The pre-season seminar/workshop was held at Ace English, Level 4, Bay Street Complex on Saturday 20th June and was attended by over 100 members.
First session - 9.30 - 11.00 Alan Marsh: Speaking fluency: where’s the meat? Two issues: not all learners are convinced that improved fluency is a satisfactory objective for so-called ‘speaking activities’ – they want to get their teeth into some language, too; and many speaking activities simply fall flat and/or are over in a flash. Come along for lots of practical templates for successful, effective speaking activities at many levels
Jean Sciberras: Being a democratic dictator can have several advantages! Dictation is considered by many teachers as old-fashioned and is mainly associated with unhappy school memories. However, dictation can be an extremely versatile activity which practises a number of skills. We will look at practical activities picked up along the years from various sources, show how it can be adapted to provide opportunities for more learner-centred, motivating and communicative class work.
Larissa Attard: Integrating listening and writing skills for report writing Taking notes during a meeting or a presentation and then writing up a report is a task that our students may have to practice in their work life. They may sometimes struggle with this in their L1, let alone in English. This session will focus on some practical tips for developing and/or practising listening skills and taking notes, especially during meetings, and writing up the final report.
Suzanne Vella: Dyslexia in the TEFL classroom – Busting the Myths! According to current research dyslexia impacts nearly 20% of the world population. That’s likely to be 1 out of every 5 students in your EFL classroom. Can you recognise the dyslexic student and understand their needs, or will they simply fall through the cracks and be labelled as the ones you give up on as they just don’t want to learn? This session is designed to raise awareness and sort the fact from fiction.
Second session - 11.30 - 13.15
Alan Marsh: Teaching Advanced Learners It is predicted that soon a merely passable functional command of English will no longer be enough: a far higher level of proficiency than the ability to 'get by in English' will be required by employers. So what are advanced learners? And how do we take them above their current levels? This workshop will offer a few practical ideas. Health Warning: some activities may be challenging for teachers too!
Maria and Sarah Cutajar: Using Songs Effectively in the ELT Classroom This workshop focuses on innovative ways of exploiting the use of music in the ELT classroom by means of practical and engaging activities. While the activities presented in this workshop are particularly geared towards young learners and teenagers at B1 and B2 levels, they can easily be adapted to different age groups and levels respectively.
Pam Borg:Top 10 Tips for maximising the benefits of the Interactive Whiteboard Love it or loathe it, the IWB is here. Master it to use it well; dabble with it and it will probably be used as an oversized TV, or at best to access Google. Today’s EFL teacher needs to be technologically adventurous. I would like to share some of my practical classroom ‘Top Tips’ on how to maximising the IWB benefits. Repeat session from Mon Board Conference Oct 2014
Caroline Campbell: English through paintings! In this interactive workshop we will explore how paintings can become a resourceful item in the EFL classroom. We will look at various practical activities which can easily be adapted to any age and level of English. Using paintings to teach English will add culture and an element of fun to your lessons. re to edit.