Teaching Young Learners Online (FutureLearn)

Many teachers have recently found themselves having to adapt quickly to dramatically different teaching contexts in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in widespread school, college, and university closures.

You’ll come away understanding how to include and engage learners online, both in synchronous and asynchronous environments.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1: Meaningful interaction

Creating the best conditions for your learners to interact meaningfully and learn together online
Week 2: Engagement, content and differentiation

Tailoring your online teaching to your learners’ needs, to ensure your classes are inclusive and enjoyable
Week 3: Practice, assessment and progress

Helping learners develop their speaking and writing skills, and using assessment for learning to make learners and their parents aware of their progress
What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

- Identify how to build relationships with learners, between learners and with parents, and be present and supportive when teaching online

- Know how to include and engage learners online both in synchronous and asynchronous environments

- Understand privacy and safety issues online and how to help learners and parents think critically about online risks and behaviour

- Evaluate the opportunities and challenges associated with different tools and modes of online teaching and learning

- Apply principles of English language lesson planning to online teaching

- Develop and share techniques for language and skills teaching and assessment online

- Apply and practise how to manage online interactions effectively

Who is the course for?

This course is for English language teachers, teaching young learners (5-17) in an online environment. Experience of teaching in online contexts is not essential and both experienced and novice online teachers will benefit.

While most of the context is based around English language learning, teachers of other subjects will also find the course valuable, as the principles of English language lesson planning apply to online teaching in general.