Lesson shape
| Stage | Online adaptation |
|---|---|
| Warmer | Chat waterfall (everyone types, sends together), poll, quick show-and-tell with an object |
| Presentation | Slides with annotation; short (under 5 minutes of teacher talk at a time) |
| Clarification | Whiteboard timelines; CCQs answered in chat or with reactions |
| Controlled practice | Shared doc or quiz tool; learners type; teacher sees everyone's answers |
| Freer speaking | Breakout rooms (pairs or threes) with the task pasted in; visible timer; teacher visits |
| Feedback | Whiteboard error correction; learners correct in chat |
| Close | Exit poll or quick write in the chat; homework link |
Change interaction every 5-10 minutes; online attention drops faster than in a room.
Classroom activities that transfer well
| Activity | Online version |
|---|---|
| Find someone who | Breakout rooms rotating every 3 minutes; or chat questions to named classmates |
| Spot the difference | Each learner gets their picture privately (chat or LMS) |
| Running dictation | "Dictation from a link": one learner opens the text and reads; partner types |
| Board race | Teams type words in the chat; first correct message wins |
| Back to the board | One learner turns off their screen view (or looks away); team defines the word on screen |
| Mingle | Several short breakout rounds |
| Jigsaw reading | Expert groups in breakout rooms, then mixed rooms |
| Pictionary | Whiteboard drawing |
| Role play | Breakout rooms with role cards sent privately |
One-to-one online
- More teacher talk is natural, but keep the learner speaking at least half the time.
- Use the learner's own materials (work emails, presentations).
- Shared document as a running record of new language and corrections.
- Record short speaking tasks for self-review (with consent).
Young learners online
- Shorter lessons (30-45 minutes) and very short activities (3-5 minutes).
- Movement breaks: TPR, "find something red in your house".
- Puppets, props and big expressions; simple visual routines.
- Parent present or nearby for the youngest; agreed rules for chat and cameras.
Engagement and participation
- Name learners when asking questions; avoid "Anyone?".
- Use the chat for simultaneous answers so quieter learners participate.
- Give thinking time before speaking ("Think for 30 seconds, then tell your partner").
- Camera-off learners: use voice, chat and reactions; check in privately.
- End breakout rooms with a 30-second warning.
Asynchronous work
Between live lessons: vocabulary practice on a quiz tool, voice-note speaking tasks, short writing in the LMS with feedback, video lessons for flipped presentation so live time is for speaking.
academic-english-eap-course-planner
Plan English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses: pre-sessional, in-sessional, foundation, IELTS preparation and discipline-specific EAP, with syllabus strands (academic reading, lecture listening and note-taking, essay and report writing, paraphrase, summary and synthesis, referencing and plagiarism, seminars and presentations, academic vocabulary, critical thinking), a 10-week pre-sessional outline, exit assessment, IELTS-CEFR alignment and academic style (formality, hedging, cohesion, reporting verbs). Estimates study hours and weeks to close an IELTS gap from overall or per-skill scores (IELTS rounding, minimum per skill, priority skills, feasibility before a deadline), and checks learner texts for contractions, informal words with academic alternatives, unhedged claims, 'you', And/But/So starts, rhetorical questions and missing citations.
actfl-proficiency-curriculum-mapper
Map world language curricula to the ACTFL framework: proficiency levels (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Distinguished with sublevels), functions, contexts, text types and accuracy, proficiency vs performance, the three modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, presentational), the 5 Cs World-Readiness Standards, backward-designed thematic units with Integrated Performance Assessments, typical programme targets and FSI time estimates. Looks up approximate ACTFL-CEFR-ILR equivalences with what each level can do, and checks a unit map for missing modes, rehearsed skits mislabelled as interpersonal, translation or word lists as interpretive tasks, and units without an integrated performance assessment.
adult-literacy-esl-lesson-builder
Build lessons for adult ESL learners who are developing literacy (LESLLA learners: pre-literate, non-literate, semi-literate, literate in a non-Roman script): learner profiles and sensitive initial assessment, principles (oral language first, known to new, systematic phonics with adult-relevant text, repetition, classroom skills, respect for experience), a lesson routine (oral warm-up, review, new grapheme, blending, segmenting, decodable text, writing, functional literacy, Language Experience Approach), a phonics sequence for adults, sight words, functional literacy targets (forms, signs, medicine labels) and portfolio assessment. Checks whether a reading text is decodable with the letter-sound patterns and sight words taught so far, catching untaught digraphs, listing non-decodable words with the untaught part, and suggesting the most useful next patterns.
authentic-material-lesson-adapter
Turn authentic material (news articles, podcasts, videos, songs, menus, timetables, adverts, social media posts, forms, infographics) into language lessons by grading the task rather than the text. Selects texts for interest, relevance, exploitability, coverage, cultural load and rights; finds the 4-6 words to pre-teach, words to gloss on the page and words learners can ignore, plus names and cultural references to explain, with reading time by level; and builds a lesson shape (lead-in, pre-teach, gist or scanning, graded detail task, language focus on chunks and register, response) with task ideas per material type and level from A1 to C1. Covers copyright, fair dealing and fair use, Creative Commons and attribution.
can-do-statement-writer
Write and review can-do statements for language courses, units, lessons and learner self-assessment, CEFR or NCSSFL-ACTFL style: action (observable verb) + text or situation + level-specific conditions, learner ('I can') and descriptor ('Can') versions, progressions of one activity from A1 to C1, and coverage of reception, production, interaction and mediation. Includes a verb bank by mode and level and condition and text-type banks. Lints statements for teacher-centred phrasing, knowledge instead of use (learn, know, understand the passive), missing context, two skills in one statement, vague quality words, grammar items as outcomes, overlong statements and missing modes in a set.
cefr-aligned-syllabus-builder
Build language course syllabuses aligned to the CEFR (A1-C2, plus levels, Companion Volume 2020): entry and exit levels, guided learning hours and course length (with an L1-distance adjustment), syllabus type (topic, functional-notional, task-based, skills-based, multi-strand), unit-by-unit can-do outcomes, grammar from a core inventory by level, vocabulary, functions, pronunciation, balance of reception, production, interaction and mediation, recycling and assessment points. Checks a syllabus for units without can-do statements, core grammar for the level not covered, items above the course level, skills missing from most units and units with no vocabulary or functions.