RELO Russia

Culture Share Saturday: Hawaii 🌺

Kīlauea is considered one of the world's most active volcanoes, with frequent lava eruptions and fountains 🌋 

"Aloha" means much more than "hello." It reflects kindness, respect, harmony, and a connection to nature—a way of life in Hawaii 🤙 

Surfing became a global sport thanks in part to Hawaiian athlete and Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku, who introduced surfing to audiences around the world 🏄 

Classroom Activity Idea: "Words That Feel Good"

After learning about "aloha," ask students:

💬 What English words give you a warm, positive feeling?

Students can brainstorm words such as friendship, welcome, kindness, family, or hope, then discuss:

• Why does this word feel positive?
• What emotions does it create?
Is there a similar word in Russian?

It's Friday, and if you're looking for a trending topic to explore this weekend, here's an interesting podcast episode on AI in education. 🎧

While AI is rapidly making its way into schools, most teachers still say they haven't received proper training on how to use it effectively. This episode looks at the gap between AI adoption and teacher preparedness—and what schools can do about it.
A thought-provoking listen for English teachers interested in the future of teaching and learning. 

🌟 Scholarship Opportunity for English Teachers! 🌟

💻 Want to create engaging online English courses but not sure where to start?

The RELO Office is excited to offer scholarships for the Fall 2026 course through the Online Professional English Network (OPEN)! This fully funded course is a fantastic chance for you to expand your skills, strengthen your impact, and grow professionally.

Creating and Implementing Online Courses (CIOC), delivered by Arizona State University, will guide you through the entire process—from planning and design to implementation and evaluation.

Using the ADDIE instructional design model, you'll learn how to: ✅ Analyze learner needs
✅ Design engaging online lessons
✅ Create assessments and learning materials
✅ Develop an implementation plan 

📢 Please share widely! Don’t keep this opportunity a secret – share it with teachers in your networks today! 

Apply here: https://forms.gle/E3uq6aTb8uLAQXdE6 

Application deadline: July 22

📚 Vocabulary Wednesday

Today's idiom is off base ⚾
This expression comes from baseball. A runner who is off the base at the wrong time is vulnerable to being tagged out. Over time, the phrase came to mean being wrong, mistaken, or inaccurate about something.

⚽🌎 Teaching English Through Soccer 

As the United States prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it's a great opportunity to engage English learners with a topic that combines sports, culture, geography, and community identity.

The lesson "From Stadiums to Streets: Discovering Cities Through Local Landmarks" introduces students to the history of soccer while exploring how landmarks reflect a city's culture, history, and identity. Students take a virtual road trip across U.S. cities, compare famous landmarks, and create an infographic about what makes a strong host city for a major soccer tournament.

🌺 Materials Monday: Explore Hawaii with Molodets! 🌋 

This week, take your students on a journey to Hawaii with Molodets Module 11! 

Students will:

🌋 Learn about Hawaii's unique volcanoes and how the islands were formed through volcanic activity.

🏠 Explore housing and community life in Hawaii, including how residents adapt to the islands' unique geography and challenges.

🎶 Discover the music and legacy of Iz Kamakawiwo'ole, one of Hawaii's most beloved artists. 

Perfect for building language skills while expanding students' knowledge of American culture and geography! 

🌎  Culture Share Saturday: Oregon

Did you know? Oregon is home to Crater Lake, which scientists estimate formed about 7,700 years ago after the collapse of the massive volcano Mount Mazama. 🌋

Oregon is also known as "The Beaver State" because of the beaver's important role in the region's fur trade. In fact, you'll find a beaver on the back of the Oregon state flag! 🦫

📚 Oregon is home to Powell's City of Books in Portland, one of the world's largest independent bookstores, covering an entire city block and housing more than a million books.

💡 Teaching Idea: Ask students to research the symbols on their country's or region's flag and explain what they represent. Then, compare them with Oregon's state flag and discuss why communities choose certain symbols.

🌟 Honoring Juneteenth in the English Language Classroom 🌟

Juneteenth, observed on June 19, is an important day in U.S. history that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. For English language learners, it offers a meaningful opportunity to explore history, culture, and vocabulary.

Learn more about Juneteenth through the ⁠National Museum of African American History & Culture

Juneteenth Lesson Plan

🍪 A Taste of American Culture: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Few treats are as iconic in the United States as the chocolate chip cookie! Created in the 1930s, these cookies have become a favorite in homes, schools, bakeries, and holiday celebrations across the country. They're often enjoyed with a glass of milk and shared with family and friends.

📚 Teaching Tip: Use recipes to build English language skills!

Students can practice:
• Sequencing words (first, next, then, finally)
• Imperative verbs (mix, add, bake)
• Measurement vocabulary (cup, teaspoon, gram)
• Reading comprehension and speaking skills

📖 Chocolate chip cookie recipe 

🎲 Game Club

Join American Center Moscow on Monday, June 22 at 20:00 MSK for an evening of fun and English practice with English Language Specialist Marie Van Romburgh!
Play games like Codenames, Scattergories, Skribble, and more while building your vocabulary, communication skills, and confidence in English.

🗓️ Monday, June 22
🕗 20:00 MSK

Open to participants 16+ with intermediate to advanced English, this club uses board games as a fun way to build fluency and communication skills.

Learn more and register: https://amc.timepad.ru/event/3978575/ 

☀️ TODAY ☀️

Join American English  at 15:00 and 20:00 MSK for the sixth and last webinar in American English Live Series 24. 

During this session, "Not Just Roleplays! Drama and Summer Camp Games for Language Teachers," Brittany Gnau will explore games and activities inspired by summer camp traditions that can encourage language risk-taking and make learning memorable.

Register and learn more here: https://bit.ly/4r1Je3F 

Join via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96503218412 

Tuesday Teaching Activity

Looking for a fun way to build speaking skills and creativity? Try Line of Freeze Tournament! 

It helps learners build a scene step by step while practicing full sentences and descriptive language. Keep the activity fair by giving each student a role such as director, timekeeper, language checker, or performer. Switch roles every round so everyone participates and stays engaged. 

📢  Extended Application Deadline!

Are you an English language teacher looking to expand your skills and explore innovative teaching practices?
We are excited to announce that FULL SCHOLARSHIPS are available for the ISTE Open Educational Resources Course.

This course provides educators with practical strategies for finding, evaluating, creating, and integrating high-quality open educational resources into their teaching.

Learn more: https://iste.org/courses/open-educational-resources

📝 Apply here: https://forms.gle/DthED8MbSZKz9V6S6
📅 Application Deadline: July 7, 2026

Materials Monday with Molodets 📚🌋 

Explore Yellowstone while building your English skills with Module 10, Unit 1 from Molodets! Students will learn about:
✅ Gerunds and infinitives
✅ Homophones (words that sound alike but have different meanings)
✅ Yellowstone National Park and American culture
✅ The role of multilingualism among early Pacific Northwest settlers 

Whether you're teaching in the classroom or learning independently, you can combine language learning with engaging cultural content. 

🤠 Wyoming has a strong cowboy tradition. Rodeo, a sport where cowboys (and cowgirls!) demonstrate skills such as horse riding, calf roping, and steer wrestling, is so important to the state that it is Wyoming's official state sport.
☀️🌧️ Weather Talk
Americans love talking about the weather! In fact, weather is one of the most common topics for small talk. Different regions have their own weather-related expressions, making it a fun cultural topic to explore in the classroom. The weather in Wyoming can be very volatile and is a great way to strike up a conversation with natives! 
🎲 Classroom Activity: Have students imagine they are visiting Yellowstone or attending a rodeo and role-play a conversation with a tourist guide.

Culture Share Saturday: Wyoming

This week, take your students on a journey to Wyoming, a state in the western United States known for its history, nature, and cowboy culture. It is also the home state of our RELO Jennifer Uhler.
Wyoming is nicknamed "The Equality State" because it was the first U.S. state to grant women the right to vote. Women in Wyoming were also the first in the country to serve on juries and hold public office.

Much of Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming. The park is famous for its geysers—hot springs that periodically erupt, shooting hot water and steam into the air. About half of the world's geysers can be found in Yellowstone! The park is also home to incredible wildlife, including bison and grizzly bears.

⚽ Vocabulary Friday ⚽

This summer, exciting international soccer matches are taking place across the United States, making it the perfect time to explore some popular sports idioms!
Americans love sports, and sports have inspired many everyday expressions that are used far beyond the playing field. Whether you're talking about work, school, or life, you'll often hear sports-related phrases in everyday conversations.

What about you? Have you hit your stride as an English teacher?

Get ready to learn! 💻📚 The Teaching English to Young Learners MOOC introduces the theory and practice of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners 3-10 years old. This FREE facilitated course is open till July 6! 

👉 Learn more and register: https://www.openenglishprograms.org/MOOC

📢 NEW Opportunity!

Are you an English language teacher looking to expand your skills and explore innovative teaching practices?
We are excited to announce that FULL SCHOLARSHIPS are available for the ISTE Open Educational Resources Course.

This course provides educators with practical strategies for finding, evaluating, creating, and integrating high-quality open educational resources into their teaching.

Learn more: https://iste.org/courses/open-educational-resources

📝 Apply here: https://forms.gle/DthED8MbSZKz9V6S6
📅 Application Deadline: June 15, 2026

Join American English on June 17 at 15:00 and 20:00 MSK for the sixth and last webinar in American English Live Series 24. 

During this session, "Not Just Roleplays! Drama and Summer Camp Games for Language Teachers," Brittany Gnau will explore games and activities inspired by summer camp traditions that can encourage language risk-taking and make learning memorable.

Register and learn more here: https://bit.ly/4r1Je3F 

Join via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96503218412