Uploaded November 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Here is an idea: instead of asking your students to do projects about history or global warming etc., why not get them to do something about someone they know really well – YOU that is! So you ask your students: ‘How would you advertise your teacher?’ and then stand back and watch them give their creativity free reign! Here is something they may come up with: an infomercial. Notice the creative twist: the script uses elements typically found in car ads.
Scriptwriter – Director – Producer – Cameraman: Nick Michelioudakis
Cast: Luke Prodromou – Joanna Charalampous [a big ‘THANK YOU’ to both of them].
SCRIPT
[PBL - AN INFOMERCIAL]
J: I was thinking of hiring an EL teacher… I would like to improve my English…
L: Have you thought of Nick?
J: Nick who?
L: Oh, Nick Mi… something or other – I cannot pronounce his surname… You must have seen him… The guy who always has his sunglasses on his forehead…
J: What’s he like?
L: Oh, he is fantastic! He is experienced, he has travelled all over the world, he is always prepared, he is great at explaining things, he is enthusiastic, he is funny (did you know he’s got his own YouTube channel? – just Google ‘Comedy for ELT’) – I’m telling you, he is amazing!
J: Really? He sounds like he is exactly what I need… Is he expensive?
L: No – not compared to other, similar models… And you don’t need to pay everything up front; you can pay a few hundred bucks down and the rest by installments…
J: But what if he breaks down?
L: Well, if he breaks down during the first 6 months, you can get him fixed for free – he is covered by the guarantee…
J: But what if he breaks down during a lesson?
L: Well, in that case you dial a number, they come and take him, AND they will bring you a replacement teacher while they fix him…
J: Will they have spare parts though? He seems like an old model to me…
L: Oh, come on – he is not as old as all that! Look at his Facebook profile – it says he was born in 1989!
J: You will believe anything, won’t you? All right, I’ll check him out… What are his contact details again?...
Here is an idea: instead of asking your students to do projects about history or global warming etc., why not get them to do something about someone they know really well – YOU that is! So you ask your students: ‘How would you advertise your teacher?’ and then stand back and watch them give their creativity free reign! Here is something they may come up with: an infomercial. Notice the creative twist: the script uses elements typically found in car ads.
Scriptwriter – Director – Producer – Cameraman: Nick Michelioudakis
Cast: Luke Prodromou – Joanna Charalampous [a big ‘THANK YOU’ to both of them].
SCRIPT
[PBL - AN INFOMERCIAL]
J: I was thinking of hiring an EL teacher… I would like to improve my English…
L: Have you thought of Nick?
J: Nick who?
L: Oh, Nick Mi… something or other – I cannot pronounce his surname… You must have seen him… The guy who always has his sunglasses on his forehead…
J: What’s he like?
L: Oh, he is fantastic! He is experienced, he has travelled all over the world, he is always prepared, he is great at explaining things, he is enthusiastic, he is funny (did you know he’s got his own YouTube channel? – just Google ‘Comedy for ELT’) – I’m telling you, he is amazing!
J: Really? He sounds like he is exactly what I need… Is he expensive?
L: No – not compared to other, similar models… And you don’t need to pay everything up front; you can pay a few hundred bucks down and the rest by installments…
J: But what if he breaks down?
L: Well, if he breaks down during the first 6 months, you can get him fixed for free – he is covered by the guarantee…
J: But what if he breaks down during a lesson?
L: Well, in that case you dial a number, they come and take him, AND they will bring you a replacement teacher while they fix him…
J: Will they have spare parts though? He seems like an old model to me…
L: Oh, come on – he is not as old as all that! Look at his Facebook profile – it says he was born in 1989!
J: You will believe anything, won’t you? All right, I’ll check him out… What are his contact details again?...
![Clips from IRCEELT [Tbilisi 4 / 5 / 2019]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T4Nvz1DqnsA/mqdefault.jpg "Clips from IRCEELT [Tbilisi 4 / 5 / 2019]
SOME TIPS FOR PRESENTERS
I cannot say I am an expert, but I have attended numerous talks by others and I have given quite a few myself. So I thought I would make a quick list of ‘Dos and Don’ts’ – hoping that others will add to it…
DO…
…start with something attention-catching (a joke – something weird – a story); you only have a few seconds.
…say interesting things. Content matters. (Ask yourself: would someone still find your talk interesting if they were not an EL teacher?)
…use stories and anecdotes to make your talk more interesting. Stories are our mother tongue.
…use stories to convey information; stories are far more memorable than giving studies or numerical information.
…move from the concrete to the general. It is easier for people to understand a principle if you have given them a concrete example first.
…include some practical elements. People need to be able to answer a question like ‘What did you get out of this?’ afterwards – regardless of how brilliant the talk was.
…add value to your talk through ‘social currency’. Include interesting little tit-bits of info that people can share with others (‘A glass ball will bounce higher than one made of rubber’).
…include ‘peak’ moments in your talk (a striking example; a paraprosdokian; a motivational quote etc.). This is what people will remember later (‘The Peak – End Effect’).
…segment your talk, and regularly let people know which part of the talk you are in.
…use your body, your arms and your facial expressions to liven up your talk.
…colour your voice; you may never become Cliff Parry but pitch fluctuations, stress and the strategic use of pausing help immensely.
…talk with confidence and assurance. This means two things: i) you have to know your stuff and ii) you need to have faith in what you are saying.
…use incongruity. Weird things like the completely unrelated picture of a dinosaur on the slide helps wake people up.
…use the power of association. Make that dinosaur a cute baby or a kitten. Advertisers have used kittens to advertise pizza. They know what they are doing.
…use emotions (uplifting soundtracks, moving poems, anger-provoking pictures, etc.) Emotions help print your message in people’s memory.
…interact with the audience (e.g. by eliciting information, by asking them questions, by using simple discrimination tasks, or asking them to predict something).
…engage the audience somehow (e.g. by giving them an activity to try out or something to discuss with a partner). Interactive elements boost information retention.
DON’T…
…stand behind the podium (unless you are as interesting as Luke Prodromou in which case you can do whatever you want).
…read from a text or your notes / overload your slides / read from the slides.
…choose titles like ‘The situated construction of divergent modalities in the quest for a fundamental positionality: the case of the subjunctive’.
…use long, complicated sentences. Forget you are an academic for the duration of the talk (…better still: ‘Forget you are an academic’).
…let the talk sag; make sure you maintain a brisk pace. Monitor activities and cut them short if people are losing interest.
…go over time; even the best attendees start getting restless if you do (plus it is unfair to the organisers and the next speaker).
…fade out; end with a bang (a quote – a joke, etc.) – and clearly signal to the audience where they are supposed to applaud. This helps round off the experience (see 2:00 – 2:12 here). *
[* NB: That last joke is not mine; I’ve pinched the idea from J. J. Wilson :-) ].
[Clips from IRCEELT. Tbilisi, Georgia 4 / 5 / 2019]")
![Comedy for ELT - Homo Devis 2 [The Race]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ux876msHnXg/mqdefault.jpg "Comedy for ELT - Homo Devis 2 [The Race]
Scientists have recently discovered a new human (sub-)species. It’s called ‘Homo Devis’. Most of us plebs refer to them as ‘the super posh’ and ‘the filthy rich’, though people have been known to use other names as well… These people live differently, they think differently, they speak differently.
A brilliant comment on class stratification by the very talented Catherine Tate. Taken from the BBC TV Series ‘The Catherine Tate Show’. Level: C1 – C2 Topics: Rich – Poor / Class / Discrimination / Values.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this audio clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
SCRIPT
M: Now – remember what daddy told you about sports day?
S&D: That ‘The taking part is everything; to win with dignity and to lose with pride in the knowledge that you did your absolute best’. *
M: Remember, whatever happens here today, mummy and daddy are immensely proud of you.
S&D: Thank you mummy…
M: OK darlings, now… it’s nearly time… in perpetua vincere.
S&D: In perpetua vincere… *
A: In lane 1, Cloe Taylor Thomas; in lane 2, Thomas Taylor Thomas; * in lane 3, Imogen Fitzroy Ferguson; in lane 4, Fergus Fitzroy Ferguson; * in lane 5, Emilia Harvey Henry; and in lane 6, Henry Harvey Henry. *
R: On your marks; get – set - * go!
M: Nooooo!!! It’s the eggs!! They’re not organic!!! (the children scream and everybody rushes off to the cars…) ***")
