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Arriving at Brighton
After a long journey (Aachen --> Brussels --> London "King’s Cross" --> London "Black Friars" --> Brighton) we finally arrived at Brighton station. After having collected our keys at a very suspicious place (somewhere between a car park and loads of rubbish) we made our way to our "posh" apartment at "Brunswick Terrace" – very posh from the outside, but unfortunately not as "prestigious" from the inside as previously announced on "booking.com". Nevertheless, we got used to our new home. -
Getting to know Brighton
We used our first Sunday off to explore Brighton’s seaside. Fortunately, we were not attacked by the seagulls while walking to the famous Brighton Pier. The famous big wheel at the seafront had to give way to a strange, futuristic UFO owned by British Airways called "eye360" which offers tourists a 360° view over Brighton and the English Channel (some even swear that they had seen France…). Well, we decided not to act as tourists and had some fish & chips instead. -
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Brighton 2017
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Going to school (again)
What a strange feeling being a pupil again! Having packed our rucksacks we left our apartment at the seafront to find our way to Salisbury Road. Actually it took us only 5 minutes to get to our school – ELC (English Language Center). https://www.elc-schools.com/ -
Getting to know each other/ Setting Goals
Although, we "the teachers" were split up into two different groups ("Teaching English with Technology" and "Aspects of Teaching English"), we luckily had some lessons all together and we spent most of the evenings together.
The first day was all about getting to know each other and presenting our schools as well as setting goals and narrowing down expectations. -
The "Bottom's Rest"
In the evening we went to a local pub called "The Bottom’s Rest", which soon became our favourite pub (a huge variety of tapped beer and delicious food!). It was the first chance to get to know each other privately. -
Quizzes/ Timelines/ Mindmaps
The classes on Tuesday focussed on quizzes (Kahoot! and Quizlet) and timelines as well as on making mindmaps.
Please find a list of links that we can recommend attached. Moreover you will find a document on different methods we came across. Have fun!
https://goo.gl/JxUxxP (shortened URL Sharepoint Kollegium --> Englisch --> Fachkonferenz --> Brighton 2017) -
Guided walking tour of Brighton
In the afternoon we took part in a guided walking tour of Brighton, which was great fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P349zFHe7uw -
Speaking and Listening
The classes on Wednesday focussed on Speaking & Listening (with technology).
Please find a list of links that we can recommend attached.
https://goo.gl/JxUxxP (shortened URL Sharepoint Kollegium --> Englisch --> Fachkonferenz --> Brighton 2017) -
Evidence Based Learning
We took part in an Evidence Based Teaching demo lesson. Soon we were experts on English history!
Of course that lesson was not meant to make us experts on English history, but to discuss which pedagogical approaches/aspects of teaching are really relevant and successful. Often teachers think that they know what is best for their pupils (and/or for themselves…) but often we are misled! Just google EBL/EBT and you will find interesting articles on that topic – it’s worth reading them! -
Fame – I‘m gonna live forever!
In the evening we act as real locals and went to the "Old Market" – a local theatre (right opposite to the "Bottom’s Rest“). The musical "Fame" was performed by young and very talented locals. -
Reading and Writing
The classes on Friday focussed on Reading & Writing (with technology).
Please find a list of links that we can recommend attached.
https://goo.gl/JxUxxP (shortened URL Sharepoint Kollegium --> Englisch --> Fachkonferenz --> Brighton 2017) -
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Better off to London...
The weekend was off - but staying in Brighton was no option because a storm was about to hit the seafront. At Brighton station there were a lot of announcements like: "Beware of the weather – there might be no trains back!" We asked an official if he could tell us what was going on. His answer: "Oh, the weather is quite tatty – don’t worry girls, there’ll be a train for you in the evening!". BTW: we were always addressed as "ladies", "girls", "darling", "love" - really lovely... -
London calling!
We enjoyed a day of pure sunshine and relaxed sightseeing (although it was a little bit stormy as well) in London. -
"Harry-Potter-Walking tour" – hilarious!
All of you who have watched the Harry Potter films, might have noticed that they are not really set in London – despite of a few scenes. Ignoring this fact, our tourguide –Robert Walker– managed to walk us through London giving a lot of interesting information on London adding sentences like: "Uuuh, just imagine wizards flying through this street!"/ "Let’s visit Westminster station – they closed it to shoot a 8-second-scene". We had a great laugh – or maybe we are just muggles who didn't get it. -
The Seven Sisters
On Sunday it was still stormy but at least not rainy, so we took the "Coaster“ (double-deck bus) to Seaford. There, we started our walking tour to the "Seven Sisters“. The view was amazing! http://www.sevensisters.org.uk/ -
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Webinar
Back to school again! Monday mornings are the worst… but not at ELC! We attended a webinar offered by the Cambridge University (We even got certificates!). The webinar’s title was "Using digital tools to encourage learner autonomy in the classroom“ – it was really interesting, especially because we could take part in a live chat. If you want to watch it, follow link. It's worth watching it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTnkwoqP2ho&index=1&list=PLpmCHL8PnXq88RiE_Bc0bAaotsDCHsEay -
Vocabulary and Grammar Teaching
The classes on Tuesday focussed on Vocabulary and grammar teaching (with technology).
Please find a list of links that we can recommend attached.
https://goo.gl/JxUxxP (shortened URL Sharepoint Kollegium --> Englisch --> Fachkonferenz --> Brighton 2017) -
Project - Getting started
On Wednesday we had to work on our "project". It was up to us what we would like to focus on – as long as it had to do with our overall topic "Teaching English with Technology". So we decided to create a "new" study plan for class 7 as well as a possible new timetable. -
Project - Setting goals
With Helen Pankhurst’s demand to create “…conditions which enable the teacher to teach and the learner to learn” on mind, we dealt with the overall question "How to enhance learners‘ autonomy with the help of technology?". After long discussions we could finally agree on a first draft of which might become our new "Advanced Organizer English" as well as a new (flexible) timetable. -
Project - Presentation
On Thursday we had to present our project. We decided to present our project with the help of PowerPoint Presentation and links to OneNote and ProProfs.
Please note: The presentation as well as the first draft of a possible new "Advanced Organizer" will be presented to you as soon as possible. -
Farewell...
Time to say Goodbye… On our last day at school we met with all the other teachers to discuss our findings and to exchange ideas.
Moreover, we got our certificates and had a delicious Thai lunch at "The Wick Inn“. Obviously, it’s quite common/English to have a pint of beer for lunch – we joined in. -
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Aachen calling!
Goodbye Brighton! Early in the morning we had to get up to start our long journey (Brighton --> London Victoria --> London King’s Cross --> Brussels --> Aachen). Travelling by train (Thalys/Eurostar) is quite comfortable, although you have to change trains a lot. But at least you can take as much luggage with you as you can – and we did! -
In a nutshell
Leaving Brighton was – after all – really sad, because we felt like locals. Brighton has been called the UK's "hippest city", and "the happiest place to live in the UK" – we can totally agree!
We had the chance to spend two weeks of learning – in every way one can imagine - , getting to know lovely people as well as getting a better insight into the English culture.
We can absolutely recommend going on a Erasmus+-funded course abroad!
