Integrated Homework: A More Personal Way to Empower Learning Outside the Classroom

Magdalena Jurado González presented on 'Integrated Homework: A More Personal Way to Empower Learning Outside the Classroom' at the 7th online Future of English Language Teaching Conference.

See the video recording below:

Abstract

As English language teachers, we all know that each one of our students learns in their own way. However, and regardless of the different contexts of our teaching, our learners share something in common: they all learn more effectively when they are given plenty of timely, personalized feedback.

We teachers struggle to give such individualized support simply because we often have large classes of students at different skill levels. During our lessons, we do our best to respond to our students' unique needs. But even in the best circumstances, we can only help one person (or group) at a time, potentially leaving others with answered doubts.

But can we support individual student journeys while they are doing homework, and they get stuck, with neither guidance nor feedback? There is a way to empower their independent learning, but it requires the use of technology and a reconceptualization of homework.

The aim of this talk would be to go through the whole process of designing and implementing such an integrated homework session, from the learning objectives to the actual finished product. In order to make it relevant to the context of the Trinity College exams, we will prepare a session for students to practice the reading part of the ISE exams while receiving the feedback that they need when needed.

As supporting technology, we will use Google Forms, but any similar technology will do. We will see how to enrich our homework with text, video or audio files as hints. We will look into the design and content of those materials. That way, our students can get timely support as they complete the tasks, so they know whether they’re on the right track. In short, we will be better equipped to meet our students’ needs even when we are not with them.

About the presenter

Magdalena Jurado is a language teacher, materials writer and innovator, with extensive experience in teaching effective communication skills in English. Throughout her extensive career, she has taught in the UK, Greece and Spain. She has led many research and development projects related to literacy and remote learning. Some of them involve the production of a podcast about how to write in English, the development of social media tools to support language learning and communication, and a series of conversation guides for the ESOL classroom. Her main teaching interest is how to develop competent bilingual individuals, equipped with 21st-century transferable skills.