Learn more about the speakers and the presentations
Dan Vincent has taught English for over 20 years in the UK, Japan, Ukraine and Spain. He has recently co-authored Own it! and is currently working on a set of project materials to accompany Compact Preliminary for Schools. He has studied materials development for endangered languages, is a contributor to the Cambridge University Press blog, and teaches adults, teenagers and young learners at the British Council in Madrid.
Presentation title: Collaboration and project work with teens
When it comes to dynamic ways to teach and practice authentic language, collaborative activities and project work are nothing new, especially in classes with teenagers. Increasingly, however, it is becoming apparent that carefully structured, clearly modelled and genuinely teen-oriented collaboration can also offer bountiful opportunities for teachers to help their students develop key 21st century skills such as creativity, communication, critical thinking and digital literacy. This session will present several projects that can achieve this, suggest ways in which groups can be organised to ensure the fullest participation possible, and consider some of the obstacles to successful collaboration and how to overcome them.
Presentation title: Speak more, speak well, speak better.
Our students’ performance in speaking often belies a much broader range of vocabulary and a much better understanding of grammar than they actually demonstrate. Put simply, they often know more than they show. At intermediate levels in particular, when the tendency of many learners is to rely on easier and more familiar language, one of the challenges for the teacher is to help them say better what they can already say basically. How, then, can we encourage our students to activate their passive knowledge and express themselves more fully? This session will take participants through a number of activities that can help students do just this, with a focus on paraphrasing, organising stretches of speech and varying usage of grammar and vocabulary.
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Olha Madylus has been involved in English Language Teaching for over 30 years: living, teaching and training in Greece, Hong Kong and Venezuela. She is now a freelance materials writer, consultant and teacher trainer and trains teachers (and trainers) worldwide in countries as diverse as South Africa, India, Nigeria, Taiwan, Bosnia and Colombia.
Presentation title: Exam preparation in the real world
Do you teach an exam class? It’s not that easy, is it? Even though students are all preparing for the same exam, they aren’t at the same level. Even though there is a clear goal, they aren’t all equally motivated. Even though they are in an exam class, they also want to learn to use their English in situations beyond the confines of the classroom.. This presentation explores the challenges of preparing students for exams and offers strategies and tools to help cater for them all. For example, considering that students won’t all be at the same level, students could review and practise areas of grammar independently before class, so that class time is better spent on interesting tasks, which require interaction, and those who need more practice could get it. For those students who are feeling a bit bored, because tasks seem too easy, and are losing momentum, they could be challenged by tasks that push them beyond the exam level. Techniques which provide focussed exam preparation will also be identified as well as activities which not only equip students to be successful in exams, but also allow students to learn and practise real world English (and finally understand the lyrics of their favourite song).
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Aniella Giorgiana Bușilă is a teacher, teacher trainer and translator and has been a Cambridge English Consultant since 2009 and a Cambridge English Presenter since 2016. She has extensive experience of Cambridge English exams and has prepared students and teachers for the full range of Cambridge English qualifications. Aniella has given presentations at a large number of events in Romania including seminars, conferences, award ceremonies, and she has run academic presentations and seminars for teachers, parents and students. She has always been interested in her own professional development to continually improve her students and trainees’ learning experience. Aniella holds a degree in foreign languages and Cambridge English TKT and CELTA teaching qualifications.
Presentation title: Cambridge English updates & English-teaching qualifications for professional development
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David Valente is the Coordinator of the IATEFL Young Learners and Teenagers Special Interest Group. He works as a PhD Research Fellow in English Language and Literature Subject Pedagogy at Nord University, Norway, where he teaches at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the Teacher Education Unit. David has over 20 years' experience in ELT as a teacher, teacher educator, academic manager, author and editor and his specialist interests include children's literature in ELT, primary and secondary teacher education and inclusive classroom practices. David's publications comprise a recent chapter on syllabus developments in primary ELT for The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners. He is also one of the Associate Editors for the Children's Literature in English Language Education (CLELE) Journal, a peer-reviewed online journal for those involved in using and researching children’s literature in English learning as a second, additional or foreign language.
Presentation title: Upskill your Learners: genuine skills development for Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers
There is an extensive range of materials available nowadays for preparing children to take the Cambridge Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers exams. However, in reality, how much of this material is thinly-disguised exam practice, based heavily on exercises to emulate exam task types? How can you as a YL exams teacher retain a focus on age-appropriate pedagogy, anchor your English lessons in the child’s world and provide plenty of enjoyable learning experiences? I will address these questions by sharing engaging, carefully scaffolded techniques and activities to develop children’s language (and other) skills and to equip them with useful strategies for exam success. Practical examples from the new Cambridge FUN Skills series will be used to illustrate the ideas presented.
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