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Seminars These seminars encourage debate on areas of contemporary interest in the field of English language teaching and learning. The series combines informal networking events with more formal workshops and presentations. We are pleases to announce the new seminar programme for 2013 - 2014. Click here to go to the complete seminar video collection. You can find out about upcoming events on this page or by following us on Twitter |
Latest Seminar
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Learning a second language (L2) beyond early childhood is almost always a long haul, requiring extended effort inside and outside classrooms over many years. How important are teachers in creating and sustaining people’s motivation to learn languages? How do teachers inspire their learners? And how did they learn to be inspiring? These are the questions Martin Lamb is addressing in an ELTRP project in China and Indonesia and which will be talked about in this presentation.
Most research into L2 motivation has focused on the learners’ own characteristics (e.g. are they integratively or instrumentally motivated?). Recently some studies have looked at teachers’ motivational strategies, that is, their deliberate attempts to boost learner motivation in class. However, very little attention has been given to the notion of ‘inspiration’, of changing a learner's relationship to a subject area such that they are stimulated to invest effort in learning it outside the classroom, over the long-term.
The presentation reports the findings of a survey which asked learners in the cities of Guangdong and Jakarta to nominate and describe an inspiring English teacher they had had in their state school, to say how they had inspired them and what they did as a result. The second part of the presentation focuses on the nominated teachers themselves. Short video extracts from interviews and clips of their teaching are shown, in the hope of identifying how they came to be ‘inspiring teachers’ in the often very challenging circumstances of national state school systems.
Previous Seminars
Our extensive range of seminars started in Dec 2009 as a way to bring ELT professionals together and to uncover and discuss the latest developments in ELT.
Events are held around twice a month in a variety of venues up and down the UK. The series combines informal networking events with more formal workshops and presentations.
Past seasons have featured stimulating seminars given by Mario Rinvolucri, Michael Swan, Catherine Walter, Ken Wilson, Luke Meddings, Jamie Keddie, Jeremy Harmer & Steve Bingham.
To view all of our seminars please go to http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/seminars or click here
Check our 2013-14 schedule
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Forthcoming seminars in our 2013-2014 series Tuesday 8 October, 1800 – 2030 | The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AG LONDON Tricks and Techniques for Better Spoken English A World Teachers’ Day Celebration Vocabulary meets grammar, practised how they are spoken within target sentences. Join Brita Haycraft, ELTons Lifetime Achievement Award winner, for this interactive session on teaching Better Spoken English. Brita Haycraft Tuesday 12 November, 1800 – 2030 | English-speaking Union, Dartmouth House LONDON English Language Council Lecture British Council and English Speaking Union Following the inaugural lecture with David Crystal in February 2013, the British Council and the English-Speaking Union host a second live-streamed lecture to commemorate the authors and poets of WWI. Speaker and details to be confirmed
Tuesday 19 November 2013, 1830 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON Tracking the ups and downs of languages teaching: Key findings from the Languages Trends Survey International Education Week The Language Trends Survey has traced the impact of educational policy change on languages education since 2002. What can this tell us about the future of language learning in the UK? Kathryn Board and Teresa Tinsley Tuesday 26 November, 1730 – 2030 | Central location GLASGOW Practical ideas for teaching pronunciation and listening in an ELF context We often debate English as a Lingua Franca, but how do we teach it? Practical ideas for prioritising pronunciation work in multilingual classes and developing students’ ability to understand the speech of fellow learners. Katy Davies and Laura Patsko Teaching grammar: A diagrammatic approach Chance to reflect on strategies for assisting visual learners or those from traditional learning cultures. Learn how to turn explanations for the spoken or written word into diagrams and visuals to take back to the classroom. Rupert Lezemore Tuesday 10 December 2013, 1830 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON International Day of Persons with Disabilities ‘From a seed to a flower’:Empowering the Deaf community in Jordan English Teacher Training for the Deaf (ETTD) is a flagship project supported by the British Council, which facilitates access to opportunities to teach and learn English, within the deaf community in Jordan. A talk sharing experiences from the project will be followed by a discussion on supporting Equality and Diversity in the classroom. Paul Scott, Mohammad Salah and Gavin Hibbs Tuesday 14 January 2014, 1830 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON New Year Event Teaching Humans A look at common human characteristics, how they can affect learning and classroom behaviour, and how teachers can work with them rather than fight against them. Participate in the online poll before the seminar to vote for which traits we examine in the session. Johanna Stirling Tuesday 28 January, 1730 – 2030 | Central location BOURNEMOUTH Preparing lower level students for IELTS Practical examples of how to overcome the challenges of teaching IELTS at pre-intermediate level, covering topics such as language proficiency, exam techniques and academic skills. A chance to gain and share ideas and insights. Fiona Aish and Jo Tomlinson IELTS Task 2: Is creativity possible, desirable and/or necessary in the IELTS classroom? Focus on a range of strategies to encourage and stimulate creativity, making the writing process enjoyable so that students can produce writing that they can be proud of rather than ‘getting writing out of the way’. Sam McCarter
Tuesday 11 February, 1800 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON English Language Council Lecture British Council English-Speaking Union Continuing the live-streamed lecture series from the British Council and the English-Speaking Union, the event in February 2014 will celebrate the birth of William Shakespeare. Speaker and details to be confirmed
Thursday 14 Februaury, 1830 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON LGBT History Month Celebrating differences: Exploration of Equality and Diversity in the ESOL classroom Language acquisition can be hindered if learners are in an environment in which their identity or personal life is unspoken. This seminar focuses on LGBT lives (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), as an example of good practice of Equality and Diversity in the classroom. Explore ways and teaching resources which challenge discrimination. Laila El-Metoui Tuesday 25 February, 1730 – 2030 | Central location BRISTOL Listening in Academic English: Listener as interpreter and recorder What types of listening do learners need to carry out at university? What can you teach learners about the roles of the listener, and purposes of listening? Join this seminar to devise ways to improve learners’ listening skills in higher education. Edward de Chazal Laughter in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in university seminars What place does the function of laughter have in university English classes? Would international students benefit from intercultural training in humour? Join the debate on how and why to integrate humour into class. Emma Greenhalgh Tuesday 4 March, 1830 – 2030 British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON More than just a worksheet: How to write effective classroom materials Consider how your beliefs about language learning can (and should) impact on your materials. Then take a simple recipe for producing complete lessons. Attend for do’s and don’ts, a materials-writing checklist and (hopefully) increased confidence. Rachael Roberts Tuesday 11 March, 1730 – 2030 | Central location BELFAST Corpora in the classroom (without scaring the students) Where dictionaries disappoint learners, corpora can step in. Following a potted history, explore the spectrum between corpus and the dictionary, and the points which work well in the classroom. For example, getting learners to create their own. Adam Kilgarriff More than just a worksheet:How to write effective classroom materials Consider how your beliefs about language learning can (and should) impact on your materials. Then take a simple recipe for producing complete lessons. Attend for do’s and don’ts, a materials-writing checklist and (hopefully) increased confidence. Rachael Roberts Tuesday 22 April, 1830 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON UNESCO English Language Day English, Speech and Society Is English coming to mark an identity which cuts across other factors such as age, gender, social class and ethnicity? Based on Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) funded research, attend to debate the relationship between the English language and identity. Urszula Clark Tuesday 13 May, 1730 – 2030 | Central location LEEDS ‘It’s not about language, it’s about people.’ Do English language learners benefit from engagement with museums? Museum visits can improve learners’ language skills, whilst enabling those from around the world to make meaningful connections with the UK. Join this event to share your experiences and identify ways to make your next museum visit a success. Julie Carr Creative ESOL: The power of participatory arts in English language learning An introduction for English language teachers to a creative, participatory arts approach to language learning. Practical ideas for planning and delivering schemes of work based around the arts, as well as one-off creative activities. Eleanor Cocks and Theah Dix Tuesday 20 May, 1800 – 2030 | British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD) Debate It’s time for educators to reclaim the technology debate Technology has shared a long history within education. With each new invention came assurances that teaching and learning would never be the same again. However, during each innovation pedagogy has been mostly absent, instead informed by consumer behaviour. Joanna Norton How are new technologies changing the relationship between student and teacher? An intriguing look at anonymous feedback from teachers and students on how the relationship between the two are changing, and the technologies which are either forging or breaking traditional bonds. Karen Wilkins Tuesday 3 June, 1730 – 2030 | Central location CARDIFF Does learning a foreign language make you smarter? Scientific research on the cognitive costs and benefits of learning a foreign language Learning a language is said to improve memory, attention, multitasking, performance and mental health. However, rather than pop psychology, understanding should be based on sound scientific evidence. Attend for a balanced view of the latest research to highlight the real cognitive benefits. Miguel Ángel Munoz There are rules, and there are rules: What should we teach about language learning? Who makes the rules about what makes language ‘correct’? Is there one ‘Standard English’ to which we all must adhere, or should we expect linguistic rules to be bent and broken over time? Join this talk for an alternative (but equally rigorous) view of learning about language. Michael Rundell Tuesday 10 June, 1800 – 2030 British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2BN LONDON World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD) Debate Accent and identity, prejudice and insecurity What accents do you like and why? Do you insist, in teaching, on correct pronunciation? If so, which accent? Attend to become aware of prejudice around accents, and to decide which pronunciation goals to set your students. Richard Cauldwell Practical ideas for teaching pronunciation and listening in an ELF context We often debate English as a Lingua Franca, but how do we teach it? Practical ideas for prioritising pronunciation work in multilingual classes and developing students’ ability to understand the speech of fellow learners. Katy Davies and Laura Patsko |
Watch all the seminars
Our extensive range of seminars started in Dec 2009 as a way to bring ELT professionals together and to uncover and discuss the latest developments in ELT.
Events are held around twice a month in a variety of venues up and down the UK. The series combines informal networking events with more formal workshops and presentations.
Past seasons have featured stimulating seminars given by Mario Rinvolucri, Michael Swan, Catherine Walter, Ken Wilson, Luke Meddings, Jamie Keddie, Jeremy Harmer & Steve Bingham.
To view all of our seminars please go to http://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/seminars or click here
Upcoming events
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Tuesday 8 October, 1800 – 2030 The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AG LONDON Tricks and techniques for better spoken English A World Teachers’ Day celebration Vocabulary meets grammar, practised how they are spoken within target sentences. Join Brita Haycraft, ELTons Lifetime Achievement Award winner, for this interactive session on teaching better spoken English. Brita Haycraft |
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