Thorn Learning developed a suite of learner guidance resources for the British Council’s TeachingEnglish platform, helping English language teachers become more effective independent learners and make better use of professional development pathways, resources, communities and learning opportunities.
Project overview
TeachingEnglish supports millions of teachers worldwide through its website, courses, webinars, publications and online communities. As part of the TeachingEnglish Pathways initiative, Thorn Learning was commissioned to create a series of learner guidance packs designed to help teachers take greater ownership of their professional development and make the most of the resources available across the TeachingEnglish ecosystem.
The project combined short-form video, downloadable PDF guidance and practical planning templates. Together, these resources introduced teachers to effective open-learning strategies while demonstrating how different TeachingEnglish resources could support their ongoing professional growth.
How we worked with the client
Chris Thorn worked closely with the TeachingEnglish Open Learning team to develop the overall approach, produce prototype guidance packs, storyboard videos and create a consistent visual identity across all resources. The project was informed by Thorn Learning’s experience supporting TeachingEnglish courses, communities and learner support services.
The project involved:
- Concept development and learner-needs analysis.
- Storyboarding and script development.
- Video production and editing.
- PDF guidance design and publishing.
- Development of printable planning and reflection templates.
- Asset creation and management.
- Accessibility review and quality assurance.
- Production of transcripts, subtitles and channel descriptions.
- Delivery of editable source files alongside final assets.
To maximise accessibility across a global audience, all resources were designed for use in low-resource contexts and optimised for distribution through the TeachingEnglish website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels.
Services and standards
Video production, instructional design, educational content development, storyboarding, graphic design, PDF publishing, template development, accessibility compliance and quality assurance.
Compliance to accessibility standards for digital resources, including transcripts, subtitles, visual accessibility requirements and WCAG Level AA guidance.
Maintaining the British Council approach to EDI through application of the TeachingEnglish EDI review process and content standards.
Main outputs
- 9 learner guidance packs, each supported by a short instructional video, downloadable PDF resource and practical learning tools where appropriate:
- How to maximise learning from reading and listening
- How to learn with other teachers
- How to make positive changes to your teaching
- How to make time for professional development
- How to get feedback on your teaching
- How to be a great online learner
- How to use our learning pathways
- How to use your course workbook
- How to adapt resources for your learners
- Video transcripts, subtitles, supporting descriptions and downloadable professional development resources.
- Printable planning, reflection and action-planning tools to support autonomous professional learning.
- Editable project files and final published assets.
Learn more
Explore the complete collection of learner guidance videos, PDFs and planning tools on the TeachingEnglish Professional Development Toolkit.
Team and contributors
- Project lead, instructional design, storyboarding and video production: Chris Thorn
- Proofreading of PDF document and closed captions: Jenny Bedwell
