Schedule, Teachers' Day 2018

The British Council believes that the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) into the regular education systems of their respective countries is an entitlement and a fundamental human right. This keynote will explore how schools can meet the needs of more children by looking at how policy, practice and culture can impact on this through the following three topics

• Access and engagement
• Medical model vs social model thinking
• Different models of inclusion

One main issue for teachers in inclusive practices is less about who we are teaching but more about what and how we are teaching supporting effective learning. In this workshop we look at what inclusive practices can mean for learners who may have a special educational need (identified or not identified) and how we can support all learners through a teaching for all approach. The focus will be on the English language though there will be implications for the teaching of any language and also how learners’ first/home languages can be used effectively in promoting foreign language skills. We will explore good practice approaches to scaffolding and differentiation, why and how multi-sensory approaches are likely to be effective and how examples of generic activities can be applied to your school curriculum and teaching plans. The emphasis will be on the practical application and how we can ensure we work towards making meaning meaningful in improving learning outcomes.

Differentiation and individualisation are an absolute must in teaching English as a foreign language today. Unfortunately, with the standardisation of assessment, the evaluation of students’ achievements in a differentiated way is not always encouraged, and sometimes even officially prohibited.

In this workshop, we will analyse different models of how teachers in heterogeneous classrooms can take proper account of their students’ individual linguistic and communicative abilities. In particular, we will discuss the pros and cons of a summative testing model that allows students to ask for extra help when completing a task, in exchange for a deduction of points. In addition to discussing the organisation of such tests, we will also ask whether they are both fair and pedagogically valuable to students with differing levels of language competence.

Diversity covers a wide range of issues that need to be taken into consideration when planning lessons. This applies particularly (though not exclusively) when training reading and speaking skills since the relevance of the activities as perceived by learners has a great influence on how successful English lessons are. The workshop aims to show how important it is to have a macrostrategy within which it is possible to respond to the teaching challenges resulting from diversity in order to meet the needs of the individual members of the group. There will be ample time for teachers to practise implementing this strategy, for which it would be beneficial to bring along a notebook or tablet.

No two learners are alike. Each has different needs, goals, interests, learning styles but also constraints. The ‘one size fits all’ approach rarely if ever works in the 21st century learning environment. Accommodating such variety can present a huge challenge for teachers. This session will investigate some of these common differences between learners before moving on to look at how the Flipped Classroom can provide a helpful and effective teaching scenario.

The focus will remain clearly on showing how the Flipped setting opens up opportunities for success for all learners whatever their characteristics. At the same time, we will show how it optimises the work teachers do, without the need for a massive amount of additional work on the part of the teacher.

The session will feature material from Pearson’s online tool MyEnglishLab.

Whether we like it or not, we cannot teach or learn a language detached from culture. When it comes to English, we are entitled to ask, “Whose culture?” In searching for an answer, we may be able to find ways of “including” or “integrating” classroom learners from a variety of ethnic/religious/linguistic backgrounds, and so helping everyone to become not only more successful language learners, but also more aware of the necessity for mediation. In this workshop, we will discuss and try out some ideas, methods and materials based on the premise that “Culture is a verb,” i.e. culture is action rather than knowledge.

Brian V. Street (1993). Culture is a Verb: Anthropological aspects of language and cultural process. In D.Graddol, L.Thompson, M.Byram (eds)(1993). Language and Culture.

Listening comprehension, according to Vandergrift (1999), is considered a complex process with students playing an active role in instantly distinguishing sounds, vocabulary and grammatical structures, while Holden III (2004) suggests that listening comprehension is a complex activity that requires considerable mental exertion. Nevertheless, the development of listening skills is still underestimated, with minimal time being spent on it either inside or out of class (Yildiz 2015). Unfortunately, listening is reserved by some professionals as a passive skill which can develop naturally and autonomously with minimal teacher support. This training session aims to provide teachers with some background to teaching listening strategies as well as offer practical techniques, which could be immediately incorporated with students, to ensure they are able to develop the skills required to conduct a listening task no matter their personal level.