Plenaries

This talk introduces a systematic and evidence-based approach to developing and implementing a vocabulary list within an instructional unit. It aims to aid the participants in refining their understanding of and skills in utilizing language corpora and text analyzers in vocabulary instruction. It also provides an opportunity to review how to operationalize a vocabulary list through activity illustrations for lower and upper-level learners of English.

Anchor phenomena have power to captivate students’ curiosity, ground STEM/STEAM instruction to the real world, and drive classroom conversations. This presentation addresses language considerations for generating discussion around scientific phenomena, including benefits and challenges of building scientific understanding while developing language skills in a multilingual classroom environment. In the US at all grade levels, there’s an increasing emphasis on building science instruction around anchor phenomena that provide a common experience for inquiry conversations and investigation. This interactive session will explore a) ways that language and translanguaging can be used to describe and explain scientific phenomenon in a classroom setting, b) how discussions are facilitated when phenomena are central to learning science content, and c) the types of language strategies that foster science conceptual development in a students’ non-native language. Digital tools and resources for observing phenomena in the classroom will be demonstrated to enhance all formats of education including online teaching and learning.

Language skills programmes in universities, colleges and schools traditionally cover the four main skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking. Study skills may also be included as a fifth skill. This talk looks at how critical thinking, an important ‘21^st century skill’, can be also added to such a programme.

There are a number of ways we can do this. We can add a critical thinking component to the course which includes many of the thinking sub-skills such as building a strong argument, supporting an opinion, thinking about thinking, defining terms, looking at data critically, etc. Alternatively, we can add a variety of discrete activities into our lessons – ranging from puzzles and mind games to analysis of advertisements and scam emails. A third and simpler alternative, which is the main focus of this talk, is to add ‘critical thinking value’ to our existing language programme.

The latter approach has the advantage of not consuming more time in what may be an already packed curriculum. It involves making sure that vocabulary, grammar and in particular reading and writing skills are developed in a way that makes use of the learners’ higher-order thinking skills. For example, instead of teaching vocabulary by simply matching words and definitions or completing gaps in a text, we can make use of grouping and classification of word items or getting students to use items in sentences to demonstrate meaning. These ways of adding value and others ideas are explored in the talk.

One consequence of the global pandemic has been a sharp increase in the amount of online professional development that is available to teachers of English. While for some teachers learning online has been a new and challenging experience, it is also clear that online programmes – especially those that create communities of practice – offer teachers several advantages compared to those delivered face–to–face. This talk discusses some of these advantages and what teachers can do to benefit most from them.