Plenary Speaker

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“The Many Faces of Development in the Classroom”

This presentation highlights the many types of development that teachers observe in the classroom as students gain English language skills. The presenter shares a variety of instructional strategies teachers find essential to guide both oral English language development and the development of English reading skills.

Janet K. Orr is currently the Director of TEAL Services and serves as an elected member to the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Board of Directors (2010-13). Janet is active as a youth specialist, basic education consultant, program evaluator, teacher trainer, assessment specialist and curriculum developer. She is experienced at providing services both in the United States and in the developing countries of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. 

In the US, she served English Language Learners (ELLs) both in Colorado and Virginia in the classroom, through curriculum development, and as administrator of ESL services in Denver Public Schools, CO and Fairfax County Public Schools, VA.

Janet's English as a foreign language methodology books, Growing Up with English and Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Primary Schools embody her interests in primary school curriculum, student assessment, instructional methodology and teacher training. Janet has served as an education expert in Bahrain, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, China, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Turkey, Uruguay and Zambia.

Plenary Speaker

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“Competence and Performance in Language Teaching: Implications for Teacher Education”

In order to plan for the professional development of English language teachers, we need to have a comprehensive understanding of what competence and expertise in language teaching consists of. What essential skills, knowledge, values, attitudes and goals do language teachers need, and how can these be acquired? This paper seeks to explore these questions by examining ten core dimensions of skill and expertise in language teaching. These are: language proficiency, content knowledge, teaching skills, contextual knowledge, language teacher identity, learner-focused teaching, specialised cognitive skills, theorising from practice, joining a community of practice, and professionalism. Each construct will be examined, its contribution to teacher competence and performance illustrated, and implications discussed for the development of language teachers and teacher education programs.

Jack C. Richards is an applied linguist, teacher educator, textbook author, and a specialist in the teaching of English as a second language (TESOL) who has had an active career in the Asia Pacific region (Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Hawaii) for many years. He has held senior positions in universities in New Zealand, Hawaii, and Hong Kong and is currently based in Sydney Australia for much of the year where he is an honorary professor at the University of Sydney. He teaches part of each year at the Regional Language Centre in Singapore. He holds a Ph.D from Laval University, Quebec.

Dr. Richards has written many books and articles on language teaching methodology and teacher training, as well as many widely used classroom texts.
In December 2010 Dr. Richards was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by Victoria University, Wellington, for his services to education and the arts.

In 2011 Dr. Richards was made an honorary professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Featured Speaker

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“Assessing teamwork in EFL classes”

With the communicative approach in language teaching, EFL teachers in Asian countries in general and in Vietnam in particular have used lots of group work in English classes. Are the students in these classes working in their group work? Are they contributing equally in the group activities? Do they really feel motivated to work with others? Are there any personal conflicts between group members? There may exist many other such questions about the effectiveness of group work in EFL classes. The workshop, therefore, suggests ways of assessing group work in English classes, helping the teachers in choosing and evaluating group work for different language skill classes.

Hoang Thanh Lien has been working as a lecturer at the English Department, Hanoi University since 2001 and at ACET, Hanoi since 2010. Her great interest in EFL is teaching speaking and writing. She has been working on speaking books and supplementary materials for pre-intermediate and intermediate students with American junior teachers at Hanoi University for four years. It is challenging but interesting and beneficial to work in a team with their Vietnamese and American teachers. They have learnt a lot about material adaptation, class management as well as teaching methods.

Featured Speaker

Sponsored by:

“Teaching global English through adapting textbooks”

When delegates from Cambodia, Colombia, and Japan meet in Phnom Penh for a conference on removing land mines, which common language do they use? The easy answer is English. The language is increasingly being used in Cambodia to communicate with non-native speakers from other countries. For more Cambodians to be able to fully participate in this global communication, today’s educators must be able to use appropriate and efficient methods to increase learners’ motivation to study English.
The speakers will argue that textbook adaptation to add Cambodian content is an effective and practical way of developing student interest. They will demonstrate and discuss ways of “Cambodianising” general coursebooks, including Headway, to foster student involvement in their English learning.

Chea Kagnarith graduated from Arizona State University in 2010 with an MA in Linguistics. From 2006-2008, he was an instructor at the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL).

Presently, he is employed as a Campus Manager for the Australian Centre for Education (ACE) in Phnom Penh. For CamTESOL, he is on the Program Committee and is also an assistant editor on the conference's publication Language Education in Asia.

Featured Speaker

Sponsored by:

“Teaching global English through adapting textbooks”

When delegates from Cambodia, Colombia, and Japan meet in Phnom Penh for a conference on removing land mines, which common language do they use? The easy answer is English. The language is increasingly being used in Cambodia to communicate with non-native speakers from other countries. For more Cambodians to be able to fully participate in this global communication, today’s educators must be able to use appropriate and efficient methods to increase learners’ motivation to study English.

The speakers will argue that textbook adaptation to add Cambodian content is an effective and practical way of developing student interest. They will demonstrate and discuss ways of “Cambodianising” general coursebooks, including Headway, to foster student involvement in their English learning.

Alan Klein is an instructor at the University of British Columbia’s English Language Institute in Vancouver, Canada. From 2004-2006, he was a Senior English Language Fellow in Cambodia for the U.S. State Department and taught at IFL and RUA.

In addition, he later worked at ACE. He currently serves on the editorial board for CamTESOL’s journal Language Education in Asia and has also recently returned to Cambodia to be a guest lecturer at IFL in their MA TESOL program.

including:

• Closing Plenary Speaker (Prof. Jack C. Richards),
  ELT Research Workshop
• Research Partner (Research grants to Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam)
• Outreach Partner (Presenter grants to Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Turkey, and Vietnam)

Opening Plenary Speaker: Ms Janet Orr

Presenters' Warm-up
Reception

Regional ELT Leadership Forum

Vietnam and Laos: Travel Grants

Social Functions

Conference Venue (National Institute of Education)