Teaching Methods and Techniques in ELT

 A webinar on Teaching Methods and Techniques in ELT on 24 June 2021 at UTAS-Ibri brought two speakers who shared their experiences on two exciting topics. The first speaker, Ms Fatima Fattoumi from Tunisia, spoke on Digital Tools in Blended Learning towards Enhancing Students' Engagement and the speaker, Ms Yousra Ferchichi, shed light on the use of podcasts an educating tool.

Digital Tools in Blended Learning towards Enhancing Students' Engagement

Blended learning is a technique of teaching that integrates era and digital media with traditional trainer-led school room sports, giving college students greater flexibility to personalize their gaining knowledge of reports.

Ms Fatima Fattoumi's light on integrating digital tools in blended learning might enhance students' motivation towards active learning.She emphasized that learning by doing is beneficial for enhancing students' engagement and admitted that in conventional English Language Teaching methods, most of the learning happens through acquisition. Within a less interactive learning environment, the student's motivation for production remains minimal. She also opined that the continual cycle of inter-influence between concepts and practice might be negatively impacted.

The insights shared were quite informative and contemporary and were worth integrating with the teaching process.

Fatma Fattoumi is an Educator at the Higher Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, the University of Carthage, Tunisia. She is pursuing PhD candidate, in Cultural Studies, at the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities at the University of Manouba, Tunisia. She is a verified reviewer for the Current Psychology Journal.

Innovative Teaching Techniques- The use of Podcasts as an Educational Learning Tool

Innovative teaching techniques have emerged in post-pandemic academia. Project, inquiry, task, and game based learning diverge into positive teaching psychology implementing the 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. The use of podcasts resides at the top part of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. As a PBL teaching tool, podcasting gives a voice to students’ narratives and teachers interchangeably. 

Ms Yousra, in her presentation,  demonstrated an effective podcast creation funnel to create a student-centered learning experience and explained  differentiation criteria incorporated in podcasting rendering it a democratizing tool to accessible knowledge to all learners equally. The presenter also stated that Bloom’s Digital taxonomy applies this performative based learning tool by utilizing lower and higher order thinking skills. Further, she opined that  Podcasting is far from being a new trend, yet it can create a modernized education and more independent learners fit to global perspectives.

Yousra is an English Language teacher from Tunisia. She is a Master's degree holder in English language and literature specialized in Cross-Cultural Poetics. Her degree was issued in 2011 from the Higher Institute of Languages part of the University of Carthage in Tunis. She is also a CELTA qualified instructor. As a scholar, she conducted her research on the performative aspect of literature and its role in shaping human identity.