“A top professional with inspiring dreams.”

Here is what some of my clients say about me:

Teachers on CLIL courses
Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
Groningen University, the Netherlands
Teachers on a summer school
University lecturers  on a summer school
Cambridge International Examinations
Koninklijke Scholengemeenschap, Apeldoorn

Teachers on CLIL courses

"Very useful. First of all it was an eye opener to see how great the language barrier actually can be."
"My teaching not only changed in the CLIL class but also in the other classes."

"Never a dull moment! (due to the wide range of activities, interaction, new theories) serious business in a relaxed setting."

"If you do this course probably your lessons will never be the same again. Your students will be better off and so will you (as a teacher)! My enthusiasm for working in CLIL has grown enormously."

"This course provides you with many great tools, that you can use to encourage your students to improve on their English, without slowing down the progress of the subject you are teaching. Many of these tools are actively used during the course"

"Not just a toe in the water but a plunge in the pool of CLIL, you walk away with a lot of knowledge and we exchanged a lot of laughs and ideas. Is there going to be CLIL the Sequel?"

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Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

"We invited Rosie as a guest teacher trainer to give workshops at Sophia University (Tokyo) focusing on CLIL pedagogies: in-house training for university language teachers, an open session for primary and secondary English teachers and a train-the-trainer workshop targeted at experienced CLIL teachers.

"All the sessions were very popular and warmly received. What the participants liked most was her style of training, where Rosie had the teachers actually experience and reflect on various activities. After her sessions, we received very positive feedback from the trainee teachers, saying, for example, that they went back to their teaching context with a lot of insightful and practical ideas.

"As professional development coordinator, I particularly appreciate her flexibility and willingness to cater for our specific needs and problems. It was very rewarding and enjoyable for us to work with Rosie professionally and simply have her company personally."

Professor Makoto Ikeda, PhD, Associate Professor of English Language Education
Centre for Language Education and Research

"I really enjoyed all three workshops at Sophia University (Tokyo).  I liked the way Rosie meshed the theory and practice in the first one, and it gave me lots of  ideas about how I should organize my own workshops. In the second one, I learnt about how to link theory and practice in a way that is easy to understand for the participants.  I thought that the model CLIL (art) lesson was really interesting; I liked the idea of having the observers to encourage meta-cognition, and sharing of thought about the theory and practice. In the third one, I learnt, on another level that for our participants, it is important to apply the knowledge to an actual lesson, thinking about the balance between the content and language. 

"I was able to identify some basic needs for training, and at the same time, I learnt how to lead such training in the future, so it was very inspirational for me.

"I think Rosie is going to be my teacher for good!  I enjoyed learning lots from her about CLIL."

Chantal Hemmi, (EdD, MA, RSA DIP TEFL), Lecturer

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Groningen University

"I highly recommend Rosie Tanner and Liz Dale's book CLIL Activities to (trainee) teachers who would like to incorporate CLIL teaching strategies in their lessons. I saw Rosie in action in a workshop and testify that in real life she is just as inspiring as her book."

Nienke Smit, lecturer

"Rosie Tanner's workshop was excellent! It was well-organized, well-prepared and had a good mix of theory and practice. In the three-hour workshop, my MA students in the Teaching Methodology class not only got a good feel for what CLIL is but they were also definitely inspired to apply it to their own teaching!"
Dr Marjolijn Verspoor, head of Department of Linguistics

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Teachers on a summer school in Utrecht on CLIL for secondary education

"Overall, this was a fantastic programme. I would give ten out of ten."

"This course was really excellent, it is very useful and the quality was better than any other course in education I have taken especially considering the variety of work forms and fun."

"I got clear understanding of CLIL and how to use it. It is different in each university or school based on situation and student’s level. 'Teaching in English is different from teaching through English'. Very important to me."

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University lecturers on a summer school for CLIL in higher education

"I have updated my understanding of CLIL and sought to combine it with Chinese characteristics. Hopefully, the next semester my students can see the change in class as much as I do."

"Very useful. The course is really custom tailored, very practical. We learn not only the educational theory but also how to deal with the ordinary teaching."

"A good lecturer sensitive to each student. Kind and good communication with students. Fully engaged and enthusiastic. Highly effective delivery."

"A good combination of theories and CLIL Skills. Lively class atmosphere. Very supportive. Good coaching skills."

"Very professional in CLIL training. You know all the details in CLIL."

"I like your relaxed style and friendliness. Good balance between theory & practice. The days flew by."

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Cambridge International Examinations
"What a great job you have done with this!   Really helpful – both your report and the comments on the text."

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Koninklijke Scholengemeenschap, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands

"Op de Koninklijke Scholengemeenschap Apeldoorn heeft Rosie Tanner bij ons verschillende trainingen en workshops gegeven. In  2011 heeft Rosie in-house een vierdaagse workshop CLIL voor ons tweetalige team verzorgd. Dankzij de inspirerende en praktische aanpak van Rosie konden de docenten er direct mee aan de slag in hun lessen en hebben we nu nog steeds een levendige collegiale visitatie tussen de vakgroep Engels en de Engelstalige vakken. Bijkomend voordeel is dat de CLIL-& EIO-onderdelen tijdens de visitatie van het Europees Platform voor het senior certificaat CLIL als uitmuntend zijn beoordeeld.

"In 2012 en 2013 heeft Rosie twee driedaagse workshops gegeven over ‘Omgaan met verschillen in de klas’ en ‘Didactische coachen’. De deelnemers werden opgeroepen zichzelf een  spiegel voor te houden en opnieuw te kijken naar de rol van docent en mentor in alle facetten. Collega’s verwierven nieuwe inzichten en kregen  praktische handvatten  die direct toepasbaar zijn in de dagelijkse praktijk. Graag citeer ik wat reacties van verschillende deelnemers :

“Ik heb weer zoveel meer zin in mijn vak, ik was onderweg een beetje mijn passie verloren waarom ik zo graag docent wilde zijn, nu is ie weer helemaal terug!”

“De cursus didactisch coachen was zeer nuttig, blijkbaar heb ik een open deur als ‘complimenten geven’ nodig, zowel in de klas als thuis heb ik er profijt van.”

“De cursussen van Rosie zijn prima voor de teamspirit en zorgen voor een nieuwe collegiale band.”

“Als deelnemer wordt je altijd uitgedaagd om veel van jezelf te laten zien.”

“Wat hebben we een hoop talent in huis, leuk om te ontdekken wat voor fantastische begeleiding en lessen collega’s geven.”

Kortom, als KSG merken we dat Rosie inspireert, verbindt en tot denken aanzet en ons elke keer weer uitdaagt om als lerende organisatie het beste uit onszelf te halen.  En daar hebben onze collega’s en leerlingen recht op!"

Drs. S.M. (Briënne) ten Napel-de Vos, Afdelingsleider vwo, tweetalig vwo en vwo-havo-2 klas

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Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet)

“No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.

“The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.

“If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”

The BLISS project

For the British Council in Bihar, in the BLISS (Bihar Language Initiative in Secondary Schools) project, I was head of a team of Indian writers for a many-layered materials writing project. The project was supported and funded by the British Department for International Development, and its aim was to improve the English language level of people living in Bihar, in order to improve their social economic position. English is seen as an important key to a employment. My brief was to coordinate the writing team in developing a training course for secondary school teachers working in contexts with very few resources – which usually consisted of a crowded classroom with a blackboard, chalk and a rather outdated course book. The classes were large and mixed ability.

The team wrote a teachers’ workbook and teacher educators’ notes for the trainers, and the course was piloted and delivered. There were huge challenges: the teachers’ own English level was low, and the teacher educators delivering the course had had little teacher training themselves. The materials needed to be written in simple English but also be challenging enough for teachers to learn something from them. Another product was a set of master trainers’ notes for the master trainers who trained the teacher educators. We also created instruments to monitor and evaluate how well the materials were working: questionnaires for teachers and teacher educators, set of questions for focus groups of teachers and trainers and an observation scheme.

It was a great project to be involved in, mainly because the teacher educators and writers were all extremely motivated to work to help teachers improve.