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09:00 - 10:00 UK time
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The hybrid classroom. Dilemmas, choices and solutions
Sophia Mavridi
Abstract
The lessons learnt during the first phases of Covid-19 have provided school systems with the opportunity to proactively plan and design the next phases. One of the most promising scenarios is moving to a hybrid-learning model which, in general terms, aims to combine face-to-face and remote tuition into a coherent whole. What will the implications be for the teacher and the student? How can we plan and prepare for the hybrid classroom? Informed by digital learning pedagogies, this session will look at effective and practical ways of planning and integrating hybrid-learning models in language education.
Bio
Sophia Mavridi is a digital learning specialist and a lecturer in English Language Teaching at De Montfort University in the UK. She also works with educational institutions around the world providing in-service training and consultation. Her latest publications are ‘English for 21st Century Skills’ (Express Publishing, 2020) and ‘Digital Innovations and Research in Language Learning’ (IATEFL, 2020) both of which reflect her keen interest in innovative pedagogies in language education. She is a regular presented at international conferences and posts about digital learning on her website and social media.
10:10 - 11:10 UK time
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Teacher wellbeing – An individual and collective responsibility
Sarah Mercer
Abstract
In this talk, we will consider how and why teacher wellbeing is critical for good practice. We will reflect on the fact it can be influenced by individual factors and strategies as well as actions at policy and institutional level. We will look at a range of strategies that teachers can engage in to support their own and their colleagues’ wellbeing, and we will discuss what institutions and the field as a whole can do to collectively take action on language teacher wellbeing. The talk hopes to be both practical and thought-provoking.
Bio
Sarah Mercer is Professor of Foreign Language Teaching at the University of Graz, Austria, where she is Head of ELT methodology. Her research interests include all aspects of the psychology surrounding the foreign language learning experience. She is the author, co-author and co-editor of several books in this area. She is also currently vice-president of the International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning (IAPLL).
11:20 - 12:20 UK time
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Online teaching- establishing connections that go beyond the screen
Tamires Gama
Abstract
The aim of this talk is to empower and better equip teachers who would like to get into online teaching, or those who are already teaching online, but still need to overcome fears, lack of intimacy with online students, online platforms and activities. Participants’ attention will be drawn to students’ language acquisition process and its affective factors in the online environment by providing ideas, strategies and possible solutions for technical and pedagogical problems that might arise in this teaching context. Based on Krashen’s Affective filter hypothesis and Hayo Reinders’ suggestions on the best practices in online instruction, research-based evidence will be provided to suggest that the realization of the potentiality of the online instruction as a facilitator for the students depend on the ability of the teacher to draw the pedagogical advantage of this context by getting better prepared to wisely and efficiently face its pitfalls.
Bio
Tamires Gama has been teaching English Online for four years and runs her own online business called Simplifica- Soluções para o aprendizado de Inglês. She has a B.A. in Languages from USP and is also a CPE and CELTA holder. She has also taken a TESOL certificate from the university of Anaheim in California and she has taken a course in Learning to Teach Online from the University of New Wales in Sydney. She is also a speaker about Online teaching and has already presented at several Braz Tesol events.
12:30 - 13:30 UK time
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Changing our teaching in challenging times
Tim Phillips and panel: Rabiah Chaudhry, Daniela Cuccurullo, Lazarous Sinkala, Wonderboy (Wanda) Mpisi
Abstract
For most of us in teaching, the coronavirus pandemic has probably been our biggest challenge. And because teachers are resilient and creative, there are many inspiring stories of how teachers have coped with those challenges. In this presentation a panel of three teachers from Africa and Europe will discuss some of the ways in which they have managed to sustain teaching and learning while their schools have been closed. We will show some short videos of teachers talking about their innovations and discuss some of the issues with technologies and resources that we have confronted and how teachers have overcome these.
Bio
Tim Phillips is head of teacher development and leads on the British Council’s support of teacher development worldwide, through the British Council Teaching for Success approach, and the development and provision of resources facilitating that approach. He works with British Council offices worldwide, with ministries of education and other organisations funding and supporting teacher development in the state school sector.
14:00 - 15:00 UK time
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Panel discussion - the future of education
Abstract
Join us for this roundtable discussion to look at different challenges that schools, teachers, and learners have faced around the world in the past six months, as well as exploring how education systems and learning is changing in response to these challenges. We will discuss how the current changes may eventually inform longer-term strategies for schools and language learning in the future.
15:10 - 16:10 UK time
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Which English? Whose English?
Tony Young
Abstract
There’s considerable controversy in academic circles around which models and targets of English(es) are suitable for different learners and teachers worldwide. This webinar presents research which addresses these controversies and which sought the views of practitioners on present and future realities as they see them. It will:
- explore the suitability of available models and targets such as American English, British English, English as a Lingua Franca and ‘local’ varieties like Indian or Chinese English.
- highlight some of the controversies surrounding available ‘Englishes’.
- consider which varieties currently are, should be and (perhaps) will be learned in language classrooms around the world.
Bio
Tony Johnstone Young is Professor of Applied Applied Linguistics and Communication at Newcastle University in the north of England. Prior to becoming an academic he was a language teacher for over 20 years in various location around the world. His research looks at how people’s identities and group memberships influence communication, and his work has been supported by various national and international funders including the European Commision, the British Council and by a Newton Advanced Fellowship.
16:20 - 16:50 UK time
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Navigating language learning through WhatsApp during the lockdown: an experience from Cameroon
Abigail Ekangouo Awanga
Abstract
Like everywhere else in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has, no doubt, affected every aspect of human life in sub-Saharan Africa. In Cameroon, for example, the Government-imposed lockdown from March to June this meant that school children were left with little or no access to formal school-based education. Efforts by the Ministries in charge of Education to organise lessons for final year students on National television and radio proved useful for children with access to TV but many students and their teachers were left either frustrated or dependent on their own pragmatic solutions to education in the crisis. In this presentation, I share my experience of using WhatsApp to support my students’ learning during the lockdown and highlight the different possibilities which this commonly used app in my context can provide for teachers working in low-resourced contexts like mine. Then I showcase some of the activities and learning outcomes from my work with the students.
Bio
Abigail Ekangouo Awanga has worked as an English language teacher at secondary level in Cameroon for 13 years. She is one of the Moderators of the Cameroon English Language and Literature Teachers Association (CAMELTA) Whatsapp group where she has run a series of teacher development workshops around the theme of teaching English through mobile technology. She is interested in e-learning and working with learners with limited resources.
16:50 - 17:20 UK time
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Hitting home runs from home - Keeping students ‘school fit’ during COVID
Monique Bachman
Abstract
This talk will look at the underserved communities and under-resourced reality most South African learners faced even before COVID. It will identify the driving force behind reaching success during COVID and when distance learning becomes everyone's main objective and collaboration becomes easy. It will show how using a blend of WhatsApp and an online platform with paper-based teaching ensured learners remain “academically fit”, focusing on the benefits experienced first-hand regarding learner's skill development despite school closure.
Bio
Monique Bachmann has quickly established herself as one of the go-to English resource developers in South Africa. As a 21st Century teaching ambassador of Education, Monique is an innovative South African woman, who intends to leave a legacy for thousands of struggling learners in her country. She has been an English teacher at N Diederichs Technical High School (Gauteng, South Africa) for the past nine years. When she is not teaching, Monique provides her services to the National and Provincial Department of Education for developing assessments, while also being an active personal development trainer for fellow educators.
17:30 - 18:30 UK time
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How to build a secure online environment to protect young learners and teens
Jennifer Dobson
Abstract
The sudden move to emergency remote teaching also brought increased safety risks. Having well-established child protection procedures in place provides secure foundations which can be adapted to changing circumstances. We will explore key safeguarding issues and consider how to set up flexible guidelines to protect both ourselves and our young learners for future eventualities.
Bio
Jen Dobson has experience as an ELT teacher, writer, trainer, and IT coordinator specialising in safe, creative educational technology. She is a trainer on the International House Certificate in Online Tutoring and the Social Media and Technology Coordinator for IATEFL MaWSIG. Her recent contributions to community safeguarding include the online child protection section of the new YLTSIG website, a special feature in their open-access newsletter, and the safety section of the Playbook for Emergency Remote Teaching.
18:40 - 19:40
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Staying safe online in the new school year
Boris Radanovic
Abstract
The future is here. We can no longer say 'the future' of digital technologies - it is now and today. While we have had decades to prepare, we are now at the centre of technological assistance to our way of life. Teaching, socialising, educating, working, and much more has changed in recent months. How are educators prepared, what are the things to keep vigilant about? Join me for a talk on online safety, the current trends and challenges of the digital world and let's find out together how we can make the internet a better and safer place for children. We all have a responsibility to learn more and to raise awareness about the benefits and challenges of the digital space. So, let's lead by example and imagine the future together.
Bio
Boris is the Engagement and Partnership Manager for the UK Safer Internet Centre working at South West Grid for Learning. The UK Safer Internet Centre is the national awareness centre and forms part of the European Commission’s, Safer Internet Programme and part of the European Insafe network. For the last three years, since the creation of the Croatian SIC, he has worked as the Awareness coordinator for the Croatian Safer Internet Centre where he has held more than one hundred presentations and educations about online safety to children, parents, teachers, police officers, social care workers and companies in Croatia. As an expert speaker in the field of online safety he has been working with the European Commission, TAIEX instrument, on four expert missions to Belarus, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia to present the topic of online safety to government officials, NGO’s and stakeholders as well as presented as a keynote and guest speaker at European conferences on the topics of new and emerging trends and applications being used by children and youth online. He is also a member of the Trust and Safety board at Twitter and has advised a government on creating and adopting Online child safety policies and best practices.