ELTWeekly Issue#23, Worldwide ELT events

Children’s Literature in Language Education, International Conference, Hildesheim University, Germany,   February 25-27, 2010

Hildesheim University and the Young Learner & Teenager SIG, IATEFL, are organising an exciting and innovative international TEFL conference on children’s literature which will cover a wide area in English language teaching, from the youngest learners to advanced language students. We are delighted to have secured plenary speakers of international renown for each one of the strands. We invite proposals for

PRESENTATIONS – which will be grouped into one of the following STRANDS 1, 2 AND 3, and WORKSHOPS/READINGS – by authors and storytellers in STRAND 4.

STRAND 1.

EFL extensive reading – reading for pleasure Plenary: STEPHEN KRASHEN, Professor Emeritus University of Southern California

STRAND 2.

Original fiction for young adults, graphic novels and graded readers Plenary: multi-award-winning author (NN)

STRAND 3.

Picture books, poems, nursery rhymes and non-fiction for children Plenary: Prof. Dr. EVA BURWITZ-MELZER, University of Giessen

STRAND 4.

Workshops with storytellers, illustrators and writers for children Plenary: Dr. ALAN MALEY & ANDREW WRIGHT on The Power of Story and Poetry

The International Conference Children’s Literature in Language Education – from Picture Books to Young Adult Fiction intends to disseminate information and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences on the power of literature for the young; approaches to children’s literature and young adult literature as a bridge to reading beyond school; gender considerations – the different attitudes of different readers – and the resulting consequences with regard to the canon of literary texts for EFL; and the debate around original children’s literature and graded readers.

For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://www.childrenslit.de/

Supporting the advanced bilingual learner, St Marylebone school, Westminster

St Marylebone school, Westminster, is organising a conference jointly with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust in order to help tackle communication as a barrier to learning.

In many London schools pupils new to English are increasingly well provided for, however, are the more advanced bilingual pupils being pushed and challenged? Is their English language acquisition reviewed and prioritised? Or are our bilingual pupils considered to no longer need support once their oral fluency reaches an acceptable level? Advanced Bilingual Learners do benefit from further support to help them achieve their true potential however without more information on how best to support, challenge and encourage them their needs will continue to go unnoticed. The conference will explore:

  • Current research on providing for Advanced Bilingual Learners
  • Issues in recognising and challenging Gifted and Talented EAL pupils
  • Ways to develop your own school’s provision for Advanced Bilingual Learners

Speakers at the conference: Lynne Cameron is professor of Applied Linguistics at the Open University. She began her career teaching English in Tanzania with VSO and then in Bradford. After various kinds of teaching and teacher training, she moved into higher education, where she has carried out research into writing in English as an additional language. Her other research interest is in how people use metaphor. Ian Warwick is Senior Director of London Gifted and Talented and also Director of The REAL Project, a national project for the Department for Children, Schools and Families which works to improve the provision of G&T education for BME and EAL students. His chief areas of interest are urban education, disadvantaged and underachieving students, e learning, exceptional ability, critical thinking, professional development and the issues surrounding BME and EAL education. He is also a consultant editor for Gifted Education International and is a member of the Tower Group, an independent, worldwide think tank of G&T experts. For more information email eca@ssatrust.org.uk or download the flyer.

International Conference on Content Based Instruction (CLIL) for Young Learners: Breaking through Traditional Boundaries, Brazil, July 8-10

This conference has three main aims: to spread the idea of TEYL (Teaching English to Young Learners) through content; to provide a good forum for debate, information exchange, and dissemination of good practice for those who already use content-based instruction; and to contribute to the improvement of the level of TEYL in Brazil. The participants will include teachers from the private and public sectors, school coordinators, directors, and policy makers.

The structure of the conference will be a little different from what is generally done. There will be plenaries, workshops, and six-hour courses on relevant topics. Participants will choose their course as they register for the conference. We believe that these courses can contribute to the participants’ wider range of knowledge. Our intent is to make this event as fulfilling and memorable as possible, both professionally and personally.

Plenary Speakers

Dr. ROY LYSTER Roy Lyster is Professor of Second Language Education in the Department of Integrated Studies Education at McGill University in Canada. He has a PhD in Applied Linguistics as well as a B.Ed. and M.Ed. from the University of Toronto, and an MA from the Université de Paris VII. His research focuses primarily on immersion and content-based classrooms, including both observational and experimental studies of teacher-student interaction, form-focused instruction, and corrective feedback. He is past president of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics and author of Learning and Teaching Languages Through Content: A Counterbalanced Approach, published by Benjamins in 2007.

PEETER MEHISTO Has researched factors contributing to successful CLIL programme development, as well as potential barriers to the implementation of CLIL initiatives. Peeter Mehisto is the author of several textbooks, trainer of teachers and administrators, CLIL programme initiator and manager, as well as former CLIL educator. He has taught at the elementary, secondary and university levels and is the winner of several awards in education. He has extensive experience working with teachers in the classroom to support the implementation of best practice in CLIL methodology. He has also worked on the development of CLIL training materials, a major CLIL-related website, parent and other public relations materials and a handbook for teachers and administrators of immersion programmes. Peeter Mehisto is a frequent presenter at CLIL conferences.

Sandie Mourão Sandie Mourão is a freelance teacher, teacher trainer, consultant and materials designer based in Portugal. She specialises in pre-school and lower primary and is particularly interested in the use of free play and children’s literature to promote language acquisition. Sandie has presented widely in ELT conferences and also contributes to a number of ELT and academic journals. She has worked on writing projects with Scholastic USA, Mary Glasgow Scholastic, OUP and Macmillan Mexico. She is also co-author of the national guidelines for English in Portuguese primary education. At present she is completing a doctorate at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, her research involves investigating the role of picture book illustration in foreign language acquisition.

For further details and pre-registration, please visit: http://www.cbiintlconferenceyl.com.br/conference_information/

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