The 2nd annual Comix Competition for Students of EDUCAnet Schools

We're thrilled to announce the 2nd Annual Comix Competition.

The Contest is open to all students in EDUCAnet Schools.
The winners among EDUCAnet Schools will be announced
on Friday 8^th December 2017.
The three best-awarded comics will be sent to Luzern, in Switzerland and will compete in an international Fumetto Comix Competition.

The competition's theme 2018 is:

Enough

We own so many things. We travel more than ever and explore the most remote places. This has an impact on our environment. Travelling and the production of food, clothes and all products need soil, water, air and other natural resources. 

  What do you, your family and your friends really need to feel happy? How much is enough?

• Categories: Cat. 1: 18 years or older / Cat. 2: 13 to 17 years / Cat. 3: up to 12 years of age (reference date is the deadline)
• Format: A4 or A3 (other formats enclose application will be disqualified) 
• Form: only comics (stories in picture form), no digital entries
• Number of pages: maximum 4 (only 1 comic-story)

THE BEST ENTRIES WILL BE SUBMITTED BY JANUARY 4th 2018, THE OFFICIAL FUMETTO INTERNATIONAL COMIX FESTIVAL LUCERNE IN SWITZERLAND.
The winner will be announced and prizes awarded Saturday the 14th of April 2018.

Prizes

Fumetto will award three prizes in each category. There will also be a prize for the best scenario, regardless of the categories. The festival's visitors will be able to vote for the people’s choice award. The winners will receive cash prizes totaling CHF 5'000. - and goods of the same value.

The European Day of Languages at EDUCAnet Praha

ELT SIGNPOSTS 2017

The 12th International and the 16th National ATECR conference  Brno,8-9 September 2017

EDUCAnet Praha students score high marks in OnlineTest

We all know that get our students ready for their exams we need to do two things. Firstly, get their English to the right level. And secondly, make sure they know what to expect from the particular exam.

English Teachers of EDUCAnet Schools are aware of the importance of not just placing the students to a right language group, but also of preparing, planning the syllabus for teaching English as a foreign language and helping all of our students attain their full potential. For testing the Oxford Online Placement Test was conducted for all the students in Net Schools of EDUCAnet in June.

The OOPT is used as a quick measure of students´ general language ability and straightforward assessment of students´ English language skills.  It has two sections: Use of English and Listening. It gives both an overall score and individual scores for each section. This test is different from most other placement tests. Not only does test grammar and vocabulary, it also tests how learners use that knowledge in order to understand the meaning in communication. The test provides accurate, reliable, and valid results.

At EDUCAnet Praha students of Grammar and ICT fields of study have been tested in early June. Students of 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grades had to bring out all their skills and knowledge what they have learned during their schooling time in English classes. Students did extremely well to score high marks in the test. Over 45% of tested students reached B2 level, 21% reached C1 and 4% reached C2 level in English. Over 70% of all tested students will pass their maturita exams in English language with flying colours.  

We are very satisfied with the results of our student, as they have proven to be trustworthy. All examinees received their own Score Report and Certificate of CEFR levels in English language. Since the placement test results are valid for one year after testing. Based on this, students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades will be placed in the appropriate course level in September 2017.

EDUCAnet NeT Schools ESSAY COMPETITION Winners 2016/17

eTwinning - The community for schools in Europe

Workshop on Internet safety and cyberbullying

REAL talk on REAL issues at EDUCAnet Praha

 Class C4 + 9th Class

   Teen talk on cyberbullying

         February 7^th 2017 -  INTERNET SAFETY DAY

Why cyberbullying is an issue?

If It Happens To You:   

• SAVE EVERYTHING – emails, messages, posts, and screenshots. 
• SAVE the evidence.
• DON´T delete until you have a copy. Print them out or save them on our computer or phone.
• IDENTIFY the bully.
• BLOCK the bully from any Internet services that you use BUT only after you have made copies of the emails, IP # and username.
• DON´T respond to the bully or FORWARD any messages.
• TELL parents, teachers or any responsible adult.

   SEEK HELP!

GOOD TIPS how to stay cyber-safe:

Prevent It!

Think before you post!

Do not forget the Internet never forgets!

                         

The very First EDUCAnet Essay Competition 2017

The very first Essay Competition has been announced recently at EDUCAnet Praha.

The purpose of this essay writing contest is to inspire students from schools of EDUCAnet Net Schools and encourage them to develop and improve their creative writing and critical thinking skills.

The flyer has been created during OAJ lessons. 

OAJ stands for an ICT seminar in English (ESP).

How to Run Your Start-up

On Monday 17 January 2017 during our Conversation classes we visited the American Center U. S. Embassy, Prague.

AC is the venue for seminars, lectures, conferences on American history, politics, science, etc. AC offers up-to-date information on a wide range of U.S. related topics. It also organises art exhibitions and concerts.

We have been cooperating with the American Center for more than 6 years.

The American Center hosted a global interactive webchat on How to Run Your Start-up with two American experts or GIST "Gurus" — Ray Crowell and Melissa Perri, who talked about how entrepreneurs can manage their start-ups.

Ideas worth spreading:

 "You need three things to create a successful start-up: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible."

The upcoming Global Webchat in English at the American Center on "Incubator or Accelerator: Does Your Startup need one?" will be held on Tue, Feb 14, 5 p.m. 

On the occation of Martin Luther King Day (Jan 16) an exhibition "Martin Luther King Murals "takes place in AC´s corridor until February.

Peter Black at Theatre U22

On 20^th December 2016 students of classes C1 and G1 attended a theatre show at Theatre U22, which is a modern drama theatre scene with a café in Prague 10-Uhříněves.

Students’ reviews...

"It was an amazing experience, I immediately want to go and see the second story of P.B."

"I understood almost everything. I'd go again. Actors tried to speak slowly so that we understood them. It was funny as well... "

"That was great! I understood all."

"The story was quite short but it was a happy end. I want to see it again! I hope they´ll put on other shows. Good job!"

"I think the performance was really well done and funny; especially the actors were very convincing. The scenery was realistic and just the perfect setting for this play."

"I did like the play for the characters that were played by the guy that played Rocco and the homeless guys because they were really funny and they had made the play more interesting. I was also kind of shocked when I realised that the whole play was played by only 2 actors and 1 actress. On the other hand I didn't like the ending because I didn't quiet understand it but I guess that it has more parts that explains the first part.

My final opinion is that the whole play was alright and I would recommend it to people that have this kind of humour which I also have."

Implementing CLIL method at language learning

Using CLIL method at primary and secondary schools can be beneficial for the students as its main aim is to acquire knowledge of curricular subject content through a foreign language.

The main aim of CLIL lessons is to develop students‘ communication skills and increase students talking time during the lessons. 
Integrating content and language is not a new concept. However, the importance of implementing the concept has become more essential in current internationalised environment of schools.

Our school EDUCAnet Praha is a great example of a school were teachers successfully implement CLIL method in teaching.

High School Days 2016 in Prague

Studying abroad may change the way you view all kinds of things which you´d previously taken for granted...

Studying abroad during high school is the perfect way for gaining the international perspective, life skills and independence.

A unique opportunity has arisen and we visited High School Days 2016 Fair organised by Alfa Agency.

We met and interacted with admission representatives from wide range of study institutions, colleges from different countries in Europe from Britain, Ireland, Spain and from overseas countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. 

A Project Day - Creation videos at EDUCAnet Praha

Gone are the days when teaching at schools was all about reading and discussing books and papers because these days, it is all about interaction, innovation and most importantly creativity.

Support creativity and competitiveness were the main purposes of a PROJECT DAY held and organised by EDUCAnet Praha on 4th October.

 It was a great example of collaboration within the net of EDUCAnet schools and also a shining example of interdisciplinary collaboration.

The theme of the Project Day was MAKING A VIDEO on a RETRO OBJECT.

Planning, scripting, rehearsing were the most important steps for a video project.

Students came up with genuine and unique ideas.

The winning video...

A Floppy Disk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-X52QindMPgbzkwRzZ0QjZnTjg/view?ts=5809eada

ELT Czechlist: Ideas from the Heart of Europe

This year in September, the 11th International and 15th National ATECR (Association of Teachers of English of the Czech Republic) Conference was held at the SPŠE Ječná and Pedagogická fakulta UK with plenaries by Šárka Dohnalová, Ben Dobbs and Louel Ross Calleja. 

The conference was really a great event, full of inspiring presentations, networking and socialising. Networking is one of the most important advantages of attending a conference. A great way to meet colleagues and peers is one of the most rewarding components of conference attendance and also a unique opportunity to talk to the speakers, book authors and publishers.

It was just a lovely kick to new school year!

 

Inspiring new publications...and ideas that work!

Snowball fighting in the classroom...a great gap filling activity

Playing snowball fighting in the classroom sounds a bit childish, though it always works with older students too.

The game is a great way to energising students, change the pace, fill a gap or just as a fun activity after introducing a topic.

During our very first English classes we played our snowball game as a whole class and we really enjoyed it. 
After the activity students  all sat comfortably and get busy with First (FCE) preparation – Reading and Use of English Exam strategies.

New trends in foreign language teaching

Language teaching approaches, methods and procedures are constantly undergoing reassessment. New ideas keep emerging created by technology. Students nowadays have access to an incredible amount of English-language material online. But while this is clearly beneficial, it can also be a bit overwhelming.

The idea of spaced repetition is not new but it still works. More and more language-learning apps use the principles of spaced repetition, such as Lingopolis or Olive Green.

They are sites that adapt materials for students like Easier English Wiki that provides students (and teachers) with free materials based on articles from New Internationalist magazine. Newsmart is an app that uses daily, up-to-date content from the Wall Street Journal to teach language and develop reading and listening skills.

Nowadays, every student carries a powerful mini-computer, video camera and audio recorder in their pocket, a Smart phone, and teachers are finding new ways to use this technology in the classroom for learning English.

However, not all the latest trends rely on technology. A very noticeable trend is towards more creativity in the classroom. Creativity is becoming one of the most important 21st-century skills.

Great examples are Oxford Discover a series, based on the 'four Cs' (critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity) and the Macmillan Life Skills series, which treats broader soft skills such as raising self-awareness, and influencing and managing others.

New resources from our #ELTons2015 winning Life Skills site are now available to download!
http://ow.ly/O4Dsn

If you only read 6 things this week...

A superb way how to master ENGLISH!

How liers fool us all the time
a great article I would recommend for reading...

   Repetition makes a fact seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not. Understanding this effect can help you avoid falling for propaganda, says psychologist Tom Stafford.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE...on
www.bbc.com/future/story/20161026-how-liars-create-the-illusion-of-truth

Subsribe, get access to the latest unique articles and improve your English!
And if you only read 6 things this week, you will soon master it!

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A memorable Red Letter Day - Sports Day at Educanet Praha

It was a special, happy, and important day that everybody will always remember...

It was a  DAY full of fun, excitement and various competing sports activities.

The activites  were dedicated not just to having fun, playing together but also to promoting physical activity and health for everyone!

Students are encouraged to engage in sports and outdoor games on the regular basis.

Life is also just like a game. Sometimes, you win, and sometimes you lose. Participating in various games and sports adevelop a feeling of sporting spirit.

DofE in action at EDUCAnet Praha 6.- 8. 06. 2016 POSAZAVI - Bronz and Silver level

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a challenge all the time. It was on our expedition too... Aside from that, it's also one of the most enjoyable things you have ever done, gives you great motivation to get up off the sofa and live life, and is a fantastic way to make some of the best friends.
In a nutshell, to complete the Award you have to undertake a variety of activities comprising one from each of five separate categories over a period of time.

Aim of the expedition

To develop initiative and a sense of adventure and discovery, by planning, training for and completing an adventurous journey as part of a team.

Achieving your Award is an adventure from beginning to end and this section can give you some of your most memorable experiences!

With a team, we planned an aim for our expedition, decided the location and did lots of training to make sure we´re fully prepared and know what we’re doing!  We worked  as a team to organise all of this and helped to plan our expedition. 

The whole experience  gave us laughs, arguments, joy and frustration along the way.  But, in the end, we had better team and leadership skills, not to mention bags more confidence and a rucksack full of great memories!

Benefits

Gain an appreciation of and respect for the outdoor environment.

Learn the value of sharing responsibility for success.

Learn the importance of attention to detail and organisational ability.

Develop and demonstrate enterprise and imagination.

Become more self-reliant.

Become more able to overcome challenges.

Recognise the needs and strengths of others.

Improve decision-making skills and the ability to accept consequences.

Gain skills to reflect on personal performance.

Facebook and new apps for English learners

Recently, I have read articles about decrease in daily Facebook users, specifically among teens. In other words, teenagers are still on Facebook; they're just not using it as much as they did.

To understand where teens like to spend their virtual time nowadays, just watch them on their smartphones. All the fun stuff is happening on their mobiles.

Facebook has become a social network that's often too complicated, too risky, and, above all, too overrun by parents to give teens the type of digital freedom. 

Their world revolves around Instagram and gradual exodus towards WhatsApp, WeChat, KakaoTalk, etc.
However, Facebook with more than 1 billon users worldwide is still a leader among social networking sites.
The question is how can you, as a student of English, use Facebook and all those apps to your own benefit and improve your language skills?

On Facebook there are lots of groups and you can join them. They can help you practice your English. They pose questions, mill games, videos, stories that you can read and play along with and they challenge you to use your English properly.

When you join these groups you are going to meet a lot of other people just like you. These people want to learn English and they are trying to it on Facebook.

If they wanna learn English and you wanna learn English you can do it together.

After you find friends you could have a chat with them or use your skype hangouts on Google.

You can also study grammar. There are hundreds  of grammar sides. Teachers have uploaded lots and lots of different charts, rules and exercises on to Facebook and you can join those pages. 
The pages are being updated  almost daily and you can see more and more rules, learn grammar and get better at English. After all the father of modern English literature William Shakespeare has his Facebook account - pages...
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamShakespeareAuthor/

A lot of people post videos on Facebook  to help you practice your listening in English. And if you do that it is like being with someone.You can hear them talking, listen to the proper  pronounciation, so it can certainly help too. 

The last thing you can do to help yourself learn English on Facebook is that you find a page that you are interested in or people that you are interested in. Read the conversations right there. They are really good at talking and they use a wide range of vocabulary. 
The more you read the better you will get. 

And let's not forget mobile apps. With these apps for learning English, it'll almost be like playing a game  no more boring vocabulary and grammar exercises!

So those are all different ways that you can try to improve your English using Facebook and different apps.

Share, learn and enjoy English...

Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/myenglishteachers
https://www.facebook.com/grammarly
https://www.facebook.com/GrammarUpdates
https://www.facebook.com/bbclearningenglish.multimedia

Apps:
http://openlanguage.com/library/learn-english/10/culture-show/478/top-5-ios-apps-for-learning-english