Abstracts - Plenary Sessions
1. Keynote Address
Maximising Student Attention to Classroom Learning Materials
Published coursebooks are often much-maligned in our professional development literature. These materials are criticised for their remoteness, local and personal irrelevance and lack of coverage of the ‘important’ aspects of language learning. While there
may be some truth in these criticisms, it is also important to remember that the teacher’s approach to published coursebooks can ensure that such material does provide a valuable and meaningful framework for a study program.
In this presentation, I will examine ways in which teachers collaborate with their learners to bring coursebook material to life. I will draw on familiar published coursebooks in the Cambodian TESOL context to describe a number of practical strategies for beginning learner-centred work with a coursebook, for developing and consolidating cognitive engagement with the book, and for extending the work done within the parameters of a particular coursebook unit.
2. Featured Speakers
Styles and Strategies in the Language Classroom
Prof David Nunan
A growing body of research has investigated the learning styles and strategies of language learners. One strand of research has sought to identify relationships between biographical variables such as first language background and educational experiences with learning strategy preferences. A second strand has looked at the effect of strategy training on learners’ approaches to the learning process. A third strand has looked at the notion of the ‘good’ language learner.
In this paper, I will present a ‘state of the art’ look at the learning strategy research that has been carried out over the last twenty years. I will then describe a large scale study into the learning styles and strategies of university students in Hong Kong. This research seeks to identify and describe the language learning practices of good learners that differentiate them from less effective learners. The study is based on a corpus of data from several hundred undergraduates at the University of Hong Kong and looks at the attitudes and beliefs of both effective and ineffective learners as well as at their in-class and out-of-class behaviour.
In the final part of the presentation, I will explore some of the pedagogical implications of the research, and will describe some of the practical steps that teachers can take to sensitise learners to the strategies underlying their own approaches to learning. Questions for further research and ways in which teachers can explore styles and strategies in their own classrooms will also be presented.
Helping Each Other through Teacher Collaboration
We know that collaborative learning is a powerful learning tool. Educators are implementing a variety of classroom practices to engage students in the learning process by involving them in cooperative activities. Working in groups, engaging in problem solving activities, learning together in real-life situations are all strategies that bring students together, making learning relevant and fun. Professional development can be seen in the same light. What are the benefits of teacher collaboration? Can we apply some of the same principles of cooperative learning to teachers wishing to improve or broaden their teaching perspectives? This presentation looks at a variety of teacher collaboration activities such as English teacher clubs, cooperative lesson planning, English speaking events, "buddy" class observation and discussion, that will help teachers help each other.