English Language Webinars

Trinity organises events and various webinar series throughout the year. Most Trinity-organised events are free, but may require advance registration.

Making memes matter: Internet memes as an effective tool for skill development and learner engagement in ESP, Mark Nicholas Glasford

Mark Nicholas Glasford of the Department of English at St. Joseph's College in India presented on 'Making memes matter: Internet memes as an effective tool for skill development and learner engagement in ESP' at the 6th annual Future of English Language Teaching Conference in June 2021.

 

Abstract

Visually and verbally succinct, memes have created a niche on the internet with a loyal user-base of adolescents who create, share and comment on them. This trend of humourous exchanges are not just the carrying-forward of jokes but is rather the sustenance of a cultural idea in an exclusive ethnic environment that caters to the insiders of said environment. Meme propagation has induced companies to include memes for their digital marketing to reach young consumers as memes are inclusive and instantaneously comprehensible. These factors have made meme-creating skills profitable. With memes having such commercial value, the push to bring them into the ESP classroom is evident. ESP classrooms despite the transcendence of the internet have maintained their focus on learners needs and have effectively adapted to the ongoing changes. Before getting to the outcome of meme inclusion, it would be important to note that to reach such stellar minimalism in language production, learners would have to go through an intensive process that involves them undergoing meticulous training in the target language. So through the journey of creation, discussion and drafting of memes, learners will be able to also hone their language skills. As most memes do not fit the criteria for marketing due to lack of sensitivity, this issue can be addressed in the classroom with the help of the instructor. This paper seeks to establish the need for meme creation in ESP classrooms for learners to have effective learning engagement along with a profitable skill at the end of the course.

 

Further information

Watch dl-slide

 

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Topics: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), The Future of English Language Teaching Conference, FoELT 2021

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GESE: Choosing the Appropriate Grade
Tue 6 June, 3:00PM (UK time)
Trinity's Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) are one-to-one, face-to-face assessments of English language speaking and listening skills with a Trinity examiner, who encourages the candidate to evidence their skills through prompts and authentic interactive dialogue. The GESE exam is a popular choice in peak periods, as well as for part-time learners, and for optional conversation classes year-round.
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GESE: Preparing for the Topic Phase
Wed 7 June, 3:00PM (UK time)
Trinity's Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) are one-to-one, face-to-face assessments of English language speaking and listening skills with a Trinity examiner, who encourages the candidate to evidence their skills through prompts and authentic interactive dialogue. The GESE exam is a popular choice in peak periods, as well as for part-time learners, and for optional conversation classes year-round.
GESE: Practising for the Interactive Phase
Thu 8 June, 3:00PM (UK time)
Trinity's Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) are one-to-one, face-to-face assessments of English language speaking and listening skills with a Trinity examiner, who encourages the candidate to evidence their skills through prompts and authentic interactive dialogue. The GESE exam is a popular choice in peak periods, as well as for part-time learners, and for optional conversation classes year-round.
The 8th Future of English Language Teaching Conference (Online)
Sat 10 June, 8:45AM (UK time)
The 8th annual, free online Future of English Language Teaching Conference includes key plenaries by Claudia Ferradas and Chris Roland alongside various breakout sessions.
Building sustainability into ELT – are we doing enough?
Wed 21 June, 4:00PM (UK time)
The negative environmental impact of the global ELT community and the opportunities we have in climate change education have been moving up our agenda in recent years. But are the many initiatives that we are putting into place enough to make any real difference? This webinar will look at some of the issues.
Building Linguistic Bridges in the ELT classroom: Cross linguistic mediation activities to support inclusion and social development
Wed 19 July, 4:00PM (UK time)
This webinar will look at specific strategies to support young learners of English who come from poor and vulnerable backgrounds. Teaching strategies and example activities will be drawn from the speakers own experience of working in a deprived area in Buenos Aires.

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