"Shaping the Way We Teach English" Webinar 15.6: Reciprocal Teaching Reading Strategies

I wanted to include a link to the presentation on "Reciprocal Teaching Reading Strategies" by Dr. Rob Danin. I've also included links to some of the materials used/referenced in his presentation. Hopefully, you will find these resources as valuable as I do! And remember, for total access to all "Shaping the Way We Teach English" webinar materials (past, present... and FUTURE!), be sure to sign up for participation in the the "Shaping the Way" Ning group here

1. Presentation: Reciprocal Teaching Reading Strategies by Dr. Bob Danin

2. Reciprocal Teaching Literature Review by Dr. Rob Danin

3. Dr. Rob Danin's website

"Hedging in Academic Writing" Presentation at HSE

Last Friday, I gave a presentation on the concept of "hedging" in academic writing at the Higher School of Economics here in Moscow. It was attended by a group of ELTs and professor's from the HSE. In the presentation, I provided several definitions for the concept, offered several arguments underscoring the importance of hedging in academic writing and finished by introducing participants to four different ways to hedge their writing. Personally, it was a great experience and it is my hope that the participants enjoyed it, too!

I've included the my presentation (and workshop exercises) below:

1. Presentation: Hedging in Academic Writing
2. Hedging Workshop 

The Advantages and Challenges of Being a Language Teacher

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to address a group of second year Linguistics students at my host institution, the National University of Science and Technology NUST MISiS here in Moscow as part of a "Professional Orientation Seminar" arranged on their behalf by Linguistics professors.

The students are at a crucial point in their education. This seminar, they must choose to follow one of two tracks for the remainder of their time at the university. They can follow the teaching track or the translation track. Accordingly, professional translators and teachers spoke at the event and tried to give students a realistic idea of what its like to do translating and/or teaching as a career.

All-in-all, it was a great event and a very positive experience for me. I've included a link to my presentation below.

Presentation: To Be or Not to Be...an (English) Teacher

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

People all around the world celebrate "St. Patrick's Day" on Tuesday, March 17th. What do you know about St. Patrick's Day? Check out the links below to learn a little bit about this Irish holiday.

• The History of St. Patrick's Day (from Wikipedia, here)
• St. Patrick's Day (on the History Channel, here)
• A wee bit o' Gaelic (here)
• Irish Week Events in Moscow (here)

Enjoy the day and, Éirinn go Brách

Shaping the Way We Teach English Webinar 15.5: "Networking: Making Connections that Last"

Last Wednesday's informative webinar by Amy Pascucci talked about the importance of networking and offered several ways for participants to start networking within their own professional communities. After, we discussed several ways to apply this information to the Russia (and, more specifically, Moscow) context. 

I have included links to the webinar presentation, an article on networking tips and the notes from our post-webinar discussion. I hope you find them helpful! Happy Networking! 

Materials

Networking Presentation (Part 1)

Networking Presentation (Part 2)

"Ten Tips for Becoming a Connected Educator"by Elana Leoni

Post-Webinar Discussion Notes

Happy International Women's Day

C 8 Marta! Happy March 8th. I just wanted to take a moment to share a cool video created by the Club of International Friendship at my host university, NUST MISiS. In the video, young men from all over the world express their appreciated and respect for women in their native tongues. Pretty cool stuff! The video can be found here: https://vimeo.com/121569025

The pictures I've included are all graffiti that I photographed while living in South America. I thought they were appropriate images for the day! I hope everyone has a nice day off tomorrow, too :)

Workshop on Communicative & Creative Writing Activites

Hi all! I am posting the materials from my latest "Teacher 2 Teacher" workshop at the American Center here in Moscow. I had a great time presenting and the audience participation was excellent. I hope the theory and activities presented in the PPT are helpful in your classes. I designed the PPT so that there is (or should be) something for everybody. Please, don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions you may have. 

Materials

1. Communicative & Creative Writing Activities PPT
2. Communicative & Creative Writing Activities Handout
3. Valentine's Day Madlib