CamTESOL offers plenary talks by leading international ELT experts, local and international researchers and teachers of English. CamTESOL promotes the sharing and networking among classroom teachers, teacher trainers, researchers in the fields of ELT and linguistics, administrators of English language schools, and ELT-related individuals and institutions, and offers practice-oriented sessions, plenary talks, panel discussions through more than 600 featured and parallel sessions.
The plenary speakers at the 19th Annual CamTESOL include:
Plenary Speakers
Sponsored by 
Prof. Rod Ellis
Research Professor
School of Education
Curtin University
Australia
"What is the value of research? The case for pre-task planning in the teaching of writing"
What is the value of research? In this talk I will point out different ways in which teachers can make use of research. I will argue that research can only provide teachers with provisional specifications which they can then try out in their own classrooms. I will illustrate this approach to using research using research that has investigated the effect of pre-task planning on writing.
An important issue in the teaching of writing is whether students should prepare a plan before they start writing. Teacher guides (e.g. Ur, 1996; Hedge, 1990) generally recommend pre- task planning (PTP) but with provisos. Research that has investigated PTP, however, does not lend unconditional support to PTP. I will suggest that the value of the research is helping to identify a number of options that teachers of L2 writing can consider when deciding whether and how to undertake pre-task planning in their own teaching context.
In this way, teachers’ own experimenting with different strategies for writing can both enhance their own teaching and also make a contribution to research.
Key words: pre-task planning; online planning; L2 writing; implementing pre-task planning.
Rod Ellis is currently a Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University in Perth Australia. He is also a visiting professor at Shanghai International Studies University as part of China’s Chang Jiang Scholars Program and an Emeritus Professor of the University of Auckland. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. His published work includes articles and books on second language acquisition, language teaching and teacher education. His two latest books are Reflections on Task-based Language Teaching (Multilingual Matters, 2018) and the co-authored Task-based Language Teaching: Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2020) Other major publications include Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy in 2012, (Wiley-Blackwell), (with Natsuko Shintani) Exploring Language Pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition Research in 2014 (Routledge) and Understanding Second Language Acquisition 2nd Edition in 2015 (Oxford University Press). He has also published several English language textbooks, including Impact Grammar (Pearson: Longman). He is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards – The British Association of Applied Linguistics best book award (1986), the Duke of Edinburgh best book award (1995), the Modern Language Association of the United States best book award (1988) and the International Association for Task-based Language Teaching annual prize (2021). He has held university positions in six different countries and has also conducted numerous consultancies and seminars throughout the world.
Sponsored by 
Prof. Thomas S.C. Farrell
Professor
Applied Linguistics
Brock University
Canada
"Building Resilience Through Reflective Practice"
Gaining teaching experience is not enough to provide automatic professional development, for we do not learn from experience itself as much as we learn from reflecting on that experience. This is especially true in the time of COVID where language teachers are/were forced to move from face-to-face teaching to face-to-screen teaching, and now many have returned to mask-to-mask teaching that further complicates the teaching/learning process. Is it any wonder that some teachers may lose the motivation and excitement of teaching during all this upheaval. Thus, I suggest that engaging in reflective practice has become even more important for all teachers in these turbulent times. In this plenary I outline what reflective practice is and how teachers can engage in reflection throughout their careers so that they will be able to develop resourcefulness and resilience required to face any and all future challenges and changes in their lives.
Thomas S.C. Farrell is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. His professional interests include Reflective Practice, Language Teacher Education & Development. He has published widely in these areas. Some of his most recent work includes: TESOL Teacher Education: A Reflective Approach. 2021: Edinburgh University Press. Reflective Language Teaching. 2022: Cambridge University Press. Insights Into Professional Development in Language Teaching. 2022: London, UK. Doing Reflective Practice in English Language Teaching. 2022: Routledge. His webpage is: www.reflectiveinquiry.ca
Sponsored by 
Prof. Randi Reppen
Professor Emerita of Applied
Linguistics
Northern Arizona University
USA
"Future-Ready ELT: Using corpora and corpus resources for teaching and learning"
As teachers we want to provide our learners with the most effective and efficient language instruction. In my presentation, I will introduce corpus resources (i.e., using collections of natural language) as an approach for more effective teaching and learning. The use of corpus-informed or corpus-based materials for language instruction has increased over the last several decades, however, there remains much to be resolved before widespread use is practical. This presentation will explore three practical ways for using corpora and corpus information to inform language instruction. The three ways range from using existing corpus-based research and corpus-informed materials, to carrying out classroom-based research. The three parts of my presentation move from: 1. a focus on teachers and existing corpus research and materials; 2. a focus on teachers and learners using of online resources; 3. back to a focus on teachers, but with teachers as researchers of their students’ language. The three approaches can be used individually, or in combination depending on the instructional goals and student level. Each approach is described through detailed examples and practical classroom-based applications using teaching resources and freely available tools and websites.
Randi Reppen is Professor Emerita of Applied Linguistics and TESL at Northern Arizona University. She has a keen interest in using corpus research (analysis of databases of natural language) to inform language teaching and to develop better language teaching materials. Randi is the lead author of three Cambridge University Press corpus-informed, multi-level ELT textbook series, including the new Grammar and Beyond with Academic Writing (2020) and her recent publications have appeared in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes, International Journal of Learner Corpus Linguistics, Language Learning Journal and DELTA. Randi enjoys many outdoor activities, especially, biking, rock climbing, and Nordic skiing.
Sponsored by 
Mr. Jeremy Bowell
ELT Author
The United Kingdom
"Engage your brains! Developing and encouraging creativity in the English language classroom"
When it comes to giving a definition of creativity, I would be inclined to paraphrase Louis Armstrong’s answer to the question ‘What is jazz?’ If you have to ask, you’ll never know.
Certainly, creativity in the classroom can take many forms and come from many sources. While not all learners (or teachers!) can become an Agatha Christie, a Paul McCartney or a Leonardo Da Vinci, we can all engage with the creative process and become more creative as we learn.
In this talk, I’ll look at what we can do to foster a more creative learning environment in the classroom, some general principles for developing creativity, and how encouraging our students to engage their creative brains can be a great classroom motivator. Finally, we’ll try out some practical ideas and activities for the classroom that aim to get our students thinking and acting creatively.
Jeremy Bowell has been working in the English language teaching field for over 20 years. He has taught English in Poland, Germany, at International House in Brno, Czech Republic, and at the British Council in Bucharest, Romania. In 2004, he joined the ELT division of Oxford University Press (OUP). He spent nine years at the Press working as an editor on international secondary course books, as well as taking on a number of presenting and teacher training assignments across Europe. He left OUP in 2013 to pursue a career as an author, and since then he has written for a number of OUP courses including Solutions, English Plus, Synchronize, and Life Vision. He has also written graded readers, children’s and young adult fiction. He lives in a village outside Oxford and in his free time, enjoys cinema, gardening, running, paddle boarding and baking. But not always at the same time.
Sponsored by
Athip Thumvichit
Professor
Applied Linguistics
Brock University
Canada
"Enjoyment in language teaching: What is it? How do we promote it?"
Emotions are at the heart of teaching. Although teacher enjoyment has been linked to teacher well-being and performance, little is known about that of language teachers. In this presentation, I discuss the findings of my study on the enjoyment experienced by tertiary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. Using Q methodology (Q), this study sought explanations of the subjectivity of enjoyment specific to EFL teachers and how it can be fostered. That is, the participants (n = 40) were divided into three cohorts based on their shared views and experiences. While the first group enjoyed teaching and working in the classroom, the second and third groups viewed career value and social interaction as sources of enjoyment, respectively. The findings lend themselves to a variety of suggestions. To boost or regain enjoyment in the profession, EFL teachers are encouraged to be explicit about their expectations for student behavior, provide positive reinforcement during instruction, explore opportunities for professional development, clearly define their professional goals, and embrace opportunities for collaboration.
Athip Thumvichit is an Assistant Professor of Education at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, where he teaches graduate courses in language teaching. He also serves as Secretary of Thailand TESOL. He earned his PhD in English language teaching from the Language Institute, Thammasat University. His teaching and research focus on psychology for language teachers and learners, English for specific purposes, language teaching methods, and Q methodology. His recent work appears in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Applied Linguistics Review, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, and Teaching English with Technology.
Sponsored by
THURAIRAJA SUNMOKASUDRAM
Academic Teacher
SMK Toh Indera Wangsa Ahmad
Perak
India
"The impact of non-governmental organization in teacher professional development in the 21st century: a comparative study between teachers of members and non-members of non-governmental organisation (NGO’S IMPACT ON TPD IN THE 21ST CENTURY)"
Professional development is significant and vital for the education sector as it is the organized methods to catalyst change in teacher practices, attitudes, beliefs and student outcomes. There have been various means of teacher professional development (TPD) throughout the years with one upcoming trend in the 21st century is the emergence of educational non-governmental organizations (NGO) which provide avenues outside their working environment for teachers to professionally develop their skills. Besides, the platform contributes to teaching style development beyond the initial teacher training. This presentation explores the differences in teachers’ 21st century teaching styles and perceptions between the teacher-members of non-governmental organization and the non-members of the non-governmental organization. The study is conducted by having comparative questionnaires among 60 teachers of both members and non-members of NGO equally and interview to 5 teachers of NGO members to know the in-depth NGO impact. By analyzing this, the research presents the impact of the non-governmental organization on teachers’ styles in classroom teaching in the 21st century teaching classroom. The research takes into account the insight of the Malaysian Education Blueprint where it promotes the development of teachers professionally via various means to keep abreast of the trending teacher skills and knowledge. The study conclude that teachers whom are NGO members have more inclination towards the 21st century teaching styles and they show positive teacher professional development towards the inclusion of 21st century teaching criteria in comparison to the non-members.
Keywords: Teacher Professional Development; Non-Governmental Organisation
THURAIRAJA SUNMOKASUDRAM is an EL Master Teacher at SMK Toh Indera Wangsa Ahmad, Perak. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in (TESL) from University of Portsmouth, UK and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Management (ELM) from the University of Nottingham. He has been active in MELTA and dynamically participated in ELT conferences since 2014. Mr. Thurai has presented papers and showcased classroom innovations in competitions, in addition to conducting workshops, becoming forum panelists and supporting MELTA with the organisation of its conferences.
He has also served as the leader of TEDBET, a MELTA SIG for Beginning English Teacher. Prior to becoming MELTA’s, Director of Chapters (2022-2024), Mr. Thurai served as the association’s Deputy Director for SIG and Deputy Director for Technologies.
His research interest is mainly in teacher professional development and educational technology. He can be contacted via email: thurai4042@gmail.com.
Register Here!
| | Early rate (Paid by 24 January 2023) | Standard rate (Paid after 24 January 2023) |
Citizen of ASEAN countries
| US$ 100 | US$ 120 |
Non-Citizen of ASEAN countries
| US$ 190
| US$ 240
|
The CamTESOL Secretariat gratefully acknowledges the support of the following sponsors and exhibitors to the 18th Annual CamTESOL Conference:
For sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at the 19th Annual CamTESOL Conference in 2023, please contact secretariat@camtesol.org or visit the 'Partnership Options' section of the CamTESOL website.