NATECLA Day Conference - What is effective practice?

NOW FULL This year’s London one-day conference focuses on putting research into practice. It offers ESOL teachers the chance to find out more about recent research and engage in the debate around What is effective practice? Both of our morning speakers are very well-known and respected in ESOL, and have made excellent contributions to previous NATECLA conferences. Celia Roberts, Senior Research Fellow at Kings College, London, speaks about the 2003-2006 NRDC research on classroom learning in ESOL. Helen Sunderland, Head of ESOL Division, Assistant Director, LLU+, London South Bank University, opens up a discussion about best practice, challenging some of the current notions. The speakers welcome questions and a chance to engage in dialogue on the implications for classroom practice. A choice of three workshops in the morning, repeated in the afternoon, provide a chance to engage further with issues of current interest and concern to ESOL teachers: Melanie Cooke, ESOL researcher and teacher at Kings College, London. John Sutter, Senior Lecturer at LLU+ specialising in ESOL teacher education Paul Seligson, international ESOL teacher and teacher trainer, offer thought-provoking and practical sessions. NATECLA conferences offer an excellent opportunity to network, to discuss burning issues and to get involved. There will be a chance to hear the latest on the ESOL campaign and other NATECLA activity. Held in North London, at CONEL (College of North East London), the conference venue is easily accessible by public transport and by road, bookings are welcomed from both Londoners and from those further afield. Celia Roberts ESOL Effective Practice: findings from the NRDC funded research 2003-6. This is the only large research project on classroom learning in Adult ESOL. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, it sheds light on the relationship between classroom strategies, teachers' professional vision and learner progress. Helen Sunderland Best practice: what is it and who says?" Are you clear about what "Best Practice" means? Is your idea of "Best Practice" the same as your students', your manager's and the last Inspector who observed you? This talk will consider some of the different messages given to ESOL teachers about best practice. Drawing on real examples, it will explore fashions in best practice and how teachers can make sense of the confusion surrounding the concept. Workshops 1.Turning Talk into Learning Leader: Melanie Cooke This workshop will present the findings of an ESOL action research project (recently published by Niace/NRDC as 'ESOL: developing teaching and learning: Practitioner Guides' and 'Reflection and Action in ESOL classrooms'). We will explore how to take real learner talk and use it to find ways to help learners interact more effectively, especially at the level of discourse. The workshop will be similar to the highly successful one given at the NATECLA national conference in July 2007. 2. Against Planning: the Politics of the Planopticon Leader: John Sutter Who are lesson plans for? Who does planning help? Whose interests do lesson plans serve. What does the prevalence of lesson plans and lesson planning reveal about our attitudes to teaching? What values underlie the discourses of planning? Are ‘planning’ and ‘teaching’ best friends – or mortal enemies? Should I ‘plan’ this workshop? 3. Becoming a more efficient classroom manager (input & ideas) Leader: Paul Seligson Efficient group management is in many ways the key teaching skill. Too many ELT techniques tend to prioritise either a) the individual over the group, leading to an unnecessary lowering of pace and bored students wasting time doing little or nothing whilst the teacher interacts with one student at a time, or b) stronger students at the expense of the weak, leading to division, time-wasting & missed opportunities. This highly practical talk offers 10 key classroom management tips based on what I feel were errors in my own teaching over the years, as well as things learnt from recent observations as a trainer. Avoid making these ‘errors’ so you won’t be a dinosaur like me! NATECLA conferences are popular - BOOK NOW to reserve your place. £65 member rate £40 student and volunteer rate. £90 non members. Contact: co-ordinator@natecla.fsnet.co.uk Download and return the booking form.