English Language Teachers' Summer Seminar



Overview

This two-week summer programme is for those who teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to secondary school pupils, college/university students, or adult learners and who have more than 4 years' teaching experience.

Held at Brasenose College, the course is delivered by a team of highly experienced international trainers.

Key aims of the programe are to enable participants to:

  • produce more effective classroom materials
  • explore new teaching techniques
  • reflect on and develop their practice
  • share teaching experiences with international colleagues
  • keep abreast of current trends in English Language Teaching.

 

Programme details

Daily schedule

Sunday 3 - Saturday 16 August 2025

This two-week programme provides over 40 hours of tuition, comprising:

  • 8 x 90-minute lectures/seminars
  • 30 hours of workshop meetings (7.5 hours per course)

Timetable

Monday - Friday (both weeks 1 and 2):

09:15 - 10:45  Workshop
10:45 - 11:15  Tea/coffee break
11:15  - 12:45  Workshop
13:00 - 13:45  Lunch
14:00 - 15:30  Lecture/Seminar

Workshops

As the workshop sessions incorporate a large amount of interaction with colleagues, all teachers are invited to contribute proactively to group discussions.

You choose two morning workshops per week.

Week 1 workshops (4-8 August 2025)

Week 2 workshops (11-15 August 2025)

Please note that we will make every effort to ensure you can participate in your workshops of choice. However, pleases will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. If your choice of workshop is full, then we would be happy to place you on a waiting list in case a place should become available.

Lectures

After lunch we invite you to join us for a stimulating and informative plenary lecture:

  • Visual Literacy for the Language
    Class -     Adrian Underhill
  • Stories of our professional learning: sowing the seeds of our international learning community - Hanna Kryszewska
  • Powerplays: Modern boardgame mechanics for ELT Materials - Shaun Wilden
  • Building a culture for learning:
    exploring teachers’ social-emotional competences -     Anna Hasper
  • Dyslexia and Learning English:
    Literacy and Wider Issues -     Jon Hird

  • Feedback: The Learner’s View - Elaine Boyd

  • Ako - same old or something new? - Robert McLarty

  • Taking this experience back home - Adrian Underhill

A synopsis of each lecture can be viewed online here.

ELT publishers' book display

During the Seminar, representatives from leading ELT publishers will be present to showcase current and forthcoming ELT publications.

Meals and receptions

Resident participants:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided in the college's dining hall on weekdays. Only breakfast will be served on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 August. We invite you to join us for a welcome drinks reception and dinner on Sunday 3 August and for our formal farewell drinks reception and gala dinner on Friday 15 August.

Non-resident participants:

Lunch is provided in the college's dining hall on weekdays. We invite you to join us for a welcome drinks reception and dinner on Sunday 3 August and for our formal farewell drinks reception and gala dinner on Friday 15 August.

Social programme

We've carefully tailored your social programme to allow you plenty of free time to explore and enjoy Oxford. We've also arranged a number of optional activities (all at no extra cost) during your course which may include the following:

  • Guided walking tour of Oxford
  • Cultural exchange evening
  • Punting on the River Cherwell
  • Oxford scavenger hunt
  • River and canal walk
  • Quiz night
  • Pub visit with tutors

Participants (both resident and non resident) who would prefer not to join in any of our evening activities are most welcome to relax in the College Common Room or in one of Brasenose's beautiful quads. 

As well as being on hand to help with any course and college-related questions, your summer school assistants will be happy to provide you with information about Oxford and places to visit.

Course Director

Dr Charles Boyle

Assistant Director of the Department (Professional and Open Access Courses)

Tutors

Principal tutor - Adrian Underhill

Pronunciation, Performance and Poetry and Well-being in the Classroom

Adrian Underhill is series editor of the Macmillan Books for Teachers and author of Sound Foundations: Learning and Teaching Pronunciation, and its associated phonemic chart. He was trainer and director of the International Teacher Training Institute at International House in Hastings until 1999, since when he has worked internationally as an independent ELT consultant with a focus on teacher training, professional and organisational development, and school leadership. He is a past president of IATEFL and is principal tutor on the Oxford University ELT Summer Seminar.

Jon Hird

Exploring Grammar: Words, Clauses, Sentences and Beyond and Teaching a Changing Language: Aspects of Contemporary English 

Jon Hird is a teacher, teacher trainer and ELT materials writer based in Oxford. He teaches at the University of Oxford and frequently gives teacher-training talks and workshops in the UK and overseas. He has written and contributed to many ELT publications for a number of publishers. His most recent publications include Oxford Learner’s Pocket Verbs and Tenses (OUP) and components of the Language Hub, Roadmap, Navigate, Keynote, Oxford EAP and Life course book series. He has also written and adapted a range of materials for learners with dyslexia. 

Robert McLarty

Creating Classroom Materials and I'm sure you can manage

Robert is an experienced teacher and trainer who has worked in the UK, France and New Zealand. Editor of Modern English Teacher, he is interested in materials writing and developing speaking skills. In his spare time he plays golf, paints and walks. 

Hanna Kryszewska

Linguistic Mediation in the Secondary School Classroom: Skills, Strategies and Activities (B1 and above) and Towards Mastery: Ideas for Inspiring Advanced Learners (C1 and above) of English

Hanna Kryszewska is a teacher, teacher trainer, trainer of trainers and mentors, author of resource books and course books and former senior lecturer at the University of Gdańsk, Poland. She has co-authored: Options for English (PWSiP, 1991), Learner-based Teaching (OUP, 1992), Reading on Your Own (PWN, 1995), Towards Teaching, (Heinemann, 1995), Stand-by Book, S. Lindstromberg, Ed. (CUP, 1996), Observing English Lessons - A Video Teacher Training Course, and The Company Words Keep (DELTA, 2012).Since February 2006, she has been the editor of website magazine Humanising Language Teaching.

Shaun Wilden

Harnessing Generative AI: A practical Guide for the ELT teacher and Escape the classroom! Using puzzles, games and gamification in education

Shaun is an education technologist who teaches on both face-to-face and online courses. In the Department for Continuing Education he teaches digital literacy, as well as short courses in mobile learning and teaching online. His latest book, Mobile Learning, was published by Oxford University Press.

He is the academic director for online courses for the International House World Organisation overseeing their suite of asynchronous teacher development courses and is a consultant to a number of educational organisations to assist them in their synchronous and asynchronous course provision. His current area of interest and research is learner expectations in peer to peer social presence within asynchronous courses.

Anna Hasper 

Igniting the Fire Within: Motivating Learners in the English Language Classroom

Anna Hasper is a writer, course designer and teacher educator. She is DELTA & CELTA tutor and assessor for Cambridge English Assessment and delivers both online and face-to-face teacher training courses around the world. Anna holds a DELTA and a Masters in Education and is currently researching teacher motivation for her PhD. She has worked with pre- and in-service teachers in over 30 countries for organisations such as the British Council, International House, NILE, local ministries and leading publishers and is a regular speaker at global ELT conferences. She is a writer and a resident blogger for Modern English Teacher and the author of Supplementary activities for English Language teaching: large classes and low resource contexts and most recently Activities for Social-Emotional Learning: Developing social-emotional competences in the ELT classroom.

Elaine Boyd 

Improve your assessment literacy

Dr Elaine Boyd is a teacher trainer, writer and researcher who specialises in English language assessment. She has worked in the field for over 30 years for a range of international exam organisations, including Cambridge, Pearson, the British Council, Trinity College London and Oxford University Press. She has also worked with teacher educators in developing and delivering courses in assessment literacy in Europe, India and SE Asia and has published a number of articles in this field. Elaine has also authored several exam coursebooks for a range of age groups, including the Gold Experience series for Pearson. She is an Associate Lecturer on the M.A. Linguistics/TESOL at the Institute of Education, University College London.

Brasenose College

Certification

On successful completion of the Summer Seminar, all participants will receive a University of Oxford Certificate of Attendance. This certificate will state the course title and location, the course dates, and hours of tuition involved. It will be signed by the programme director and the principal tutor.

You will also be sent a link to a digital badge, which can be shared on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that this course does not offer any form of official credit to participants.

Fees

Description Costs
Non-Residential Fee £2330.00
Residential Fee: En suite £3740.00
Residential Fee: Standard £3600.00

Funding

The Department is, unfortunately, unable to offer any scholarships or reduction in fees for the English Language Teachers' Summer Seminar.

Payment

Residential fees

The following option is available:

  • Standard bedroom (shared shower and toilet) - £3,600

The fee above includes the following:

  • Tuition
  • Social Programme
  • Weekday morning tea and coffee
  • Accommodation on the nights of Sunday 3 August to Friday 15 August 2025 inclusive;
  • All meals from dinner on Sunday 3 August to breakfast on Saturday 16 August 2025 (with the exception of lunch and dinner on Saturday 9 August and Sunday 10 August).

Please note the above means you would leave Brasenose College the morning of Saturday 16 August. 

Residential places on the programme in an en suite bedroom (private shower and toilet) are currently fully booked, and applicants can request to be put on a waiting list for an en suite room.

Non-residential fee

No accommodation - £2,330 

Fee include:

  • Tuition
  • Social Programme
  • Weekday morning tea and coffee
  • Lunch Monday to Friday, and the programme's opening and formal closing dinners on Sunday 3 August and Friday 15 August 2025, respectively.

Cancellations

Please note that refunds are only offered in exceptional circumstances. If a participant had their visa application rejected, the department is unable to offer a refund. Please consult our terms and conditions for more details.

Applicants are strongly recommended to take out vacation cancellation insurance, and should consult their travel agent and/or insurer for information and advice. Please note that the Department does not offer any insurance cover.

Alteration or cancellation of a course by the Department

The Department reserves the right to alter details of any course should illness or any other emergency prevent a tutor from teaching, and to cancel a course or seminar if exceptionally low enrolment would make it educationally unviable.

The status of the course will be reviewed on 13 May 2025. If it is likely that the course may be cancelled, all participants enrolled on the course will be notified in writing within seven days, and possible options clearly explained.

If participants have not heard from the Department by 20 May 2025, they should assume that the course will be running; there is no need to contact us to confirm. Participants may wish to delay finalising their travel arrangements until after this date.

Assessment methods

There are no assessments for this course.

Oxford skyline from South Park

Application

Selection criteria

We welcome applications from international applicants, and there are two requirements that must be met to apply as outlined below.

Professional experience

Applicants must have a minimum of four years' experience of teaching English as a foreign or second language to secondary school pupils, college or university students or adult learners.

English language proficiency

All applicants should have a minimum level of proficiency in English equivalent to CEFR C1 across all skills.

Application deadline

The first application deadline of 3 June 2025 has now passed, but applictions are still being considered. Applications may close at any time when places are full, so we recommend applying soon.

Submitting your application

Please download the application form (Word format).

  • All sections should be completed fully, clearly, and in BLOCK CAPITALS.
  • Applications should be emailed to the Programme Administrator at the following address: ipteachers@conted.ox.ac.uk
  • Applications must be accompanied by a personal digital photo for the purposes of identification on arrival. 

You can either send the digital version of your completed application or email us a scan of your completed form. If you are having issues using Microsoft Word, you can find a .PDF version of the application form here that you can complete and scan.

Notification of the admission panel's decision

Applicants will normally be notified of the panel's decision by email within 14 calendar days of their application being received.

Applicants who are offered a place on the summer school must respond within 14 calendar days to accept or decline the offer. In accepting our offer of a place applicants are committing to paying their programme fees in full by the due date.

Enrolling, invoicing and further course information

Successful applicants will be formally enrolled on the summer school once they have accepted our offer of a place. The enrolment process includes the issuing of invoices, which will be emailed to applicants together with full instructions for payment. 

Applicants will be required to pay the full fee within 28 calendar days of their invoice date. Late applicants will be required to pay the full fee within 7 days of their invoice date. Places will not be held for students whose fees are not paid in full by the due date. Under no circumstance will applicants be admitted to the summer school unless all fees have been paid in full.

Once fees have been paid in full, applicants will be sent a formal letter confirming their place on the course and receipt of their payment.

Detailed course information notes will be emailed to participants prior to arrival and will contain practical information on pre-course travel arrangements, and living arrangements in college.

Important information regarding visa requirements

You can check if you need a visa for this course using this link on the GOV.UK website. If you require a visa to study abroad, then we strongly recommend that you apply for this course as early as possible in order to allow yourself sufficient time to make a successful visa application.

This may include a letter from the course administrator confirming your place on the course; this confirmation letter will not be issued until all course fees have been paid in full. In the case of a visa application being unsuccessful the Department will not offer a refund.

Please note that, for legal reasons, the Programme Administrator is not permitted to provide any visa advice to applicants. All such enquiries should be submitted to Oxford University’s student visa and immigration advisers via email at student.immigration@admin.ox.ac.uk

Any queries?

Please contact the Programme Administrator by email at ipteachers@conted.ox.ac.uk

Accommodation

Resident in college

For that real University of Oxford experience, you will have the opportunity to live in student accommodation in an Oxford College. You will stay in a single study bedroom with a private or shared bathroom depending on your choice of accommodation at the time of enrolment.

We regret that participants cannot be accommodated at college either prior to or beyond their programme dates. Family members and/or friends who are not enrolled on this programme cannot be accommodated in college.

A non-resident option is also available.

Participants with a disability or mobility impairment

Participants who declare a disability during their application will be contacted by the Department's student support team to discuss any support needs or adjustment requests.

Disabled students planning to attend the English Language Teacher's Summer Seminar may wish to contact the programme administrator via ipteachers@conted.ox.ac.uk to discuss any support needs in advance. 

Please note that Brasenose College bedrooms do not have lift access, and the higher rooms can be located up a few flights of stairs. If you need a room on a ground or lower floor please indicate this on your enrolment form, or contact the programme administrator as soon as possible..

Students with a mobility impairment may also wish to consult the University Access Guide. 

If you would like more information about support available to students with disabilities, please see further information.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support