Mario Rinvolucri
Videos & Podcasts
Videos & Podcasts
Advice on Classroom Management. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
Cultivating Student Engagement. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
Error Correction. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
How do I Know if I am Teaching Humanistically? Marion Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
Reflective Practice. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
Teacher Integrity. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
The 5th Skill. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
The Development of Own Teaching Style. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
The Role of Feedback. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
The Role of Feedback. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
Use of Mother Tongue. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
What Humanism in Language Training Means to Me. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
Why it is Important for Teachers to Include Reflective Practice. Mario Rinvolucri, HLT Digital 2023.
SOAS University of London. 2009. Storytelling, The Oldest Language Teaching Technique
IATEFL talks. 2019. Interview with Mario Rinvolucri, IATEFL Conference.
2018. The TEFLology Podcast. Language and Emotion, Learner Coaching, and Mario Rinvolucri
Podcasts
Mario Rinvolucri
Recommended books
On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy
Carl Rogers
The Common Sense of Teaching Foreign Languages
Caleb Gattegno
Caring and Sharing in the Foreign Language Classroom
Gertude Moskowitz
Beyond the Smile: The Therapeutic Use of the Photograph
Linda Berman
Place in HLT
Mario's place in HLT, or dare I say in ELT, is not about size; it's about the power of inspiration. To me, he's like a spider diligently working and creating an invisible but powerful network of amazing people.
I first met him in 2009 in Český Těšín. The only thing I remember from the conference, even today, is his workshop, with Mario sitting in the corner of the classroom. I wondered for years how one simple task (He gave us a sentence to expand only by adding a word before/after the sentence “She loves him”.) could keep us occupied and engaged for 90 minutes with his minimal involvement. Fast forward to 2017, and I found myself having lunch in Mario's garden, about to discover his magic.
And it's like all magic, very simple; he cares for people. No, it doesn't mean he's this eternally benevolent old man. What I mean is, he's human. When talking to you, he is there in his full humanity. Warm, but also occasionally combative; inspirational, as well as judgmental; an attentive listener, but also occasionally dismissive of your opinions. He's a full human being, not pretending to be anything else. With his passion for teaching, he has become a source of endless inspiration and energy for others.
He shows us that being human means caring for others and not worrying about perfectionism. Magic isn't in perfection; magic is in living and teaching while being true to ourselves and the people around us.
What he and James Dixey created when they founded Pilgrims was not simply a business enterprise but a richly creative space shared by a whole host of other talented and dedicated colleagues. Learning and nurturing cooperation are key for Mario because everything starts to move and develop when knowledgeable and committed people work together.
