7 Free Online Courses is October

I don’t know how about you, but I love long and dark evenings, still warm enough to go for a walk, and then have some hot tea. And while sipping that tea, you could watch a video or two and learn something useful.

This month, the 7 free online courses I’ve found are focused on the basics of teaching: helping students feel good in your classroom, lesson planning, various teaching strategies etc. You may also find the last course I recommend quite interesting to include in your classroom – respecting diversity, especially online, is something most of us need to learn.

Supporting Adolescent Learners: Social and Emotional Well-being by Griffith University

Start: 19^th October 2020
Duration: 2 weeks
Recommended for: people in a role that supports young adolescents

You will learn:

• how to help adolescent learners develop the skills and mindsets that will allow them to thrive
• how to evaluate strategies to optimise adolescent social and emotional well-being
• how to investigate lifelong learning as a context for young adolescent learners

Planning for Learning: Formative Assessment by National STEM Learning Centre

Start: 5^th October 2020
Duration: 5 weeks
Recommended for: people involved in teaching STEM

You will learn:

• how to identify students’ starting points and how to plan to move them forward successfully
• how to make evidence informed judgements about your students
• how to develop your planning for flexibility and evidence collecting opportunities, including addressing difficult areas and misconceptions

Teaching for Success: Lessons and Teaching by the British Council

Start: October 2020
Duration: 4 weeks
Recommended for: teachers of English as a foreign language at all levels

You will learn:

• why and how do teachers plan lessons and courses
• how to make the most of the resources available to you
• how to identify professional development needs

Introduction to Applied Linguistics and TESOL by the University of Leicester

Start: October 2020
Duration: 6 weeks
Recommended for: people interested in applied linguistics or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

You will learn:

• the key areas of applied linguistics and how these can be related to language teaching and learning
• the fundamentals of applied linguistics, including language structure, language acquisition and language use in relation to culture, society, communication
• how to collect language data, organize it appropriately, and carry out initial linguistic analysis of that data

TESOL Strategies: Supporting ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms by the University of Glasgow

Start: October 2020
Duration: 3 weeks
Recommended for: teachers, both primary and secondary, offering English medium instruction in schools

You will learn:

• how to interpret different registers and genres of language at work in school settings
• how language learners can differ in their circumstances and needs
• how to design strategies and activities that can support language learners in mainstream classes

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics: Accents, Attitudes and Identity by the University of York

Start: October 2020
Duration: 4 weeks
Recommended for: people interested in studying English language and linguistics

You will learn:

• what is meant by accent and dialect and how attitudes to these are arbitrary
• the approaches used within sociolinguistic research
• stereotypes about accent and dialect, and how these impact on real-world interactions

Respecting Our Differences Online by Samsung

Start: 5^th October 2020
Duration: 2 weeks
Recommended for: people interested in making a positive social change through technology – a great course to take up with your students

You will learn:

• how to communicate effectively, collaborate with others, think critically and formulate a creative solution
• how to understand the importance of diversity online
• how to identify tangible actions that you can take to contribute to overcoming this problem