The Future of English Language Teaching Conference

Saturday 10 June, 2023

Current time in London (UK)

Please note: All breakout sessions are running on a first come, first served basis.

 

Breakout sessions 3

11:15 - 12:00 (UK time)

 

Select a breakout session below to reveal more details and to access the button to join.

 

Animated short films are an excellent engaging and pedagogically-sound learning tool. They provide linguistically- rich teaching materials. This interactive presentation should provide attendees with a clear picture on why and how animated films should be used in our classes. It highlights the rationale for using animated short films in language classes and provides practical ideas on how to use them to teach different language skills while keeping the class fun and engaging.


The presentation will start with the rationale for using short films in our classes. Then, the presenter will share some of her students' opinion and feedback regarding the use of animated shorts in their classes.  The majority of the session’s time will be devoted to sharing some practical and creative ideas on how to use animated short films with students. This will include showing the attendees a couple of animated shorts and go through relevant activities to teach different language skills. The presentation should provide attendees with a clear picture on why and how animated films should be used in our classes. 

 

Jokha Al Hosni

 

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Digital storytelling is a powerful tool for engaging students in the learning process and helping them develop key employability skills. By combining multimedia elements such as text, images, audio, and video, digital storytelling allows students to create compelling narratives that communicate complex ideas and insights. This process requires students to think critically, collaborate with others, and demonstrate creativity, all of which are highly valued by employers.


In this session., we explore the ways in which digital storytelling can help students develop employability skills. We begin by examining the differences and similarities between traditional oral storytelling and digital storytelling, with an emphasis on the unique affordances of digital platforms (e.g. interactivity, multimedia elements, user-generated content ).


We also examine the skills that are essential for success in today's job market, such as critical thinking, communication, and teamwork, and show how digital storytelling can help students develop these skills. Finally, we provide some examples of successful digital storytelling projects and offer recommendations for educators who wish to incorporate this approach into their teaching practice.

Manuela Kelly Calzini

Letizia Cinganotto

 

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Newspaper headlines have been filling up with information about the ChatGPT, a new chatting robot, introduced recently by OpenAI. This includes cases of students attempting to cheat their way through a course or even their theses writing.

 

There is a hot debate on what the existence of ChatGPT, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence in general, means for education: Will the teaching profession become obsolete? Is this the end of online testing? Where is artificial intelligence heading?

 

This presentation attempts to suggest a way of taking advantage of and opportunities ChatGPT offers to educators and, more specifically, teachers of foreign languages, especially at secondary level of education. The main aim is, therefore, to present a brief overview of the recent developments in the field of artificial intelligence , focusing on the ChatGPT, and more specifically the use of the technology in language teaching. It also aims to identify skills teachers of languages may find useful when embracing the opportunities and trying to include the new technology in their lessons. A specific example of a spontaneous use of ChatGPT to support lesson planning in a microteaching session by student-teachers in their second year of study is provided to illustrate the students’ eagerness to ‘test the waters’ of the speedily evolving field.

 

ChatGPT has inspired editorials but also a growing number of research papers, with the recurring theme of ‘friend or foe’ discussions of the characteristics of the technology. With the anticipated (as of March 2023) release of ChatGPT 4 and the imminent release of Microsoft’s answer to ChatGPT – Copilot – the question of academic integrity and suitability of the technology use in the language classroom is becoming more and more pressing and the need to support practicing but also future teachers in embracing the opportunities while being aware of the pitfalls.

 

Keterina Keplova

 

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Over the past decade, there has been a great deal of research regarding the skills needed in the 20th century vs the 21st century in the areas of primary education (Dede, 2010) assessment (Reeves, 2010) and higher education (Kivunja, 2014).  In short, the well-known “3Rs reading writing, and arithmetic” have transformed into the 4cs: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity and have since expanded to add more innovative Cs: culture, citizenship, connectivity, and character (Holland, 2017).  The shift to the Cs has brought a sense of renewal to education, and the expansion displays how educators have continued to adapt to the ever changing demands from face to face, to virtual, to hybrid and back again (Hirsh-Pasak et al. 2021).  However, many  educators, and perhaps more honestly stated - HUMANS  still find themselves in the recovering/rebuilding times for a variety of reasons, including trying to pave new ways of teaching in the post-COVID era.

In this talk, I focus on how these “multiple Cs” can be adapted and how we have adapted to meet the continuously evolving needs of our students and of ourselves no matter if you are teaching in K-12 or higher education.  I reflect on where our time online during COVID took us especially in the technological realm, (Nuñez-Canal et al., 2021) what we have been left to work with (Doll et al., 2021) and where we are rebuilding and innovating (Zhao & Waterson, 2021).  Finally, I emphasize the work continued in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) (Pentón-Herrera & Martínez-Alba, 2021) and in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) (Sears, 2021) and how the infusion of these elements are crucial to the conversation and a potential framework in our classrooms moving forward.

 

Evidence suggests that transferring learning from in-service teacher education courses to teachers’ specific teaching contexts can be problematic. This presentation explores this point and views the issue through the lens of teacher cognitions (Baker 2014; Borg 2015), helping identify potential areas for teachers’ knowledge and skills development. Recognising that teacher learning is more than just being able to use a ‘tool-kit’ of tasks and activities, this presentation will show how resource analysis (including resource evaluation, adaption and creation) can be a vehicle to help teachers learn more about their context and also their beliefs and practices. The presentation will then report on an impact study jointly conducted by NILE and Trinity that explores the impact of teacher development courses that use Trinity College London’s Certificate for Practising Teachers (CertPT) as a developmental assessment tool to meet teachers’ professional needs. 

Using data analysed from participant pre- and post-course interviews, I will present data that gives detail about how the CertPT’s four assessment tasks provide lasting impact. This will be supplemented by data collected from NILE’s teacher educators involved in the CertPT, enabling a different perspective on how assessment affects learning and practice following in-service professional development.

This presentation will be relevant to all those involved in teacher education programmes as it provides a fresh way to view teachers’ in-service development, recognising the importance of teacher cognitions and materials use and development as a vehicle for ongoing professional development.

 

Ben Beaumont

 

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