Soma Holland
CEFR-aligned curriculum design
15,000 online learning experiences artfully designed and joyfully delivered; empowering ESL e-learning journeys since 2015.
Pizza Time
A CEFR A1-level grammar activity to learn how to tell the time.THE CHALLENGE: Learners must navegate analog vs digital and 12 vs 24 hour formats along with word order and prepostions and first language bias. ESL teachers often hear riffs on: "is 15 half past o'clock".CAN DO STATEMENT: I can make sentences about time using: o'clock, half past, quarter past, quarter to.
THE FIX
• Pizza Time's disappearing pizza quarters make the fractions in analog time-telling logical and memorable.
• Abundant matching practice reinforces the link between digital time and clock faces / time expressions.
• A well-scaffolded cummulative task encourages the learner use the target language in a meaningful way.
Tools Used: Articulate 360 Storyline (authoring).
Worldbuilding 101
A CEFR C1 exam-practice listening activity.THE CHALLENGE: Part 4 of the CAE listening paper is a complex multiple-matching task, recquiring examinees to track the opinions and attitudes of 5 speakers, while avoiding detractors.CAN DO STATEMENT: I can listen for gist and specific details in extended monologues including attitudes and opinions that are implied rather than directly stated.
THE FIX
• Worldbuilding 101 leverages teen learners' interest and engagement in sci-fi and fantasy novels.
• Worldbuilding themes are introduced in an advanced vocabulary-rich warm-up text.
• A clear concise exam strategy slide precedes the CAE-aligned part 4 listening task.
• Access to the audio transcript on the feedback slide allows learners to identify and reflect on key language.
Tools Used: Articulate 360 Storyline (authoring), ElevenLabs (listening audio), Audio Joiner (editing), ChatGPT (content generation).
A bit about me
CEFR-aligned curriculum design is where it all comes together: an eye for visual design, a commitment to writing craft, an in-depth understanding of CEFR learning progressions (acquired through 2 decades of preparing young learners for Cambridge exams) and the vertiginous learning curve of EdTech tools (2018). Today, I'm a tech-savvy creative with classroom intuition, a solid grounding in pedagogy. and a keen eye on the future of e-learning.
Let's connect
Please reach out to me via email. I look forward to hearing from you.