1
Who is Ben Goldstein ?
I’m a writer, teacher and teacher trainer in ELT. I’ve worked in the profession for over thirty years. I’m British but I’ve lived in Spain for decades, así que hablo español también.
I’m passionate about making inclusion more accessible to teachers so that they can create a safe environment in class in which all students can fulfill their potential.
I’m a writer, teacher and teacher trainer in ELT. I’ve worked in the profession for over thirty years. I’m British but I’ve lived in Spain for decades, así que hablo español también.
I’m passionate about making inclusion more accessible to teachers so that they can create a safe environment in class in which all students can fulfill their potential.
2. Who/ what inspires you as an English Teacher, teacher trainer, author of the book “30 ideas of inclusion in the world of ELT”?
Well, I think reading and researching topics like Inclusion is what really inspires me. For example, my whole approach to Inclusion which is person-led rather than label-led, one that focuses on community rather than on the individual, that idea sprang from researching the topic at length.
Another inspiration are the teachers that I meet and the ideas that I share with them – that is invaluable really because you might feel that your approach is right but you don’t know until you get feedback from others in the field. Without that, you’d just be working in a vacuum and I feel that’s a problem many academics have, that they are out of touch with the reality of the classroom.
3. How is inclusion transforming the essence of what we do in Education?
To be honest, I don’t think it is transforming what we do. In fact, I believe a lot of what we think of as “inclusive practice” is actually stuff a lot of us have been doing for years.
A lot of it is actually common sense, things like developing empathy with your students, creating a sense of community, using the students’ own language, encouraging peer learning, fostering intercultural awareness – a lot of this we’ve known about a long time but it is all very much involved with inclusive teaching practices.
What’s changed is the way all this is framed. We are now more aware of greater variability in class, of multiple differences be they cultural, religious, socio-economic, cognitive, physical or sensory. We now need to appreciate these differences and that’s what’s new – we need to develop a greater sensitivity towards our learners and greater curiosity about them, find out what makes them who they are.
4. How do you stay motivated as an english teacher, teacher trainer, and author nowadays?
Writing is quite a solitary business and it can isolate you – sometimes I feel like I’m working in a bubble or an echo chamber surrounded by people who just agree with me. So, I’d say my main motivation comes when I travel and meet teachers and get to know their everyday realities. That’s when I see if my work is relevant or not and if my approach strikes a chord with teachers. And, of course, each place I visit is very different so I end up learning a lot about diverse teaching contexts and scenarios – this helps inform my work a great deal. In fact, I couldn’t do what I do without being able to get these perspectives from fellow teachers on a regular basis.
5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an educator?
I’ve been a writer of ELT materials for years now and I think trying to make these more inclusive has been my biggest challenge. Publishers say they want to be inclusive and you have a lot of EDI guidelines that you have to follow but then they send you guidelines based around Cultural Considerations as well and the two documents often just end up contradicting each other- this is very frustrating. I think things are starting to improve slowly but we still have a long way to go.
6. Apart form teaching, do you think your work on inclusion is making a difference to others, if so in which ways?
It’s very hard to say. The book is still very recent. I’ve started giving talks about it now and a lot of teachers do seem to be getting the message but it’s still early days.
7. Finally, What are your words or pieces of advice to teachers everywhere who want to keep their inspiration alive or even motivate themselves to keep going and growing in the field of inclusion?
I think it’s important not to see inclusion as simply an extra or add-on, it has to be something that is intrinsic to all our work. But I think big changes can be made in little ways, by small gestures, it’s a process. It’s important to demystify inclusive practice, it’s not rocket science. Teachers don’t need to change their teaching practice overnight – in fact I believe a lot what many language teachers do is already inclusive.
The important thing to understand is that any adaptations or accommodations that are made by teachers to suit students’ diverse needs have to be beneficial to all students, no student should feel that they are receiving special attention– at least that should be avoided where possible.
Finally, I think teachers should see belonging as an end goal to all this. In some way, it’s more helpful and less divisive term than Inclusion. After all, you can be included but still not feel like you belong. Belonging it is not something that is bestowed on us by others, but emerges from meaningful contribution to a group and I think that is something we can all relate to.
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