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Difference between revisions of "Widgets Inc.: Teach Outside the Box"

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== WIDGETS NEWS ==
 
== WIDGETS NEWS ==
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[[File:Certificate thumb.png|400px|thumb|right|link=http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019]]
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'''WIDGETS INC. TAKES THE ELTON!'''
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[[File:WidgetsELTON.jpg|300px|thumb|right|link=http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019/eltons-2019-winners/2019-eltons-winners]]
  
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[2019 06/13] At a ceremony overlooking the river Thames in London on June 10th, 2019, ''Widgets Inc.'' beat out four other finalists to be awarded the 2019 British Council ELTon for Course Innovation, the most prestigious coursebook award in the industry.
  
'''Certificate of Completion'''
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It was an outstanding achievement, especially given the impressive competition. Among the final five was ''On Task'' (Abax) by Justin Harris and Paul Leeming, another excellent task-based book produced in Japan. The team was already absolutely thrilled to be nominated, but to receive the top prize as well was an unexpected honour.
  
[2019 05/25]
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Thank you to all of the incredible staff at the British Council who produced an extremely high quality event, and to the host, poet Benjamin Zephariah. The evening was also made memorable by the presence of author Michael Rosen, who introduced David Crystal for a lifetime achievement award.
  
At the end of the Widgets course, some teachers like to print out a certificate of completion for the students. It's a nice way to recognize all of the hard work that students have done over the semester. If you would like to give it a try, download the PDF Certificate of Completion file from the "User Contributions" page of the wiki. Thank you to Marc Helgesen for suggesting this excellent idea.
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[http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019 More on the finalists and other winners here].
  
If you have an idea or technique for using Widgets that could benefit other teachers, let us know by email, or simply add it to the User Contributions page yourself. This ''is'' a wiki, after all!
 
  
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'''Watch the British Council ELTons Livestreamed from London'''
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[[File:Eltons.jpg|300px|thumb|right|link=http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019/eltons-awards-ceremony-livestream/eltons-awards-ceremony-livestream?fbclid=IwAR2aByxo0NACxxUFgHDJK1ukhKSTuuEV8nFM8V9Ep6BN3HGYOmNfDpVkAYg]]
  
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[2019 06/05] On Monday, June 10th (UK time), the British Council ELTon Awards will be broadcast live from London, Academy Awards-style! Many excellent ELT books and resources are nominated for the various categories, including ''Widgets''. Our category is Course Innovation, and we are up against [https://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019/eltons-2019-finalists/excellence-course-innovation-2019-finalists four other titles], including our Japan task-based friends, Justin Harris and Paul Leeming, with their excellent series from Abax, ''On Task''.
  
[[File:Eltons.jpg|400px|thumb|right|link=http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019]]
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If you want to watch this exciting event, [http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/events/eltons-innovation-awards/eltons-innovation-awards-2019/eltons-awards-ceremony-livestream/eltons-awards-ceremony-livestream?fbclid=IwAR2aByxo0NACxxUFgHDJK1ukhKSTuuEV8nFM8V9Ep6BN3HGYOmNfDpVkAYg go to this link], or click on the ELTons image to the right.
  
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Here is a link to check what time the live broadcast will occur [https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=British+Council+ELTons+Awards+2019+LIVE&iso=20190610T1730&p1=136&ah=4 in your time zone]. Best of luck to all finalists!
  
'''Widgets Inc. a finalist for the 2019 British Council ELTons!'''
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[[OLDER NEWS]]
  
[2019 04/05]
 
  
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Widgets Inc. is a finalist for the 2019 British Council ELTon Award for Course Innovation! The ELTons are the very top international award in ELT publishing, sometimes referred to as "the Academy Awards of ELT"–and if so, ''Course Innovation'' is like the Best Picture category!
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== ABOUT ''WIDGETS INC.''==
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{{#ev:vimeo|333900811||center|[30-sec highlights video]|||true|middle|}}
  
Winners will be announced and livecast at a celebrity-filled ceremony in London on June 10th. Watch this space for more updates!
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[https://www.englishbooks.jp/catalog/index.php/Coursebooks-Widgets-Inc.-2nd-Edition***-Latest-Edition-***-c-8060 '''HOW TO ORDER''']
  
  
[[OLDER NEWS]]
 
 
 
== ABOUT ''WIDGETS INC.''==
 
 
''Widgets Inc.'' is a business themed English communication course using a task-based approach to language learning. It is designed for classes of 12 to 40 young adult or older students who are placed into teams and must complete a series of connected projects.  
 
''Widgets Inc.'' is a business themed English communication course using a task-based approach to language learning. It is designed for classes of 12 to 40 young adult or older students who are placed into teams and must complete a series of connected projects.  
  
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== WIDGEPEDIA QUICK LINKS ==
 
== WIDGEPEDIA QUICK LINKS ==
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[http://www.widgepedia.com/index.php?title=Widgets_Inc. About the course]
 
[http://www.widgepedia.com/index.php?title=Widgets_Inc. About the course]
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[http://www.widgepedia.com/index.php?title=Answer_Keys Answer keys]
 
[http://www.widgepedia.com/index.php?title=Answer_Keys Answer keys]
  
[https://www.englishbooks.jp/catalog/index.php/Coursebooks-Widgets-Inc.-2nd-Edition***-Latest-Edition-***-c-8060 Ordering information]
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[https://www.englishbooks.jp/catalog/index.php/Coursebooks-Widgets-Inc.-2nd-Edition***-Latest-Edition-***-c-8060 HOW TO ORDER]
  
 
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Revision as of 22:14, 13 June 2019



WIDGETS NEWS

.

WIDGETS INC. TAKES THE ELTON!

WidgetsELTON.jpg

[2019 06/13] At a ceremony overlooking the river Thames in London on June 10th, 2019, Widgets Inc. beat out four other finalists to be awarded the 2019 British Council ELTon for Course Innovation, the most prestigious coursebook award in the industry.

It was an outstanding achievement, especially given the impressive competition. Among the final five was On Task (Abax) by Justin Harris and Paul Leeming, another excellent task-based book produced in Japan. The team was already absolutely thrilled to be nominated, but to receive the top prize as well was an unexpected honour.

Thank you to all of the incredible staff at the British Council who produced an extremely high quality event, and to the host, poet Benjamin Zephariah. The evening was also made memorable by the presence of author Michael Rosen, who introduced David Crystal for a lifetime achievement award.

More on the finalists and other winners here.


Watch the British Council ELTons Livestreamed from London

Eltons.jpg

[2019 06/05] On Monday, June 10th (UK time), the British Council ELTon Awards will be broadcast live from London, Academy Awards-style! Many excellent ELT books and resources are nominated for the various categories, including Widgets. Our category is Course Innovation, and we are up against four other titles, including our Japan task-based friends, Justin Harris and Paul Leeming, with their excellent series from Abax, On Task.

If you want to watch this exciting event, go to this link, or click on the ELTons image to the right.

Here is a link to check what time the live broadcast will occur in your time zone. Best of luck to all finalists!

OLDER NEWS


ABOUT WIDGETS INC.

[30-sec highlights video]

HOW TO ORDER


Widgets Inc. is a business themed English communication course using a task-based approach to language learning. It is designed for classes of 12 to 40 young adult or older students who are placed into teams and must complete a series of connected projects.

Students simulate being interns at a startup company called Widgets Inc., where they brainstorm product ideas, pitch their ideas, perform market research, design ad campaigns, participate in a job interview, and more.

Widgets Inc.: A task-based course in workplace English (120 pp., A4 paperback) is available from the following distributors: englishbooks.jp . It is published by Atama-ii Books (2018) and was written by Marcos Benevides and Chris Valvona. ISBN: 9781941140000


Widgets is great for mixed-ability classes from pre-intermediate to high-intermediate.

  • CEFR B1 and above: students are engaged and challenged at their own level of achievement even while working together in mixed-level teams. Task situations provide useful language and excellent incidental practice for TOEIC speaking and writing components.
  • Integrated skill development: students develop fluency and confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing via discussions, presentations, self and team evaluations, report writing, viewing video instructions, and many more highly-contextualized tasks.
  • Meaningful assessment: students are assessed primarily by task outcome in accordance with Communicative Language Teaching and TBLT principles; a secondary focus on the use of language forms is also possible.

Widgets is arranged by task complexity, not language complexity.

The course starts with easy tasks, and quickly builds to more complex projects. This puts the focus and the challenge of the course on the practical use of English, rather than on passing language tests. It also encourages students to develop fluency and confidence in using English in ‘real world’ situations.

The Widgets project sequence, in order of increasing task complexity:

  • Stage 1 Interns join the company orientation
  • Stage 2 Teams prepare and pitch new product proposals
  • Stage 3 Teams discuss and evaluate new product proposals
  • Stage 4 Teams perform market research on the selected product
  • Stage 5 Teams plan and present a multimedia advertising campaign
  • Stage 6 Interns prepare a resume and cover letter, and interview for a job


WIDGEPEDIA QUICK LINKS

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About the course

Inspection sample

Course videos

Lesson plans

Answer keys

HOW TO ORDER

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