Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, online classes have been popular with teachers and students, and so English centres in HCM City have also opted for them.

Speaking at the 2020 Vietnam USA Society English Centers (VUS) TESOL Webinars being held from April 15 to May 5, experts said interactive activities, which are indispensable for English teaching, is also essential in online classes. Teachers need to make their lessons lively and engage students fully, he said.

Steven Happel, VUS’s senior academic manager, spoke on "Delivering a manageable student-centred online class”. He said teachers should pay attention to basic preparations such as how to set up an online teaching corner, good lighting, clear sound, and an appropriate online platform.

“If teachers use different ways to present the language through visual teaching aids such as pictures, body language, etc… in the traditional face-to face class, online classes require the same level of visual attraction. Because of the screen limitation, teachers should be creative enough to deliver lessons clearly, briefly but effectively.”

VUS TESOL Webinars are a series of free webinars with ELT experts and speakers from well-known publishing houses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge Assessment English, National Geographic Learning, and Macmillan Education. Their main purpose is to help members of the English language teaching community get updated on the latest knowledge and most practical teaching methods and techniques.

Nguyen Thi Anh Dao and Tran Kim Thy spoke about “Online with kids - How to make your screen lively?”, explaining how to create lively lessons to draw kids’ attention through the screen. — VNS