Keynote Speakers
KEYNOTE
Breaking English Language Barriers In Malaysia
Professor Stefanie Shamila Pillai
Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
From education to employment, and from CEFR to the Dual Language Programme, English continues to feature in the news, reflecting public concern about the lack of English proficiency among Malaysians, and the increasing use of a ‘broken’ variety of English. This is the central issue that that will be focused upon in this keynote by exploring barriers’ related to English in Malaysia through two main notions: (i) ‘good’ and ‘correct’ English; (ii) the Malaysian variety of English. I will review both these notions and discuss how they underlie policy decisions on English language education. These in turn influence classroom practices, and can create insecurities about our own use of English, and thus, I argue that these notions can create barriers about how and ‘what’ English is used, taught and ‘accepted’. I end with exploring how we can break these barriers within Malaysia’s multilingual ecology as we look towards new horizons in ELT.
WORKSHOP
Navigating Englishes In The Classroom
This workshop takes its cue from the keynote on English language barriers related to perceptions about (i) ‘good’ and ‘correct’ English; (ii) the Malaysian variety of English. As part of the journey of breaking down barriers in the English language classroom, this workshop has three objectives. The first is to explore the underlying rationale for the participants own perceptions about (i) and (ii), and the second is to reflect on how these perception influence their classroom practices. The third objective is to discuss ways that English language educators can navigate among the Englishes (and other languages) used in the classroom. Participants will be expected to engage in self-reflection, share their perceptions and related classroom practices. They will also be expected to discuss points raised during the workshop and to contribute ideas that may lead to a more inclusive and responsive language learning environment.
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KEYNOTE (VIRTUAL)
English Language Teachers Engaging with Neuroscience: So What?
Dr. Michael Burri
University of Wollongong, Australia
Neuroscience is gaining increasing attention in English language teaching. Recent work has provided new understandings in key areas, including second language (L2) acquisition processes, social learning (Jeong et al., 2021), first language transfer (Perkins & Zhang, online first), explicit and implicit learning (Suzuki et al., 2022), and auditory processing and L2 speech learning (Saito et al., 2022). Subsequently, scholars agree that L2 teachers need to develop an understanding of neuroscience to enhance their practices and student learning; yet, to date, limited research has explored L2 teachers’ actual engagement with and application of neuroscientific principles in the classroom.
In this talk, I will first discuss several neuroscientific principles relevant to English language teaching. Following this overview, I will then present a learning study project – conducted in a Japanese undergraduate university English language program – to demonstrate the positive impact that learning about neuroscience can have on L2 teachers’ developing beliefs, knowledge, and practices.
In this workshop, I will share with participants some practical classroom activities that are designed to engage students. The activities will range across the literacy skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. They are underpinned by the learning theories of Vygotsky and others.
KEYNOTE
Unlearning Learning: New Horizons In ELT
Associate Professor Tamas Kiss
Sunway University, Malaysia
How does the brain work? What is language learning? How does language learning motivation impact learner experiences in a lesson? These are some questions educational researchers are trying to answer through the lens of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) which is a relatively new field of study, especially in Applied Linguistics and English language teaching. CDST is the study of ever-changing, dynamic connections within a system where links form between items and then they dissolve to allow new connections to be forged. This process is similar to how we learn, unlearn, and relearn certain concepts. My talk will introduce CDST as a possible way to reconsider strongly held beliefs about learning and teaching and will challenge how we traditionally conceptualize a language classroom. I will argue that reconsidering learning and teaching as a CDS is acknowledging that learning always happens at the edge of chaos. It is there where meanings emerge, where you find creativity and language play. Therefore, it is important that teachers balance their lessons between order and chaos to facilitate learning.
To provide an example of how a CDS works, I will discuss an area of applied linguistics that have embraced CDST as a conceptual and analytical framework: language learning motivation. I will present the findings of a study that examined English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students’ motivation throughout a semester, showing the interconnectedness of a multitude of motivational factors that influenced the learners’ willingness to study. I will conclude by making some practical suggestions on how language learning motivation can be steered towards a more motivated state.
WORKSHOP
Motivational Tug Of War: What Motivates And Demotivates Your Learners?
In this workshop we aim to examine the most common motivational and demotivational factors that influence students in their learning of English. We will discuss how demotivational factors can be ‘converted’ into motivational factors (and if it is possible, at all?) and what we can do to steer our learners’ motivational systems towards a more motivated state. Hands on activities, sharing experiences, and collaborative thinking will enrich the workshop which will be kept practical. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to reevaluate some firmly held beliefs about motivation and learning, and look at motivational and demotivational factors through a critical lens.
KEYNOTE
Action-oriented Language Teaching
Allen Davenport
Cambridge University Press & Assessment
As educators increasingly recognize the significance of The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and its pivotal role in bridging the gap between learning, teaching, and assessment, it is crucial to remain mindful of its fundamental principles. While much emphasis is placed on the CEFR's descriptive framework, common reference levels, and illustrative descriptors, there is a key concept that often goes unnoticed: The action-oriented approach. This session aims to shed light on the action-oriented approach to language teaching, explore its implications for language education, and demonstrate practical ways to effectively integrate this approach into language lessons, fostering a more seamless integration of learning and assessment, thereby enriching the language learning experience.
WORKSHOP
The Gajah, Elephants, 大象, And யானைகள் In The Room: Using Learners’ Own Languages In The English Classroom
This workshop will begin by providing a brief overview of the arguments supporting and opposing the use of students' first languages in language learning. It will emphasize the significance of plurilingualism and how it can be integrated into action-oriented language learning approaches. The workshop will then demonstrate a range of practical activities that teachers can use to encourage the integration of students' first languages while effectively facilitating English learning and practice. These activities can be applied in classrooms where students share the same first language or have diverse linguistic backgrounds. Importantly, these activities can be implemented successfully regardless of whether or not teachers understand the students' own languages.
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KEYNOTE (Virtual)
Making The Implicit Explicit: Supporting Learners’ EFL Development Across Linguistic Environments
Professor Shelley K. Taylor
The University of Western Ontario, Canada & TESOL International Association, USA
Silver (2009) observes that instructors sometimes conflate ‘local’ and ‘global’ English learning (ESL and EFL), and measure learners’ linguistic achievement in terms of English competence rather than multilingual competence. The Council of Europe (2001) expands on the latter, noting that ‘plurilingual’ competence links the dynamics of the multilingual mind and cognition, their ability to have varying degrees of proficiency in several languages, and to the purpose of plurilingual competence; namely, to draw on whatever they need to fulfil their communication needs whenever they need it. Taylor and Mohanty (2021) adopt this view and extend it to contextual aspects of learning. Just as plurilingual competences need supportive policies and programs to thrive, supportive educator mindsets can influence plurilingual development. Educators that hold pluralistic ideologies are more apt to orchestrate pluralistic learning environments by drawing on approaches such as pedagogical translanguaging than ones that hold monolinguistic beliefs and ‘native speaker’ goals (Cummins, 2007).
This talk begins by outlining the need to identify the implicit goals of language policies and planning as they inform the selection and rationales for program offerings across different levels of schooling. Two programs highlighted are multilingual language education (MLE) at the primary level in the South Asian context, and English medium instruction (EMI) in the Nordic context of higher education (Taylor 2020; 2021). Drawing on related samples of teaching, it concludes by suggesting that educators need explicit knowledge about how beliefs can impact learners’ potential to develop plurilingual competence and meet success when EFL is taught as subject or used in content teaching (e.g., STEM) just by virtue of approaches adopted, and how they facilitate EFL learning.