Summer 2021: Top 10 MOOCs for Language Teachers

Are you looking for opportunities for personal growth and professional development this summer? We searched and found the best Massive Open Online Courses out there for language teachers. In no particular order, here is our Top 10!

1. Introduction to Applied Linguistics and TESOL - University of Leicester

This exciting course takes you on a journey to discover the various aspects of applied linguistics, its relation to TESOL, and its contribution to other fields of study, such as forensics.

2. Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom - Cornell University

In this course, you will learn how to design inclusive courses and how to assess your own methods in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

3. Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art with the National Gallery of Art

The strategies presented in this course are adapted from Artful Thinking pedagogy, developed by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. You will explore three thinking dispositions, using eight thinking routines that are easy to understand and implement with STEAM curricular content.

4. Strategies for Online Teaching and Learning - The University of British Columbia

Learn best practices and pedagogy for teaching and learning in online modalities and how to conduct appropriate assessment for online courses/programs.

5. Short Film in Language Teaching - The British Film Institute

This course will introduce you to the principles behind working with short film in the classroom and what it offers in support of language teaching.

6. Child Protection for Teachers - Queensland University of Technology

This course will enable you to recognise the signs of child abuse and neglect, and learn how maltreatment impacts on children’s learning and development. It will also help you to understand your role as a reporter.

7. The Classroom and the World - British Council

Building the right skills to succeed in the 21st century is one of the biggest challenges facing educators. While ICT skills are important, so are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. This course covers all of these skills and looks at how you can help your students build them while improving their English language.

8. Exploring Play: The Importance of Play in Everyday Life - The University of Sheffield

Does play help us to learn? Can it prepare young people to be successful in the adult world? Are all forms of play good for us?

This MOOC discusses all these questions and helps us understand the relationship between virtual play and the outside world, as well as its importance for people of all ages and backgrounds.

9. Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching - Lancaster University

In this course, you’ll discover the most up-to-date dyslexia definition, and how it affects a student’s ability to learn languages. You’ll explore the latest strategies for teaching dyslexic students and have access to a host of dyslexia teaching resources.

10. Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning - University of Michigan

Developed in partnership with Microsoft, this education course aims to transform teaching and learning at all levels through explorations of how the features that make video games great learning environments can be used in formal learning environments to increase learner engagement on a local, regional and global scale. By creating classroom learning environments that support learners’ senses of autonomy, competence and relatedness, school leaders are able to promote actively engaged and resilient learning.