Keep Calm and Teach English

 A digital advent calendar. There is a new fun activity behind each door, from Kahoot quizes and filling in Christmas songs lyrics for the weekdays, to making easy Christmas crafts for the weekends. Image found in pixabay The doors open only on the relevant day so they can be a real surprise. If you are not sure how these calendars work you can  visit my page with my older calendars here  to get an idea.  

The Imathia Teachers of English Association implemented an ERASMUS+  ΚΑ1 project titled: Aligning English Teachers to 21st Century Challenges.  As part of the project, members of the Association, who serve in primary and secondary schools in our region, travelled to Prague, Dublin and Helsinki. There, we attended training seminars related to public speaking, digital tools and teacher empowerment. Our aim was to redefine and strengthen our goals and motivations in order to address the multiple challenges educators face today, challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.  We had the opportunity to exchange views and good practices with colleagues from other European countries. We also explored aspects of the history and culture of the respective countries. As a result of the training received, we prepared a lesson in eclass aimed at English teachers  but not exclusively. The lesson is divided into three main sections: Teachers and Oral Communication Innovation and Digital Skill

"eTwinners Behind the Scenes" is an eTwinning project that has exploited the power of the theatre as an investigative tool to make our pupils discover the cultural background of the partner countries and develop creativity, critical thinking skills, and the ability to work together in the process of writing an original drama. After considering several outstanding stories, pupils chose to dramatize Renata Fonte’s story and worked in transnational teams to write a 3 act play about this passionate mother, teacher, and advocate for women's rights and environmental justice. This topic made them appreciate the values of justice, activism, and community engagement as crucial for achieving the SDGs outlined in Agenda 2030.  We worked with students from two schools in Italy: Scuola Secondaria Statale di I Grado “Materdona-Moro” di Mesagne and Liceo Statale “San Giuseppe Calasanzio” and two schools in Spain: Fundación Educativa Jesuitinas Pamplona and  Colegio Internacional Eurovil

Talking about Shakespeare and using his works in the EFL classroom can always be risky as we all know how difficult they are to understand without adequate guidance not to mention that the original works feel overwhelming for anyone who is less than a literature student. However there is no reason why we should deprive our students of the pleasure to experience some of Shakespeare's magic that has stood the test of time and is still meaningful today. Romeo and Juliet, Frank Bernard Dicksee (1853–1928), Southampton City Art Gallery The following learning scenario was designed entirely for the e-class (a digital learning platform for the Greek schools) during the quarantine but it can be used in the classroom provided that there is a computer lab available or a classroom with a wireless connection and enough laptops and tablets for the students to work on.  Students are going to learn about William Shakespeare, the greatest English playwright, and why he is so significant. They are