Dear Colleagues,

When I was travelling last week with an EL Specialist, SIT Prof. Susan Barduhn in Surgut, (where it was -34C) we were blessed to see a rainbow coming up from lacy-white trees covered with hoar-frost. I couldn’t believe my eyes and at that moment Susan told me a story about her colleague from Cairo (the place where it never rains) and I would like to share this story with you. Once Susan and her colleague were travelling from Cairo to Alexandria and suddenly saw the most magnificent full rainbow. The woman grabbed hold of Susan and exclaimed:”What is it?!?!” She had never seen one before. She had only known about rainbows in theory. She never had that experience. That story was a great springboard to discussions of what teachers could do in class to create such “learning moments” for their students. How many times we believe that if we explained something, if students knew what to say and how to say in theory, they will be able to use that knowledge in practice! How to teach/make students be responsible for their own learning trajectory? What does “autonomous learning” mean for teachers and students? These and other related issues were discussed at four November Conferences in Stavropol, St.Petersburg, Moscow and Surgut. Hopefully the highlights, reports, projects and conference resolutions that you will find in this Umbrella Newsletter will be interesting to you and help you find useful information and like-minded people.

Elena