Networks of Expertise
The Networks of Expertise (NEX) support the development and collective capability of subject associations and other peer to peer teaching networks to deliver Professional Learning and Development (PLD) supports to teachers and kaiako. They provide right-on-time teaching, learning and assessment support through mechanisms such as online forums, resource development and sharing, inquiry clusters and face to face collaboration opportunities. In association with TESOLANZ, they bring this professional learning development resource page for teachers of English as an Additional Language.
All resources on this page are free to use, but we do hope you will join TESOLANZ to take advantage of the organisation, and other resources behind the paywall.
For more information, or to suggest possible topics for future resources, contact Angela Bland pld@tesolanz.org.nz
Upcoming events
We will host two presentations in September. One will focus on AI in the classroom and the other will look at whānau engagement. Alongside this, our podcasts will continue, featuring a new thread focused on the heritage languages our learners bring into our schools. Additionally, we will be sending out soon an expression of interest for our second intake of our mentorship program, which has been piloted this term. Finally, we will also be creating a new programme which aims specifically to support TESOL leadership in schools. There will be primary and secondary programmes with one or two sessions bringing them together. I hope that gets you all excited about what's ahead. Please don't hesitate to contact me for any suggestions or feedback. You can contact me at:
Past events
August 27, 2026
Panel Discussion
Supporting Beginners and Late-Arriving Learners
This presentation was a panel discussion by experienced primary and secondary TICs/HODs of Departments about how they support beginner English Language Learners and Late-Arriving ELLs in their schools. The aim of the discussion was to identify tools, procedures, processes, and options for English Language teaching and learning and additional support provided in schools. Because school contexts vary across Aotearoa, there were six panellists.
August 15, 2026
Dr Jackie Yeoh
The impact of H5P videos on listening skills and active learning.
For those who would like to use H5P, but do not have a compatible platform, a quick search will explain how it can be embedded into different platforms. Apologies for the muted video. For any questions, Jackie can be contacted here.
August 15, 2026
Sarah Scholz and Siân Waite
Engaging Pasifika learners through their history in New Zealand – The Dawn Raids
This is the links to the Ratana performance featuring Stan Walker and our Head of Art:
Watch from 45 secs onwards
These are the stories on the Dawn Raids used from two School Journals:
‘Once a Panther’ by Victor Ross:
‘Rise Up’ by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith:
As mentioned in this, a unit on the 1981 Springbok tour can be seen here.
August 15, 2026
Navjot McCormack
From News to Nuance: A fun approach to teaching English through headlines
This session frames newspaper headlines as "living textbooks", offering English language learners immediate access to authentic English without extensive teacher preparation. Drawing on 26 years of senior journalistic experience across nine countries, the session demonstrates how these materials serve as a dynamic pedagogical tool to bridge the gap between classroom theory and communicative proficiency.
We examine how "witty and intriguing" headlines — utilising syntactic ambiguity (e.g., "crash blossoms") and lexical puns — function as high-impact tools for language acquisition. Grounded in “instructional humour processing theory”, the session provides evidence-based strategies to show how headlines:
- Increase language proficiency: By deconstructing "headlinese" (omitted articles, auxiliary verbs), students develop advanced syntactic awareness and vocabulary precision.
- Substantiate media literacy: Comparing bias and "journalese" across headlines transforms students from passive readers into critical evaluators — a "future-ready" skill for the digital age.
- Boost engagement: Using humour to lower the "affective filter" creates an inclusive atmosphere that improves motivation and long-term memory recall.
Participants will engage with low-prep, interactive techniques, including "Headline Translation" to master compressed grammar, "The Bias Check" to expand nuanced vocabulary, and "Predictive Reading" to boost comprehension. Attendees will leave with a concrete toolkit to help learners navigate the linguistic architecture of a fast-paced media landscape with a critical eye, a sense of fun, and the confidence to create their own headlines while becoming informed media consumers.
The magazine mentioned, and talked about in Podcast 8, can be accessed here.
July 29, 2026
Rosemary Gillies (Senior ESOL Verifier) and Hanna Svensson (Senior Advisor Migrant & Refugee Support) from the Ministry of Education presented on:
Supporting Senior English Language Learners with EAP Pathways
This webinar explored how Level 3 and 4 EAP standards support senior English language learners toward academic literacy and UE pathways.
With ESOL learners forming a significant and growing group in our schools—and many still developing the academic English needed to access the curriculum—understanding appropriate pathways and assessment options is increasingly important.
https://youtu.be/p2WsShC4Z9k
July 22, 2026 - TESOLANZ Secondary SIG Draft EAL Curriculum
This meeting was about the new draft EAL curriculum. It was to prepare practitioners to provide feedback.
Watch the recording here.
Here is the letter sent by the executive and the secondary special interest group about the curriculum.
Letter to Dr Catherine Law August 2026
June 24, 2026 – English Planet
As part of our What’s Available series, we welcome Dylan Parker, creator of English Planet.
From Science to Classroom Success:
A Structured Oral Language Pathway for Emergent English Learners.
How English Planet supports ESOL/EAL, ORS-funded, and junior primary learners through explicit oral language teaching, repetition, fluency development, and practical school implementation.
With a background in science, Dylan spent 18 years teaching English across K-6 settings in South Korea, alongside more than 14 years an instructional design. He returned to New Zealand with English Planet; a structured oral language resource developed through scientific research and classroom inquiry and continually refined for the New Zealand primary School context.
Contact Dylan ">here.
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April 30, 2026 – Learning Village
In conjunction with TESOLANZ and NEX, Caroline Scott (Author & Director) and Breda Matthews (Demonstrator/Trainer/Content Developer) from Across Cultures presented on the Learning Village digital platform to teach EAL for bilingual and multilingual learners. If you are interested in a free trial please go to this link https://www.learningvillage.net/nz A short meeting will be required for set up to access a 7 day free trial.
Watch the recorded event here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4toekGMkc40
Podcasts
Podcast 10
August 29, 2026
Podcast 9
August 27, 2026
Sustaining Community Languages: The Fiji Hindi / Fiji Baat journey
Fiji Hindi is neither a Pidgin nor a Creole. For example, unlike Mauritius—where people speak some Creole, some Hindi, some Bhojpuri but have a high level of fluency in English & French—Fiji Hindi evolved in Fiji with a very sound Hindi base, but with some of its own grammatical features. This evolution started in India but developed in Fiji, similar to Sarnami Hindi that developed in Suriname, both Hindis being shaped by their colonial settings.
This podcast features Sunita Narayan ONZM, the current President of the Community Languages Association of New Zealand (CLANZ). In the podcast, Sunita shares how Fiji-Hindi became a language in the Pacific and some of its interesting linguistic features. This is complemented by Sunita's experiences of supporting the Hindi language through the Wellington Hindi School and the connections made with primary and secondary schools. Finally, Sunita updates us on CLANZ's exciting current and future work.
Dr Hilary Smith's resource on Ten Tips for Using Your Language at Home can be found here.
The CLANZ FaceBook page is here.
Podcast 8
August 14, 2026
Gwenna met with Navjot McCormack to learn about creating magazines with students. We also talked a little about Spellbound, Nav's new resource she is working on to support teachers.
Podcast 7
June 29, 2026
Gwenna sat down with Caroline Scott from Learning Village to hear more about what is available for our learners.
Podcast 6
May 24, 2026
This podcast is with Mark Dawson-Smith from Wintec in Kirikiriroa | Hamilton. The podcast explores Marks insights on themes such as the international student recovery, AI, and changing student demographics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofi7-I7sIs4
Podcast 5
May 20, 2026
NEX TESOLANZ Coordinator (Dr. Angela Bland) chats with TESOLANZ Primary SIG leader, Karen Cebalo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkFj9U_dADc
Podcast 4
May 12, 2026
Notes on funding applications
https://youtu.be/NSULskAwBIU?si=I-P5uIojP1nkd1Ly
Podcast 3
April 30, 2026
NEX TESOLANZ Coordinator (Dr. Angela Bland) chats with TESOLANZ Branch Liaison, Julie Luxton, about what is forefront for particularly the secondary school sector. Julie is also a PLD facilitator and a NZQA National Moderator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHu8bgW6REE
Podcast 2
April 24, 2026
An interview with former RTLit, Liz Hansen, about life beyond the public sector, and what is available out there to support our akonga.
https://youtu.be/q5IA-LkN1HE
Podcast 1
April 17, 2026
An introduction and talking about what to expect from our work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OopGF_9rBkY