Eaquals Sponsored Workshops

Joanna (Jo) Watson 

Joanna (Jo) has been involved in English Language teaching since 1989. She has taught in Kuwait, the UK, Bahrain, Sharjah, Dubai, Oman and Switzerland.

Jo has worked as a part time teacher, a senior teacher, a Director of Studies, a centre manager, an Academic Manager, a teacher trainer (CELTA and DELTA OC), an IH Visitor, an EAQUALS inspector and Director EAQUALS Accreditation and Consultancy Services. Jo helped to develop EAQUALS online Inspector Training and is also involved in inspector training.

Since November 2012 Jo has been working a freelance consultant and teacher trainer and in April 2013 she was elected onto the EAQUALS Board as a trustee.

Workshop – Presentation 1 (60-minute session)

Dyslexia/Dyspraxia/ADHD – Raising Awareness

(Teacher Training and CPD, EPG, TD-Fram)

This workshop is a combination of theory and practice. The aim is to raise awareness of Special Educational Needs; begin to explore the differences in learning and to identify strategies which can be employed in the EFL classroom which benefit all learners.

Summary

Participants will consider information on dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Information will be provided on symptoms which may manifest themselves in the classroom and difficulties learners encounter, all based on recent research in other disciplines, e.g. medical facts, mental health research and inclusion strategies within state schools and universities in the United Kingdom.

The aim is to identify the relevant elements of the communicative approach within EFL (English as a Foreign Language) which are beneficial to all learners but specifically to learners with Special Educational Needs. Participants will consider, in groups, the findings of the previously mentioned research and will discuss these findings in relation to EFL methodology. There will also be the opportunity to actively compare their own practice and that of their peers clearly identifying the elements of the communicative approach which are a necessity within the classroom. The session is not about teachers becoming diagnosticians but about teachers being more aware of how their own teaching can become more inclusive without labelling any specific learners.

Within the workshop there will be the opportunity to experience some of the difficulties that learners have and to discuss how such experiences might influence their future teaching. These tasks will cover retention and recall, motor skills, listening ability and comprehension

Groups will discuss and share ideas and give feedback to the whole group.

Workshop – Presentation 2 (30-minute session)

Quality across borders – Introducing the work of Eaquals

Jacqueline Kassteen

Special Event

Workshop – Presentation (30-minute session) 

The Rise of the Selfie: Leveraging pop culture trends in marketing, recruitment and teaching

Attracting and engaging students is becoming increasingly complex, but a strong content marketing plan and a coordinated effort between academics and marketing staff can enable your institution to stand out.

Come discover the secrets behind a powerful content marketing approach in a fun, engaging way. Learn how brands have taken advantage of “the latest craze” (selfies, memes, hashtags) by using pop culture trends in their digital marketing efforts to build brand awareness and engage young people.

Jacqueline weaves in plenty of practical implementation techniques and gives you a toolkit to put into use back at work so when the next trend pops up, you can act quickly to leave a lasting impression with students. This workshop has been given around the world to rave reviews, so don’t miss it!

Jacqueline Kassteen

Jacqueline Kassteen has 15+ years of marketing experience in international education, student travel, publishing, lead generation, retail and financial services. She holds a BSc in Marketing and CELTA qualifications for adults and young learners. Jackie is known as a “top industry analyst” with extensive breadth and depth of knowledge in international education, as evidenced by her launching ICEF Monitor.

Based in London, Jackie is the Owner and Managing Director of Transformative Marketing Solutions, which controls Jackfruit Marketing and FruitFame.com, a new platform dedicated to showcasing success stories in marketing, recruitment, enrolment and retention. Via Jackfruit Marketing, Jackie works as a consultant and project manager specialising in online and offline marketing techniques, social media, agency usage, alumni, product development, competitive analysis and research. Jackie also runs training sessions and interactive masterclasses, and is a regular plenary speaker and presenter at global events.

Plenary

Moving at the Speed of Light: Adapting and Innovating in the Face of Change

As the pace of technological change quickens and the world undergoes economic, political and cultural shifts, human behaviour is evolving, affecting student needs and demands.

At the same time, we see that the latest advances in technology, marketing and customer service are responding to the requirements of today’s instant gratification generations and also pushing consumer expectations ever higher.

These developments set the tone for how we might adapt to changing market conditions and innovate in the months and years ahead in order to overcome disruption, remain competitive, and differentiate our marketing techniques, our programmes and the student experience.

You’ll learn what this means for your institution as Jacqueline examines our approach to change through different lenses and outlines various strategies leaders can use to cope with change. She also gives compelling examples of brands that restructured their business or introduced new products or services both as a response to their changing environment and as a way to stand out in a competitive market.

Join us for an inspiring talk that will spark new ideas to help you break away from a traditional mentality and apply a new way of thinking to your brand, educational offering, marketing, and relationships with students, partners, staff, and teachers.

Jeremy Harmer

Jeremy Harmer is a writer of books in the field of English Language Teaching. These include Methodology titles, course materials, and learner literature (often called graded readers). He is a frequent presenter, seminar leader and teacher both in the UK and, more frequently, around the world.

He holds a BA in English Literature from the University Of East Anglia, UK and a Masters in Applied Linguistics from the University of Reading (UK)

As a teacher and trainer in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) he has worked for International House, London, Eurocentre Bournemouth, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, the Bell School, Cambridge, and at the Instituto Anglo Mexicano de Cultura (in Mexico DF, Ciudad Satellite and Guadalajara – where he was branch director for four years). The IAMC is now part of The Anglo Foundation.

Currently he works as an online tutor for the MATESOL at The New School, New York.

Plenary

To begin at the beginning

What’s the best way to open a conference (I wonder!). If it comes to that, what is the best way to start a lesson? Or a course?

How we start and where we start from may determine everything that happens later and so we need to give it some thought. That’s what I’ve been doing for this talk – and by looking outside our field (at music, poetry, literature etc) I hope to come to some conclusions about the best way to get the show on the road!

Philip Kerr is a teacher trainer and educational materials writer based in Vienna. His publications include the coursebook series ‘Straightforward’ and ‘Inside Out’ and the award-winning ‘Translation and Own-language Activities’ in the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series. In addition to his teaching and writing, he works on the development of English vocabulary apps which incorporate AI and NLP tools. He blogs about technology and English language teaching at https://adaptivelearninginelt.wordpress.com/

Plenary

Translation, technology and the language classroom

The use of the learners’ own language has been rehabilitated in recent years and there is now a clear research consensus on its occasional use as a resource in language teaching and learning. The reasons for this return from the methodological wilderness will be briefly examined, before we explore some of the online tools that exploit L1 and that can assist the learning of another language.

Huw Jarvis

Special Event

Workshop – Presentation (60-minute session) 

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in an online environment: suggestions for developing your language education Personal Learning Network (PLN)

It is clear that in an online interactive rich Web 2 environment the opportunities for CPD in language education are significant. However, many practitioners are yet to make use of such affordances. Following on from some of the points raised in the plenary on professional self teachers will explore in further detail how Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogsites can be used to develop a PLN. To do this we will draw on some of the activities which were part of recent an MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics module, together with a free task sheet which has been developed by WWW.TESOLacademic.org Online CPD and arising PLNs, it will be argued, offer a unique language education community for each and every one of us. We choose what to access, we choose who to network with, we choose how often to share and we choose whether to lurk or contribute. This session will provide participants with inputs on what to do and how to do so.

Rachel Appleby

Rachel Appleby has taught English for the British Council and International House in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia and Hungary. She focuses on adult learning, Business English in-company, and for nine years worked on the BA and MA programmes at ELTE University, Budapest. She has also recently been involved in preparing school-leavers for applying to and studying at university in the UK.

Rachel is a CELTA trainer, and tutors on EMI (English Medium of Instruction) courses for the British Council for Higher Ed. staff. She has run training for British Council staff in Management, Recruitment, Presentation Skills, and Customer Service. She is also a qualified British Council online trainer.

Rachel is co-author of a number of successful course books, including the Business One:One series and International Express, and has written several teachers’ books for the new Navigate and Business Result series (OUP). She is also co-author of Macmillan’s The Business (Advanced).

Workshop (60-minute session)

Improve your surfing skills – or how to ride the waves of positive washback

Both teachers and students often get stressed about exams and perceive a disconnect between learning and the way that achievement is assessed. In an ideal world, the two stages form a single continuum, where both can potentially affect the other to its advantage. When the exam involves real-life tasks, preparation is much less of a chore for the teacher and, additionally, more fun for the student – hence the beneficial washback effect on teaching. In this workshop, we will see some practical ideas for how you can seamlessly build exam preparation into your lessons every day.

Chris Farrell

Chris Farrell is the Head of Teacher Development with the Centre of English Studies Group, UK and Ireland. He holds an MA and a Cambridge DELTA and he is the Head of the CELTA Centre at CES Dublin. He lectures on the MATESOL at UCD and supervises on the MPhil ELT at TCD. He is a member of both the TDSIG Committee and the EAP in Ireland Committees. He regularly speaks at international conferences on behalf of both CES and EAQUALS.

Plenary: Supporting Bottom-Up Teacher Development

This talk will focus on the ways in which an institution can move towards a negotiated Teacher Development programme by supporting bottom up teacher development. We will primarily focus on a number of key ‘nudge points’ necessary to try to create a school culture where refection, goal setting, and independent learning are supported. The first of these is a focus on Mentoring both in terms of Early Career Development, and also the creation of Teacher Development Pathways as part of the development of more experienced teachers. Secondly, we will look at the development of a clear cycle of goal setting and assessment of success through reflection encouraged by a curriculum designed to support such a focus. The move away from a ‘knowledge led’ curriculum towards a focus on ‘behaviours’ and the assessment of success in these behaviours can help to reorientate the assessment of success in the class. Thirdly, there will be a focus on the role of Action Research, Supported Experiments, Knowledge Share sessions, and Professional Development Groups in helping teacher development become continuous.

Jason Fritze is a National Board Certified Teacher in World Languages (Spanish) and he currently directs the elementary Spanish program for Laguna Beach Unified School District in Laguna Beach, California.  Jason’s 20 years of teaching experience span the K-16 sequence.  He consults with many schools and districts on methods and program design, and works with universities in California in language teacher preparation programs.  Jason is a published author of language teaching materials and he regularly presents on CI methods and teaches master classes at conferences and workshops throughout the United States and abroad.

Plenary

Eaquals Sponsored Workshops

Joanna (Jo) Watson 

Joanna (Jo) has been involved in English Language teaching since 1989. She has taught in Kuwait, the UK, Bahrain, Sharjah, Dubai, Oman and Switzerland.

Jo has worked as a part time teacher, a senior teacher, a Director of Studies, a centre manager, an Academic Manager, a teacher trainer (CELTA and DELTA OC), an IH Visitor, an EAQUALS inspector and Director EAQUALS Accreditation and Consultancy Services. Jo helped to develop EAQUALS online Inspector Training and is also involved in inspector training.

Since November 2012 Jo has been working a freelance consultant and teacher trainer and in April 2013 she was elected onto the EAQUALS Board as a trustee.

Workshop – Presentation 1 (60-minute session)

Dyslexia/Dyspraxia/ADHD – Raising Awareness

(Teacher Training and CPD, EPG, TD-Fram)

This workshop is a combination of theory and practice. The aim is to raise awareness of Special Educational Needs; begin to explore the differences in learning and to identify strategies which can be employed in the EFL classroom which benefit all learners.

Summary

Participants will consider information on dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Information will be provided on symptoms which may manifest themselves in the classroom and difficulties learners encounter, all based on recent research in other disciplines, e.g. medical facts, mental health research and inclusion strategies within state schools and universities in the United Kingdom.

The aim is to identify the relevant elements of the communicative approach within EFL (English as a Foreign Language) which are beneficial to all learners but specifically to learners with Special Educational Needs. Participants will consider, in groups, the findings of the previously mentioned research and will discuss these findings in relation to EFL methodology. There will also be the opportunity to actively compare their own practice and that of their peers clearly identifying the elements of the communicative approach which are a necessity within the classroom. The session is not about teachers becoming diagnosticians but about teachers being more aware of how their own teaching can become more inclusive without labelling any specific learners.

Within the workshop there will be the opportunity to experience some of the difficulties that learners have and to discuss how such experiences might influence their future teaching. These tasks will cover retention and recall, motor skills, listening ability and comprehension

Groups will discuss and share ideas and give feedback to the whole group.

Workshop – Presentation 2 (30-minute session)

Quality across borders – Introducing the work of Eaquals

Trinity College Gold Sponsored Workshop I

Kateřina Keplová

Kateřina Keplová worked as a Validation Unit Manager for Trinity College London until December 2016, leading a team of experts in assessment reliability, test and qualification validity and test versions comparability. Since January 2017, she has been working with Trinity on consultancy basis. She also has experience in setting up new qualifications – when she worked for Pearson, she managed Functional Skills English, working on the specification and assessment materials, training assessors and communicating with centres to support the implementation of the qualification. She taught ESOL both in the Czech Republic and in the UK.

Workshop (60-minute session)

National and international language exams – working together

In the Czech Republic, students finish their secondary education by taking a set of exams. This set is called Maturita. The materials for these exams are created by a local exam provider. This situation is similar in other countries across Europe. However, these locally set exams are not automatically accepted when students apply to study abroad. This means that students need to sit another exam.

The language exams at the end of secondary education are designed to test language abilities at a certain CEFR level. Unfortunatelly, there is limited research to prove this is the situation. Such research is time-consuming and costly and local exam providers would benefit from the experience of their international colleagues to establish the local exams are of the required standard and provide solid ground for those applying to study internationally.

Comparing two sample exams – Trinity Integrated Skills in English exam and the Czech Maturita in English exam – will provide an insight into how international and national exams can work together to ensure the assessment of students’ language abilities and its outcome are accurate and comparable throughout Europe. The workshop focuses on similarities and differences between the two sample exams and how they can inspire each other to provide the most robust and reliable picture of the student’s language skills.

Focusing on CEFR B1 level, the established level for the Czech Maturita exam, the workshop compares the approach, content and expected output for the Czech Maturita exam and the Trinity ISE I exam.

IH World Partner Sponsored Workshop:

Kylie Malinowska

Kylie Malinowska is the Young Learner Advisor & IH CYLT Coordinator for International House World Organisation. She’s based in Prague where she is also the YL Training Coordinator at Akcent International House and a coffee addicted mum to a very active set of 4 yr old trilingual twins. She has a regular YL Column in the IH Journal of Education and Development http://ihjournal.com/, has written numerous YL training materials, and is the co-author of the forthcoming ‘The Pre-Primary English Teacher’ by DELTA Publishing. Her interests include getting young learners reading and using songs in the early language learning classroom. If she had any free time, she’d be lying on a beach reading novels or researching multilingual childhoods.

Workshop

If it’s not about elephants, it’s irrelephant: Memes for thought in the Young Learner Classroom

The idea of primacy of process and conditions over language is something that has always resonated with me. We don’t need to spend long in a YL classroom to work out that the one most conducive to learning is one which considers the aptitude and development of its learners. Yes, we all know we should make the process fun, active and engaging, but how can we ensure real learning is happening? Is there an elephant in your classroom? There will definitely be one in this session.

Marek Kiczkowiak

Marek Kiczkowiak is originally from Poland and since doing the CELTA and graduating with a BA degree in English Philology, he has taught English in seven countries in Europe and Latin America. He is currently based in Leuven, Belgium, where he teaches academic English at the local university. He also holds Cambridge DELTA and is working towards a PhD in TESOL at the University of York. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. His research interests are English as a Lingua Franca and native speakerism in ELT. He advocates equal professional opportunities for ‘non-native’ English speaking teachers through TEFL Equity Advocates (www.teflequityadvocates.com), co-authors The TEFL Show podcasts (www.theteflshow.com) and keeps a now sporadically updated blog about ELT at TEFL Reflections (www.teflreflections.wordpress.com). He also gives face-to-face and on-line teacher training sessions about native speakerism and English as a Lingua Franca: https://teflequityadvocates.com/training-courses/ He’s also a keen language learner and is currently learning his 7^th, Dutch. You can find him on Twitter @marekkiczkowiak and @teflequity

Plenary

Native speakers are better teachers. Debunking the myth.

There is a persistent belief in ELT, an ideology if you will – often referred to as native speakerism, that ‘native speakers’ are better teachers. They are better because they have superior knowledge of the language. A wider vocabulary. Better pronunciation. They are more fluent. They are unique sources of cultural knowledge. Their teaching methodology is better.

And this belief has been sold and marketed around the world, leading to a situation where the vast majority of ELT jobs in the private sector around the world are for ‘native speakers’ only. A situation where practically any ‘native speaker’ with or without a 4 week TEFL certificate can travel the world teaching English. A situation where many students prefer ‘native speakers’, because they are constantly told to prefer them.

However, do these arguments about the superiority of ‘native speaker’ teachers hold any water in a world where English has become a global lingua franca? In this talk I will debunk some of these myths about ‘native speakers’, and argue that all teachers, whether ‘native’ or ‘non-native’, should be hired for their pedagogical skills and professionalism, rather than for a language their unwittingly picked up as children. To do so, I will refer to appropriate research and literature, as well as my own experience as an English teacher, teacher trainer and language learner.

I will end the talk by suggesting what each and every one of us involved in ELT can do to tackle native speakerism and to bring back professionalism and equality into our industry.

Michael Carrier

Michael Carrier is managing director of Highdale Consulting and consults for educational organisations and lectures worldwide. He has worked in language education for 40 years as a teacher, trainer, author, and director. He has an MA in Applied Linguistics and an MBA, engaging in both the academic and management aspects of ELT. He was formerly Director, English Language Innovation at the British Council in London, CEO of the International House World schools network and Executive Director of Eurocentres USA. His focus is teacher development, intercultural awareness, and digital technology in education. He has published many articles and textbooks, & recently co-edited ‘Digital Language Learning’ (Routledge 2017). He is on the boards of TIRF, ICC, International Students House, mEducation Alliance, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is also Chair of the UK Government’s ELT Working Group and a member of the British Council’s ELT Advisory Group (ELAG).

Workshop: Training teachers how to incorporate Cultural Awareness into ELT

We are living in a globalised world and we talk constantly about the need for globalised language tools, and point to English as a global lingua franca, or Spanish and Mandarin or Arabic as world languages that globalised people need at their fingertips. But a lingua franca (whether English or others) does not necessarily improve global communication if cultural misunderstandings impede open and clear communication and positive relationship building. In his BBC Reith Lecture Jeffrey Sachs, former Director of the UN Millennium Project, claims: “Our generation’s greatest challenge… is learning to live in a crowded and interconnected world that is creating unprecedented pressures on human society”.BBC Reith Lectures, 2007. Learning or teaching a language always entails some aspects, even if unspoken, of cultural awareness and understanding of cultural beliefs, assumptions, knowledge.  In providing language education, then, we need to ensure that the development of the language proficiency that is a pre-requisite of effective communication with speakers of other languages, is matched by a development of the cultural competence that underpins the real-world use of that language. Many teachers try to incorporate this intercultural dimension into their teaching, drawing upon research and literature from across cultural studies and especially culture in the workplace. How can we help teachers to analyse, select and include the kind of intercultural skills that learners need for real-world application of their English skills? This talk looks at how we can help teachers develop the skill of incorporating intercultural competence into the English class.

LangLion Partner Sponsored Workshop:

Michał Bartosiński 

Michał Bartosinski (LangLion) has been working in the area of ​​new technology and education for 8 years. He is a vice-president of Primeon – a company providing new technological solutions. He has built his key brand LangLion – a platform for comprehensive management for language schools. Water sports enthusiast and traveler.

Workshop:

A guide for effective management for language school with LangLion

Regardless if you’ve had a small school or school network operating many facilities and no matter you’ve begun giving classes, or you’re still preparing, come to my session and see how LangLion will help you to:

· Save time and automatize your work to manage all the areas in one place,
· Take care of students ‘payments and teachers’ thanks to financial module,
· Broaden your market by teaching online,
· Build strong relationships owing to contact with students at any time,
· Attract more customers by automating the registration process,
· Improve your teaching quality by sharing materials between the departments and teachers,
· Speed ​​up the cash flow thanks to electronic payments,
· And much more…

LangLion is an intuitive software to manage all your daily tasks at your school language. Bring balance to your office.

Erik L. Dostal

Erik L. Dostal is the founding director of CA Institute and the convener ILSB. He is the author of the recently published: The Language Teacher’s Golden Companion. He established a fully operating university by opening offsite campus for IDRAC International Business School in 2014 that has bachelor and master degree programs all in English with ECTS credits. CA Institute also has post-grad programs with various MBA titles, Teacher Certification, Science, Medicine, Research, Cannabis Business, Horticulture, Medical marijuana/CBD, Marketing, Economics, Law, and Municipality Management.

He teamed up with Norwich Institute of Language Education (NILE) to provide an array of teacher training modules for primary and secondary schools in the Czech Republic as well as Delta. Erik has also opened a language assessment center for Euroexam and ETS Global and plays a supporting role in the development and expansion of EAQUALS. He even finds time to operate his consultancy company ELD Consultancy & CPD and Releaf Social Enterprise. He provides consultancy to the board of the Czech Ministry of Education.

Philip Kerr

Special Event

Workshop  (60-minute session)

A bluffer’s guide to NLP in language teaching

NLP here refers to ‘Natural Language Processing’, an area of computational linguistics with a history dating back to the 1950s. It does not refer to the more recent, and now largely discredited’, world of ‘neuro-linguistic programming’. What is NLP, why does it matter to language teachers, where can we see it in action, and what does it offer for the future?

Jeremy Harmer

Special Event

Workshop/Presentation (60 minutes)

I don’t teach answers

The great mathematician Katherine Johnson – a central figure in Hollywood’s ‘Hidden Figures’ about women of colour working for the space race at NASA  – says in a TV interview as a sprightly 92-year-old, “I have never taught answers”, and sees the process of learning as being a problem-solving activity. In this she fits into a tradition stretching back to Illich and encompassing present-day Sugata Mitra etc. But teachers think they should teach too, and, to some extent, many students expect this.

So what should we do? Where do we fit on a cline between question provider/facilitator and transmission teacher? Is there a halfway house where student-directed thinking can stimulate learning? Is there?

Nikki Fořtová

Nikki Fořtová has been involved in ELT since 2002. Nikki is CELTA and DELTA qualified and holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL. Nikki is a CELTA tutor, an oral examiner for the Cambridge suite of exams and an Oxford Teachers’ Academy trainer. Nikki has run practical methodology training sessions and workshops around Europe to English language teachers and is particularly interested in the application of technology to teaching and learning. As well as helping to maintain IH World’s Online Teacher Training Institute (OTTI), she has designed and tutored online and face to face ICT courses for English language teachers. Her main area of research and interest lies in helping learners to develop their speaking skills in an asynchronous online environment. Originally from the UK, Nikki has been a teacher and teacher trainer at Masaryk University since 2005.

Presentation (30-minute session)

Changing the paradigm: A very practical MA

Masters in ELT equip teachers with the theoretical grounding necessary to underpin decisions made in the classroom. However, do MAs sufficiently marry theory with practice?

This talk details the story of change in the MA in teaching for secondary schools run at Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic. Once a predominantly theoretical degree, the Master’s was re-designed to become more practical in nature and thus better prepare our trainees for the classroom itself. Trainees now have to complete our so-called “internal teaching practice”, where they teach once a week for a semester. This enables them to actually put into practice the substance of the pre-requisite coursework in a safe environment where they can develop. We are now able to send our trainees out to school with training in linguistics, classroom management and the micro-skills that are compatible with current trends in ELT. If we want to produce the best teachers, we need to forearm them with both the theory on which to base their decisions in the classroom, as well as the practice of actually teaching. Changing the paradigm from the theoretical to the practical is what MA courses need in order to equip the next generation of ELT professionals for the journey ahead of them.

Come and see how we did it.

Michelle Ocriciano

Michelle Ocriciano is an EAP teacher at University of New South Wales Institute of Languages. She has been teaching in various contexts for 17 years both in Brazil and Australia. She holds a B.A. in English and Linguistics, a B.Ed., a Graduate Diploma in TEFL and an MA in Applied Linguistics. Her fields of interest are Technology in Language Teaching & Learning, Teacher PD, Language Variation and English as Lingua Franca.

Workshop – Presentation (30-minute session)

Action Reseach on the influence of gamification on learning IELTS writing

In 2015 “The influence of gamification on learning IELTS writing skills” was one of the selected projects in the fifth English Australia Action Research Project. English Australia (EA) is the national peak body for the English language sector of international education in Australia. The initiative is also funded and supported by Cambridge English Language Assessment and has Professor Anne Burns as mentor. Whereas there are different approaches to Action Research (AR)(Burns,2010), this particular one is an example of the institutional approach focused on continuous professional development. The initial idea for the AR derived from a report written by Gartner who mentioned that gamification had become an essential part of any digital business or learning strategy as a way of digitally motivating people and overcoming barriers. Following this gamification trend, the project was conducted to investigate whether gamification could have an impact on students writing skills for the IELTS exam. The project was conducted at Kaplan College Adelaide with 33 participants. It involved the development of a platform using LMS Moodle, the design of online games, students choosing badges, initial writing assessment, introductory lessons in the classroom, game playing, weekly writing, individual feedback session and, at the end of each cycle or when participants finished their courses, a 20-minute feedback session comparing/contrasting their initial piece of writing with their last one. The presenter will summarize the research outcomes, which overall suggest that learners writing improved significantly and will briefly show the tools used throughout the project and the possibilities of replication.

Nazan Ozcinar Sirel 

Nazan Özçınar Sırel received her BA degree in ENGLISH and GERMAN from ZWN UNIVERSITY in Delft, Holland in 1987; her MA in English Language Teaching from METU in 1996. She holds a DELTA Diploma from Cambridge University, a certificate in Teacher Training from Fitzwilliam College and a Teacher Training Diploma from the British Council in Ankara. Prior to Özyeğin University, she worked at Arı Private High school as a teacher, at Hacettepe University as an instructor and a teacher trainer and at Sabancı University as an instructor. She worked as a teacher trainer for INGED (English Teaching Association) between 1996 and 2010. Currently, she has been working as an instructor at Özyeğin University since 2008. Her interests are vocabulary teaching, Multiple Intelligences, and NLP.

Workshop: Presentation (60-minute session)

Enhancing Lifelong Learning by Using NLP in the ELT Classroom

Lifelong learning may be broadly defined as learning that is pursued throughout life: learning that is flexible, diverse and available at different times and in different places (Delors, 1996). More important for teachers than particular techniques or methods is the inner self because, according to NLP, “The resources we need are within us”. Therefore, to be truly effective, teachers need to adapt all methods and techniques to their specific students. The methods and all the resources we have can certainly be used in order to discover our students’ individual learning styles (VAKOG), their goals, and their potential to ultimately enhance communication and become lifelong learners. This workshop aims to introduce participants to the basic theory behind NLP and how it could be applied as a lifelong learning tool while providing practical applications and activities for the classroom.

Sarah Mount

With 25 years’ experience in international marketing/business development and 16 years in ELT, Sarah now works in the field of Global Education Management.

Current areas of interest include Educational Policy Development, Organisational Culture and Change Management. In addition to this, she has lectured both in the UK and internationally on Reader Development.

Workshop (60-minute session)

Becoming a Centre of Excellence: How to Excel in your School Inspection

This workshop will explore ways in which organisations can ensure they achieve the best possible results in Inspections, with particular reference to the British Council and Eaquals.

We will demonstrate that Inspections can be seen as opportunities for organisational development rather than threats.

We will show how, through a structured process of self-evaluation over an extended period, existing practices can be significantly improved and new practices established.

By the end of the workshop, you will have an effective and meaningful blueprint for successful development, in which all staff will have involvement and ownership, working collaboratively towards achieving ‘Areas of Excellence’.

Werona Krol-Gierat

Werona Król-Gierat works in the Institute of Modern Languages, the Department of English Studies at the Pedagogical University of Kraków, Poland, from where she graduated in English Studies. She completed Doctoral Studies in Applied Linguistics at the same university. She also graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in Romanic Languages and Cultures. Moreover, she is qualified in early-school pedagogy, psychological-pedagogical diagnosis and therapy, and education management.

Ms Król-Gierat lectures to students at the BA & MA levels. In addition she runs postgraduate-level teaching workshops for teachers of pre- and lower-primary pupils. She attends a variety of conferences and conventions to share experiences and stay at the cutting edge of her profession.

Her main research and publication interests include inclusive education and individual differences in learning, and especially the psychological-pedagogical aspects of teaching foreign languages to young learners with Special Educational Needs, reflecting her caring and empathetic approach to learners.

Workshop – Presentation (30-minute session):

Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Pupils with Special Educational Needs at the Lower-Primary Level – does it make SENse?

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) is often considered as one of the most contentious aspects of European policies, especially in countries such as Poland where the whole idea is relatively new, and thus it is being systematically reformed. At the beginning of the session, some key terminological issues concerning the development of Special-Needs Education in Poland will be discussed. In the next part of the presentation, a few case studies of pupils with SEN will be presented with the attempt to address the following research question: Does teaching EFL to young learners with disabilities/impairments make SENse? The data reported on come from a longitudinal research project undertaken by the author over three school years.

Weronika Szubko-Sitarek

Weronika Szubko-Sitarek holds a PhD in linguistics. She is currently employed at the Institute of English Studies where she conducts her research. She is in charge of the teacher training programme and of the postgradual studies for teachers of English in primary education.
Her research interests foscus on teaching reading, the role of parents in early EFL learning and teacher education in teaching English to YLs.

Workshop – Presentation (30-minute session):

Teaching reading to young EFL learners

The relationship between reading and phonological awareness has been shown to be bidirectional (cf. Riches & Genesee, 2006; Gillon, 2012). Early phonological awareness skills facilitate beginning reading while beginning reading contributes to phonological awareness development. Both seem to be neglected in the context of primary EFL education. Given the fundamental role of reading in everyday life and its significance in the curriculum for developing other language skills, this should not be the case. The present paper discusses results of the research study aimed at collecting teachers’ beliefs about teaching reading and phonological awareness to primary EFL learners. The data gathered in the questionnaires were a starting point for a longitudinal research project whose goal was to identify factors contributing to successful L2 literacy. The primary results of the ongoing study will be discussed along the future research. The major recommendation resulting from the study is that creating a literate environment in and outside the foreign language classroom is the preferred intervention.