Many people assume that a training course is valuable – even essential – preparation for professional English language teaching. But does training really help ... or is it just a waste of time and money? Should we call a halt to teacher training? Our two speakers will debate the issues. Please come along, have your say, ask questions – and join in the vote.
Speakers: Peter Grundy & Penny Ur
Chair: Graham Hall
Migration has become an increasingly debated topic over the last few years. The language and assessment industry is part of the debate and should have a sound position on its own rather than allowing policy-makers to dominate the discourse. However, important questions still remain open.
For example, how much language really is needed for participation in society? The telc signature event will explore the language needs of migrants as well as the role of mainstream society.
The following speakers have been invited to contribute different perspectives in the panel discussion:
Piet Van Avermaet, Director of the Centre for Diversity and Learning, Ghent University, Belgium Horatio Clare, writer, journalist and broadcaster Sibylle Plassmann, head of test development telc – language tests Nick Saville, ALTE Manager Representative of the British Council (TBD) Representative of the city office for Multicultural Affairs, Frankfurt, Germany (TBD)
Who would of thought it? The English language 1966-2066
Complaints about a supposed decline in standards of English continue to be made, with increasing frequency, in the British press. Although these are nothing new - as the long history of use of would of for would have illustrates - they do draw attention to the way we seem to be going through a period of unusually rapid language change. This paper illustrates the main changes in pronunciation, orthography, grammar, and vocabulary, discusses the chief factors involved - social mobility, globalization, and the Internet - and compares the changes that have taken place in the past fty years with those that are likely to take place in the next fty.
10:30 live studio starts
10:50interview with Nicky Hockly
11:15 interview with Pete Sharma
11:30 interview with Adam Kightley
11:45 interview with Zeyneb Urkun
12:00 interview with Silvana Richardson
12:15 interview with Jim Scrivener
12:30 interview with Gavin Dudeney
12:45 interview with George Pickering
13:00-14:00 break
14:00 interview with Hugh Dellar
14:00 interview with David Crystal
14:15 interview with Tessa Woodward
14:45 interview with Hornby scholars: Allwyn D'costa and Erkin Mukhammedor
15:00 interview with Hornby scholars: Mohammed Bashir and Abdallah Yousif
15:15 interview with Gail Ellis
15:30 interview with Hornby scholars Parwiz Hossain and Shoaib Jawad
Shakespeare lives: love, hate, death and desire in English language classroom
Speakers: Lisa Peter (The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust), Dr Christina Lim (lecturer, researcher and teacher educator), Shaheen Khan (actor), Lisa Peter (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust), Tonderai Munyevu (actor). Chaired by John Knagg, British Council. Join the British Council to celebrate Shakespeare's work on teh 400th anniversary of his death. We will ecplore how Shakespeare has relevance to our society, students and classrooms today and how Shakespearecan speak to people from all around the world about universal human experiences like love, hate, death and desire. The event will be practical, thought-provoking and fully interactive with the opportunity join in the discussion before, during and after, either in person and online. The audience will help to shape the event and on the day and participants will take away ideas to use in the classroom on how to address issues which feature in much of Shakespeare's work yet remain relevant today.
Want to know if Localization can revolutionize eLearning? Check why Localization is the next big eLearning revolution and take eLearning above and beyond.
Education is coming out of the walled classrooms and crossing all physical barriers to empower hard to reach learners in the form of eLearning. But for the exponents of eLearning, it is important to understand that in order for this model to succeed, we cannot have a “one-size-fits-all” concept. The internet has melted the geographic barrier, but has it melted the language barrier too? English is still the most preferred medium of instruction for eLearning course developers, but in order to improve its efficacy, an eLearning course must be localized to suit the needs of the remote learner. While translating to native languages is one aspect, the power of localization can also be broadened to include the concept of on-demand learning. This article attempts to explore how localization can be the next big revolution in eLearning.
In its traditional definition, localization means to adapt a particular product to suit the linguistic and cultural sensibilities of a particular audience. When it comes to creating eLearning courses, developers are still using English to reach to a global audience. This is evident in the result of a Google search of “Top eLearning courses” (the results point to all English learning courses). But English is only the third spoken language in the world. Localizing a course to Mandarin, Spanish, or Hindi will give any eLearning course a mind-boggling number of audiences.
“Any time a student
learns, at least in part, at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from
home and, at least in part, through online delivery with some element of
student control over time, place, path, and/or pace. The modalities along each
student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an
integrated learning experience.”
The most significant
piece of the definition is the “element of student control” highlighting the
flowing instructional models to enable improved student-centered learning,
giving students greater than before control over the time, place, path, and/or
the step of their learning tracks.
Blended learning offers a balanced approach, focused on redesigning
instructional models first, then applying technology, not as the driver, but as
the supporter, for high-quality learning
experiences that allow a teacher topersonalize and make the most of the learning.
The
technology helps to supply instructors with data, expand student choices for
educational resources and learning materials, and deliver opportunities for
students to practice and to exhibit the high-character performance.
Broadly
speaking, I am for blended learning, which means taking advantage of both
traditional f2f techniques and possibilities presented by new technologies.
Flipped
Classrooms generally provides pre-recorded material (video or audio) followed by
classroom activities. Learners watch the video
before or after the class, this happens outside F2F meetings. Thank’s to that classroom time can be used for interaction, such as Q@A sessions,
discussions, exercises other learning activities.
This is the perfect way to “invert” doings in the class with
activities outside the teaching space.
Flipping
is not just about video and technology.
Moreover,
technology does not replace good teaching. It enhances good teaching.
Flipping
helps us to get the best use of class time. It is a methodology that permits
the instructor to involve students intensely in the collaborative community and
produce a shared problem-solving workshop.
Sometimes,
instead of giving lectures, I call for scholars to watch chosen PPT, videos or
podcasts at home, so when we gather in the course of work, we are able to
concentrate on the debate, as well as interpretation of the problem.
In
my point of view, there are some significant ways to involve students during a
lecture such as short demonstrations, surveyed by group debate as well as PPT
lecture, followed by expounding, discussing and particularizing the material.
Flipping
provides students opportunities such as; interactive questioning, mind
exploration, answer “why this is important for me to recognize this?” and
student-created content.
Who would of thought it? The English language 1966-2066
