TESOL-SPAIN Madrid Regional Event, February 20th, 2015. The [provisional] timetable is:
Session 1: 17.00-18.00
Eoin Higgins From the plateau to the highlands: advanced vocabulary learning Room: 304
Gretchen Obernyer Children’s English Literature & the Art of Teaching Room: 303
Hilary Plass: Encouraging critical thinking in an academic setting Room: 308
Session 2: 18.30-19.30
Andrea Littlewood Primary Learners: Keeping them curious, keeping them challenged Room: 304
Anne McCabe Two CLIL Classrooms in Madrid: Writing and Speaking History Room: 303
Hamish Binns The Mechanisms that Make Music a Powerful Classroom Tool Room: 308
Session 3: 19.30-20.30
Mª Antonia Castro and Silvia Benitez Let’s Get Ideas out of the Box Room 304
Patricia Hernández and Anna Steele Signing to Highlight L2 communication Room 303
Matthew Foley-Ryan News Junkie: Using current affairs in specific English classes Room: 308
20.30-21.15: Drinks will be served in the cafeteria of the International Institute. A chance to relax, socialise, and meet other TESOL-SPAIN members!
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER …
Hamish Binns The Mechanisms that Make Music a Powerful Classroom Tool
Many foreign language teachers use music in the classroom, yet they are not always aware of the
hidden powers that make it such a potentially valuable educational tool. To be able to use music
to its full effect in teaching, it can be useful - if not essential - to understand what these powers are.
A2, A3 / LMix / TAll / Mus / P . . . * T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Hamish Binns is Program Director of ESL and Modern Languages at Saint Louis University - Madrid Campus, but has also worked at a Rudolph Steiner primary school, and runs a yearly English language summer camp for adolescents in Extremadura. He holds a MA in Human Sciences from Oxford University, composes children’s songs, and plays the spoons.
Mª Antonia Castro and Silvia Benitez Let’s Get Ideas out of the Box
Even equipped with a computer, projector, digital board and all the tools we need nowadays to teach, why do we try to remember and/or create ideas to make our lessons more enjoyable? Students need ‘starters’ and ‘finishers’ to avoid boredom. Let’s get things out of the trunk! You will leave our talk with every teacher’s essentials: a basic wardrobe! A2 / L1,2, 3 / T1,2,3 / Game / P * . . . T
Mª Antonia Castro is the Director of the Escuela de Idiomas Ebenen in Torrejón de Ardoz and has over 21 years’ experience in EFL as well as DaF (German) teaching. She is currently researching and updating/creating resources to raise students’ enthusiasm and motivate them in SL learning. She is co-writing materials for promoting communication in EFL and DaF teaching.
Silvia Benítez has been an English and German teacher at Ebenen Escuela de Idiomas for over 12 years. Her main area of interest is psychology applied to teaching and is currently co-developing materials for EFL.
Matthew Foley-Ryan News Junkie: Using current affairs in specific English classes
Motivating university and adult students with a long history of learning English can be challenging. By using authentic material (magazines, newspapers & podcasts) specific to their area of studies or work you can interact with your students and generate participation in new and exciting ways. This presentation will suggest and demonstrate ways to improve individual knowledge and develop critical analysis. A3 / L3, LMix / T1,2 / MDv, ESP / P . . * . T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Matthew Foley-Ryan is an English EFL teacher of 11 years, based in Madrid. For the past 7 years he has taught English for Specific Purposes at the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid. As an ex-BBC employee who worked in News and Current Affairs, he certainly is a News Junkie who just can’t help himself from bringing that into the classroom!
Patricia Hernández and Anna Steele Signing to Highlight L2 communication
Language and communication can be supported by enhancing techniques, such as the use of American Sign Language. This will be demonstrated in an early childhood classroom, along with practical ideas for classroom teaching and learning. Its systematic use in the classroom is not only a stepping stone towards comprehension, but also leads to learner autonomy through supportive communication and strategy building.
A1 /L1 /T All / CTec, LT / P . * . . T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Patricia Hernández is an early childhood teacher with seven years of experience working with 3 to 5 year- olds in bilingual education in Spain, and is currently working at Colegio Padre Manyanet, Alcobendas. She is interested in Attention to Diversity of young learners especially in learning English as a second language.
Anna Steele has taught English and CLIL actively in bilingual schools in Spain, worked as a teacher educator/trainer for publishers, CAPs, conferences and JORNADAS UNIVERSITARIAS, and collaborated in the creation of language learning materials for several publishers.. She is currently an instructor in the Facultad de Educación, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Universidad Pontificia Comillas.
Eoin Higgins From the plateau to the highlands: advanced vocabulary learning
What does it take to make it at higher levels of English learning? In recent years, a lot of interest has been shown in vocabulary acquisition as a key element in the success of language learners. This talk analyses different aspects of ‘advanced’ vocabulary and gives practical ideas for learner training to face the challenges of advanced language learning. A 3 / L 2,3 / T1, T2 / CTec, Voc / P . . * . T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Eoin Higgins is a freelance teacher, editor and materials developer. He has been teaching English in various countries for over 30 years. He currently works at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, teaching mostly higher levels and exam preparation classes. He also works as a materials developer – writer, editor, proofreader – and recently co-authored Next Generation and Eyes Open (Cambridge).
Andrea Littlewood Primary Learners: Keeping them Curious, Keeping them Challenged
Children by nature are curious. This workshop will look at how we can stimulate our children’s curiosity and channel it to engage them further with tasks that will keep the challenged. We will focus on routines, lead in and follow up activities to add to course book material, strategies for skills work and an emphasis on child centred learning. A1 / L1 / T1, T2 / CTec / P . * . . T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Andrea Littlewood has been teaching since 1985 and is head of the Young Learners Department at Hyland Language Centre, Madrid. She is interested in teacher development and is keen to ensure her young learners are motivated and challenged. Andrea is co-author of the first cycle of the primary course Twister and is a Cambridge ESOL speaking examiner.
Anne McCabe Two CLIL Classrooms in Madrid: Writing and Speaking History
This talk presents results from a longitudinal study of two CLIL history classrooms in Madrid. The data (classroom discussions, interviews and written texts) were analyzed from a systemic functional linguistic perspective to show how the students’ writing and speaking develop over the four-year ESO period. Implications include suggestions for ways content teachers can focus CLIL students’ attention on language.
A2 / LMix / T2, T3 / CLIL / P . . . * T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Anne McCabe is Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences and English Department Director at Saint Louis University - Madrid Campus, where she teaches linguistics, ESL and writing pedagogy to undergraduate and graduate students. She has published numerous articles on applications of Systemic Functional Linguistics to educational contexts, and has been a member of the UAM-CLIL research project since 2008.
Gretchen Obernyer: Children’s English Literature & the Art of Teaching
Reading inspires and fires the imagination. Reading empowers by providing the tools with which to lead a better life: success in school and higher education, access to information, employability, better communication skills, even entertainment and enjoyment. Through reading language learning happens naturally, advanced literacy is achieved and cultural awareness and understanding are enhanced. This workshop aims therefore to inspire you! A1,2, 3 /L All / T All/ R, Cult/ P * . . . T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Gretchen Obernyer Copenhaver has dedicated more than 30 years to teaching English as a Second Language in Spain. She holds a B.A. from Wartburg College (USA), a Masters in Humanities from UFV, and is specialized in ESL, holding both the RSA Certificate and Diploma from Cambridge University. Since 1999, she has been an English Professor at Francisco de Vitoria University.
Hilary Plass: Encouraging critical thinking in an academic setting
At an American university preparing ESL students for the transition to undergraduate courses, there is a need to foster critical thinking. Students must learn to recognize and produce logical arguments, but they are also hampered by a lack of confidence in their language abilities. In this talk I will analyze these issues and describe how we attempt to tackle them. A2, 3 /L2 / T All/ W, ESP / P . .* . T [This presentation will also be given at the 2015 TESOL-SPAIN National Convention.]
Hilary Plass has taught in a variety of settings in Spain and Ethiopia. She has a Master’s degree in teaching English from Aston University (UK) and is a past president of TESOL-SPAIN.
NB Coding of presentations:
Student age: A1 primary Student level: L1 Teacher experience: T1
A2 secondary L2 T2
A3 post-secondary L3 T3
Practice/theory
e.g. P . . * . T (=3)
1 indicates a practical talk, with theoretical issues not articulated
2 indicates a practical talk with some theoretical issues discussed
3 indicates a theoretical talk with some mention of resulting classroom practice
4 indicates a theoretical talk, in which practical issues are only raised in a theoretical way
CLIL / Content-language integrated learningCTec / Classroom Techniques: Practical ideas which can be taken into the classroom
Cult
ESP
Game / Culture
English for Specific Purposes
Game
LT / Learner training
MDv / Materials development: Presentation and exploitation of materials, design and development
R / Reading (including literature)
Mus / Music
Voc
W / Vocabulary
Writing
TESOL-SPAIN thanks:
… The International Institute for providing premises and equipment for this event.
… the speakers for giving up their time to prepare and give these presentations.