Check your progress as a teacher using the Cambridge English Teaching Framework

Have you ever thought about your pathway goals as an English language teacher and how you can achieve them? With the Cambridge English Teaching Framework you can now determine what your current level is and where you can choose to go.

The Cambridge English Teaching Framework helps you identify which stage of teacher competency you are at: Foundation, Developing, Proficient or Expert. Each of these stages has five categories of teaching knowledge and skills: Learning and the Learner; Teaching, Learning and Assessment; Language Ability; Language Knowledge and Awareness for Teaching; and Professional Development and Values.

For each category, you can access a video describing it in some detail; read real-life examples of teachers from around the world; learn of ways to develop further, including videos to watch, and recommendations on books to read; and identify what actions you can take to further your skills and what professional qualifications you can gain.

Once you know your competency level, you can use the Teacher Development Tracker and take a 10-minute quiz to assess how far you have progressed. You can also download guides and templates including CPD record cards and development plans to help you to manage your own professional development and the development of teaching staff in your institution.

Go to www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/cambridge-english-teaching-framework/ to read more.

Cambridge offers free cloud-based automated writing anaylsis

Wouldn’t it be great if students’ essays could be marked automatically using a software program, and thus reduce the workload of teachers? This idea is close to being realised as Cambridge English has recently launched Write & Improve, a cloud-based program that analyses a student’s writing and gives feedback on vocabulary, spelling, grammar and writing style.

The student goes to the Write & Improve website and picks a topic which can be something as simple as writing a letter to a friend, or a harder task such as writing a descriptive essay on a student’s favourite possession. The student then submits the essay through the website and it is sent to the cloud which then processes the essay using an algorithm that assesses the quality of the student’s writing. The student is then able to get immediate feedback on the level of English and how to improve his or her writing.

The amazing feature of this service is that the more essays that are sent to the cloud, the better the service becomes because “it captures data and distills meaning from that”, according to Saul Nassé, Cambridge English Language Assessment chief executive, at the service’s launch held at the English Australia Conference in Hobart, Australia.

Cambridge English stress that the service is a “rich English resource” and is there to aid teachers as a supplementary service, but it cannot replace the vital work they do as marking still requires the human touch.

In the future, Write & Improve may include additional paid-for services.

Go to https://thepienews.com/news/cambridge-english-offers-free-writing-feedback-

online/ to read more.

Free online English teacher ‘taster’ course

Frequently we hear from people wondering if teaching English abroad is a viable option for them. There are common uncertainties about giving up a current job and taking the plunge into a new career. These doubts are in part because there is limited knowledge about the profession and the requirements for language teaching.

Cambridge English is offering a solution to this uncertainty through providing a free online course to give you a taste of what teaching is like before you set foot in the classroom.

Exploring the World of English Language Teaching is a six-week course that runs regularly throughout the year. The next course will begin on 13 February 2017 and is open to anyone around the world with a C1 level of English. The course is taught by experts from Cambridge English Language Assessment who will give you practical advice on teaching English in other countries and you will have the opportunity to put questions to them. These experts will tell you what ELT is and what it involves, where you can teach English, who your learners are, and what you need to know about the English language.

The experts will also guide you on the multitude of opportunities available to an English language teacher who is not afraid to explore the world and embark on a fulfilling adventure. From teaching children in China to business people in Switzerland, you will hear about the experiences of well-travelled teachers who have a job they love and also get to see the world.

Read more