Motivation is the desire to achieve and may be the single most influential success factor. It influences how students approach writing, their willingness to improve, and their overall attitude toward the writing process. On the other hand, self-regulated learning (SRL) refers to the process in which students actively take control of their own learning by deploying a series of SRL strategies, including goal-setting, planning, text-generating, monitoring and self-evaluation. In this presentation, I will first share some empirical research findings on the relationships between students’ motivational beliefs and use of SRL writing strategies. Then, I will introduce some classroom activities that can promote students’ motivation and SRL for success in English writing. In this connection, students can be provided with a choice of topics that are closely connected with their lives and experiences. Students can even be given more autonomy by discussing and designing their own writing topics. English teachers can also teach students to set writing goals. Useful strategies for the whole process of writing, i.e., before writing, while writing and after writing, can then be introduced to students, which include but are not limited to Organize Your Thoughts, Stretch a Sentence, Show! Don’t Tell, ARMS, CUPS and 3-2-1 Self-Reflection.

Biography:

Barry Bai is an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received the Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award in 2013/2014. Currently, he serves as the president of Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics and is an associate editor of European Journal of Education and Asia Pacific Journal of Education. In 2023 and 2024, he was recognized as a top 2% most cited researcher in languages and linguistics worldwide by Stanford University and ranked the top 3 in the category of primary school in prior 5 years by ScholarGPS in 2024.

One of the most common tips from observers and teacher trainers is to “reduce your teacher talking time,” but the precise meaning of this advice and the strategies to implement it are often unclear. This session will delve into these issues, differentiating between purposeful, productive teacher talk and the type of teacher talk that observers keep telling us to avoid. Then, the session will explore practical strategies to ensure that our teacher talk is beneficial, that teacher talking time is appropriately balanced with student talking time, and that our lessons are sufficiently student-centered. This session is particularly relevant for newer teachers and anyone else who has ever been told to reduce their teacher talking time, though observers looking for practical tips to offer observed teachers are also encouraged to participate.

Biography:

COOK Brian is an Academic Coordinator and CELTA trainer at the Australian Centre for Education (ACE) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he has been teaching both online and face-to-face for the past several years. He has experience teaching young learners as well as teaching courses in general English, IELTS preparation, and English for academic purposes. He was previously a teacher trainer and lead teacher at ACE's campus in Siem Reap, and he served as a U.S. Department of State Virtual English Language Fellow in Panama.

The role of a learner's first language (L1) in second language acquisition (SLA) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms has been a topic of debate among educators and linguists for decades. Therefore, this workshop will explore the dual nature of L1 use in language learning contexts, examining both its opportunities and drawbacks. It will outline some findings from the existing literature so that we could see if the opportunities outweigh the drawbacks or vice versa. Moreover, the workshop will also discuss the factors influencing L1 use in the classrooms. Lastly, it is hoped to give a more balanced perspective on the strategic use of L1 in pedagogical settings in order to avoid excessive use of L1 and its counter production. It will highlight the advocacy of integrating L1 in the ESL classrooms and how this integration should be done in a way that learning outcomes are maximised but the learning difficulties are minimised. This workshop is for both experienced and new teachers who are interested in gaining more perspective and experiences of using L1 in the class and to what extent they should allow its use in their classrooms.

Biography:

KHLAING Reaksmeypich is an academic coordinator at the Australian Centre for Education (ACE). She’s been engaging profusely in coursebook selection and teacher professional development. Reaksmeypich completed her MA of Art in TESOL from New Zealand (2021), a bachelor of TEFL from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (2013) and a bachelor of Education from the University of Cambodia (2012). She was a high school teacher of English (2014-2016) in Takeo province. She was a featured speaker at TEFLIN (2016) and a regular presenter at CamTESOL since 2015.

Teacher professional development has gained a lot of attention in the education section in the past years. This is because of the increasing demands for the teachers to continue to provide a good or even better education quality to the students. With such needs as well as those from the school, professional development plays a very important role as it has been recognized to be able to help fulfill both the personal needs of the teachers and those of the institutions (Galaczi, Nye, Poulter, & Allen, 2018). The purpose of this research is to look into the attitudes of EFL teachers toward professional development, the importance they give to different professional development activities and their involvement in them, and various challenges to their professional development practice. A mixed-method approach was employed. The data were collected through the questionnaire with 76 EFL teachers, and later six teachers were interviewed for more in-depth information.

Biography:

SENG Ngim is a lead teacher at Australian Centre for Education (ACE). With over 7 years of teaching experience, she has been teaching students from various age groups in different programs. Besides teaching, supporting fellow teachers with their teaching is one of her main responsibilities. She is also often involved in different school projects. Her recent areas of interests are professional development, teaching young learners, and material development. Recently, she has completed her Master's Degree in Education at Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Teaching at Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) in 2016.

The role of coursebooks is essential for English Language Teaching (ELT) teachers as it offers ready-made resources that can support both teaching and learning. However, since coursebook content is typically designed for a diverse audience, some materials might lack authenticity and relevance, might not engage for all learners, and might not fit the designated teaching time. This workshop is targeted at curriculum developers, teacher trainers, and particularly novice teachers. It aims to introduce ways to transform coursebook materials into dynamic teaching tools. Workshop participants will explore methods for selecting, tailoring, and customizing content to align with specific learner needs and profiles. The key takeaways for workshop attendees, by the end of the workshop, are effective and practical techniques for creating supplementary resources which can be implemented in the ELT classroom settings.

Biography:

KEO Sopoan has been a lead teacher at the Australian Centre for Education in Siem Reap, bringing years of teaching and training experience. She earned her Bachelor of Education from Royal University of Phnom Penh in 2015, later received a scholarship to Bowdoin college in the USA, and then completed her Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Leadership at Paññasastra University of Cambodia. In her roles, she collaborates with the management team to enhance teaching quality and supports the academic team in curriculum development. Besides, she has been a regular presenter at the CamTesol conference since 2017.

DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and these interconnected concepts are crucial in education. Incorporating DEI in education is critical because it is instrumental in helping students and staff understand and respect our differences and shared humanity. They help create a fair, respectful, and supportive environment in both organizational and educational settings. However, implementing DEI in education presents challenges. Teachers often encounter resistance to change, limited resources, and difficulties in addressing implicit biases. Ensuring equitable access to support services and resources for all students can also be a struggle. This session will engage a diverse group of education professionals to discuss these key concepts, explore the challenges, and brainstorm effective strategies to enhance DEI efforts within the educational system. The goal is to share insights and solutions for better navigating and contributing to DEI initiatives in education.

Biography:

LAO Sokuntheary has been dedicated to the education sector for over a decade. In her 20s, she gained valuable experience teaching at various institutions and private schools. After spending more than six years at the Australian Centre for Education (ACE), she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and unique perspectives on education. Always eager to grow both personally and professionally, she loves connecting with educators from around the world through various development opportunities and enjoys giving back to the community by sharing the skills and insights she’s gathered along the way.