Teaching Essentials Online Workshops
A new programme of online workshops led by expert trainers, designed to enrich the teaching of English by offering practical ideas, updated methodologies, and new sources of inspiration for your classroom.
Each workshop takes place live on Zoom and lasts two hours, combining hands-on exploration with moments of reflection and pedagogical application. Teachers can choose to purchase individual workshops or bundles of multiple sessions, depending on their needs, to create a personalised professional development pathway.
1. Gamify your English Classroom: Engaging Strategies for Teachers
You will be equipped with practical strategies for the integration of engaging gamification elements into existing classroom activities to increase student engagement and nurture collaboration and creativity. We will define gamification and you will see why it works. You will look at the following gamification strategies: Experience Points, Achievement Badges, Levels, Quests and Narratives; and you will work with other participants on each of these areas, sharing your ideas and gaining practical experience of putting the strategies into practice. 07 February 2026 09.30-11.30.
2. Unleashing Student Potential with The Action-Oriented Approach
This session will give you a practical understanding of the Action Oriented Approach (AOA) and how to transform traditional classroom activities into engaging, real-world tasks that empower students to use English authentically. You will see all the benefits of the AOA, collaborate with other participants to identify genuine communication needs – the cornerstone of the AOA – and then go on to transform some traditional activities into stimulating, meaningful AOA tasks that will enable your students to communicate effectively in an English-speaking environment. 14 February 2026 09.30-11.30.
3. Assessing English: Principles, Practices and Practical Strategies
In this session you will look at the key principles that underpin effective assessment and feedback in EFL teaching. There will be discussion of the three principle assessment types: diagnostic, formative and summative, and the relationship between them. In exploring assessment methodologies: portfolio, performance, project, and self and peer assessment, you will have the opportunity to create assessment tasks that directly align with specific learning objectives across CEFR levels. 21 February 2026 09.30-11.30.
4. Unleash AI for English Teaching: Level Up your Planning
The aim of this session is to give you gain hands-on experience of using artificial intelligence tools in order to explore the potential of AI for your classroom. You’ll practise writing and refining prompts in order to explore how AI can be used to invigorate and accelerate activity, lesson and course planning, and facilitate resource curation. You’ll also see how you can use AI to align learning outcomes with activities and assessments. Finally, we’ll consider some of challenges and ethical considerations concerning the use of AI in education. 25 February 2026 17:00-19:00.
5. Motivational Strategies for Teaching Teenagers
In this session you will look at three different ways in which you can increase student motivation and harness its benefits. You will see how we can use journals to develop empathy by being able to see things from your students’ point of view. How using photos can create authenticity that promotes collaboration and a sense of community in the classroom, and how students can experience a sense of acceptance of their ideas and opinions through music. These are practical strategies that foster a learning environment where both students and teachers contribute their unique experiences and perspectives. 28 February 2026 09:30-11:30
6. Helping Words Stick: Effective Strategies for Vocabulary Learning
The aim of this session is to equip you with innovative vocabulary strategies. We'll explore techniques focusing on making learning memorable and relevant. Through interactive activities, you will discover how to go beyond traditional rote memorization with the use of visuals, storytelling, and real-world contexts to introduce and reinforce vocabulary. You will work collaboratively to design and adapt activities for specific student needs. ‘Helping Words Stick’ will provide you with a toolkit of readily implementable strategies to transform vocabulary learning into a fun and effective experience. 04 March 2026 17:00-19:00.
7. Creating Communicative Classrooms (Maximising Interaction)
In this workshop we’ll consider how to increase student interaction. You'll explore the power of pair and group work for active learning as well as discovering techniques to encourage oral communication, adapt reading tasks for meaningful interaction, and design engaging speaking activities. Group tasks will focus on collaborative lesson planning, and creating adaptable activities for diverse learning styles. This session delivers actionable strategies to transform classrooms into vibrant spaces where students actively use and enjoy English. 11 March 2026 17:00-19:00.
8. Special Eductional Needs (SEN) Series: Supporting Learners with Dyslexia
In Supporting Learners with Dyslexia you will explore the characteristics of dyslexia, debunk common myths, and examine its impact on language learning. Through interactive activities, you will discover how to adapt lesson plans, modify materials, and implement effective multi-sensory teaching techniques. This session gives you the opportunity to better understand the challenges that dyslexic students face and to share experiences and work together to design specific support strategies. 18 March 2026 17:00-19:00.
9. Plurilingual Approaches in the English Classroom
In this session you’ll look at how to embrace linguistic diversity in your classroom, valuing and utilising your students' full linguistic repertoire. Through interactive activities, you will discover how to use translanguaging, code-switching, and intercultural awareness to enhance language learning. You will participate in collaborative lesson design, creating activities that encourage students to draw on their multilingual resources. This session offers practical strategies and promotes a welcoming classroom that celebrates linguistic identity and enhances language acquisition. 25 March 2026 17:00-19:00.
10. Online Tools and Technologies for Effective Teaching
The aim of this session is to furnish you with strategies to create dynamic digital classrooms. Beyond basic familiarity, you'll explore practical applications of a number of online tools. You will participate in collaborative tasks on lesson design, using these tools to create engaging activities, differentiate instruction, and provide personalized feedback. The workshop demonstrates practical applications for diverse student needs, to support you in promoting effective and enjoyable learning. 28 March 2026 09:30-11:30.