power of Differentiation: Effective Strategies to Support Learners with Mixed Abilities. 

A Quick Guide to Universal Design for Learning

Speaking at an ELT Conference: Top Tips for Successful Presentations

How to Simplify Complex Tasks with Visual Prompts

The What, Why and How of Sustainable Development Goals

Using Graphic Organisers for Language Skills Development

Graphic Facilitation 101: Teaching English through Visual Communication

What’s the Story? How One Image Can Develop Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills

Six Ways to Support English Learners from Refugee Backgrounds

Sketchnoting 101: Supercharge Professional Development with Visual Notes

It was pretty tricky to decide which ones to share here! I think I might have got a bit carried away! I also wrote a series of posts on accessibility, which shares ways to support learners with dyslexia, ADHD, low vision and limited digital literacy.  And you’ll find a lovely hand drawn activity about banishing your inner troll and embracing growth mindset there too!

You can check out my other posts for Ellii by clicking the image below:


Screenshot of a selection of blog posts Emily Bryson has written for Ellii (formerly ESL Library). Posts include topics such as accessible learning, wellbeing. mental health, end of term activities, teaching learners from refugee backgrounds, digital literacy, using images as grammar prompts.
A screenshot from Ellii.com. Click to view posts.

National Geographic Learning Voices Blog

I am proud to be one of the authors of the Voices series for National Geographic Learning. I love its global and inclusive approach to language learning. It seeks to develop students’ voices in English through intercultural communication, engaging topics and impactful images.

It also follows a pronunciation syllabus which embraces accent diversity. As a language teaching professional with a Scottish accent, this is incredibly refreshing for me. For years, I felt my accent was ‘wrong’ but in reality the way I was taught to teach pronunciation was wrong! Every accent is beautiful and intelligibility is the key!

You can read more about the ethos of Voices in these blog posts:

  • Marek Kiczkowiak shares how to teach pronunciation for global communication.
  • Lewis Lansford discusses the importance of teaching authentic listening skills.
  • Chia Suan Chong gives advice on intercultural skills for the real world.
  • Alex Warren provides eight tips for best practice leasson planning.
  • And I share ways to make learning accessible.

Click the image to read the articles:


Images of the front covers of the Voices series of English Language Teaching Coursebooks for National Geographic Learning
Click to read the articles.

Cambridge University Press World of Better Learning Blog

The World of Better Learning site is absolutely full of English Language Teaching related content. It has fantastic posts from Jade Blue, Rachel Tsateri, Peter Fullager and Jo Szoke, to name but a few experts in the field.. So whether you’d like some teaching ideas for Pride Month or ideas for developing Digital Literacy, this is a treasure chest of info.

I was honoured to be asked to write about Graphic Facilitation for them. Here’s a link to my article:

Graphic Facilitation: Getting Creative with Hand-drawn Graphics

British Council Teaching English Blog

The British Council Teaching English site is an absolute staple of any TEFL or TESOL teacher. It has been a tried and trusted throughout my whole career. This site covers every imaginable ELT topic under the sun.

In this post, I share simple ways to use graphic novels, simple drawings, emojis, story graphs and the language experience approach to help students tell their stories.

You can read it here:

How can I celebrate diversity through storytelling? 

Love these posts? If you’d like to know more about graphic facilitation or adding a visual or hand-drawn twist to your lessons, check out my courses. Click the laptop image below.


Hand drawn image by Emily Bryson ELT. The visual shows a laptop screen. Inside the screen a teacher is teaching while students look on in amazement.

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A visual template by Emily Bryson ELT.A hand drawn sign post in the shape of an arrow facing right, to signify the future. Inside there is space for students or participants to add their ideas: a thought cloud with stars to add dreams and ambitions, a target to add goals and five arrows to add mini-goals or tasks to complete to achieve those goals. This is taken from Emily's resource pack Pathways to Success. Available on her website www.EmilyBrysonELT.com

A graphic for goal setting.

At the beginning of the year, I find it helpful to think about my goals and ambitions for the year ahead. There’s tons of research out there showing that if you write down clear goals, you’re more likely to achieve them. Even more so if you actually draw them.

I created this visual template to help this process. You can use it for you, or with your classes. Write on the .jpg provided or draw your own. I recommend the latter as it will be more fun!

In the section with the target, add one goal for each arrow. Consider different aspects of life, e.g. family & friends, personal development, work, health, money, etc. Be mindful that goals should be flexible and acheivable. I often find my goals change with time.

The thought bubble with stars represents dreams or aspirational goals. These can be things that you or your participants don’t have as much chance to influence. For example, one of my aspirational goals is to visit friends in Spain in the summer, but this is covid dependent.

In class, once students have completed or drawn their own goals, ask them to share their goals and discuss how they might achieve them. You could use language such as ‘I want to..’, ‘I’d like to…’, ‘I hope to…’, ‘It’s my dream to…’, ‘I’d love it if,…’, ‘I’m going to…’, ‘I plan to…’, ‘I will…’ etc, depending on their level. Draw attention to any emergent language.

If you like this, you’ll love Pathways to Success: Visual Tools for Goal-Setting, Self-Evaluation and Progression.  In it, you’ll find sixteen visual tools to use, re-use, adapt and repurpose with students, teams, individuals and even to help you plan your own big goals. 

To try before you buy, check out this webinar (start about 7 mins in to skip the intro! 

 

A graphic for goal setting. Read More »

It’s not a snowman! It’s not a Christmas tree either!

I got this idea from twitter. I was browsing and noticed the hashtag #NotAGingerBreadMan.

Students are given what looks like half a gingerbread man, and asked to colour it in and draw something else with it. If you search for this hashtag, you’ll see all sorts of cool creations – faces, dinosaurs, cats, football players.

This is a festive take on the original. You can go full Christmas spirit with the Santa, Christmas tree and stocking. Or you can opt for a more wintery vibe with the bell, candle, snowman and big cosy sock!

Ask students to turn the image around a few times and discuss ideas with a partner. Then give them time to draw or colour in their creations. Once they’ve finished, I’d display them around the room and ask students to explain what they drew and why.

For example, the Christmas tree might be a hedgehog if turned on its side.

OR

The candle might a train coming out of a tunnel.

It’s a great way to get students using their imaginations and their language skills to share their ideas.

Click this link to download the PDF.

I’d love to see your work. If you do this with your class, or by yourself just for fun, share your work using #DrawingELT and tag @EmilyBrysonELT. It would make my day!

Love this idea? I have literally tons of super-simple ways to use hand drawn graphics in the ELT classroom. Why not do one of my courses? I always have something exciting on the go!

Click the laptop icon below to view my courses.

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Feedback comes in many forms. But the best is a fairy!

Feedback is crucial for developing high quality learning experiences. As a materials writer, I value the editorial process because it helps me develop my content from first to final draft. As a teacher, I encourage my students to tell me how they feel about the content of my lessons, and what I can do to support their learning. As a teacher trainer, I am always keen to hear what participants thought of my session so I can make changes the next time I deliver it.

Feedback comes in many forms. Pun intended. It’s true, often feedback comes in the form of a form. Survey Monkey and Google Forms are the ‘go to’.

As a graphic facilitator, I can tell you that there are much more creative (and fun) ways of receiving feedback. In this post, I’d like to share with you to one of those methods.

Let me introduce the Feedback Fairy.

Visual capture sheet inspired by Martha Harding at Scottish Refugee Council.

I was first introduced to the Feedback Fairy by Martha Harding while I was on secondment at the Scottish Refugee Council. Martha had lots of cool ideas for facilitating sessions, and I added this one to my toolkit. I drew this version for the Sharing Lives Sharing Languages project that I was managing at the time.

The feedback fairy is best used as a flipchart, and participants add post-it comments in the various sections. You can do this online using the annotation tools in Zoom or using post-its in Jamboard. If you want individual feedback, you could photocopy one per participant.

Participants are guided to consider:

Heart – things they loved

Toolkit – tools, resources or activities they’d take away

Speech bubble – things they’d tell others

Brain – things they thought or learned

Wand – things they wished had been included

Bin – things they didn’t like

For my first cohort of Engaging Learners with Simple Drawings participants, it was a no-brainer to use the feedback fairy. But since the course focus was on drawings, I did something a little different.

I asked them to draw their own feedback fairies.

I’d like to share some of them here with you. I was blown away by the creativity, skill and imagination. And how much they all loved the course!

Credit: Annette Flavel
Credit: Eve Sheppard
Credit: Nergiz Kern
Credit: Cheryl Palin

Loved this? Want to learn more Graphic Facilitation techniques specifically for ELT professionals? Join one of my Online Courses! Follow this link to find out more: www.emilybrysonelt.com/all-courses/

Feedback comes in many forms. But the best is a fairy! Read More »

#DrawingELT seasons

Feel the fear, and draw anyway! Launching #drawingELT!

It is with great excitement that Clare Catchpole (of Express Yourself in English fame) and I launch the hashtag #drawingELT.

We are both firm believers in the power of drawing. It’s creative. It’s relaxing. It’s engaging. It’s supportive. It’s fun. It’s also great for checking understanding, aiding memory, supporting students to take notes and activating life skills such as critical thinking.

#DrawingELT seasons

 

We know that there are many teachers out there who agree and who would like to develop their drawing skills. So we’d like to create a community of like-minded ELT professionals. All you need to do is use #drawingELT on Twitter or LinkedIn to share your lesson ideas, blogs, doodles, sketches and flashcards.

To inspire your drawings, we’ll post challenges. These will vary from ELT related topics, to vocabulary items to more complex concepts like grammar, metaphor or puzzlers such as how to draw inclusive pronouns or the difference between need and want. 

And before you say it, everyone CAN DRAW. Some of us are maybe just a bit rusty or haven’t had much practice. Drawing is a visual language, and as language teaching professionals we all know the best way to improve is regular practice. I have two mottos:

Feel the fear, and draw anyway!

It’s not art, it’s communication. 

As such, with #drawingELT, anything goes. You can share the most rudimentary stick person scribbled on the back of a napkin or a detailed illustration capable of making Da Vinci jealous. Mine will be closer to the former!

Here’s a fantastic little .gif that Clare made to get you in the mood!

 

Clare Catchpole Drawing ELT

I look forward to seeing your creations!

If you’d like to brush up on your drawing skills, why not join one of my online courses? Find out more by clicking the laptop. 

Feel the fear, and draw anyway! Launching #drawingELT! Read More »

Why everyone can and should draw in their ELT Classroom

Recently I’ve become a bit obsessed with using drawings in the classroom. In this high-tech era, drawing is a back to basics approach and the perfect excuse to get away from a screen.  My drawings are quick and simple.  They are not attempting to be Takashi Murakami or Christine Clark.  They have at times drawn funny looks (pun totally intended) or initiated laughter, but that’s OK.  Students get the message and we have fun doing so. Plus, imperfect drawings teach students that it’s ok to be imperfect – and encourages them to confidently create their own imperfect drawings.

Using drawings in class is a brilliant multisensory way of adding some fun to your lessons, concept checking, get students thinking critically and as a tool for mediation. It’s also great for memory. The drawing effect refers to a 2016 study by Wammes, Meade and Fernandes which found that drawing can aid vocabulary retention. The study gave participants a list of simple words and asked them to either write the word repeatedly or draw it. The results showed that participants recalled twice as many drawn words as written.

The best bit is that drawing works well online and face to face. Hand-drawn visuals engage participants as they bring a piece of analogue into the digital world. You can prepare the visuals before class. In a live class you can point your webcam at a notebook or flipchart, treat yourself to a visualiser or use the annotate tools. Obviously your drawings won’t be as pretty using a mouse but isn’t that part of the fun? Again, it’s not about artistic magnificence, it’s about communication.

Using annotation tools with a visual template to navigate the digital swamp in a recent webinar.

There are lots of ways to use drawings and visuals in the classroom. You can check out my other blogs posts

Neil Cohn has some wonderful research into the use of drawings as a visual language. One of his papers discusses how most people lose their drawing ability in their teens, and with it their visual communication skills. He has found the use of drawings to be beneficial to interaction, motor skills, feedback, culture, motivation and emotions.

This research resonates with me. When I was about 12 or 13, I had to choose which courses to study at school. I swithered a lot between PE or Art but finally chose PE because at the time I wanted to be a personal trainer. When I broke the news to my art teacher, he looked genuinely dejected. I wish someone had told me that learning to draw is a communication skill for life while fitness comes and goes.

A quick diagram to compare my fitness and drawing skills since I was a teenager.

Many people believe that they can’t draw, and I have to admit that until I got into graphic facilitation I had started to believe this myth about myself. I now draw most days and have made it my mission to inspire more drawing in the ELT world. 

I’d love to support the ELT community to grow their visual vocabulary and add ‘visual’ to their list of lingua francas. I’m now running Online Courses to help you do this!

Click the laptop to find out more.

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Simple drawings to support life skills.

Working visually is a great way to promote life skills, and drawings don’t need to be masterpieces – their purpose is simply to convey a message.

One fun activity is to create a five-year plan with students. Making plans for the future is a common tool for professionals wishing to enhance their careers, and clarify their goals and plans. In fact, there’s some evidence to suggest that you’re more likely to succeed if you set goals. 

To support learners in this way, ask them to draw a simple road map or steps (see illustrations) in their notebooks, then add visual representations of their current situation and end goals at the beginning and end points. 

Using simple graphics with students is a great way to enhance their creativity and self-expression.  The icons don’t need to be works of art, but simply to communicate visually. When I’m stuck for ideas of how to draw something, I find that looking at images of ‘icons’ online can aid inspiration.

Once students have each drawn their road map or stairs and added their start and end points, they can then discuss how to achieve their goals in pairs or small groups. This can be done in a chatroom or breakout room online. Then ask them to add stages for working towards their goal on their map (attend university, take a course, etc.). Some students may need more than five years to achieve their goal ( e.g. if they want to study medicine or architecture). Allow these students to add additional years.

Display each student’s road map around the room, or ask them to share it using a collaborative tool such as padlet or whatsapp. Ask students to comment on each others’ plans. Encourage them to focus on how realistic each goal and stage is within the time frame, and to give motivational feedback and suggestions on other ways it may be achieved. This is a great way for them to practice giving and receiving constructive feedback.

While the aim of this activity may be to identify goals and current abilities, it also allows students to practise numerous life skills, such as communication, organisation, self-awareness, planning, giving and receiving feedback and making suggestions.

It’s a great way to review mixed tenses and different ways of expressing future. (E.g. Right now I’m a delivery driver but in the future, I want to own my own business. OR I’m planning to go to university next year.). It’s also perfect for feedback expressions, such as giving advice or making suggestions (e.g. You could also do an evening class. OR You should speak to my brother, he did something similar.).

If you liked this activity and would like more ideas for how to incorporate life skills into your curriculum, you will love my book. I wrote 50 Ways to Teach Life Skills as I realised just how important it was to incorporate life skills into any comprehensive curriculum.  It is a collection of practical tips and activities to enhance students’ social, academic, critical thinking, digital, and work skills to help students become their best selves.

This guide is simple, supports all levels of learners, and many of the activities require little or no preparation or special materials. Each activity assists students to improve their speaking, reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation skills while also practising their broader skills for life. It is available in print and digital from Wayzgoose Press.

Loved this? Want to learn more Graphic Facilitation techniques for your classroom? Join one of my Online Courses! Follow this link or click the laptop to find out more: www.emilybrysonelt.com/all-courses/

 

Simple drawings to support life skills. Read More »