Australian Teacher Trainer James Thomas Conducts Refresher Training Course for HSE Perm Faculty

Last week Australian teacher trainer James Thomas visited HSE Perm at the invitation of Elizaveta Smirnova, Associate Professor of the School of Foreign Languages. From 24 to 27 September, James conducted a refresher training course on “English as a Medium of Instruction” for the HSE Perm faculty.

The course was held as part of the “Teaching Excellence Initiative” programme. It attracted the interest of HSE Perm faculty who deliver courses in English or plan to start doing so soon.

During the four-day seminar, the participants learned about a number of instructional techniques, new educational technologies and ways of teaching students. James Thomas noted the creativity and open-mindedness of Russian lecturers as well as their good English.

Anna Bykova

Associate Professor

The whole course was very interesting and interactive. It was great! We were told about many tools which I can use in my work. An important moment was reflecting on the way we teach students. I believe that lecturers need to think about it from time to time, as it leads to professional growth.

 

Anna Groysberg

Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

The course was very useful for lecturers who plan to create courses in English. We would like to thank James for this wonderful immersion into language, for providing us with important information about some educational techniques, for the useful material about Internet resources which can be used in education and also for interesting discussions on the organization of the educational process.

 

Iuliia Olegovna Papushina

Associate Professor

After attending this seminar, I took a new look at the design of my courses, putting more emphasis on the process and the language. The course let me analyze the form and substance of the feedback for my own programmes. I also got to know more about some new tools which can help me improve my research and academic writing.

James Thomas gave us a lot of useful tools and hints to improve the actual process of conducting our classes, and I’ve already started using them when teaching my students.

I was happy to get such a positive response about the course from my colleagues. I am sure that the knowledge received will help make our courses in English more interesting and effective. I would like  to thank Dmitry Gergert, Vadim Grabar, Anna Shtennikova and Marina Sheveleva for their help in organizing the course.

Elizaveta A. Smirnova
Associate Professor