By Bill Bliss and Steven J. Molinsky
This is a back-to-school season like no other. Many school systems are either delaying openings, remaining fully remote through the fall, or reopening partially with limited attendance, smaller class sizes, staggered schedules, and hybrid instruction in order to follow social distancing guidelines. As a result, remote learning is continuing to fully or partially replace face-to-face classroom instruction as the new school year gets underway.
Realizing that the challenges of remote and hybrid instruction are particularly acute for English language learners, we have developed some new training resources to support middle school and high school instructors and students who are using our Side by Side Extra course and its eText. Instructors are finding the eText version especially useful for online learning, citing the programmatic and predictable nature of the course and its communicative methodology that maximizes student interaction through conversation practice during synchronous learning sessions.
(Side by Side Extra is a streamlined intensive course especially appropriate for middle school and high school newcomers. Side by Side Plus is the adult education version of the course.)
To support instructors, we have created new quick-start guides for remote learning strategies with the eText. The guides offer tips for using the eText along with Google Meet and Zoom to create a dynamic and interactive remote learning experience. The guides also explain how teachers can use the eText to create classes, modify course content, communicate with students, and document their program participation and progress. Video training resources are also available.
Synchronous, Asynchronous, and Independent Learning
• Synchronous instruction is easy, interactive, and fun using a conferencing platform such as Google Meet or Zoom. Instructors can use screensharing to display the lesson page on students’ devices. Breakout rooms enable the highly interactive pair practice that is the hallmark of the Side by Side guided conversation methodology.
• Asynchronous learning is an important component of the remote learning experience as students preview on their own activities and content to prepare for a synchronous class, and then do follow-up activities to reinforce and expand upon the online lesson.
• Independent learning is promoted through easy-to-access embedded audio, course features such as the Side by Side Gazette, and the unique FunZone digital amusement park that offers informal, self-directed, and flexible learning through motivating instant-feedback activities, games, and videos.
Synchronous Instruction with the eText
Screensharing allows instructors to display the digital student book page for all students, with instant access to the audio program for each page. The eText’s enlargement tool makes it possible to focus on a particular activity, such as a dialog, illustration, or exercise. This is especially helpful to students who access online sessions on a smartphone or small tablet device.
Tiled/Grid View (in Google Meet) and Gallery View (in Zoom) build community in the online classroom as students participate together in listening and speaking practice, present dialogs and role plays, and engage in discussions.
Breakout Room is the ideal environment for pair practice that is at the core of the Side by Side guided conversation methodology. (The Breakout Room function is available in Zoom and forthcoming in Google Meet.)
Learning Management Using the eText
The Instructor Version of the eText enables teachers to create classes and post assignments and notes to students directly to their students’ eTexts, without the need for an LMS such as Canvas or Blackboard. Onboarding students is an easy registration process at the Pearson English Portal, and creating courses and class rosters happens through the eText platform and a simple email invitation to students to join a class.
Teaching Strategies
The quick-start guides offer step-by-step suggestions for using each type of Side by Side activity in a blend of remote learning modes of instruction: synchronous, asynchronous, and independent. The guides also provide simple instructions for onboarding students, creating courses, and using the eText platform to document learner participation. Video training resources are also available at the links below.
We hope that these resources are helpful as you continue to flexibly adapt your instruction to meet your students’ language learning needs during this unusual and challenging school year.
To download a quick-start guide for using Side by Side Extra with Google Meet, click here.
To download a quick-start guide for using Side by Side Extra or Side by Side Plus with Zoom, click here.
To access a training video for the Side by Side Extra eText, click here.
To access a webinar recording about the Side by Side Plus eText, click here.
For more information about Side by Side Extra and Side by Side Plus, click here.
To view the new Pearson ELT K12 catalog with additional elementary and secondary school resources, click here.
To locate your dedicated Pearson ELT Specialist, click here.
