With English being used as the global language of trade, education and science, English users of different cultural norms have to find ways of successfully communicating with each other. The ability to accommodate and adapt to our conversation partners is essential in oiling the wheels of international communication and helping us to build better relationships. It’s time for English language teaching to go beyond the teaching of grammar and lexis and include communication training. This is an interactive session where Chia will be using critical thinking activities and storytelling to explore ways we can help learners develop an awareness of different communication styles and cultural expectations and become better at communicating internationally. Chia Suan Chong is a writer, communication skills trainer and a teacher trainer. She is the author of Successful International Communication. Delivering both online and face-to-face training to clients around the globe, Chia specializes in interactive workshops that encourage reflection for more effective international communication and improved collaboration. Currently based in York, Chia was English Teaching Professional’s award-winning resident blogger between 2012 and 2019 and now has a regular feature ‘Not Only But Also’ in the bi-monthly ETp magazine. Chia also writes Business English materials for the British Council Learn English website, is a regular ELT conference speaker and holds a DELTA and a Masters in Applied Linguistics and ELT.

Grammar… the very word makes a lot of people groan. Students have often spent many years of their lives memorizing grammar rules for tests at school and beyond. ‘Why do I have to learn grammar?’ I want to be able to speak English.’ For me, these two things must go together. This session aims to help teachers better support their learners by carefully considering how they are teaching grammar Hi, I’m Helen in London. I have been teaching since 2001, starting in South Korea and in London since I realised it was easier to wait for the students to come to me! I have taught ages from 3 to 85 and more nationalities than I even knew existed before I became a teacher. I also have a strong interest in teacher training and have been involved in that aspect of teaching in some of the biggest language schools in London. I am always inspired by what I can learn from my students and can’t wait to get back on a plane and visit a few more of their home countries.

FOMO (Fear of missing out?) or FOJI (Fear of joining in)? Social media has been impacting us and changing the way we teach and the way our students learn. It can be exciting but also overwhelming and scary. Together, we will explore ways teachers can use Instagram to teach English, maximize student engagement and collaboration online. We will also focus on tools to create engaging content in order to grow a Social Media presence and strategies to look after your mental well-being in this ever-changing landscape. Renata Delaney is the Unity Certified Instructor Program Manager at Unity 3D Technologies and the founder on English This Way, an online teaching and teacher training company. Renata has been in Education for over two decades as a teacher, teacher trainer, examiner, academic manager, instructional designer and university tutor in the UK and overseas. She holds a PRINCE 2 project management certification, the DELTA and an MA in Applied Linguistics. http://www.englishthisway.com/

What is reflective practice and why is it so important for successful academic study? This talk will take you through this skill, giving you some tips and advice on how to be a successful reflective writer. I have been teaching English as an additional language for over 17 years, and have taught at all levels of linguistic ability, including first language speakers. My research interests include: study skills and the learner experience, translation and how it can be managed, speaking and communication to develop critical thinking skills.

Dealing with sensitive cultural issues in the classroom to enhance intercultural sensitivity is a complicated issue. This video introduces the theory behind teachers' attitudes towards dealing with sensitive issues in the classroom and practical examples of incorporating social justice issues in the classroom to promote transformative learning. Julie Butters an Academic Coordinator and English language teacher at University College Cork, Language Centre in Ireland, and a co-chair of EAP in Ireland. https://eapinireland.org/ She has been teaching for 18 years, including 14 years in higher education. She is currently taking part in a national teaching and learning project called Disciplines Inquiring Into Societal Challenges. She has also been involved in developing CPD sessions on critical approaches to intercultural sensitivity. She has an MA in ELT and Applied Linguistics. Her areas of interest include social justice in education, inclusivity and critical discourses. Emma McCarthy is a Director of Studies in Ireland. An EFL Teacher and Manager with a Master’s in ELT and Applied Linguistics, she has worked in EFL Management and Teaching in Ireland and the UK and is a co-chair of EAP in Ireland. Her interests include Teacher Education, Intercultural Communication, Sociolinguistics, Engaging Pedagogy, Social Justice, and the role of Culture in the classroom.

Caroline will show you how to promote autonomous learning through webquesting: a journey through the skills and sometimes through history, geography or popular culture. Caroline has been a teacher and teacher training for over 20 years. She has worked in over 15 countries with communities of refugees, Immigrants, and private language students. As a writer and a teacher, Caroline loves to incorporate experiential learning into her lessons, no matter where they are delivered. Caroline is a great believer in accessible education and believes that whether a class is delivered online or in person, it is the quality of materials and approach that make the student experience the best. Caroline is the Director of Courses for Rennert TESOL in NYC, and founder of FeLT NYC, a non-profit offering education to immigrant and refugee women. https://www.feltnyc.org/

his 30 minute discussion class is based on a reading text about immigration and the difference between tolerance and acceptance. Please complete the reading in advance of the class (link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eUORTGW-vFV9mRs_QvOYDT9fqmXUwlwd/view?usp=sharing), with optional at-home materials (link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lrALU3mnhQIQny87JvixNSKUlQ-x4x4xv3p_wOeiRNQ/edit?usp=sharing). Please read the text before the class, as the class is built on this text. A B2+ level is needed for this class. Jessica Garska is a 3rd-year college studentship-funded Ph.D. student in the Centre for Language and Communication Studies. Originally from the United States, she has had an international career as an English language teacher before successfully completing with a Distinction Grade the Masters in English Language Teaching at Trinity College Dublin. Her research interrogates the notion of academic literacies and examines the intersection of power, identity and culture in the academic setting. She additionally has taught EAP in Ireland for the past five years.

This presentation will provide participants with an overview of alternative forms of assessment for English language learners. It will cover some of the differences between formative and summative assessment, explain the advantages of using alternative forms of assessment in the EFL/ESL classroom. and provide practical examples of alternative forms of assessment for language learners. Nicole Angela Johnson is a language assessment specialist with an MA in Language Testing from Lancaster University. She has worked in the field of language testing and assessment for nearly a decade, and she has taught English to speakers of other languages in Europe and the Middle East for much longer. She currently works as a Language Test Development Specialist in the USA.

This mini-lesson will review the basic pronunciation rules for syllables and word stress followed by a haiku writing task. Haikus are traditional Japanese poems structured around syllables. If you enjoy creative writing and also want to improve your English pronunciation knowledge, this lesson is a good fit for you! Dr. Anne Crutchfield is a Los Angeles-based ESL professor and private tutor, visit LA English Tutor https://www.laenglishtutor.com/ for more information. She completed a PhD in Education and MA in Second Language Studies from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and has 15 years of experience teaching multilingual learners in Germany, Hawaii, and California.

Who would have thought at the beginning of Winter term that just two months later our lives would have changed so dramatically? The past few months have seen incredible efforts on the part of administrators, instructors, and students moving very quickly to transition the classes that they had been teaching face to face to online course delivery. However, in our rush to maintain continuity for our students, have we given adequate consideration to the emotional impact these disruptions have caused? In this talk, speaker Melanie Johnson will share some techniques for managing uncertainty and mitigating its potential impact on all of our lives. Melanie Johnson is the founder of BounceEnglish, a company that aims to incorporate more inclusive practices into English language teaching and training. She has been teaching for nearly twenty years across Europe, North America and the Middle East, and was awarded Academic Director/Teacher of the year by LEAD 50/50 in 2017. Melanie is passionate about equity issues in education, and the power of communication to positively transform the world.