MATEFL Committee members: Present: Alan Marsh, Caroline Campbell, Ian Scerri, Julia Pearson, Jean Theuma, Larissa Jonk, Matt Done, Natasha Fabri
Chair: Larissa Jonk
Number of members present: 32
Opened at: 16:05
Agenda
Approval of minutes
MATEFL Committee Reports
Election 2019 – 2021 Committee
AOB
Workshop led by Alan Marsh – Imagine that!
Approval of minutes Members were given time to read the minutes Questions and comments: None Proposed by: Andy Farrugia Seconded by: Christine Schembri Approved: Unanimous
MATEFL Committee Reports: President’s Keynote Address: The President opened his speech with the observation that the EFL industry is booming with student numbers continuing to increase, the average annual figures being 87,000. There are several factors encouraging this booming economy in Malta which may be related to quality, price and promotion of the product, and perhaps even the uncertainty related to the EU because of BREXIT. There is no better time than the present climate for entrepreneurs and managers to strengthen this healthy growth by creating more career paths for ELT professionals in the way of creative and attractive full-time positions, which may well encourage more people to choose this field of work. Attention should also be given to adequate training of Directors of Studies, Academic Managers and their assistants apart from qualifications. While there are many gifted Academic Managers in Malta, they would benefit from specific training in managing and leading staff and improving communication flow within the organisation. Last year, MATEFL tried to assist this by creating a Special Interest Group (SIG) which would offer support to Directors of Studies and Academic Managers. IATEFL, the international organisation, already has such a SIG. MATEFL looks forward to the possibility of members embracing this opportunity. An area which seems to be blossoming is the teaching of academic English. Several institutions have opened up in the recent years that specifically offer such training. Teachers in mainstream education have been encouraged to train learners in critical thinking skills in order to better empower them to evaluate and make informed decisions. In an age of fake news, populism, and other threats to democracy, education becomes key in order to ensuring the survival of our own society. Critical thinking is also becoming a central theme in our own teaching environment and on this note, the President introduced John Hughes as the speaker at our May event who is widely regarded as a principle player in the critical thinking skills movement in ELT. At the top of Bloom’s taxonomy for critical thinking skills is Creativity which also needs to be an essential component of our classroom teaching. Teachers need the freedom to be creative and learners need to be given opportunities to be creative with language in their lessons. The President ended his address by thanking the LSC Director of Studies, Krystal Sant, and the staff for their assistance and support in offering their premises to host the AGM, the MATEFL Committee members who work tirelessly behind the scenes, and MATEFL members themselves, wishing everybody a good year ahead. Questions: None Proposed by: Natasha Fabri Seconded by: Caroline Campbell Approved: Unanimous
Secretary’s Report: Larissa Jonk The secretary ran through the events held in 2018. MATEFL brought over Antonia Clare for the May event for the second consecutive year. There were some new presenters and some return presenters apart from the regular presenters. The topics of workshops were varied and spread over two sessions to allow members opportunity not to miss workshops of the same genre if that is what they were particularly interested in. The secretary commented that the nature of workshops has moved with the times to reflect the changing English language teaching needs. Questions: None Proposed by: Anthony Cauchi Seconded by: Sylvana Caruana Approved: Unanimous
Treasurer’s Report: Caroline Campbell The only income MATEFL gets is from membership subscriptions and income was slightly less last year than the previous year. Flight costs to bring over Antonia Clare were a bit high so that inflated the spring costs slightly for the May event. One change the treasurer noted was that MATEFL used to collect IATEFL membership subscriptions; however, MATEFL has decided to change this because we cannot calculate how much it will cost us due to bank charges and changes in the exchange rate. In fact, we made a slight loss last year with the money we paid IATEFL collectively for membership subscriptions against the money we collected. The treasurer assured members thatMATEFL can continue to help them by giving advice on applying for IATEFL membership, but that members will have to pay IATEFL directly online for IATEFL membership. Questions: None Proposed by: Andy Farrugia Seconded by: Krystal Sant Approved: unanimous
Newsletter Editor’s Report: Natasha Fabri and Matt Done There were two newsletters published in 2018: 180 copies June; 280 copies in December. The numbers went up accordingly as the numbers of members increased by the time of print for the December event. The editors have changed the distribution system by handing out copies of the newsletter at seminars. This has helped reduce costs in terms of postage. The editors aim to offer a varied selection and have kept most features the same, such as the Teacher 2.0, Why not try?, Wordsearch, NSO statistics, and MATEFL events. The Vox Pop feature has been retired to made space for a new feature called 10 Things, a listicle style feature that the editors feel may be more useful for MATEFL readers. The editors reminded members present that the newsletter belongs to all MATEFL members and made an appeal for members to contribute articles. Lastly, the editors asked members who do offer an article to please stick to deadlines. The editors do not expect full articles and welcome any contribution. Questions: None Proposed by: Kate Duffie Seconded by: Ian Scerri Approved: Unanimous
IATEFL Associate Membership Report: Jean Theuma Jean Theuma explained for the benefit of present members new to MATEFL that IATEFL is the international organisation of which MATEFL is an associate member organisation. As an associate member, MATEFL can give its members a discount if they book IATEFL membership through MATEFL – there is a link on our website. Jean pointed out that some people in the room were already members and that members benefit from joining through the link on the MATEFL website as there is a considerable discount when they book this way. Another point is that MATEFL members do not have to take out a SIG when they submit the application through MATEFL which they have to do if they book directly with IATEFL, raising the cost of the membership. Jean confirmed that even with MATEFL no longer handling payment for IATEFL membership, MATEFL members are still to apply for IATEFL membership through the MATEFL link, by which they will get a discount and pay IATEFL directly. One of the benefits is that IATEFL sends out a newsletter every two months, Voices. Secondly, there is the opportunity to go to IATEFL held annually in the UK which features workshops delivered by the big names in ELT. Also, the workshops which members attend at IATEFL do go towards CPD requirements in Malta. Members are also invited to apply for IATEFL Sponsorship, a bursary that MATEFL offers towards their trip. Question: Sladjan Dujic asked whether the exchange cost was sterling. Jean confirmed it was. Proposed by: Andy Farrugia Seconded by: Kate Duffie Approved: Unanimous
Election 2019 – 2021 Committee: Larissa Jonk pointed out that members on the existing committee were ready to stand for another term and that no nominations had been received for other members to stand for election. Therefore, in accordance with the statute, there will be no need for an election. Questions and comments: Alan pointed out that information is posted on the website for MATEFL members regarding the election and that members can download a nomination form to nominate individuals with instructions to send the nomination form to our mail box. Ian Scerri pointed out that the same information is also posted on the MATEFL Facebook page. Questions: None Proposed by: Christine Schembri Seconded by: Joseph Busuttil Approved: Unanimous
AOB At the last Committee meeting, Committee members discussed a motion for annual membership to be waived for acting Committee members. MATEFL Committee members agreed with this motion and are now putting forward to the floor. Questions: None Comments: Alan Marsh pointed out that on MATEFL’s tenth anniversary, those MATEFL members who had been members continuously since MATEFL was founded were given honorory membership. Kristina Schembri said that it was justified that the annual membership is waived for MATEFL Committee members as they do put a lot of work into running the organisation. Proposed by: Anthony Cauchi Seconded by: Christine Schembri Approved: Unanimous