After the great success of Antonia Clare’s sessions last year, MATEFL was delighted that Antonia Clare agreed to be the guest speaker for our May event. Antonia Clare 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 session took place on Saturday 5th May in the Pietru Pawl Saydon Hall at the University of Malta and was attended and throroughly enjoyed by around 100 members.


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The sessions were as follows:

First session – Taking Flight from the Intermediate Plateau
Many learners encounter problems when moving from Intermediate (B1) to Upper Intermediate (B2) levels of language proficiency.  They struggle to perceive their language progress and often feel frustrated.  They have reached the dreaded learning plateau.  This workshop will look at how learning works and focus on practical strategies and activities to help your learners take off from a learning plateau. 
 
Second Session – Language, Learning and the Creative Mind

Learning a language is an inherently creative task. The learner does not simply repeat the words, phrases and grammar that they are exposed to but adapts that language to construct new meanings, relevant to their lives and to their own developing L2 identity. Creative intelligence contributes positively to the language learning process, and a creative disposition is a quality that characterises effective teachers and students alike (Richards, 2013). This talk will examine the value of creativity in the language learning process and explore ideas for engendering creativity in our learners, as well as in ourselves.
 

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