For the Spring seminar/workshop MATEFL was delighted to welcome leading EFL author and personality Antonia Clare. Antonia is a teacher trainer, conference speaker and writer. Her special interests include the use of video and new technologies in ELT, creativity and the psychology of language learning. She has taught and trained in many countries around the world, and co-authored coursebook titles including Total English and Speakout. The Seminar was held on 27th May at Old Humanities Block ALT - Pietru Pawl Saydon Hall, University of Malta, Tal-Qroqq and was very well attended.
First session - 09:00 – 10:30
Creativity in ELT: ideas for developing creative thinking Creativity is often cited as one of the 21st Century skills we need to be teaching our students. But why is creativity so important in language classrooms? And what exactly do we mean by creative thinking skills? This session will look at how we can nurture a culture of creativity in our classrooms. We will demonstrate practical ideas for exploiting images, video, poetry and online tools, and explore the use of frameworks to encourage learners to actively and creatively engage in the learning process.
Second Session - 11:15 – 12:45
The Joy of Listening Our ability to listen and understand is now widely considered to be the foundation of language acquisition and communicative ability. But in the classroom listening can be a rather torturous process, often leaving learners confused and demotivated. This session will look at practical ways to engage students in active listening tasks which aim to bring some of the joy back to the listening process.