Event Programme
Key: Sesson Types
11th Thursday Programme
Management Training Day - Professional development for managers: Learning as we go. - Session 1
When it comes to the subject of professional learning, it’s probably true to say that for most of us in management the focus is on how we can support our staff in their own development. On this training day, however, we’ll be looking at ourselves and how we learn as managers.
To do this, we’ll consider the following questions:
- What have we learned since our first day as a manager?
- What processes have we engaged with, both consciously and unconsciously that have resulted in this development?
- What can we do to control and direct these processes of professional learning in order to further enhance their impact?
We’ll base our explorations on our own experiences and test a range of practical approaches, including action research, reflective frameworks, and peer mentoring models.
We’ll also consider the challenges of explicit manager learning. In a role where there can be a pressure to ‘be in control’, we’ll analyse the realities and possible challenges of sharing our learning within the organisation.
At the end of the day, you’ll come away with not only a selection of personal learning tools, but also have had the opportunity to work with colleagues on creating a personal development roadmap – starting from the day you return to school after the conference.
Accreditation and Inspections Overview Presentation
The DA will provide an overview of the work conducted to date in 2023/24 and any developments and accreditation prospects for the coming year.
Eaquals Inspectors CPD - Session 1 - 7.2 Inspection Scheme Review Updates: Presentation and Discussion (only to appointed Eaquals Inspectors & Trainee Inspectors)
In this session, the most recent updates to the 7.2 scheme will be presented and inspectors will have the opportunity to contribute to the scheme’s alignment with best practices in our field and relevance to the latest global developments in sustainability, EDI, and AI.
Coffee break & Exhibition
Management Training Day - Professional development for managers: Learning as we go. - Session 2
When it comes to the subject of professional learning, it’s probably true to say that for most of us in management the focus is on how we can support our staff in their own development. On this training day, however, we’ll be looking at ourselves and how we learn as managers.
To do this, we’ll consider the following questions:
- What have we learned since our first day as a manager?
- What processes have we engaged with, both consciously and unconsciously that have resulted in this development?
- What can we do to control and direct these processes of professional learning in order to further enhance their impact?
We’ll base our explorations on our own experiences and test a range of practical approaches, including action research, reflective frameworks, and peer mentoring models.
We’ll also consider the challenges of explicit manager learning. In a role where there can be a pressure to ‘be in control’, we’ll analyse the realities and possible challenges of sharing our learning within the organisation.
At the end of the day, you’ll come away with not only a selection of personal learning tools, but also have had the opportunity to work with colleagues on creating a personal development roadmap – starting from the day you return to school after the conference.
Eaquals Inspectors CPD - Session 2 - Teaching and Learning Assessment Standardisation Workshop (only to appointed Eaquals Inspectors & Trainee Inspectors)
In this session, inspectors will have the opportunity to re-align their assessment of teaching by re-enacting the joint-observation inspection procedure and evaluate a segment of teaching accompanied by a lesson plan with fellow inspectors. Inspectors will also discuss current approaches to joint-observation standardisation, and review best practices in this area.
Lunch & Exhibition
Management Training Day - Professional development for managers: Learning as we go. - Session 3
When it comes to the subject of professional learning, it’s probably true to say that for most of us in management the focus is on how we can support our staff in their own development. On this training day, however, we’ll be looking at ourselves and how we learn as managers.
To do this, we’ll consider the following questions:
- What have we learned since our first day as a manager?
- What processes have we engaged with, both consciously and unconsciously that have resulted in this development?
- What can we do to control and direct these processes of professional learning in order to further enhance their impact?
We’ll base our explorations on our own experiences and test a range of practical approaches, including action research, reflective frameworks, and peer mentoring models.
We’ll also consider the challenges of explicit manager learning. In a role where there can be a pressure to ‘be in control’, we’ll analyse the realities and possible challenges of sharing our learning within the organisation.
At the end of the day, you’ll come away with not only a selection of personal learning tools, but also have had the opportunity to work with colleagues on creating a personal development roadmap – starting from the day you return to school after the conference.
Eaquals Inspectors CPD - Session 3 - Effective Reporting on Teaching and Learning Workshop (only to appointed Eaquals Inspectors & Trainee Inspectors)
Coffee break & Exhibition
Eaquals Inspectors CPD - Inspector Forum
Inspectors will have the opportunity to air any ideas and concerns about any aspect of the accreditation process and to discuss inspector experiences with their peers.
Informal dinner at Marisqueira Santa Marta (pre-booking required, meet in the lobby of Ramada Hotel at 19.15)
12th Friday Programme
Conference opening
Opening Plenary, Tim Goodier Memorial Plenary - Artificial Intelligence in Language Teaching and Learning
With recent developments in the training of large language models and machine learning, artificial intelligence tools have been able to take a huge leap forward. It’s likely that the impact of these developments will have significant implications across the both the academic world and the world of work. These tools offer huge opportunities for the development of languages and education more generally, but in order to ensure we use them wisely we need to have a firm understanding of how they will impact the lives of our students both now and in their future careers.
In this session I will share some of the opportunities and challenges that AI brings to our classroom and explore some of the ways it can be used to have a positive impact on both the ways we develop and educate teachers as well as how we develop our students.
Coffee break & Exhibition
Eaquals Members: Discussion and Q&A
At Eaquals, we’re committed to upholding a standard of excellence among our members, in line with our core values. As we lead by example, we are facilitating a unique feature at conference which is a session dedicated to discussion groups for members only, providing a platform to address any questions or concerns you may have about the association. Topics that are of interest or concern will be explored during these sessions. Your input will ensure that our discussions are relevant and impactful.
Introduction to Eaquals: Accreditation
An Introduction to Eaquals - Eaquals Frameworks
Q&A Session on Topic of Sustainability
Data Unlocks Strategies for Benefitting Stakeholders in the EAP Context
This session deals with a surplus of data and their interpretation collected over a period of five years in a private Turkish university setting. The data relate to the unique position of EAP courses classes spanning the gap between general English contexts and the specific context of faculty studies. Moreover, the quantitative data collected from graduates and non-graduates, from five different faculties, including the students’ English 101 and English 102 scores and the students’ GPA (and other factors), highlight areas for further research. If addressed within our context and conversations with stakeholders, the research could open the way for our first year, B2-level students to gain full entrance into what Olwyn Alexander describes as their faculty tribe. Among the questions which are answered are these: how well do our university preparatory students do in our EAP classes? Do students who skip our school’s general English preparatory classes do better or worse than those who spend a year in those classes? Which faculties perform the best? the worst? Does their high school examination indicate the success that they will have in our classes and their overall academic career? In short, the data unlock key questions enabling potential solutions to surface.
Eaquals Members only: Country-based focus groups
Collaborative environments indeed foster innovation and creativity, often leading to valuable solutions and insights. This rings especially true for country-specific issues, where collective discussion can provide fresh perspectives.
This session is a new opportunity for country-based focus groups for Eaquals members only. Here, you’ll have the chance to raise issues pertinent to institutions within your region and openly discuss them with peers facing similar challenges. This collaborative platform offers an opportunity to explore new ideas, tap into the Eaquals Network, and connect with professionals in your geographical area. Together, we can effect meaningful change for our institutions.
Introduction to Eaquals: Case Study Accreditation
Language Assessment Professionalisation Programme (LAPP): purpose, content and piloting
With the aim of raising standards in assessment literacy for teachers, ALTE and EAQUALS have partnered to create an online, self-access course aligned to the Assessment Competency (AC) levels defined in the European Profiling Grid (EPG). The Language Assessment Professionalisation Programme (LAPP) is designed to help teachers develop their understanding of the assessment of language learning building on the ALTE Principles of Good Practice and showing participants how they are progressing through the EPG levels. It is anticipated the Programme will be of interest to trainee teachers, teachers, Academic Managers.
In this session we will present the background to, and rationale for, LAPP, demonstrate some of the Programme content and consider the challenges to design, along with feedback from a trial study of target users.
This entry-level course takes participants from AC levels 1.1. through to 2.1 in the EPG. These five modules cover the key principles and issues in assessment, with a strong focus on classroom assessment. The content will enable participants to begin to evaluate the fairness and reliability of assessments and to give them confidence in assessing their learners in the productive skills. It also gives an overview of the outcomes of assessment and the importance of feedback in utilising assessment as a learning tool
Plenary Follow-up: Q&A
Developing teacher cognitions: Maximising the impact of in-service CPD courses
In-service teacher education courses are known to struggle blending stimulating professional development and support that has lasting influence in teachers’ contexts. Through the lens of teacher cognitions, this presentation explores the area of in-service teacher CPD and reports on the impact of Trinity’s Certificate for Practising Teachers (CertPT) as a developmental assessment tool to meet teachers’ professional needs on NILE’s in-service teacher education courses.
Research shows us that transferring learning from in-service development courses to teachers’ specific educational contexts can be problematic. However, by using theory on teaching cognitions, we will suggest that we can identify potential areas for effective and transferrable knowledge and skills development relevant to teachers’ pedagogical contexts. Using longitudinal impact data from participants across three different NILE development courses and course tutor interviews, we will present findings that we believe identify key methods for enabling a longer-term and lasting impact from in-service CPD.
Lunch & Exhibition
Less But Better: Streamlining Technology Enhanced Learning
The rapidly evolving knowledge economy demands an advanced capacity to process unprecedented amounts of information efficiently, increasingly in collaboration with the technologies that continue to develop at an exponential pace. This constant stream of tools in combination with the latest tips and tricks for integrating them in a way that appeals to the ‘constantly-connected’ Gen-Z offers exciting potential for unlocking new possibilities in learning, but at what point is there system overload? As higher education grapples with the questions raised by generative AI, it is time for an upgrade in our approach to ensure learning is actually being enhanced. This talk will explore, through a cognitive load theory (CLT) perspective, the relative value of various classroom applications of technology, and propose hacks for streamlining learning efficiency and helping 21st-century students navigate the jagged frontier.
Speak your Mind: Boost Student Engagement & Speaking Skills with ICT
Speaking is a fundamental aspect of human communication and plays a crucial role in various aspects of life. ICT offers numerous advantages for improving students’ speaking skills. It allows students to practice in diverse settings, receive feedback, and gain confidence in their ability to communicate effectively in the target language. Technology contributes to interactive, real-world, and self-paced learning opportunities that promote engagement and collaboration. Connecting students with speakers of the target language from around the world, provides exposure to different accents and dialects and promotes cultural understanding. This leads to more effective and confident verbal communication among students. The novelty and variety offered by ICT tools boost student motivation. By leveraging the benefits of ICT in speaking activities, educators can create dynamic and stimulating learning environments that encourage active participation and foster students’confidence in their speaking skills.
Project governance practices - Better manage Erasmus+ partnerships and project work
While much work and research has been carried out on what project governance is, and how it can be used and developed in different industries, little research has focussed specifically on project governance and governance practices in language training institutes.
While training institutes are involved in projects, working both alone on projects and with international partnerships, including Erasmus +partnerships, the question emerges if these institutes have given real thought to project governance, and how effective any project governance systems are that they have in place, to manage the work that they do.
Are training institutes ready for project work, and are they ready for the challenges involved in working in international Erasmus + partnerships? This session looks at what is involved in project work, what things need to be considered before agreeing to participate in a project, and what are the pitfalls to look out for to help manage a successful project for all the stakeholders involved.
Creating a curriculum document
Aims; To provide academic managers with guidelines and practical advice on how to put together a curriculum documentwhich can be used as a basis for ongoing course design and academic quality assurance.Content; Background and rationale for the need for a CEFR aligned syllabus and course programme.Factors to consider; defining the scope, purpose and function of the document.Who should be involved in the project and how; teachers, academic managers, staff, learners?Sources of useful information; CEFR companion volume 2020 (Council of Europe), Aligning Language Education with the CEFR (British Council, UKALTA, EALTA & ALTE, 2022), Draft White papers (Quality & Qualifications, Ireland, 2022). Setting a timeline, defining and assigning tasks. Choosing and aligning coursebooks to syllabus. Importance of review, feedback and updates
Climate of our World vs Climate of Organizations
Climate change has been one of the world’s number one issue for a long time as its impact is going to be massively detrimental over the living creatures. To that end, many governmental organizations as well as NGOs assume responsibilities to make the world a more suitable place live through taking necessary actions to better the conditions for all living beings in the world.
Not only is the climate of the world of utmost importance for human beings but the climate of organizations where people spend almost one third of their day has significant effects over the well-being of people working there as it affects their psychology, motivation, job satisfaction and productivity significantly. According to Schneider and Bartlett (1968) climate is defined with 6 dimensions as managerial support, managerial structure, concern for new employees, intra-agency conflict, agent independence, and general satisfaction, which stands for the overall mood or vibe of the workplace.
While maintaining the standards of quality education in institutions in terms of learning outcomes as well as many other criteria, it is proportionally important to understand and keep track of what is going in the classroom that help students reach the outcomes. While there are numerous advantages and benefits of classroom observations from the view of professional development, maintaining the overall educational quality in an organization, there is plenty of research indicating the obstacles or barriers standing against by r (Ali, 2007), (İyidoğan, 2011), (Cosh, 1999), (Bowen & Marks, 1994), (Bettinelli, 1998) and (Çelik, Mačianskienė, & Aytın, 2013). All these may have a negative impact on teachers’ motivation and therefore on the organizational climate.
In this presentation, while keeping the importance of classroom observation for professional development and maintaining overall quality and effectiveness of the institution, methods and techniques of setting up class-observation (reflection) cycle in institutions will be discussed and suggested so that teachers may feel less threatened and make the cycle more awarding not only for teachers but also managers and PD offices.
What next? Language teaching and assessment in 2030 and beyond
From Grammar-Translation to Audio-Visual to Communicative methodologies – language
learning, teaching and assessment has always been an evolving discipline. But it is probably not an over-statement to say that the events of recent years have accelerated change in a way that no one could have imagined. The pandemic has forced us to re-think how we teach and learn – and what we teach and learn. Necessity forced many to embrace new digital technologies and all the signs suggest that many of the changes that we had to make are now here to stay. So, what will language learning, teaching and assessment look like in 2030 and beyond? How will new technologies such as AR, VR andChatGPT impact teachers and learners? What role will AI play? And will it eventually replace the need for teachers altogether? This session will address these questions with reference to recent research from Pearson and other organizations and outline what we at Pearson are doing to support teachers and learners today and in the future.
ESL Phonics: Guiding Questions to Work with Young Learners
The aim of my session is to provide participants with questions intending to guide the process of planning an ESL phonics course to young learners. Where time is limited, it is important to develop an approach that suits the age, the language level and the specific phonological background of the students. The observation of young ELLs’ learning difficulties pointed to phonics as a possible way of meeting a need and of improving their learning experience. I give a brief outline of the recent phonics approaches with special attention on some aspects that are relevant to ESL teaching. I illustrate how the YLs’ L1 metalinguistic knowledge can be a resource in teaching. Only considering YLs’ phonological background it is possible to answer questions on which sounds and spelling patterns ELLs should be instructed. Moreover, the choice of the words should consolidate and expand YLs’ range of vocabulary. Finally, attention is given to recursivity and integration of multi-sensory and artistic-literary experiences to grant a sense of linguistic beauty and desire of communicating.
Dusting the development units off: Going beyond the existing practices
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Professional development units have long been working hard to achieve quality by addressing institutional and individual needs. With this aim, initially, necessary procedures are set, lesson observation cycles are created and follow-up actions are taken. The question is, after some time whether to keep the well-functioning system as it is or to explore new practices to meet the ever-changing needs of the students, teachers and institutions.This presentation aims at portraying the refresher actions taken for lesson observers and trainers at a School of Languages in a university context in İstanbul, Turkey. The presenters will share the details of their PD system established 8 years ago and the following actions taken last year to reflect on and go beyond their existing practices: Reflection and needs assessment questionnaire for observers-Refresher sessions on different types of observations-Study on the in-house effective teaching criteria. The session will end with the participants reflecting on how to take refresher actions on their on-going practices. |
Communicating effectively: a competency framework using CEFR (2020) Mediation skills
Goodier (2019) claims that mediation has innovation potential in language education, as mediation skills are integral to successful communication, and can be used for a range of communicative activities. A competency framework was designed with the use of adapted CEFR (2020) mediation skills to improve communication skills for a pluricultural university Foundation Stage cohort of healthcare students. Action research methodology was used to put the framework into practice with a formative roleplay task. In the roleplay task the students used the mediation skills in the framework, such as clarity of explanations and logical reasoning, but also soft skills such as being sensitive to another’s ideas, needs or culture. Use of the mediation competency framework to assess the roleplay task enabled the learners to develop the use of both sociolinguistic skills and critical thinking skills (Goodier, 2019). The mediation competencies reflect the effective real-life communication of information through integrated skills and collaborative interaction. The competency framework can be adapted for different contexts and communicative acts, and can be used as an ongoing reference and feedback tool. It can help learners and teachers to be more aware of the complex nature of language, which includes collective, cognitive and social functions (Piccardo, North and Goodier, 2019).
Stimulating development using video: the unvarnished truth
There have been great developments in using video to explore one’s own practice through self-observation over the last 10 years. An area which must not be overlooked, however, is the value of using interactive videos of other teachers to raise awareness, provoke enquiry and explore choices and how this contributes to teacher learning. Many commercially-produced video lessons serve as display teaching (Chinn & Norrington Davies, 2023) and fail to capture the realities of in-action decision making.
This talk will explore how we used newly created “unvarnished” videos to stimulate teacher development and to encourage working groups of teachers to reflect, experiment and support one another in their personal CPD objectives.
Coffee break & Exhibition
AI in Education: Encouraging Cheats or Unlocking Possibilities?
LLMs and so-called AI platforms now offer us the option of creative output as a service. Traditional gatekeepers of knowledge – teachers, for example – find themselves wondering how to approach this. Should we limit or ban its use? Should we use it to write lesson plans? What exactly is AI, and what can it do and not yet do?
We will define some terms around this rapidly-developing field and examine some now-familiar situations. What can, or should, we expect? That is going to depend on us, for, as said by the founder of Deepmind, “we are currently learning how to repair a rocket while it’s taking off.” With some real life examples, this session aims to both caution and reassure. We educators don’t strictly have to use AI tools, but perhaps we should.
Creating and Expanding Communities in the CLIL Classroom
In our presentation, we will discuss how the concept of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) can be expanded to create stronger communities in the classroom, thereby making CLIL more meaningful for teachers and students alike. CLIL refers to learning with a dual focus, the assimilation of content jointly with a foreign language. We propose a broadened definition of CLIL’s fourth “neglected” C, hitherto called “Culture”, which has been defined as “the development of intercultural awareness, citizenship and global understanding” (Coyle, 2006, 2010, 2014). We suggest renaming this C “Community”, a more holistic concept that allows language teachers to incorporate impactful current events into their teaching-learning units(e.g., the coronavirus pandemic, the BLM protests, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, to name but a few salient examples). We will show how we enrich the English language classes at our university with a sense of Community, using a combination of techniques including transdisciplinarity, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and service-learning.
Investing in middle managers pays off — literally. See why.
If you think managers are ‘stuck in the menial’, this presentation is for you.
“Investing in middle managers pays off—literally” – so says McKinsey in a 2023 article which describes new research showing the powerful connection between top-performing middle managers and improved financial outcomes.
Is this also true for ELT? How crucial is the DoS – the middle management position between teachers, administration and senior management – to the success of a language teaching operation (LTO)? What should be done to support this role to ensure they are working to their full and best potential?
This presentation takes a look at this research and examines how certain manager behaviours link strongly with financial performance.
We look at how the DoS role (not “in the middle” but ‘in the centre’) can shift from ‘operational work’ and ‘administration andbureaucracy work’ to a more valuable and rewarding focus on developing people, building capacity and capability.
We will see how to shape and build the DoS role from way-stage to destination, worthy of appreciation and reward.
Supporting refugees through English for Vocational Purposes
What can we do to improve the refugees’ experience when learning a foreign language?
As we know, arriving in a new country might pose challenges beyond just learning a new language. Bureaucracy and legal processes can become a challenge, and finding resources becomes even more challenging when you are not proficient in the language. As a school privileged enough to be able to offer classes to a variety of refugees, we decided to explore an English for Vocational purposes course that would assist our students with this.
But how can we know what they need? By asking them! In this session, I will delve into the challenges that we faced while designing the course, and how a system of targeted questionnaires has allowed us to know the needs of our students. This personalisation of the questionnaires, enabled us to create workshops adapted to the needs of each group. Through these workshops, our goal is to empower them explore these new challenges with the guidance of their teacher, and to reinforce their independence and confidence in their own skills.
AI and Accessibility: Powerful Digital Teaching in a Changing World
Digital education has entered a new period of challenge and opportunity. Publishers and institutions are moving quickly to achieve compliance under the European Accessibility Act, and the much-hyped field of artificial intelligence has reached a tipping point. So how might these two key developments affect our industry? Will we need to acquire new skills and approaches? And given these challenges, how can we at the same time empower teachers to create and adapt their own materials to meet the specific needs of their students, or to deliver ESP, EAP or teacher training courses that directly meet the need?
Avallain has been a driving force in digital ELT for more than 20 years and is responsible for the interactive content creation tool (Avallain Author) and many of the learning platforms that drive and define the industry today. Drawing from all of that experience, this session considers the implications of accessibility and AI in digital ELT and demonstrates the easy creation of powerful digital programmes that truly rise to the challenge.
Transformative Writing Improvement: Using ChatGPT Feedback to Enhance Creativity
A considerable number of university students must enhance their academic writing skills before commencing their specific academic programs. Consequently, preparatory schools serve as gateways to these programs. While numerous instructors assess students’ essays, some students continue to struggle with improving their academic writing abilities. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have gained popularity among students. Despite being encouraged not to employ them for dishonest purposes, many students still utilize these technologies extensively. Therefore, the current study aimed to motivate university students to evaluate their academic essays using ChatGPT, based on a rubric provided by their instructors. With each feedback received, students made notable improvements in their writing skills. For the purpose of the study 54 B1 level of students were selected randomly. Over a four-month period, these students were instructed to utilizeChatGPT to obtain feedback on their writing. As a result, they experienced enhancements in their creativity in writing.
Preparing World Language Teachers for the Blended Learning Environments
Following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, world language teachers returned to their classrooms with new perspectives, skills, and experiences. However, in this new moment teachers are presented with the new challenge of creating environments that blend in-person and online learning. An extensive review of blended teacher competencies and interviews with world language teachers, led to the development of several blended teacher resources that will be shared during this presentation. Specifically, the presenters will share the Blended Teacher Readiness survey (http://bit.ly/K12-BTR) that teachers can used to measure their blended teaching competencies. Once teachers have measured their blended teaching readiness, they need support to develop their blended teaching skills. As a result, the presenters will also share a free, open book on blended teaching within the world language context that was created in collaboration with practicing world language teachers. The book also includes a series of short videos of world language teachers sharing their blended teaching practices.
Navigating the Accreditation Journey: FLEPS, EMU Case
Accreditation is a significant accomplishment for educational institutions that demonstrates their commitment to high standards and continuous development. The preparation for accreditation at our school was an extremely difficult process because it was the first time an appraisal system and classroom observations had been adopted, and the personnel had unfavorable reactions to them. This presentation serves as a road map for school leaders, and educators beginning down a similar route.
We will discuss the lessons learned, best practices, and experiences that helped us fulfill accreditation standards. Also, it will be discussed how the staff at our institution responded to the accreditation studies and how the challenging task of successfully applying the appraisal system and classroom observations for the first time was accomplished. We will highlight the crucial responsibilities performed by each group on our road towards accreditation. Leadership, management, and school worked together to achieve accreditation.
From surviving to 'THRIVING'
Our education system seems to be mainly ‘neck up’ since we tend to ignore the constant flow of information between the mind and the body, which is proven to have a tremendous effect on ‘learning ’. According to research, we need take into consideration how our nervous system works and how the brain functions in preparing our syllabus. The current system tends to treat students as robots, which does not help students with their stress level and for that reason, many students suffer from anxiety disorder, insomnia or depression, which makes learning quite challenging for them. I truly believe that the whole curriculum should be revisited. Hence, this presentation will focus on awareness raising, writing and mindfulness activities which can help foster a culture of compassion and enthusiasm. Firstly, we will explore how we can help our nervous system and brain to learn more efficiently. I will talk about some reflection exercises for classroom practice to boost their learning capacity and motivation. Finally, I will introduce mindfulness activities again to maximize students’ potential.
Conference dinner at Monte Mar Lisboa (pre-booking required, meet in the lobby of Ramada Hotel at 19.00)
13th Saturday Programme
Using AI to author effective and high-quality language assessments for the IB
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is piloting the use of Artificial Intelligence to assist with the writing of our assessments. As part of this pilot, we are developing processes and techniques to ensure that the assessments meet the rigour and quality typically associated with IB examinations. Established exam authors work to build effective prompts, while the testing of a variety of AI Large Language Models allows us to ascertain if there are differing impacts on output quality, or if certain languages or subject types are better suited to one model. The IB, as an international organisation, produces assessments in over 75 languages and we want to challenge the software to ‘author’ examinations of comparable quality across the languages we offer, including non-western scripts. We will be gathering feedback from all those involved in the Exam creation process, and from our schools and students. We are looking forward to being able to share our initial findings with you, with practical advice on how to use AI effectively to author examination material.
Mitigating teaching beliefs to meet student needs
I often reflect on the extent to which my own evolving teaching beliefs match what my students want. Anchoring this session in established motivation theory and students’ rights analysis, I reflect on how my own personal misalignment has at times negatively affected classroom relations and explain what my current remedial approach is in this regard. This involves the conducting of a rights analysis survey with students early in my courses to assess the extent to which my teaching meets my current students’ language learning needs. When I share this approach to collecting feedback with colleagues, they are often reticent to follow suit as they fear student criticism of their teaching. However, in this session I hope to dispel this concern by showing how survey data analysis has led to beneficial results by leading me to adapt my teaching approach, which has in turn led to increased motivation and social-emotional engagement.
Incorporating AI for Quality Assurance
AI has generated debates around ethics, privacy, safety, and misinformation, but the true potential of AI as a tool with data, language, and documents is underestimated. Although these technologies require a more human-centered approach, they can increase the productivity and effectiveness of school management in quality. In this presentation, school managers and quality experts will be introduced to AI’s potential uses for quality assurance tasks. AI’s new features, such as data analysis and chatbots will be explored for quality issues such as handbooks, policies, quality documents, strategic plans, quality cycles, accreditation, standards, self-assessment, action plans, feedback, and reports. Participants will see possible scenarios of AI-assisted solutions that may help users in similar situations.
Vertical Pathways: Aligning and Assessing Course Outcomes with CEFR
Begin with the end in mind. Use CEFR level descriptors and Can-Do statements to create course level learning targets and outcome goals to build a vertical pathway with clear language proficiency goals. Setting clear expectations of what success looks like can gamify language learning and lead to higher levels of student engagement and performance. Students may be familiar with the terms A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, or C2, but if they are unable to tell you what the level means, they have no real way of knowing if they are making progress. Creating articulated pathways through CEFR-aligned assessments provides tangible and visual measures of success and formative feedback to inform curriculum design and instruction, as well as to give learners actionable steps toward language learning success.
ELT and the Climate Crisis - developing sustainable students
‘Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something’. As educators we can do plenty to foster sustainable values and a commitment to tackle the climate crisis within our lessons. This workshop will draw on experiences from ELT professionals across the world to give you practical and relevant ideas to develop sustainable values in students of all ages.
MeTabi: Using Generative AI to Individualize Language Acquisition
This session will present a new tool, MeTabi, that utilizes generative AI to provide learners an individualized pathway for acquiring the language they want to learn. MeTabi is a mix of English (I/me) and Japanese (tabi = pathway) and means “My(personal) Journey/Path”. In MeTabi, language learners can learn the language they want to learn. While most app and based language learning tools are linear, MeTabi provides a unique experience tailor-made to an individuals abilities, wants, and needs. Learners are able to engage in conversations on the topics that are important to them and not those prescribed by a particular word list or curriculum. Data from MeTabi not only provides instructors with important feedback on learners but it can also be used to develop assessments leading to sharable credentials. MeTabi harnesses the power of generative AI and combines it with SLA theory to provide an invaluable learning tool for learners at all levels.
Personalizing e-learning with AI: a case study
This study aims to present a case study about an Italian online language course that implements an AI system. The AI system is trained using a substantial corpus derived from the “Profilo della lingua italiana” (Spinelli; Parizzi 2010), which serves as a reference framework establishing the linguistic components corresponding to levels A1 through B2 for Italian as a second language. This contribution explores the potential of these AI-powered technologies within the context of online courses. AI systems and chatbots offer learners interactive and personalized language practice opportunities, instant feedback, and immersive conversational scenarios. The adaptability of AI can enhance both oral communication and written production, addressing limitations frequently encountered in online course settings. The objective of this study is to contemplate the promising role of Artificial Intelligence in augmenting language learning experiences and outcomes through the case study of online courses at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, in cooperation with IUL Telematic University.
From teacher to ’head-teacher’: Promoting local leadership and learning communities
This paper presents a study of the impact of implementing a peer-to-peer teacher development programme to promotelearning communities and foster local leadership on a large scale in a Brazilian private language institute.The research questions focused on teachers’ experiences with the program, perception of effectiveness for teacherdevelopment, and gains from the learning communities after a year of its implementation.The qualitative investigation included a structured survey, semi-structured interviews and, the data collection involved aselected group of teachers, managers and ‘head-teachers’ (teacher leaders in the context).The findings revealed some benefits of peer-to-peer teacher development and how the implemented programme fosterslearning communities and encourages local leadership by leadership by developing ‘head-teachers’. But, they also showedsome pitfalls about the perception of learning and other constraints. It concludes with recommendations for the program in thecontext of study and sheds light on in-service programmes.
Empowering Critical Minds: Enhancing Academic Reading Skills through Practical Strategies
Proficient reading is indispensable for effective knowledge acquisition and critical analysis in academic pursuits. This session is dedicated to enhancing academic reading proficiency by offering practical tips and activities designed to elevate critical thinking abilities. Participants will gain insights into methodologies that not only bolster comprehension but also stimulate analytical thinking, providing a valuable toolkit for navigating scholarly texts. We will look into how we can empower individuals with the skills necessary for extracting meaningful insights from academic literature, thereby fortifying their academic endeavors.
Coffee break & Exhibition
Examining Generative AI tools in Language Education: Insights from Students and Teachers
Generative AI technologies have the potential to bring significant changes to education by transforming how we teach and learn. It is a powerful tool that could fundamentally change the way we experience education in a positive way. However, like all innovative technologies, there are issues to be considered. In this presentation, the various aspects of Generative AI in the field of language education will be explored. The aim is to demonstrate (opportunities, challenges, ethical considerations regarding Generative AI) from the valuable perspectives of undergraduate students studying EAP courses and instructors teaching these courses at a foundation university in Türkiye. Subsequently, the presentation will provide an analysis and interpretation of the collected data to uncover the complete range of advantages and disadvantages linked to the integration of Generative AI into language teaching. The presentation will be concluded by sharing some future directions and recommendations for teachers and managers on how to use generative AI tools effectively to teach EAP courses.
Teaching to the test: finding the balance between testing demands and creative teaching
Love them or hate them, standardized tests play a crucial role in assessing students’ language proficiency and academic performance. Undeniably, the demands of high-stakes testing significantly impact both how teachers instruct and the overall quality of the student learning experience. Teachers tend to find themselves navigating the delicate balance between good instructional practices and securing high test scores. Working extensively with repetitive test-preparation resources can result in lack of variety and overreliance on practice tests, yet is it imperative for exam preparation classes to mirror the standardized format of the tests?
This presentation will explore the nuances of test preparation, highlighting the challenges teachers face to ensure their students perform well on exams, and propose innovative teaching strategies to engage students, while still meeting the demands of standardized testing.
Celebrating team's successes during the accreditation process: obstacles and solutions
Last decades, there has been an ‘educational revolution’ in response to the demographic, economic, and technological changes that have taken place across the world. For higher education, this has led to the globalization of universities – the transformation from local or national institutions into global ones that must compete for students, staff, and funding. The top universities are citizens of an international academic marketplace with one global academic currency, one global labor force, and one global language, English. Piri Reis University, as the only university specializing in maritime in Türkiye, has clear ambitions to become one of the world’s top ten maritime universities. This presentation delves into our experience in pursuit of educational accreditation under the rigorous standards set by EAQUALS. It is planned to dwell on the obstacles that leaders may encounter when seeking to celebrate achievements during the EAQUALS accreditation. Drawing from the case study of PRU, we examine practical solutions that leaders can have on team motivation and cohesion.
Teaching academic skills with scaffolded Sustainable Development Goals projects
Sustainable development goal (SDG) education has gained enormous traction in recent years. This presentation looks at how an 8-week elective course in sustainable development was adapted to an English Language Preparatory Program tasked with giving students the more advanced academic and critical thinking skills required in their faculties. Student work in the course was centered around producing a group project that focused on one SDG target. We scaffolded the project, with each stage involved a weekly assignment that focused on one or more specific academic skills developed in concert with SDG learning. These skills included: critical thinking and comparative analysis; thematic essay organization and writing; effective use of search engines; collaborative work with digital tools; understanding and producing correct citations; and delivering effective presentations. Staging the project in this way resulted in higher quality work overall and enabled students to enter their faculties with solid academic English and 21st century academic skills.
Research-informed score reporting: The case of LanguageCert Academic and the LanguageCert Global Scale
Accurate test score interpretation is crucial as it facilitates a nuanced understanding of an individual’s language proficiency, enabling teachers, schools, and other stakeholders to make informed decisions about admission and placement, curriculum design, and academic support. I will be presenting the strategic alignment of LanguageCert Academic to a series of international standards and frameworks (CEFR, IELTS, CLB). I will explore the painstaking process of ensuring that a language assessment meets the criteria set by prominent educational benchmarks, and discuss the significance of harmonizing language assessment practices to foster global educational excellence.
AI in Language Education Implications, Challenges and Prospects
AI generated software and applications have entered the realm of education with great impact and stirred much controversy among the educational professionals. It seems that the AI generated systems expedite speed, variety and enhanced levels of language production for users. Despite certain provisions and restrictions on part of the users, there seems to be a myriad of possibilities for expanding the territories of language skills. On the other hand, AI generated bots pose challenges for educators and teaching professionals. The apprehensions are targeted mainly on authenticity in language production manifested through student performance in writing tasks and assessments. Instructors and administrators present reticent attitude toward this technology and tend to see AI generated bot systems as a menacing force in the way of learning. This study initially focuses on the contrivances of AI generated bots and secondly on their functional boundaries. In the final stage, we explore the tools and the impact of AI on improved teaching methods and deep learning prospects.
Active Learning for Active Teaching
Active learning is a dynamic, constructive, engaging, and experiential approach. However, are we (teachers) being active learners? How do we view our own learning and how does it impact our practice? The talk considers extending the applicability of an active learning approach from the learner to the teacher by discussing its necessity and applicability to teachers’ learning and practice beyond the classroom. This is done by looking at the teacher learning that should be happening behind the scenes, away from lesson planning and delivery. Through a practical analysis, the meaning of being active for teachers is explored along with the hurdles and struggles faced along the way. A number of practical steps are suggested to enable
FOBO- Fear of being observed, taking the sting out of observations
How can observations become less stressful and more fruitful for teachers all the while meeting external quality standards, such as those of Eaquals? This session looks at a case-study currently being run in an Eaquals member school in Spain, with takeaways and ideas for anyone facing similar cases of FOBO in their teaching organisation. It starts by analysing the challenges faced in this particular case. Next, we will talk you through what strategies we selected and why they were chosen. We will set out how they were implemented to get teachers onboard with the classroom observation process and the situation we currently find ourselves in. Finally, we will bring our crystal ball to discuss what we consider the future holds in the process.
A Proposed Assessment Scheme for Life Skills
In this presentation we continue to explore the Life Skills (aka 21st Century or Global Skills) feature in our new textbooks, which we introduced at the Eaquals conference in 2022; this time addressing the challenge of assessing these skills. In addition to textbook activities in which students are exposed to different life skills, weekly simulated real-life projects are designed for students to apply life skills hands-on. For example, students research and create an annotated list in video format of the most interesting careers for young people, using life skills like critical thinking, communication, creativity and decision-making to complete the project. Our LMS automatically connects each project to the rubric associated with the project type, allowing teachers and students to (self-)assess their use of the skills. The LMS then keeps track of the life skills the students have successfully applied, so that they can be rewarded with a certificate at the end of their course that documents the usage.
Navigating The Future of English Learning with Generative AI: Opportunities & Risks
Lunch & Exhibition
Cracking the Personality Code: Your Key to Effective Communication
Is there a teacher or manager on your team who seems to have an invisibility cloak for your ideas? Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a maze of miscommunication and tension that’s draining your team’s productivity?
In just 60 minutes, join me for a workshop that will unlock the secrets of effective communication using Thomas Erikson’s four personality types. Say goodbye to those frustrating encounters with challenging team members or managers! This workshop has been designed to not only help you decode their preferences for feedback but also to equip you with strategies to dissolve negativity and foster understanding within your teams.
But that’s not all – this workshop is all about embracing the vibrant tapestry of personalities in your team. Let’s face it, no team should resemble a clone army!
Let’s champion diversity and magnify our collective strengths together! Oh, please don’t forget to bring your devices to the session. You will get access to a digital workbook to work on throughout the workshop.
Participants are asked to bring laptop/tablet to the session.
Please make a copy of the document available of the following link on your devices before the session: Eaquals 2024 Cracking the Personality Code Digital Workbook
Unlocking Creativity in Language Teaching Through Arts Integration
This workshop is designed to provide participants with insights into the arts integration approach to language teaching. Anarts-based teaching practice will be introduced, along with a step-by-step guide to its implementation. Student examples from previous classes and their feedback on this experience will be shared. Subsequently, participants are invited to embark on a creative journey to nurture their innate creativity, unlocking its potential for both creative teaching and personal growth. This workshop offers an opportunity to actively engage with these creative techniques. The session will conclude with a reflective discussion, allowing for the exploration of how these practices can be adapted to various learning settings.
Leader Professional Development: Starting from the Self
In this workshop, designed for leaders and managers, Özlem and Mike invite you to design a tailor-made training program to boost leadership effectiveness in your institution; the key feature of which will be knowing the self.
Özlem and Mike will start by sharing their experiences of developing effective leadership. You will then reflect on the link between leader professional development and effective leadership, and how that fosters employee engagement, change management and quality.
You will then meet a variety of leadership development tools and methods: from research-based practice to formal training. You will reflect on their relevance to your specific leadership development program.
Finally, you will examine the premise that the best leadership development programs stem from a clear understanding of our own strengths, skills and attitudes. You will try out a selection of self-reflection tools, before designing a customized leadership training program for your institution.
There will be many opportunities to share ideas and experiences with colleagues.
Unlocking EAP Speaking Potential: Strategy Training Perspective
In the realm of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), the effective development of speaking skills often faces a pedagogic challenge. The primary concern arises from the relatively lower emphasis on strategically developing speaking skills within the EAP curriculum, where other language skills tend to receive more attention. Based on my collective observations, speaking components in EAP materials provide constrained opportunities for student practice and do not aid them adequately in clarifying the academic speaking expectations. To address this, I produced some “strategy training” materials to raise students’ awareness of academic speaking expectations and equipping them better in their speaking skills for their faculty life. These resources shed light on speaking assessment by showcasing sample videos from a popular social media platform. Additionally, they provide specified speaking exercises, allowing students to comprehend and apply these techniques effectively. This workshop aims to engage participants in an exploration of strategies to enhance speaking skills within the EAP context.
Cultivating Teacher Growth: Insights and Strategies for Effective CPD
In our session, we aim to share our experiences and tools for teacher development, thereby contributing to the growth and improvement of our school. Over the years, we have designed tools and protocols to ensure that our CPD program provides vital support to both individuals and the institution. We’ve integrated the Cambridge English teaching framework into our appraisal meetings, conducted observations, held individual meetings, conducted regular CPD courses, and supported individual teacher development. Moreover, our approach includes a system of key performance indicators (KPIs), that revolutionized our teachers’ compensation structure, adopting a two-part model. This includes a fixed amount allocated for teaching lessons and a variable component linked to the completion of administrative duties. This system has significantly contributed to improving our overall school performance and is aligned with our core values. We firmly believe that a school should openly communicate its values to attract like-minded people and create optimal conditions for talented teachers.
Boosting Student Engagement Through AI-Enabled Practices
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education presents an untapped reservoir of potential for engaging students in more dynamic and personalized learning experiences. This workshop aims to offer practical solutions by guiding educators through the effective use of AI tools to elevate student engagement and encourage independent learning. Participants will engage with a curated selection of AI technologies that span automated grading systems, AI-driven content customization, and more. Through hands-on exercises and real-world demonstrations, attendees will gain the necessary skills to incorporate these tools into their teaching strategies. The session serves as a valuable guide to current and emerging trends in AI for education, packaged in an actionable format that enables immediate application in various educational settings. Attendees will leave empowered to revamp their pedagogical approach, armed with innovative strategies that can be tailored to diverse learning environments.
Exploring The Full Potential Of Student-Teacher Interactions
Effective classroom management is crucial to helping learners be their best selves and reach their full potential. To cultivate an environment of best practices and help our teachers address some recurring classroom management issues, we decided to use a shared vocabulary for communication between the management team and teachers to help identify, categorize, and address those issues efficiently. We based our shared teaching vocabulary around some of Doug Lemov’s techniques in his book ‘Teach Like a Champion’. This approach not only standardized feedback and evaluation processes but also provided teachers with practical tools to enhance their classroom management techniques. In this session, we will discuss some of those issues and hear your insights, I will demonstrate some solutions, and then we will reflect and discuss how those solutions can be adopted by your institutions and integrated into different contexts to strengthen teacher performance and enhance student engagement.
Going beyond profit: the purpose-driven approach to leadership and strategy
How do you secure the long-term financial sustainability of your language teaching organisation (LTO) AND achieve high levels of staff motivation and make a difference in the world? In addition to seeking a profit or a surplus, many organizations have adopted a more balanced stakeholder-based approach to mission and strategy that incorporates such factors as staff wellbeing and engagement, and wider social and environmental impact. This workshop will discuss research in the language teaching sector into the extent to which LTOs have followed this general business trend and incorporated wider purpose into their mission, vision and values statements and practices.
The research is based upon recent interviews and surveys conducted with leaders and managers in LTOs. Participants will review a seven-step process for moving organisations in the direction of purpose-driven approaches and actions and how to measure their progress on the journey.
Beyond the Textbook: AI-Driven Tools in Language Teaching and Learning
Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) have transformed a variety of professions, enabling users to deal with language, data, and situations with technology at an unprecedented level. In education, particularly in language teaching and learning, artificial intelligence has emerged as an exciting new tool to enhance learning practices and unlock a world of opportunities. With AI-driven co-assistants soon to be supporting teachers in planning, designing, teaching, assessing, and providing autonomous feedback to learners, the potential for transformation within education is limitless. This workshop aims to explore the current full potential of AI in language teaching and learning. The session will begin with a demonstration showcasing a teacher equipped with AI, providing participants with valuable insights into the capabilities of this developing technology. In the second part, participants will explore and practice AI tools such as chatbots, beta features, plugins, and platforms designed to assist both teachers and learners in language teaching and learning.
Microagression: a tiny huge problem
“Microagression” is a bit of a misnomer. Although the aggression is very real (even if delivered in minature doses), with potentially serious and truly damaging consequences for the victim, it is often perceived as something so tiny and insignificant that it cannot really be harmful. This obvious misconception can translate into microagression being ignored, not treated as a “real problem”, and, in consequence, becoming a huge, destructive issue within a team.
In this practical session we will define microagression, examine its impact, and work on developing tools which can help victims as well as those around them stop microagression from happening.
Coffee break & Exhibition
An In-house PD project to review formative assessment: creating support and space for teachers
An In-house PD project to review formative assessment: creating support and space for teachers
In our K-12 school, we embarked on an in-house CPD project to improve student learning through an examination of what formative assessment (FA) is and how it is applied in our curriculum. Based on the work of Dylan Wiliam, we sought to design a project that gave teachers the support and space they needed to re-visit their thinking and practice.
Our project had three primary objectives:
- Student learning will be improved through teachers’ consistent use of formative assessment instructional strategies in the classroom,
- Students will be able to use ‘formative assessment’ feedback to enhance their learning and achieve better results in the target language,
- Teachers will be able to use ‘formative assessment’ information to adapt future teaching to meet learning needs.
This abstract provides a glimpse into our FA Review Project, which not only enriches the learning experience for students but for teachers as well. You can join us in this session to delve deeper into our journey
Empowering Students for Global Sustainability
Thiş presentation will provide a project based teaching example of a sustainability activity that can be adapted and implemented in an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) context. The SDG-driven project has been conducted with both preparatory program students and freshmen students whose levels range from B2 to C2 at a private university in Turkey. It was developed in alignment with the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. the aim of the project was to empower students to initiate projects to address the SDGs.
During this presentation, we will discuss the process of implementing the sustainability activity and share examples of individual and collaborative tasks that the students completed as part of the project. Student evaluations and reflections will also be shared to demonstrate how this project increased students’ awareness of the SDGs and enhanced their language skills. This presentation will showcase some example tasks, demonstrate how to design and implement a sustainability project.
Online CPD – Maintaining Motivation and Measuring Performance
In highly dynamic online learning environments, things can change rapidly and learning institutions need to find the magic formula to maintain teacher motivation and ensure high-quality teaching. We will take the audience through the different elements and strategies that we experimented with along our online CPD journey at Speexx, providing practical examples and describing how and why we arrived at our current system of mostly asynchronous learning content with added highly specific sessions. We will always maintain a focus on the scalability of our different solutions for Online CPD, including online results tracking and the challenges of communicating one-to-many as opposed to one-to-one, as well as making sure our content stays relevant and is kept up-to-date. We’ll also address the challenges of online visibility which not only includes making sure everyone has the chance to participate in CPD but also includes managing online conversations to address all the challenges that we see on Social Media in general, to make sure we maintain a respectful and professional environment where all our trainers feel safe, heard and taken seriously, ultimately enabling them to learn and grow with us.
Incorporating AI into a writing skills course.
Whether they’re writing for work, study, social media, or creative writing, the modern writer has an abundance of tools at their disposal. Spell-checkers, grammar editors, translation tools, word reference websites, online templates, and many more. And now, they have Artificial Intelligence too. Since the release of ChatGPT, the education industry has been scrambling to keep up. The conversation has often focused on how we can use AI to create lessons, identifying writing created by AI or on policing the use of AI. However, like all tools, the focus should be on how to use them effectively.
In this session, I will explore the skills that are necessary to create an effective piece of writing using AI tools, and I will make the case for incorporating these skills into our writing lessons and courses. Participants will get practical ideas they can immediately put into action in their writing lessons or weave into future writing courses.
Language for Specific Purposes: An International Comparison
The Erasmus+ EU Trails project aimed to determine Language for Specific/Special Purposes (LSP) instructor needs acrossthe European Higher Education Area. Recently, members from the Trails team and investigators located in the USA duplicatedthe study in North America. Using survey data, investigators were able to identify the needs and current status of LSP coursesin the EU and USA. With the goal to provide guidance on further developing the field of LSP, survey results are being used tofacilitate more collaboration between education, industry, and government. This session will provide a comparison of thesetwo large-scale surveys conducted both in Europe and the USA on Languages for Specific/Special Purposes (LSP) in order toprovide a clearer picture on the current state of LSP.
Closing Plenary: Educating for Sustainability in International Language Education
Most often connoting environmental matters, sustainability has become a notable feature of the discourse of contemporary education worldwide over the last decades. The term sustainability captures the fundamental idea that our human interactivities with the world and its inhabitants must take place in ways that ensure life for future generations. In this talk I trace the histories and ideologies underlying the concept of sustainability. I explore the existing relationships, and those yet to be realized, between education for sustainability and language education. Engaging critically with these relationships as 21st century educators, we need to consider: What do language educators and learning organizations, at all levels, need to know about educating for sustainability? What are the key learning objectives and competencies associated with educating for sustainability? How do we evaluate the impact of language education for sustainability? Will embedding sustainability in language education actually make a difference?
To address these questions, I draw on examples from international developments in educating for sustainability. These include sector specific and institutional strategies; adaptations to national educational policies and curricula; and assessment of competencies for sustainability conducted on a global scale. Discussing these examples, I question whether knowledge about global issues and measures of global competencies have the power to make sustainability a reality. Boldly, I suggest that language education with its inherent global and applied perspectives, holds a somewhat unique position from which to offer leading contributions to education for sustainability. In outlining this possibility, I propose ways to implement modest and meaningful adaptations to our language education practices and to our educational leadership. Language education for sustainability may offer us an emancipatory potential to innovate in ways that see us all not only survive but thrive.
