IATEFL 2015 Highlights

It's been an amazing opportunity to be here in Manchester to take part in IATEFL 2015.

I intend to share here some key points from the talks and workshops I manage to watch.
It's important to highlight the fact that even being far away,  you can follow the conference on line at
http://www.iatefl.org/annual-conference/manchester-2015
Also,  follow the Twitter feeds @iateflonline

Day 1 April 11th:

Opening from the IATEFL President, Carol Read.

Plenary Session with   Donald Freeman : Frozen  in thought?  How we think and what we do  in ELT.

He brings up the concept of Distributed responsibility (teacher & students), as opposed to Shared responsibility and uses the metaphor of  a chess game:
One action shapes the action of what comes next.

Concept of boundaries :
Rethinking Proficiency as plural- proficiencies, multiple literacies.
Reframe and challenge our myths as English teachers.

Communicating communicative competence- Peter Rutherford
Knowing what to say and how to say depending on the context.
discourse seen from four perspectives:
*linguistic
*actional 
*sociocultural  
*strategic
He explained the usage of photo radar charts .The idea came from video game pro evolution soccer.
Very often there are unrealistic expectations from the part of the students,  so  it's important dealing with them and the charts can certainly help.

How social media is changing the DNA of professional development  

Ann Foreman

There are many possibilities when it comes to using Social Media and it certainly gives professional development a point of need.
Teachers should move from only keeping up to date to participating more actively.
She mentions that ELT bloggers have inspired her classes with the ideas they blog about.
Teachers need to build an online presence,a network.
The importance of using social media for Professional Development (Social Media & CPD)
She mentions the website www.teachingenglish.com

Emotional engagement for adult students   Herbert Puchta

In learning our brain doesn't reward  us for understanding. Achievement is rewarding.
Adult learners need to have a perception of relevance when it comes to what they're studying.
Learning a skill is not simply a behaviour or a mental process. Appropriation has a connotation of
challenging the students.
The impact of emotional engagement in learning is highly important.
Recent findings in in cognitive science indicate the brain is "an organ of emotion".

IELTS Academic reading skills needed for IELTS success  Pauline Cullen

She mentions the importance  of going beyond test-taking strategies and focusing on developing the language skills required for the different question types.
Listening evidence to improve oral health.
Search strategies / Core skills required by the reading task:

*first sift : scan systematically
*second sift :  read further to assess relevance
*detailed reading
*understand paraphrase and choosing information to use

Warmth-recognition-sense of belonging: a framework for success  Karina Nazzari

The schools are expected to establish an environment which is conductive to enhance students' development in a more holistic perspective.
The learning process is a result of active interactions within the school environment.
Students have to feel that the school is a safe environment.
Three elements: empowering students, cognitive development and creativity
The importance of praising the effort, not the person when giving classes.
Empathy plays a key role in establishing bond.