Enter your details to access this video

Or if you already have an account login to watch the video (if you don't you can register here).
Login

Martha has extensive experience in teaching EAL pupils in primary and secondary education in the UK. She has also delivered teacher training on EAL teaching strategies and actively contributed to the improvement of EAL provision in schools. Martha holds a Bachelor's degree in English Language & Literature and a Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics, and she has conducted research on foreign language didactics and English Language curriculum design in the past. She has also been an English Language Teacher for the past 17 years. Her areas of interest include language and identity, the bilingual brain and psychology behind multilingualism.

Articles from this author

Computer and AI illustration

Four fun ways to improve your English using AI technology

Author: Martha Giannakaki, EAL Specialist
Created: Fri 20th Dec 2024

AI technology can offer adult learners of English or multilingual families a supportive, fun and engaging environment in which to learn and practise their English. Schools can play an instrumental role in guiding those families through this process and therefore home-school collaboration is always encouraged. Let’s look at four different ideas for school staff to encourage their multilingual families to engage in an enjoyable language learning experience through AI. 

human and AI hand touching

Use AI effectively and save time while planning for your EAL learners

Author: Martha Giannakaki, EAL Specialist
Created: Wed 4th Dec 2024

Using AI (Artificial Intelligence) for creating EAL lesson plans

With EAL learners making up a diverse group with varying English proficiency levels and needs, differentiating class content for EAL learners can be challenging and time-consuming for teachers. However, utilising Artificial Intelligence tools as a time-saving resource for EAL planning can help us adopt more tailored approaches to teaching in almost no time. Let’s explore some of the ways in which AI can help us save time on a busy school day.

What is the difference between ‘Parental involvement’ and ‘Parental engagement’?

Author: Martha Giannakaki, ESOL specialist
Created: Tue 5th Nov 2024

Effective teacher-parent collaboration has undoubtedly been found to be beneficial for a child’s wellbeing and academic performance with relevant research recently highlighting two distinct approaches to home-school partnerships associated with specific parent behaviours each (Epstein, 2001). Below we will attempt to shed light on the differences between ‘parent involvement’ and ‘parent engagement’ in an effort to help schools make more informed decisions on what really matters when it comes to promoting successful collaboration with parents.

Smiling father guiding daughter during her homework session while sitting at table with laptop and books e engaging in educational activities in relaxed home environment

Parental involvement influences learner success: How to encourage parents to engage with their children's education

Author: Martha Giannakaki, ESOL specialist
Created: Wed 28th Aug 2024

As a child progresses through education, the development of strong connections between their parents and teachers is vitally important (Drake, 2000). Effective home-school partnerships and parental involvement in children’s education have traditionally been a strong predictor of student academic achievement and - ultimately - success (Epstein, 2001). Therefore, understanding the powerful role of parents and the ways in which they can be an effective influence on their children is crucial in our effort to provide a truly supportive learning environment for students.

How to engage ESOL parents through informal coffee mornings

Author: Martha Giannakaki, ESOL specialist
Created: Wed 10th Jan 2024

Parental involvement in education contributes to a stronger and more inclusive school community. Engaging parents in their children’s education is also a fundamental aspect of creating a supportive learning environment for our learners and has been associated with a positive impact on learner performance (Khan, 1996).

An image of an exercise book, a pencil and some colourful letters

Supporting EAL learners in the classroom

Author: Martha Giannakaki, EAL Specialist
Created: Tue 4th Jul 2023

Our EAL learners are by no means a homogeneous group of learners and their needs in our classroom will vary to a considerable extent. As teachers may find it challenging at times to successfully cater to different EAL needs in class, developing a deeper understanding of those needs can help us address them more effectively through a number of tips and strategies.