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National Geographic Learning: In Focus

National Geographic Learning: In Focus

Bringing the world to the classroom and the classroom to life

National Geographic Learning’s ELT blog

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blended learning

What is blended learning?

13 September 2018 Alex Warren 21st Century Learners, Academic, Adults, Teens 2 comments

In this first post in a series of blogs on the use of technology in the ELT classroom, National Geographic Learning’s in-house teacher trainer Alex Warren, looks to demystify and clarify what exactly is meant by the term blended learning. Here’s the thing: everyone thinks they know what blended learning

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Lunar new year

Life around the World Contest

11 April 2018 National Geographic Learning Adults, Games 17 comments

Welcome to the first post in the Life around the World Contest! Each month, we will release a photo from a cover of Life Second Edition on the In Focus Blog. We want you to submit your best guess of where in the world this photo was taken. Try to tell

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Lunar new year

Motivation in your classroom: what’s in it for me?

5 March 2018 Helen Stephenson 21st Century Learners, Adults, Motivating Learners, Series Post Leave a comment

Last time, we examined the psychological need to complete things and make them whole, and how that can be exploited to help students stay motivated. The word ‘need’ is a key term when we’re looking at students’ motivation, of course.  At its most fundamental level, motivation is all about wants

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academic

Keys to Academic Success

21 February 2018 Laura Le Dréan 21st Century Learners, Academic, Adults Leave a comment

When I first started teaching English, there were almost no published materials to teach from. I was teaching academically oriented students, and sadly, focusing a lot on grammar and sentence structure because that was the assigned textbook. Today we are all fortunate to have a wealth of excellent materials to

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survey

A global survey of critical thinking in the ELT classroom

9 February 2018 John Hughes 21st Century Learners, Adults Leave a comment

As many teachers who use ELT titles from National Geographic Learning will be aware, critical thinking is a key feature of the materials and informs our approach to English Language teaching. Now, Life authors Paul Dummett and John Hughes are carrying out research into how critical thinking is applied and

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Making Learning last: repetition, variation and rehearsal

19 January 2018 Paul Dummett 21st Century Learners, Adults, Series Post 3 comments

In the last post on memorization, I talked about the role of emotion, stories and personalization. All of these things gave language a better chance of reaching longer-term memory because of their impact on the student – the way they resonated with them on a deeper level. In this post I

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completion

Motivation in your classroom: completion

9 January 2018 Helen Stephenson 21st Century Learners, Adults, Effective English, Motivating Learners, Series Post One comment

In my previous post in this series on quick and simple ways to motivate our students, I looked at setting measurable targets for tasks and classroom activities, the idea being that giving students a specific outcome to aim for leads to a sense of achievement. Part of meeting a measurable

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Talk

You can use a TED Talk without looking at the picture – try it!

21 December 2017 Lewis Lansford 21st Century Learners, Adults, Series Post, Speaking, TED, Teens 4 comments

In my previous post, I wrote about playing TED Talks without the sound as a simple hack to control language level. But what happens if we leave the sound on and turn off the pictures? Does that have the opposite effect and raise the level of the input? Not necessarily.

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personalization

Personalization: From ‘I’ to ‘you’ to ‘we’

21 November 2017 John Hughes Adults, Series Post 2 comments

In the two previous posts in this series looking at personalization in the classroom, I focused on the individual learner and how teachers and materials can make the language and topics of the classroom relevant to him or her. However, personalization isn’t just about making sentences using the words ‘I,

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motivation

Motivation in your classroom: a micro approach

3 November 2017 Helen Stephenson 21st Century Learners, Adults, Effective English, Motivating Learners, Series Post 3 comments

I want a house with a swimming pool. That’s what a friend said to me during my first week at college. It was my first understanding that we are all motivated by different things. And it’s as true of language learners as it is of mountain climbers, entrepreneurs or ex-smokers.

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National Geographic Learning

National Geographic Learning’s mission is to bring the world to the classroom and the classroom to life. With our English language programs, students learn about their world by experiencing it. Through our partnerships with National Geographic and TED, they develop the language and skills they need to be successful global citizens and leaders.

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Categories

  • 21st Century Learners
  • Academic
  • Adults
  • Blended Learning
  • Creativity in the Classroom
  • Dictation
  • Effective English
  • Exam Preparation
  • Games
  • Global Citizenship
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  • Young Learners

Authors

  • 1 Alex Warren
    • 8 Tactics for using Technology in the Classroom
    • Voices from the Field: Songs in the ELT Classroom
    • Flipped Learning in the ELT Classroom
    • Voices from the Field: Giving Feedback
    • What is blended learning?
  • 1 Andrew Walkley
    • Repetition and word lists
    • In praise of repetition
    • The Questions We Ask
  • 1 Anna Hasper
    • Flashcard Activities for the Young Learner Classroom
    • Why Images are Powerful for Learning
    • Working Creatively with Images
    • Two Frameworks for Teaching Creatively in the ELT Classroom
    • What is creative thinking and why is it important
  • 1 Christien Lee
    • A Critical Look at Critical Thinking
  • 1 Daniel Barber
    • Interview: Dan Barber on Why to Use TED Talks in your ELT Classroom
    • Six Reasons TED Talks Make Great English Lessons
  • 1 National Geographic Learning
    • Voices: Life as Lived in China
    • Life around the World Contest Continues
    • Life around the World Contest Continues!
    • Life Around The World: July Contest
    • Life around the World: June Contest
  • 1 Elaine Boyd
    • Four classroom assessment activities for young learners
    • Preparing Young Learners for Exam Success: Part Two
    • Three Strategies for Preparing Young Learners for Exam Success
  • 1 Gabby Salazar
    • How to Bring Nature Journaling into your Classroom
    • Bring the World into Your Classroom Through Photography
    • Capturing Culture in your Classroom
    • Become a Citizen Scientist
    • Interview: Gabby Salazar on Inspiring Environmental Responsibility in the YL Classroom through Photography
  • 1 Helen Stephenson
    • Motivation in your classroom: what’s in it for me?
    • Motivation in your classroom: completion
    • Motivation in your classroom: a micro approach
  • 1 Hugh Dellar
    • The Questions We Ask
    • Interview: Hugh Dellar on Speaking Out for Spoken English
    • Speaking Out for Spoken English
  • 1 Jodi Crandall
    • Projects for Young Learners
  • 1 John Hughes
    • Personalizing Culture
    • How To Personalize Culture
    • How to integrate critical thinking at lower levels
    • A global survey of critical thinking in the ELT classroom
    • Personalization: From ‘I’ to ‘you’ to ‘we’
  • 1 Katherine Bilsborough
    • Think, Pair, Share
    • We’re all different, we’re all the same!
    • K-W-L Charts: A simple way to promote critical thinking with young learners
    • Learning journals for young learners: what, why and how?
    • What do you prefer?
  • 1 Katherine Stannett
    • How To Get your Students Speaking in Class
    • Ways to Be Creative in your Classroom
    • Growth Mindset and Why Failure is a Positive word
    • Using Real Life Topics in your Classroom
    • Get ‘em Moving!
  • 1 Laura Le Dréan
    • Keys to Academic Success
  • 1 Lewis Lansford
    • TED Talks can make technical language accessible – try it!
    • Choose the perfect TED Talk for your students’ needs-try it!
    • You can use a TED Talk without looking at the picture – try it!
    • You can use a TED talk without the sound – try it!
    • TED Talks work for all levels – try it!
  • 1 Lisa Bu
    • A TED Way to Learn English
  • 1 Luciana Fernández
    • Developing Global Citizenship in Young Learners
    • Effective Phonics Routines in the Young Learner Classroom
  • 1 Michael McLoghlin
    • Bring the World into Your Classroom Through Photography
    • Capturing Culture in your Classroom
  • 1 Paul Dummett
    • Making learning last: Multisensory approaches
    • A global survey of critical thinking in the ELT classroom
    • Making Learning last: repetition, variation and rehearsal
    • Making learning last: emotion, personalization and the unexpected
    • Making Learning Last: Stories and imagery
  • 1 Sean Bermingham
    • Three New Literacies for Today’s Classroom
  • 1 Tom Fast
    • Interview: Tom Fast’s Guiding Principles for Teaching English
    • Three Things I’ve Learned about Teaching English
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