16/06/2022
Cambridge recently hosted an online conference and a series of webinars to support Ukrainian teachers and learners living in Ukraine or in different countries following invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Hundreds of teachers attended the sessions and had a chance to ask questions to experts and to share their first-hand experiences of teaching and supporting learners whose lives have been disrupted.
The online conference titled Supporting displaced learners and teachers was aimed at displaced learners and teachers from Ukraine and teachers from countries that the Ukrainian refugees have moved to. Speakers included Matthew Ellman, Kate Brierton, Chris Sowton and Anne Robinson.
The series of webinars Teaching in Challenging Circumstances explored the many aspects of teaching in a difficult setting from working with no textbooks or available materials to supporting young learners who may be displaced or have experienced trauma. They were hosted by Chris Sowton, a leading expert on teaching in formal and informal settings such as in areas with growing numbers of refugees. Chris is the author of Teaching in Challenging Circumstances, which was recently published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Expert contributors include Scott Thornbury, Nick Bilbrough, Professor Sarah Mercer, Brian Lally and Linda Ruas.
The two initiatives explored self-care for teachers, how to normalise learning for the students and ways to create a trauma sensitive classroom. They also focused on managing remote lessons as well as building relationships with the students, planning and adapting lessons and using storytelling and role-playing techniques.
These initiatives were organised, introduced and moderated by Daryna Sizhuk - Cambridge English Representative in Ukraine, Onur Karaca - Marketing Manager for the META region, Tetiana Shelepko - Cambridge ELT Consultant for the Linguist Company and Vivian Chiang - Head of Audience Marketing.
The series of webinars is available to watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpmCHL8PnXq-VAV3IL6A4_JhxBDcHhH3v
The online conference can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wp4DoECw04&t=7s
For our online resources and support material please visit the website https://pages.cambridgeenglish.org/resources-for-challenging-circumstances