Teaching speaking skills – webinars

Join us on 18 September 2026 for two webinars full of tips and practical activities to help your learners develop their spoken English.

Register to join us on Zoom

You can also watch the event live on our Facebook or YouTube page. No registration is necessary to watch on Facebook or YouTube.

Please note that due to specific legislative requirements, this service is currently restricted in Russia and Iran. Please read further information about Russia or Iran if you previously registered in one of those countries.

About this event

In the third in our series of webinars on the English language and how to teach it, two expert teachers present practical ideas for improving your learners’ spoken English. The first session explores how using AI and activities involving emotional intelligence development can boost speaking in class. The second session shows you how to design speaking activities that move beyond memorised answers towards meaningful communication.

About the sessions

Session 1: Using AI and emotional intelligence strategies to help learners speak

Speaker

Feruz Akbarov

Time and date

12.00–13.00 (UK time) Friday 18 September 2026

Session information

How can AI help our learners overcome speaking anxiety and communicate with confidence? This interactive webinar examines just this, the powerful intersection of artificial intelligence and emotional intelligence in ELT speaking instruction. You’ll learn strategies for integrating tools such as automated speech feedback and AI chatbots while keeping empathy, motivation and human connection at the heart of your lessons. Join to find out how blending tech with emotional awareness can boost your learners’ fluency and communicative competence.

Session 2: Transforming classroom speaking into real communication

Speaker

Sherly Hephzibah

Time and date

13.15–14.15 (UK time) Friday 18 September 2026

Session information

In this webinar, we explore practical ways to design speaking activities that encourage authentic interaction, more thinking and active listening – even in large or exam-focused classes. You’ll also learn techniques for using effective questioning, strategies to foster inclusive participation, and low-stakes speaking assessment methods that support growth. Ready to move beyond predictable dialogues and get your learners speaking with genuine purpose? Join us to discover how to make speaking lessons more meaningful and engaging for every learner.

About the speakers

Feruz Akbarov is an award-winning English language teaching professional from Uzbekistan with over a decade of experience across Central Asia, Poland and China. He is the founder of the teaching association ETA Uzbekistan, an initiative promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in language education. Feruz is also an ELT author.

Sherly Hephzibah is an English language educator and teacher mentor from India with extensive experience in secondary education. She currently teaches in an international school context, specialising in curricula that emphasise authentic communication and critical thinking. Sherly also supports teachers in task design and reflective practice.

Important information about our events – please read

How to watch the webinar

Our webinars are free. They take place in Zoom events. Click the ’Register to join us on Zoom’ button to register to join live. You can also watch the event on our Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Webinar recordings

All TeachingEnglish webinars are recorded, and you will find links to the recordings under the session information on this page between 24 and 48 hours after the live webinar has ended. You can also find the videos on the TeachingEnglish YouTube channel. Recordings will be available to watch for a minimum of six months and up to one year after the live event has ended.

Certificates and handouts

Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. You will receive a ‘Thank you for attending’ email after the webinar if you registered and watched on Zoom. You should receive this within 24 hours of the live event. 

You should download the certificate to your computer. Once the certificate is saved to your computer, open it and type your name on the certificate. We recommend using Google Chrome or Internet Explorer to do this. You cannot do this from a mobile device.

A handout for each session will be provided with useful links and resources related to the session. You can download the handout from this page after the event.

Code of conduct – participants

Please be respectful at all times to other participants and the presenter. Our webinars are freely available to attend by participants in all countries. Please be aware that comments you make in the general chat may have a negative impact on other participants and their enjoyment of the webinar.

Do not use insulting or offensive language or comments towards other participants or the presenter.

Do not make comments that include cultural references or political references that may be offensive or upsetting to other participants or the presenter.

Any offensive or insulting comments will be deleted, and the participant making the comment will be removed from the webinar.

Do not share any personal information in the general chat that may result in other participants contacting you. This includes addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

Do not share links to your website or any websites that you are promoting for the purposes of making money.

Comments that include links to paid-for websites for the sole purpose of promotion will be deleted, and you may be removed from the webinar.

Please use the Q&A to ask the presenter questions that are related to the theme or topic of the webinar only. If participant responses to questions are permitted, you should only make comments that are relevant to the question being asked.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in our live events are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the view or position of the British Council.