World Teachers' Day Online Conference 2022

About the World Teachers' Day Online Conference 2022

This year, our World Teachers’ Day Online Conference was designed to reach every teacher in every part of the world. The event took place on Saturday 1 October and offered 19 hours of online continuous professional development.

• Starts in Vietnam at 03.00am UK time 
• Finishes in Mexico at 22.00pm UK time 

As with previous years, British Council TeachingEnglish hosted a series of talks, workshops and panel discussions. This year our theme was ‘'Teachers at the centre of a changing world'. 

This unique online event moved around the globe with sessions happening in different time zones during the day. Starting in Vietnam and ending in Mexico, we provided teachers around the world with opportunities to attend the event in their own time zone and share ideas with teachers in their region and around the world.

Recordings of all talks will be available on our World Teachers' Day 2022 website

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World Teachers' Day Online Conference - Part 1: East Asia

The first part of our World Teachers' Day Online Conference began in East Asia, hosted by British Council Vietnam.

See a list of the talks and panel discussion taking place in East Asia below.

Borderless Classroom Models - From virtual mobility to real results 

Speaker: Ha Anh Phuong (Vietnam)

About this session

Borderless classroom model (BCL) is also known as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) -a new teaching approach which enables teachers to connect students and professors in different countries for collaborative projects, activities and discussions as part of their coursework in online way with the help of conferencing websites or applications. The talk focuses on how BCL works and its effectiveness in developing 21st century skills and students’ intercultural awareness. The talk is the result of an action research conducted by the speaker within 1 year to improve her teaching current situation. It also comes up with some challenges and recommendation for teachers when applying this teaching model.

Watch a recording of this talk

About the speaker

Ha Anh Phuong is a high school teacher, and a politician in Vietnam. After graduating from her Master's course from Hanoi University, she decided to go back to her hometown - a mountainous area - to be an English teacher. Her teaching methods focus on student’s qualification and ability, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, and 21st century students skills. She is well-known for the borderless classroom Model and international projects.

Her classes have connected with classes from 51 countries in the world to collaborate. In 2020, Phuong was one of the Top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize by Varkey Foundation, partner of UNESCO for her great contribution.

In 2021, Phuong was selected as a member of the Vietnam National Assembly and in the top 11 excellent South East Asian  teachers for being awarded Princess Thailand Maha Chakri Award .

How K-12 Teachers Can Develop Change makers for People & Planet 

Speaker: Ilan Enverga (Philippines)

About this session

Believe it! Yes, it is more than possible for K-12 teachers to complete all learning objectives of the prescribed curriculum, while also simultaneously training students to be change makers for people & planet.

For several years already, a school in the Philippines has successfully implemented an interdisciplinary, experiential learning & project-based education program, aligned with national curriculum standards, that aims to normalize agency & citizen participation in solving global problems at a local level.

Through this talk, primary & secondary level educators will learn how to regularly infuse hands-on experiences for students to solve real-world problems in the local community.

Not only is this pedagogy a solution to the urgent need to both achieve & teach the UN SDGs, this educational model boosts student engagement, intrinsic motivation, self-esteem and even academic performance. Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” and for teachers, there’s no time like right now to put those words into practice.

Watch a recording of this talk

About the speaker

Ilan Enverga is a K-12 educator & SDG advocate from the Philippines. Through teacher training, curriculum realignment and student empowerment initiatives, he implemented an innovative education program at his school, ISBB, that infuses real-world civic engagement into interdisciplinary, SDG-driven, project-based learning across preschool, elementary & high school academics.

Ilan's experiences with private & public education, as well as in local & international education, have given him the unique lens to redesign education to solve our biggest systemic problems. He is also a Focal Point at UNESCO’s SDG4 Youth Network.

Panel discussion: Teachers at the centre of a rapidly changing East Asia

Speakers: Various 

About this session

As with much of the world, teachers across East Asia are responding to significant changes in education and teaching, particularly in light of the impact of Covid. For this initial panel discussion, we have gathered practising teachers from across this diverse region to share their experiences of teaching before, during and after the pandemic, identify some of the challenges of teaching during this period of change, and suggest some practical steps that teachers, in East Asia and indeed across the globe, can take to develop themselves as professionals for their own benefit and that of their learners.

Watch a recording of this session

About the panelists

Panelist 1: Ha Anh Phuong (Vietnam) is both a high school teacher, and a politician. After graduating from her Master's course from Hanoi University, she decided to return to her hometown - a mountainous area - to be an English teacher. Her teaching methods focus on students’ qualification and ability, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, and 21st century skills. In 2020, Phuong was one of the Top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize by Varkey Foundation, partner of UNESCO for her great contribution. In 2021, Phuong was selected as a member of the Vietnam National Assembly and in the top 11 excellent South East Asian teachers (being awarded the Princess Thailand Maha Chakri Award).

Panelist 2: Ilan Enverga (Philippines) is a K-12 educator & SDG advocate. Through teacher training, curriculum realignment and student empowerment initiatives, he implemented an innovative education programme at his school, ISBB, that infuses real-world civic engagement into interdisciplinary, SDG-driven, project-based learning across preschool, elementary & high school academics. His experience with private & public education, as well as in local & international education, have given him the unique lens to redesign education to solve our biggest systemic problems. He is also a Focal Point at UNESCO’s SDG4 Youth Network.

Panelist 3: Tian Renxiang (China) has been working as an English teacher and the headteacher in the largest migrant children school in Guiyang, southwestern China. He is also appointed as the lecturer of English teaching training program in rural areas of Guizhou province. His interested researching fields include English education, education policy and shadow education.

Panelist 4 Patcharin Kunna (aka Rabbit) (Thailand) started as an English teacher in 2009. Now, she is a deputy of the Foreign Language Department at Damrongratsongkroh School in Chiang Rai, Thailand. She has worked as a Thai Master Trainer for the Regional English Teaching Centre (Bootcamp) Project, a large-scale teacher development project in Thailand, since 2016 and often shares her classroom practices on several training programmes, webinars and social media. She loves motivating students to learn English by creating a friendly environment in her classroom.

Moderator: Davide Guarini Gilmartin is the British Council’s Senior Academic Manager for English Programmes, Viet Nam and Indonesia. He is currently responsible for planning, implementing and overseeing large-scale English language teacher education programmes in partnership with government and other stakeholders. He has more than 20 years of experience in the ELT sector and holds a Trinity TESOL certificate and a Cambridge Delta diploma.

 

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World Teachers' Day Online Conference - Part 2: South Asia

The second part of our World Teachers' Day Online Conference took place in South Asia, hosted by British Council India.

See a list of the talks and panel discussion taking place in South Asia below.

Panel discussion: English language teaching, learning and assessment across South Asia: practical implications for South Asian teachers of English

Panelists: Bimali Indrarathne, Dr. Ganga Ram Gautam, Pranjana Kalita Nath.
Host: Rustom Mody

About this session

The British Council has recently published five reports focusing on policies and practices relating to English language education in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These reports provide a contemporary snapshot of the role that English currently plays within the lives of school children and also identify some systemic challenges. In this panel discussion, three of the report authors will discuss some of the key findings from the reports, and some of the practical steps South Asian teachers can take to address these findings in their classrooms. This panel discussion will be moderated by Rustom Mody.

Watch a recording of this session

About the panelists

Bimali Indrarathne is a lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the Department of Education, University of York in the UK. She has taught English in state schools and at a university in Sri Lanka as well as at the British Council, Colombo. She has been involved in several English language teacher training initiatives and research projects in South Asia. Her research interests are second language acquisition, teacher education and inclusive practices in language teaching. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, TESOL Quarterly and Language Learning.

Dr Ganga Ram Gautam has a BEd and an MEd in English Education from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, an MA in ELT from Lancaster University, UK, and a Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship on International Education and Leadership Development from Boston University, USA. He is an Echidna Global Scholar on Girl’s Education at the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution (2016), USA, and gained a PhD on Educational Leadership from Kathmandu University, Nepal. He is an Associate Professor in English Education at Tribhuvan University. His research interests include English language teacher education, teacher professional development, professional networking, teaching English in under-resourced contexts and blended learning.

Pranjana Kalita Nath is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language Teaching in Gauhati University, Assam, India. She teaches Academic Reading, Methodology of Language Teaching and Practice Teaching to postgraduate students. In addition, she delivers sessions on CPD programmes for teachers of English. She completed a PhD in English language teacher education from Gauhati University with financial support from a Junior Research Fellowship received after qualifying in a national-level test (UGC-NET). She has also completed OPEN Alumni CoP Community Lead Training and facilitated a TESOL Methodology MOOC. She is an early career researcher and has published three research articles.

Rustom Mody is the British Council’s Senior Academic Manager for South Asia, and he has over 25 years of experience in the sector. He is currently responsible for creating and managing large-scale English language teacher education programmes in partnership with South Asian governments. He has an MA in Online and Distance Learning, the Cambridge Celta certificate and Delta diploma, and is currently finishing a second MA in Education, Gender and International Development from University College London.

Measuring progress in young learners

Speakers: Neha Jal Bulsara (India) 

About this session

This session is about using practical ideas to record observations for measuring progress in young learners. It will focus the principles of Teaching Excellence - “Make use of Assessment and Feedback” in the classroom to inform learning and teaching. 

At the start of the session, I will share why we use continuous formative assessment. I will highlight that such assessment plays a “developmental role” and is also used to assess learning (MacKay, 2011). Then, I will point out that we assess young learners to monitor and aid children’s progress and provide them with evidence of learning. Next, I will mention that we assess learners’ skills development and attitude towards learning. We also assess their behavioural and social skills, and 21st Century skill. All this is assessed through structured tasks/activities and through continuous observations.

At the end of the session, I will share practical ideas for recording continuous observation by using a template, which can later be used to write detailed reports for each learner.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Neha Bulsara has seven years of teaching experience with British Council. Teaching children is close to her heart and she has a certificate from Trinity College London (TYLEC) and specialises in teaching young learners. She has done her CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the University of Cambridge. Currently, she works as a Line Manager and supports a team of teachers. 

Developing content for summer school for the last six years has increased her knowledge of material development for specific purposes and to cater to a particular audience cohort.

Integrating ICT into the ESL Classrooms: Promoting Better Teaching Techniques

Speaker(s): Tehmina Kalwar (Pakistan)

About this session

Technology has become the most important aspect of English Language Classrooms as it helps to make learners the actual practitioners of the target language. Integrating resources of ICT in the language classrooms can help both teachers as well as learners to use the target language in creative and fun ways. Usage of multiple websites and applications can help the learners practice speaking, listening, writing and reading while enjoying the processes. ICT aids can facilitate visual, auditory, as well as tactile learners to use the target language effectively. With the help of technology, a language teacher can use the method of differentiation in the classrooms to facilitate all kinds of learners.

In this presentation, Tehmina will introduce various ICT resources which can be incorporated into the ESL classrooms. She will make the presentation interesting by adding practical aspects along with theory. The audience will be made to participate in some fun activities, so they can learn to use the resources in their classrooms. The main objective of the presentation is to equip English language teachers with the knowledge of multiple resources that they can take to their classrooms to make the learning process interesting and effective.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Tehmina Kalwar has been teaching English to ESL learners since 2017 and since then, she has been working hard to learn modern English language teaching methods. She believes that teaching is a continuous process of learning and a teacher must always strive for opportunities in order to become an effecient knowledge and skills provider. 

Tehmina has completed many professional development courses in order to refine her teaching skill. She completed her MS in English Linguistics in 2021 and currently she is working as an ELT specialist in National University of Modern languages, Hyderabad campus. 

Understanding learning technologies

 Speaker(s): Dilnoza Khadjimetov (Uzbekistan)

About this session

Understanding the nature and role of media and technologies in education, and being able to use media and technologies appropriately, are critical to teaching well in a digital age. The purpose of this presentation is to help teachers meet this goal by addressing what they should know and be able to do with technology. Unlike most technology education texts, the focus of this presentation is on learners and learning rather than only on the technology itself. This focus will help to address problems with learning as they arise, integrate new technologies with ease in pedagogically sound ways, and share knowledge and understandings with teachers and educators.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Dilnoza Khadjimetova has been working at secondary school since 2009.  She is on mission to help secondary and public school ELTs teach the English language. Dilnoza has a unique 13-year background in teaching, leadership, teacher training, facilitating and curriculum design.

 

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World Teachers' Day Online Conference - Part 3: Middle East and North Africa

The third part of our World Teachers' Day Online Conference took place in Middle East and North Africa, hosted by British Council Egypt.

See a list of the talks and panel discussion taking place in Middle East and North Africa below.

Exploring children's experiences of learning English in the traditional primary classroom: identifying resources and opportunities

Speaker(s): Dalia Elhawary (Egypt)

About this session

Through the analytical lens of sociocultural theory, this talk will report on a study that investigated the motives and resources that mediated English language learning in the traditional primary classroom where teacher-centred approaches are more prevalent. Drawing on data collected from responses to an open survey (N= 393) and individual interviews (N=23), the study showed that most of primary school children were motivated in their engagement with language learning by social, higher-cognitive, and self-related motives. The study revealed that, despite several constraints to language learning and practice, the EFL primary traditional classroom context could still afford learners with diverse and rich learning resources and opportunities, the usefulness of which depends on teachers’ awareness of children's experiences and individual goals, nurture of positive affect, use of collaborative pedagogical practices, and support for children’s agency in directing their learning. The talk will provide teachers of young learners with practical suggestions on how to make room in their classrooms for listening to children’s voice. This talk aims to help teachers become better informed about children’s learning experiences and ways to build on understanding of these experiences to maximize uptake of affordances for language learning particularly in challenging contexts such as traditional classrooms.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Dalia Elhawary is a lecturer of EFL Curricula and Instruction at the Department of Curricula and Instruction, Faculty of Education, Alexandria University, Egypt.  Her expertise is in researching learners’ voices on learning and teaching in the classroom.  Her research interests include second/ Foreign language learning, Learner’ voice, Learner’s agency, collaborative learning, interaction and Sociocultural theory. Her most recent publication (forthcoming) investigates interplay between agency and anxiety when learning to speak EFL in classrooms of collective culture.

Digital Stories for Enhancing Palestinian Refugee School Children’s English Reading Micro-skills: Action Research Study

Speaker(s): Heba K. Hamouda (Palestine)

About this session

Through the analytical lens of sociocultural theory, this talk will report on a study that investigated the motives and resources that mediated English language learning in the traditional primary classroom where teacher-centred approaches are more prevalent. Drawing on data collected from responses to an open survey (N= 393) and individual interviews (N=23), the study showed that most of primary school children were motivated in their engagement with language learning by social, higher-cognitive, and self-related motives. The study revealed that, despite several constraints to language learning and practice, the EFL primary traditional classroom context could still afford learners with diverse and rich learning resources and opportunities, the usefulness of which depends on teachers’ awareness of children's experiences and individual goals, nurture of positive affect, use of collaborative pedagogical practices, and support for children’s agency in directing their learning. The talk will provide teachers of young learners with practical suggestions on how to make room in their classrooms for listening to children’s voice. This talk aims to help teachers become better informed about children’s learning experiences and ways to build on understanding of these experiences to maximize uptake of affordances for language learning particularly in challenging contexts such as traditional classrooms.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Heba has been a teacher of English at UNRWA schools in Gaza since 2015. She is also a part-time lecturer at IUG. Her research interests are pedagogy, TEFL and technology. She has participated in academic events, including Teaching for Success 2019, an International Cross-cultural Symposium at IUG. She has published several papers tackling educational challenges. She has taken part in many pioneering local and international projects e.g. training EFL teachers at Al-Zatarri Camp-Jordan jointly with colleagues from Manchester University, Digital Catalogue, HUP, Elite and others. She won the semi-final stage of Taawon Teacher Award and fellowships from Arizona and Duke Universities.

How to better include students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in classes

Speaker(s): Erieny Habib and Bassant Shenaf (Egypt)

About this session

This presentation will give teachers and educational practitioners advice and practical tips to include and teach SEND students more effectively. It will address frequent challenges for teachers and SEND students in online and face-face classes and suggest immediately applicable solutions. Participants will learn how to create and adapt lesson materials, use software and IT tools for the visually impaired, monitor and encourage students with speech impediments in speaking classes, allow students with hearing impairment to better understand spoken English and accommodate students with physical disabilities.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speakers

Erieny and Bassant are teachers of English in BC Egypt. They are eager to share their experience teaching SEND and to uncover new techniques that other teachers could use when they encounter SEND in their classrooms. They both have shown interest in teaching SEND and managed to come up with a list of ideas and techniques to use while teaching SEND.

Ditch Boring CPD: Capacity Building Through Gamified Micro-training

Speaker(s): Lama Atoui (Tunisia)

About this session

This talk will focus on the whys and wherefores of providing continuing professional development to teachers following flexible pathways based on micro-training and gamification. The first part of the talk will shed light on the import of micro-training in building teachers' capacities in different areas related to teaching and learning. It will also detail the benefits of integrating game elements in this model. In the second part, the attendees will gain deeper insights into how to design such pathways while taking into consideration accessibility and equity issues for low-resource settings into consideration.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Lama Atoui is a teacher trainer working for the ministry of education in Tunisia. She specializes in learning technologies and online teaching.

 

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World Teachers' Day Online Conference - Part 4: Sub-Saharan Africa

The fourth part of our World Teachers' Day Online Conference took place in Sub-Saharan Africa, hosted by British Council Senegal.

See a list of the talks and panel discussion taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa below.

Using technologies in the Classroom and for Teacher Development 

Speaker(s): Various, including Yiviri Rasifatu Tombir (Cameroon), Hammed Olalekan Lawal (Nigeria) and Khassoum Diop (Senegal)

About this session

This panel will explore how to make use of general accessible technology for teaching languages and for teacher education. The panel will focus on tools like WhatsApp, or Telegram, but also consider podcasting.  The initial emphasis in this panel is on promoting spoken language skills in the reality of the large classes we find in many schools in Africa and other parts of the world. However, we will also consider the role that such tools can place in teacher education. The three panellists will present their opening arguments and a short example of how they have used these technologies in their teaching. We will then invite the audience to talk about their own experiences, or to ask questions.

Watch a recording of this session

About the panelists

Yiviri Rasifatu is a passionate ESL, EFL and Literature teacher in Government Bilingual High School Obala, Cameroon. She has a burning passion for continuing professional development. She is an instructional technology enthusiast and a PhD student in the University of Yaounde I. Her research interests include ELT (innovations in teaching approaches and assessment), promoting 21st century skills and curriculum design. She is also a member of the Cameroon English and Literature Teachers' Association (CAMELTA)

Hammed Olalekan Lawal is an ESL teacher with a strong passion for material designing, lesson planning, and blogging. Some of his works can be found on www.elt-reflections.com. His research interests include language skills development, inclusiveness and technologies in ELT. He is registered under the Teachers' Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). He graduated from the now Lagos State University of Education and had a Bachelor's Degree in English and Education from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria as the best graduating student.

Khassoum Diop is a teacher and teacher trainer from Senegal. He has been teaching for 10 years now. He is a member of ATES Pedagogical Commission and is also the Executive Secretary for Africa ELTA. He presented at many international virtual conferences including Nile TESOL, Africa ELTA Symposium, Africa ELTA and LAC TESOL joint webinar, Internationl House London, British Council Webinar Series.

Teaching for maximal productivity and sustainable development: perspectives from the new normal era

Speaker(s): Emmanuel Omeiza Momoh (Nigeria)

About this session

The colossal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which has continued to ravage the global community has raised 
many questions especially with the new realities the post COVID-19 era has to offer. This is of utmost importance especially in  the current era where there is a shift and readjustment from the former methods of doing things to the new methods which has  been christened the new normal. These realities are of utmost importance to teachers and other stakeholders in the educational industry due to the fact that education remains one of the vital weapons to effect social change. 

The modalities, strategies and challenges to achieve this has not ceased to be a source of worry to many specialists in the field of education  who deal with the processes associated with planning and implementation of sustainable and suitable programmes that will ensure development and growth in the long run. 

In the light of this, this seminar seeks to highlight ways through which teachers and other paramount stakeholders in the educational industry can make their work meaningful towards avoiding monotony and repetition. This in the long ensuring that productivity is boosted. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Emmanuel Omeiza Momoh is a a Bachelor's degree holder in library and information science with passion for educational development and improving learner behavior. His passion has motivated him into taking courses relating to educational management, project management planning and evaluation among others.

He is a recipient of the innovative teachers fellowship, Nigeria, the Young African Library leaders fellowship as well as the United Nations Global Schools Advocacy Programme. He works towards using viable means in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals which revolve around eradicating illiteracy.

Education and Climate Change: Connecting Storytelling and Environmental Crises in EFL Classes 

Speaker(s): Dagnachew Adefris Gebrehiwot (Ethiopia)

About this session

Education is key to bring attitudinal change to climate change, which has become an apprehension of everyone in our world.
Hence, bringing new methods of teaching in classroom should be part of the rigorous efforts undertaken to save the dying Mother Earth. As there is no climate action without environmental action, 21st century teachers need to incorporate environmental and climatic issues in their teachings whatever subject they are teaching.

As an English language and literature teacher in Woldia University, Ethiopia, I have an experience of integrating stories of environmental destructions and climate issues in EFL classrooms. Storytelling helps me bring the environmental scenes to classroom as lively as possible and integrate language skills of my young university learners. With storytelling, my learners could improve their classroom participation and speaking abilities, feel sympathy to destruction of nature, encouraged to develop their environmental and climate literacy alongside their language skills.

Green stories allow learners with fresh outlook, create sense of connections, foster learners’ environmental stewardship and interest in local and global sustainability. Storytelling is effective to raise awareness of environmental action and how we should address the issue alongside language skills   if it is presented through multi-voice, humour and immersive techniques.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Daganchew Adefris  Gebrehiwot holds  a PhD, MA, and BA in English Literature. He received his BA degree from Hawassa University in 2009, his MA in 2011 and his PhD  in 2020 from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Daganchew currently works as senior lecturer and researcher in the Department of English Language and literature, Woldia University, Ethiopia. He has over seven years’ teaching experience as English language and literature teacher and teacher researcher. His specialist interests include teaching English language skills, African postcolonial literature, environmental humanities, climate fiction and storytelling and youth literature in tertiary classes.

 

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World Teachers' Day Online Conference - Part 5: Europe

The fifth part of our World Teachers' Day Online Conference took place in Europe, hosted by British Council Spain.

See a list of the talks and panel discussion taking place in Europe below.

The future of English

Speaker(s): Neenaz Ichaporia (India) and Steven Copeland (UK)

Panelists: Neenaz Ichaporia, Mike Solly, Colm Downes, Professor Vuyo Nomlomo

About this session

We start this session with two 20-minute talks, followed by an extended Q&A and panel discussion. The first of our talks in this session, by Steven Copeland is titled 'The Future of English: past and future predictions'. The talk presents the findings of the first two phases of a multi-phase research project. The aim of the project is to identify key trends that will define the role of English as a global language in the coming decade and the issues and opportunities for countries in achieving their goals for the use of English in their contexts.

The second talk, by Neenaz Ichaporia, is titled 'What is the role of the teacher in an increasingly automated online educational landscape?'. 

In this talk, Neenaz considers the effect of increasing automation on teachers’ roles: how it does, or does not augment, displace, or replace teacher roles. While some see automation as supporting the teacher, others believe it will alter the teacher’s core role, even displacing the teacher. We will critically approach these claims about automation and teachers, considering various technological interventions along the ‘automation spectrum’ such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), chatbots, adaptive learning and intelligent tutoring systems. Finally, we will discuss the need for teachers to actively participate in the process of technological design and development, as a means of empowering teachers to shape learning processes and environments. 

Following the two talks, Steven Copeland will chair the panel discussion on the them 'The Future of English' with Neenaz Ichaporia, Mike Solly, Colm Downes and Professor Vuyo Nomlomo.

Watch a recording of this session

About the speakers and panelists

Neenaz Ichaporia is Head, Academic and Teaching Delivery at the British Council. She is responsible for the design and delivery of our online English language courses, leading on content development, teacher training and quality assurance.
A former journalist, Neenaz has worked in English Language Teaching since 2010. She is currently finishing an MSc in Digital Education from the University of Edinburgh. She also has a Cambridge Delta, a certificate in e-Moderating, and a certificate in ELT Management Skills from International House, London.
Over the years, Neenaz has presented several talks and workshops on themes of online learning and teaching, including at New Directions Uzbekistan 2021 (online), New Directions Yokohama in 2019, IATEFL Liverpool 2019 and IATEFL Glasgow, 2017.

Steven Copeland is Research and Insight Lead for the English Programmes team at the British Council. He was previously the British Council’s Head of Examiner Standards for IELTS, prior to which he spent twenty years as a teacher, examiner, teacher trainer, materials writer and academic director in South-East Asia, South America, North Africa and the UK. He has an MA in TESOL from the Institute of Education in London and the RSA DipTEFLA.

Colm Downes is currently the Director English, Education and Society at the British Council Indonesia. He has been involved in education, specifically language education and professional skills training, for over 20 years across Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. Colm is passionate about equipping future leaders with the specific language skills, network and opportunities they need to drive transformative social economic change and develop solutions to global challenges. 

Mike Solly is currently on the writing team of the forthcoming Future of English publication, which aims to identify significant trends likely to influence English Language teaching in the future. Mike has worked in the English language teaching field for more than 30 years, having spent 15 years as a classroom teacher, then as a teacher trainer and materials designer, and then managing both small and large scale ELT projects and networks for the British Council. He has lived and worked in a number of countries and spent many years in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Professor Vuyokazi Nomlomo is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) for Teaching and Learning at the University of Zululand. She holds a PhD in Language and Literacy Studies and is an established NRF-rated researcher who is recognized for her work in the fields of language policy, mother tongue and multilingual education. Her passion is also in teacher education and gender equality in education. She has been able to work across disciplines in exploring the nexus between language, mathematics and science education, and has published extensively in these areas. 
Her research is informed by her epistemic stance with regard to social justice and social constructivism in terms of the role of language in enhancing or constraining learners’ epistemological access to learning in different contexts.   

Fostering Dialogue Through Active Listening 

Speaker(s): Nik Peachey (UK)

About the session

In an increasingly polarised world, it is becoming ever more important that we enable our students with the skills and awareness they need to navigate what can often be difficult and potentially confrontational interactions. 

This session will focus on what it means to really listen to someone and how to engage in non-confrontational dialogue in order to better understand people and represent our own views in an honest and humble way. The session will include practical strategies and practice activities that teachers can share with their students in the classroom. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Nik Peachey is Director of Pedagogy at PeacheyPublications https://peacheypublications.com/ an independent digital publishing company that specialises in the design of digital learning materials.

He has been involved in Education since 1990 as a teacher, trainer, educational consultant and project manager. He has more than 25 years experience of working specifically with online, remote and blended learning environments.

His recent work has given particular focus to developing students' soft skills and emotional intelligence.

Education Exchange: Climate education through partnerships

Panelists: Colette Cotton, Nicholas Brown, Aysha Wehbe

Host: Neil Williams

About the panel discussion

As we head towards COP27, the global summit which will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, we are looking at the way different countries and segments of the population are affected and responding to the challenges.

Many people believe international partnerships are difficult to achieve, but in this webinar, our panel of global educators will be discussing their virtual partnerships and how they have collaborated with projects focusing on climate education. 

As the world slowly starts to open up again following the Covid-19 pandemic, we will discuss ways that an international partnership can support the delivery of climate education in the classroom.

Watch a recording of this session

About the panelists

Colette Cotton is an international coordinator at a large primary school in the South East of the UK. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are embedded into the school’s curriculum, enabling pupils to work on collaborative projects with schools across the world, with the current project linked to SDG 13: Climate Action. 

Colette is a British Council Ambassador, supporting schools worldwide in their use of ICT and the SDGs. Through the British Council’s former Connecting Classrooms programme, she has visited or worked online with schools in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Czech Republic, Moldova, Sri Lanka, India, Jordan, Bangladesh, Taiwan and Tunisia. Colette recently visited and worked with schools in Sabah, Borneo Malaysia on STEM projects and SDGs.

She has written recent research papers for CCGL (Connecting Classroom Global learning) with UCL: ‘How can we ensure that global learning is sustainable in schools?’ and ‘Exploring a multi-country partnership through a ‘Zero Waste’ project’. ​​​​Colette's Twitter handle: @ColetteCotton

Nicholas Brown is Head of Geography and international education lead at Ysgol Clywedog, Wrexham, UK. He has led his school’s British Council School Partnership with Ghobeiry 2 Public School (Lebanon) over the last two years and has a wealth of experience planning, managing and delivering international school partnership activities on climate change and sustainability education.

Aysha Wehbe is an English teacher and international partnerships lead at Ghobeiry 2 Public School in Beirut, Lebanon. She has supported her school to achieve the British Council International School Award on two occasions and has worked as a British Council Schools ambassador for the past 12 years. Most recently she has led a British Council international school partnership between her school and Ysgol Clywedog in the UK which has focused on raising students awareness climate change and sustainability education themes and issues.  

The panel discussion will be hosted by Neil Williams, a senior consultant with the British Council. Neil is based in the UK.

Capturing and shaping learner contributions in the online classroom: Lessons for all classrooms

Speakers: Lauren Perkins (UK) and James Bukowski (Poland)

About the session

In this workshop, we will look at how teachers can shape learner contributions in the online classroom by giving learners immediate language-focused feedback.

Looking at transcripts and screenshots of teacher-student interaction during live synchronous classes, we will explore how to scaffold, upgrade and recast what learners say at the moment of speaking and use this interaction to create learning opportunities.

We will see how teachers use the chat function, direct messaging and verbal responses to mediate learning in the online classroom and share practical techniques for giving immediate feedback to learners. We will then reflect on how we can use these language-focused feedback techniques in our own teaching contexts, whether face-to-face or online. 

Recording will be available for this session soon

About the speakers

Lauren Perkins is a Teaching Quality Manager at British Council English Online, based in the UK. She has been working for the British Council since 2008 and has been a teacher and teacher trainer, both face-to-face and online, in Thailand, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Palestine and Jordan. Since completing her MA in Applied Linguistics and ELT in 2017, she has maintained a special interest in developing Classroom Interactional Competence. Most recently, she has become interested in how teachers use interaction to mediate learning in the online classroom.

James Bukowski has worked in education and training for over 15 years, variously as a teacher, teacher trainer, examiner and academic manager. He is currently a Teaching Quality Manager for English Online, British Council's flagship online learning product for adults. He has particular interests in IELTS, teaching pronunciation and professionalism within ELT. He holds degrees in education and English, CELTA, DELTA and various other teaching and training qualifications, and has presented at teacher conferences in both Poland and Slovakia. In his free time, he engages in hobbies as diverse as rock opera, boxing and raising pedigree cats.    

ENACT your cultural activities on the web: learn language through culture 

Speakers: Dr Müge Satar and Prof Paul Seedhouse (UK)

About the session

ENACT is a free web app (https://enacteuropa.com/) developed at Newcastle University, UK, co-funded by the European Commission. It uses innovative interactive technology to encourage dialogue and two-way understanding between migrant and host country community members. Yet, anyone using the web app can explore and create cultural activities in multiple languages, such as origami in Japanese, a traditional Karagöz shadow puppet in Turkish, or Catalan bowling.

As such, it will appeal to different groups of users, such as language learners and teachers, people interested in heritage languages and cultures, organisations working with migrants and communities, those interested in developing their digital skills, but also teachers and university lecturers interested in introducing interculturality and community engagement in their teaching.

In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the project aims and partners, introduce the task-based language teaching and online interactive material design principles underlying the app design, and briefly demonstrate the key features of the ENACT app: the interactive player, the author, and the community. We will explore ideas and opportunities for the implementation of the ENACT app in different contexts. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speakers

Müge Satar is Reader in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Newcastle University, UK. She is the Primary Investigator of the ENACT project. She is interested in communicative and pedagogical aspects of multimodal interaction for online language learning and teaching, focusing on social presence, meaning-making, instruction-giving, and translanguaging.

Paul Seedhouse is Professor of Educational and Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University, UK. Working with colleagues in Computing Science over 12 years, he has worked on 4 grants to develop digital technology to teach users languages, cultures and cuisines simultaneously. The French Digital Kitchen project won the European Language Label Prize in 2012.

 

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World Teachers' Day Online Conference - Part 6: The Americas

The sixth and final part of our World Teachers' Day Online Conference took place in The Americas, hosted by British Council Mexico.

See a list of the talks and panel discussion taking place in The Americas below.

Building rapport and social emotional competence

Speaker: Jose Luis De Paz (Mexico)

About the session

 As teachers and learners adapt to different ways interaction, whether hybrid or face-to-face environments, the importance of social-emotional competence has received a greater emphasis. 

However, when it comes to social emotional development, some educators have expressed their concern about being accountable for this or not. However, it is undeniable the fact that teachers have always provided that ‘emotional’ coaching and orientation. 

In my practice as an English teacher during these pandemic days, these were some of the main concerns when I had to deliver lessons to students that were literally kilometres away from the place I was living. On the other hand, I was also delivering sessions to teachers in other regions who had to prepare and deliver their own lessons and they reported similar challenges in their teaching contexts. 

During this talk we will review 5 core social-emotional competencies (SEL) and  research based recommendations to build positive classroom management. Then, I will briefly share some views from teachers and their ways of helping their learners in different educational contexts. (Taylor, R et al, 2017) 

Finally, I will share SEL strategies and activities  I have used to promote social-emotional development among learners and colleagues at the school where I work. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Jose Luis De Paz is an English teacher and teacher trainer who has participated in different events in collaboration with publishers and universities in Mexico.  He holds a Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults awarded by UCLES and is very active in different teacher development programmes for schools in the Mexican territory.

He currently lives in Merida, Yucatan and is an instructional designer for Innova Schools. His main areas of interests are: curriculum design, professional development and storytelling for non-profit purposes.

Nurturing Emotional Intelligence through Literature

Speakers: Gabriela Garibotto and Noelia Garfinkiel (Argentina)

About the session

In the last few decades, research has highlighted the importance of developing learners’ emotional intelligence as a reliable and necessary element of academic achievements.

Thus, practical and theoretical learners-oriented strategies based on enhancing their emotional intelligence have been provided to educators in an attempt to introduce them and their learners to emotional well-being inside the EFL classrooms. However, little has been discussed on how literature may foster emotional intelligence by providing vicarious emotional experiences that shape the brain circuits for empathy and help the learner gain insight into human behaviour.

Moreover, using literature as a vehicle to deal with comprehensive sexuality education in a language class can provide a motivating, meaningful, and low-anxiety context for language. Therefore, understanding the importance of emotions in the educational field would promote learners’ critical thinking, nurture emotional intelligence and foster caring communication. The purpose of this workshop is to share some insights and practical ideas as a result of our extensive research and experience in the educational field after plenty and fruitful years of work with literature and EI in EFL classrooms. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speakers

Gabriela Garibotto is an international speaker, she holds a BA in Teaching English and Materials Design (UCAECE),  is a specialist in emotional intelligence, and holds a degree in Neuro-psychological Education (UBA). She holds a Diploma in Innovation and Educational Technology (UTN) and a Flipped Learning Certification (FL Global Initiative). She has been in charge of the Flipped Learning Electronic Village Online (EVO) Sessions since 2018.  

She has been teaching English as a Foreign Language for 20 years. She is a co-founder of Educa.ideas Educational Consultant with her colleague, Noelia Garfinkiel and has been delivering educational workshops and seminars.

Noelia Garfinkiel is an international speaker, a graduated English teacher (UMSA) and she holds a BA in Teaching English and Materials Design (UCAECE). She holds a Higher Diploma in Reading, writing, and education (FLACSO), a certificate in Creative Writing for educators (FLACSO), and has specialised in Storytelling (lESLV "Juan Ramon Fernandez") She has been teaching English as a Foreign Language for 20 years. She is a co-founder of Educa.ideas Educational Consultant with her colleague, Gabriela Garibotto and has been delivering educational workshops and seminars.

Voice recognition to develop the students' autonomy

Speakers(s): Raquel Ribeiro (Brazil)

About the session

Technology can empower both teachers and learners.  One way that can be done is by digital collaboration during classes.  A key approach that the term ‘student agency’ refers to is the  learner's autonomy to use the available mobile-friendly resources with the teacher's guidance at first and then gradually incorporate that to their studying  routine.

In this webinar I invite you to focus on the ways in which speech recognition has evolved and how to encourage our learners to use it productively when studying synchronously or asynchronously. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

Raquel Ribeiro is an EdTech expert, Google Innovator and a tech-savvy English language teacher at Cultura Inglesa SP who writes and presents her practical findings on how technology can enhance the students' language learning journey.

She is also a teacher trainer and one of the authors of the Teacher Editions of the Cambridge University Press Evolve series. 

She blogs about the possibilities of mobile-learning to teach English in the World of Better learning by CUP.

Making it obvious -  reflection that works

Speakers(s): Maria Jose Galleno (Uruguay)

About the session

We know that reflection and self-awareness are things that make better learners but are we really implementing it in the classroom? How many times do we carry out different activities but because of timing we don't focus on the really important aspect of helping our students to reflect? If you have thought about this previously, I encourage you to come and join me where I will go through some of my favourite activities and walk you through my thinking process for the classroom. 

Watch a recording of this session

About the speaker

María José has been an English teacher since 2003, a teacher trainer since 2011 and a British Council online moderator since 2012. She is very much interested in the field of student and teacher self-awareness. She holds an MA in Digital Technology and Communication and Education from the University of Manchester and another MA in TESOL Teacher Education from the same university. 

 

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Important information about our World Teachers' Day Online Conference - please read

How to watch the talks

Our webinars are free.

They take place in Zoom. You do not need any special equipment to watch the webinars apart from a computer with the audio on. 

Registration

You should register for the webinar at the link provided above. In order to receive updates and a link to join the webinar, you will need to provide a valid email address. Your information will not be used for marketing purposes unless you explicitly give us permission to do so during the registration process. For more information about the British Council's privacy policy, please follow this link: https://www.britishcouncil.org/about-us/how-we-work/policies/information-security-privacy 

Once you have registered for the webinar, you will receive an email with:

- a link to join  
- a passcode that you will need to enter to join the webinar 
- any other relevant information

Please do not delete this email.

If you have any specific accessibility requests, please contact us by email at teachingenglish@britishcouncil.org. You should say which webinar you are attending and ask us to contact you regarding your needs. 

Instructions for joining the webinar

1. Click on the link that was emailed to you when you registered for the event
2. If requested, introduce the passcode that was emailed to you when you registered for the webinar

Event recordings

All the talks are recorded and will be available to watch on demand between 48 and 72 hours after the live webinar has ended. To view the recording of this webinar, please visit the same page on TeachingEnglish, or go to https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/news-events/world-teachers-day/2022 where you will find a list of all webinars and available recordings. Recordings will be available to watch for a minimum of six months and up to two years after the live event.

Certificates

Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CERTIFICATES:
There will be a single certificate available for the entire event.
We will not be providing certificates for each individual talk.

The link to obtain your certificate will be provided in the following places:

- At the end of the webinar in the chat box
- In the 'Thank you for attending email' that you will receive 1 day after the webinar.
- At the end of the feedback survey once you have answered the questions.

You should download the certificate and save it to your computer. 
Once you have downloaded and saved the certificate on your computer, re-open the certificate and type your name where it says 'Type your name and surname'. 
Save the certificate.

Copies of the presentations

Where possible, we will make a PDF copy of the presentation available for you to download. However, for copyright reasons, this may not always be allowed.