Here and now topical ELT resources launched by award-winning Ready to Run

Today sees the launch of a powerful new series of video-led ELT packages that relate directly to young people’s experience of the Covid-19 lockdown. The resources will be free to all users in all countries.

Ready to Run has deployed its stable of real-life YouTubers to create videos that explore different aspects of life in quarantine around the world. Each authentic vlog unit, graded to a specific CEFR level, comes with a full resource package for a teacher to lead an exciting and valuable topical lesson online to locked-down learners.

Access the free topical video and resources here at the Ready to Run platform

This lesson on the experience of lockdown is designed for online classroom mode

Ready to Run’s ELT Editor, Elena Deleyto La Cruz, said:

“Teachers and students are crying out for learning resources that directly reflect the here and now in these disruptive times. We heard them and we got to work. We’re delighted with the results of our rapid development. The videos are immediate and engaging and launch straight into lesson plans so teachers can deliver meaningful and productive online learning sessions with attentive students”

Topical lesson packages aligned to learner levels 

Each topical package is aligned to a specific CEFR level. It consists of a graded video and then a full lesson plan, student activities and projects. The authentic vlog videos are being made by Ready to Run’s real-life YouTubers who have been trained to deliver graded language and align to a global syllabus of ELT topics. The topical lesson pack  is created to the award-winning standards of all other Ready to Run resources and designed to be deployed immediately in remote classes. Each pack consists of a student’s lesson pack, a transcript, and a teacher’s lesson plan. The unit features topical as well as level appropriate general vocabulary; a full remote lesson plan; student worksheets and activities focusing on comprehension and language production; and project work that helps students consolidate the lesson as well as develop critical thinking skills and creativity. 

Today’s release is an A2 package about keeping busy during quarantine. It’s led by Ready to Run vlogger Bokang who is a great communicator to young people. From her home in South Africa, Bokang describes some of the activities that she has developed to maintain as normal a routine as possible during the Coronavirus lockdown. This vlog enables the learning to target A2 expressions of time, and prompts student discussion and reflection on the positive side of staying at home. The activities and worksheets have been created to maximise student interaction during a remote lesson and the project work is designed for self study, group and live lesson work.

Elena Deleyto La Cruz said:

“It was critical that we maintained the highest standards of learning when we created the resources. Teachers are facing enough challenges as it is, so being able to work online with the tried and tested Ready to Run lesson plans is one less worry for them. Working with our group of authentic YouTubers over the past year has taught me a lot. They live to be topical and relevant so they were really up for the challenge and although we had to work rapidly writing the resources, they gave us great video to start from. That made it all possible and exciting.”

DLA co-founder Stephen Haggard added:

“Topical learning is a new direction for us and for the ELT content market. There’s no reason why resources for teaching English have to have been created years ago. At DLA we’ve invested in great young video talent and an agile editorial operation. We are showing that we can make the virtual ELT classroom an exciting and up-to-the-minute place without compromising standards.”    

The A2 package will be the first of a series of releases of Ready to Run topical and authentic video-led materials at different CEFR levels. All will be free to use and all will be inspired by the current global situation. DLA, the producer of Ready to Run, has committed to providing a focused toolkit for English language teachers during the Covid-19 crisis that is available free to use. All the free Ready to Run videos and resources can be accessed here 

If you want to speak to the founders of DLA, Stephen Haggard or Adam Salkeld info@digitallearningassociates.com