Oxford English Language Teachers' Academy Masterclass

A welcome from Dr Charles Boyle, Programme Director

A very warm welcome to the OTA Masterclass for English language teachers. We invite you to join ELT colleagues from across the globe in what is a truly international learning community in the stunning and historic setting of Worcester College.

Masterclass workshops

Each morning you will participate in two 90-minute workshop sessions of your choice. You choose one workshop per week. The workshop options for 2020 are:

Workshops week 1

• Global Skills for 21st Century Learners
• Dynamic Classroom Management: Building High Quality Relationships 
• Once Upon a Time… Engaging Young Learners through Storytelling
• Ideas and Strategies for Teaching Mixed Ability Young Learner Classes
• Maximising the Impact of Native Speaker Language Assistants
• Content and Language Integrated Learning for Secondary School Teachers

Workshops week 2

• Effective Mentoring
• Language Learning and Social Cohesion in the Multicultural Primary School Classroom
• Teaching Young Learners How to Think
• Lights, Camera, Action! Exploiting and Creating Short Film in ELT
• Linguistic Mediation in the Secondary School Classroom: Skills, Strategies and Activities (B1+)
• Bringing Grammar and Vocabulary Alive in the Teenage Classroom

Afternoon lecture series

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

Our 2020 lecture series includes presentations on a wide variety of topics: 

Working with the CEFR - Tim Goodier

Visual Literacy in the ELT Classroom - Hanna Kryszewska

Personalization in an Impersonal World - John Hughes

Artificial Intelligence and Language Learning  - Shaun Wilden

Student well-being and happiness: Building Resilience in the Classroom - Erika Osváth

Beyond the Classroom - Working with Parents  -Vanessa Esteves

Schedule

Monday - Friday

09.15 - 10.45  Workshop
10.45 - 11.15  Tea break
11.15  - 12.45  Workshop
12.45 - 13.45  Lunch
14.15 - 15.15  Lecture

The programme provides 42 hours of tuition, comprising:

• 30 hours of workshop meetings
• 8 lectures

After class you can relax in over 24 acres of tranquil gardens and wooded grounds, sit by the college’s own lake far from the bustle of the busy city streets beyond Worcester’s high walls or explore one of Britain’s most beautiful cities. Each evening, a rich and varied social programme will help you to make the most of your time in Oxford.

Social programme

We have carefully tailored your social programme to allow you plenty of free time to explore and enjoy Oxford. You will also benefit from the services of two programme assistants who will be on hand to offer information as to what’s on and what to see in Oxford. We have arranged a number of optional social activities (all at no extra cost) during your course which are likely to include the following:

• Guided walking tour of Oxford
• Cultural exchange evening
• Oxford scavenger hunt
• Great British Quiz Night
• Open-air play
• Canal walk
• Scottish country dancing
• Punting on the River Cherwell
• Oxford parks walk
• Pub visit with tutors
• Coach transport to and from London on Saturday 18 July

Meals and refreshments

We invite all participants to join us for an opening drinks reception and dinner on Sunday 12 July and for our farewell drinks reception and formal dinner on Friday 24 July.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in college and you have a choice of a light continental-style breakfast in Worcester College Nash Café or a cooked breakfast in the college Dining Hall.

Refreshments

Tea, coffee and refreshments are served during the morning break.

Lunch

A buffet lunch is served in the Said Business School Dining Hall. You can choose from a number of hot main course options or help yourself to the salad bar. After lunch you can enjoy a coffee on the roof terrace. 

Dinner

A two course dinner is served in the Dining Hall at Worcester College.

OUP book display

During the programme, representatives from Oxford University Press will be present to showcase current and forthcoming ELT publications. All teachers will be offered a discount of 20% on OUP's ELT publications purchased during the programme.

On successful completion of the Masterclass, all participants will receive a University of Oxford Certificate of Attendance.

The attendance certificate will state the course title and location, the course dates, and hours of tuition involved.

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

Participants who successfully complete the OTA Evidence of Learning forms for each training session will also receive an OTA Masterclass Certificate.

Residential

£2,900

Fees include:

• Tuition
• Course materials
• Full social programme
• Accommodation in a single room with private shower and toilet for the nights of Sunday 12 July to Friday 24 July 2020 inclusive;
• Meals in College from dinner on Sunday 12 July to breakfast on Saturday 26 July 2020.
• Opening and Closing Drinks Receptions and Dinners
• Weekday morning tea/coffee and biscuits
• Services of resident summer school assistants
• Group photo

Non-residential

No accommodation - £1,715

Fees include:

• Tuition; course materials; full social programme
• Lunch Monday to Friday, and the programme's opening and formal closing drinks receptions and dinners on Sunday 12 July and Friday 24 July 2020, respectively.
• Weekday morning tea/coffee and biscuits
• Group photo

Cancellations

Please note that refunds are only offered in exceptional circumstances. 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 06 May 2020. 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 13 May 2020, 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.

The OTA course options are highly practical and require daily, active participation and discussion. All participants will be expected to work in pairs and small groups and, for some options, to give short individual presentations.

There are no assessments for this course.

Please download the application form.

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

Application deadline

Subject to the availability of places, the closing date for applications is Friday, 25 May 2020.

Notification of the admission panel's decision

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

Applicants who are offered a place on the summer school must respond within 14 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 posted to applicants together with full instructions for payment.

Applicants will be required to pay the full fee within 28 days of their invoice date. Late applicants may 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 shortly before the start of the summer school. These notes will contain practical information to assist teachers preparing to travel to Oxford.

Any queries?

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

Important information regarding visa requirements

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

It is anticipated that applicants will have at least two years' experience of teaching English.

All participants must speak English to a minimum of a high B2 CEFR level of proficiency.