As we are all aware, teachers have recently had to make some pretty big changes to the way that academic English is taught and the way that students are learning. The changes experienced could be seen as inconvenient. But for a number of teachers, this forced change might have had a positive effect, or expedited the use of other technology, pushing us to try things out of our comfort zone.
It’s important at this time to get some perspective on how these changes have affected our teaching and our students’ learning, by looking to see what others have done and to exchange ideas. After all, teachers are a community and have always had an ethos of helping one another.
The conference is back!
With this in mind, our annual Academic English Conference is back for a third year.
Join us online from 27-29 October 2020.
Through 10 brand new, free webinars delivered to you from around the world, we’ll explore the below themes:
- Academic speaking and listening
- Motivation
- Methodologies and materials in English for Academic Purposes
- Critical thinking
- Academic writing
You can view the full programme and register here.
‘Ask Me Anything’
As a new addition to the conference this year, we are running an ‘Ask Me Anything’ open session, where our presenters will be part of a live panel. This is an opportunity for you to start a debate on any aspect of academic English. You can even send us your questions in advance. Follow our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for updates.
Sneak preview
Our speakers would like to invite you to their talks – let us introduce you to a few below!
Tuesday 27th at 4pm – Isabela Villas Boas
Let’s have a brief look at historical and contextual reasons for the mainstream mental models regarding assessment. Isabella will then present new trends in assessment. How can these be incorporated into the classroom, without disregarding the need to prepare students for standardised writing exams?
Wednesday 28th at 3am – Gregory Hadley
Gregory will reveal some of the key processes learners commonly bring to the ER classroom. The first fruits of a nationally funded research project in Japan using a Grounded Theory approach, participants will learn about reading processes such as story-hunting, book-mining, and stasis maintenance. By the end of the talk, you will be better equipped not only to notice these student practices, but also to respond in ways that will help guide learners towards becoming more avid readers of academic English.
Thursday 29th at 12pm – Edward de Chazal
Edward will start by setting out the characteristics of seven familiar academic listening and speaking events. He’ll then examine the roles of their participants – interpreter, recorder, and persuader. There are many challenges to consider, such as linguistic, cognitive, content-based, conventional, visual, and cultural.
So, put 27-29 October in your diary today. We look forward to seeing you at the conference – don’t forget to register!
For an idea of what’s in store, you can watch content from last year’s Academic English Conference here.