Join this webinar series from IH Portugal schools designed to inspire and equip language teachers with fresh classroom ideas!
Whether you're new or experienced, teaching children, teens, or adults, these practical sessions offer adaptable activities and strategies delivered by expert teachers and academic managers from International House Portugal. These seminars will help you refine your skills, engage students, and keep you up-to-date with the latest teaching trends!
The Sessions
1. Plan it, Write it, Check it! - Caroline Fonseca
- Date: Wednesday 6th November
- Time: 14:30 - 15:30 GMT
- Speaker: Caroline Fonseca, IH Torres Vedras
- Session Abstract: Exam writing tasks can be difficult for students to understand resulting in texts that miss the point, are poorly structured and littered with basic mistakes – sound familiar? In this session, we’ll unpack exam-writing tasks
and look at some practical ideas that will help your
students understand exactly what they need to do, what is being tested and how to avoid common pitfalls.
2. Beyond Lists: Creative Vocabulary
Ventures for Teen Learners - Kate Howcroft
- Date: Saturday 9th November
- Time: 10 - 11 GMT
- Speaker: Kate Howcroft, IH Coimbra
- Session Abstract: This practical session will share a variety of activities and approaches that can be used with the often-overlooked vocabulary list to aid learning and help learners track their progress. We’ll focus on a mix of materials aimed at A2-B1 level (pre)teens which can be adapted to different
classroom contexts and coursebooks.
3. Renew, Reuse, Refine: Maximizing
Learning with Revision and Recycling - Diana England
- Date: Saturday 18th January
- Time: 10 - 11 GMT
- Speaker: Diana England, IH Lisbon
- Session Abstract: This session offers insights into the importance of recycling and revision as crucial parts of teaching and learning. You’ll leave with a range of tips and example activities you can use or adapt to help improve your students’ English through principled review and revision activities.
4. Converting Practice Test Results into
the Cambridge English Scale - Vitor Moura
- Date: Wednesday 22nd January 2025
- Time: 14:30 - 15:30 GMT
- Speaker: Vitor Moura, IH Porto
- Session Abstract: Do you find it hard to translate your students’ mock and practice test results into the Cambridge English Scale? Do you know that in Preliminary, students need 72% to pass the Reading Paper, but only 60% to pass the
Writing Paper? In this session you’ll see how you can easily address the challenge of interpreting Cambridge exam scores and help guide your students to future exam success.
5. Making Progress Together - Carol Crombie
- Date: Wednesday 19th March 2025
- Time: 14:30 - 15:30 GMT
- Speaker: Carol Crombie, IH Viseu
- Session Abstract: We all know that students learn better if they feel comfortable in class but it’s not always easy to get to a place where they all participate and collaborate willingly and easily. In this workshop we’ll look at how to overcome some of the barriers to participation in language classes and foster a sense of respect and cooperation amongst peers.
6. Encouraging Our Young Learners to Tell Tales! - Beverly Whittall
- Date: Wednesday 19th March 2025
- Time: 14:30 - 15:30 GMT
- Speaker: Beverly Whittall, IH Braga
- Session Abstract: In this session, we’ll look at different tasks and activities that we can integrate into our lessons to help our young learners develop their storytelling skills and feel confident
- whether they’re sharing a story from their day, retelling a traditional tale or telling a story in the context of Cambridge Young Learners exams. Story, story, … let’s all tell a story
7. Reading – The (Un)Silent Task - Shawn Severson
- Date: Wednesday 14th May 2025
- Time: 14:30 - 15:30 GMT
- Speaker: Shawn Severson, IH Porto
- Session Abstract: If reading were a silent, one-way street from text to student, would teachers be able to help? Fortunately, we can make reading come alive and ‘unsilent’! In this session, we will not only look at reading strategies (top-down, bottom-up) but also explore how to bring texts alive while working with vocabulary and grammar, helping students unlock the skills for effective reading and
understanding.
8. Presenting Grammar: See it, Say it, Do it! - Anna Radcliffe
- Date: Wednesday 21st May 2025
- Time: 14:30 - 15:30 GMT
- Speaker: Anna Radcliffe, IH Coimbra
- Session Abstract: A look at different ways to introduce students of various ages and levels to new grammar concepts using visual, auditory and physical stimuli. We will explore a variety of
easy-to-implement and practical ideas to show how we can transform grammar learning into an engaging and memorable experience for all