• British Council

Teaching Young Learners Online

Discover how to plan, create, and facilitate inclusive online learning that engages and inspires young people aged 5 to 17.

54,897 enrolled on this course

A young learner, studying in front of a laptop
  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Explore online language teaching with young learners

Have you recently had to adapt to online teaching in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

This 3-week course from the British Council will help you explore the practice and theory of online teaching.

While this course is mostly aimed at English language teachers, all teachers can benefit from learning about accessibility, online safety, and how to engage young learners online.

Create the best conditions for online learning

The course will begin with an exploration of how to ensure learners interact together meaningfully. You’ll learn about the principles of language learning and teaching, and gain insight into how to connect with learners and their parents.

Building a community and developing rapport with your students will help them have a positive online learning experience, so you’ll plan and share a meaningful activity that’ll help you get to know your learners.

Develop inclusive teaching methods

It’s important to tailor your online teaching to your learners’ needs so that each class is inclusive and fun, so you’ll learn how to provide extra support for those who need it.

You’ll help expose your learners to language through reading and listening activities, and develop strategies to engage learners in different online learning environments.

Learn strategies for teaching English online

In the final week, you’ll be helping your learners to develop their speaking and writing skills. We’ll discuss assessments for learning, including how to set expectations and motivate your students.

What topics will you cover?

  • Week 1: Meaningful interaction
    Creating the best conditions for your learners to interact meaningfully and learn together online
  • Week 2: Engagement, content and differentiation
    Tailoring your online teaching to your learners’ needs, to ensure your classes are inclusive and enjoyable
  • Week 3: Practice, assessment and progress
    Helping learners develop their speaking and writing skills, and using assessment for learning to make learners and their parents aware of their progress

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify how to build relationships with learners, between learners and with parents, and be present and supportive when teaching online
  • Identify how to include and engage learners online both in synchronous and asynchronous environments
  • Evaluate privacy and safety issues online and how to help learners and parents think critically about online risks and behaviour
  • Explore the opportunities and challenges associated with different tools and modes of online teaching and learning
  • Apply principles of English language lesson planning to online teaching
  • Develop and share techniques for language and skills teaching and assessment online
  • Apply and practise how to manage online interactions effectively

Who is the course for?

This course is for English language teachers, teaching young learners (5-17) in an online environment. Experience of teaching in online contexts is not essential and both experienced and novice online teachers will benefit.

While most of the context is based around English language learning, teachers of other subjects will also find the course valuable, as the principles of English language lesson planning apply to online teaching in general.

Who will you learn with?

I'm an English teacher and teacher trainer. I'm interested in online learning/teaching and pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures particularly in refugee/immigrant contexts

Who developed the course?

British Council

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million people overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

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