ELT Ireland has lift off!

Saturday 12th April marked a very important day for ELT in Ireland. Following a very successful conference by the IATEFL Learning Technology SIG in November 2013, a new association for ELT teachers was born. ELT Ireland officially launched the association on Saturday with their first event, ELTed, which consisted of eight local teachers giving a twelve minute talk on an area of teaching that they have a particular interest in. This not only allowed others to learn new things, but gave those teachers the opportunity to present in front of their peers - an opportunity they might not have inside their institutions.

                                   

ELT Ireland was set up to provide support for ELT teachers here in Ireland, and to provide a platform for idea sharing with others across the country and to promote opportunities for professional development outside our own institutions.

This is something that is badly needed here in Ireland. When asked what I do, I say that I'm a teacher. When asked if it's primary or secondary, I say that I'm neither, but, in fact, I teach English as a second or other languages. Sometimes people ask me further questions as they find language learning interesting, but more often than not, people look embarrassed and ask if I've been doing it for long and what are my plans for the future. In my responses, I always feel like I'm defending my profession, that I'm trying to prove to the listener that what I do is a real career. And I know I'm not alone. ELT Ireland, I believe, will help EFL teachers to take themselves and their profession seriously and above all, to make them proud of what they do. It was so wonderful at the ELTed event on Saturday, to see so many teachers there who wanted to learn new things, meet other professionals from around Ireland and discuss different ideas. The enthusiasm and excitement that teachers here have been deprived of for so long, has finally arrived.

For more information, check out ELT Ireland's website or Facebook page. They also have a Twitter chat session every second Monday, just add #eltchinwag on Twitter to join.

That's all folks: Day 4 IATEFL 2014

Today was a very emotional day. Every corner you turned, there were people hugging and saying goodbye. It was a day of "wow, what a conference", "keep in touch" and, "see you next year!" There was a surge into the exhibition hall just before 12pm as the stands were giving away free or discounted books and material. The closing plenary brought tears to my eyes as Jackie Kay took to the stage and delivered her poems to an eager, attentive audience.

What can I say about my first IATEFL Annual Conference experience? Well, it was better than I could  have ever imagined. In many contexts and industries, people like to hold their cards close to their chest, but in IATEFL it's the total opposite. Everyone wants to help each other, share ideas and have in-depth discussions about things they've tried and tested. The ELT celebrities, as I call them, are so open and approachable. On the first day, my colleague and I had a wonderful chat with Adrian Underhill about teaching pronunciation. Another day, Mark Hancock, writer of Pronunciation Games, chatted away to me and offered me some valuable career advice. On the first day, I timidly introduced myself to Robin Walker who turned out to be such a warm and passionate person. Today, we shared our last meal in Harrogate with Robin! Jeremy Harmer was my partner in a workshop yesterday and he remembered me in the corridor. 

  Any teacher who is serious about a career in ELT has to go to this conference. Before this week, I had no idea that there were thousands of people out there who have the same level of enthusiasm about their profession as I do. Being in the staff room can often get you down and wondering what you are doing there at all. But this week, I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. The opportunities for comradery, new discoveries and professional development are endless at this conference and I think that every teacher needs to experience that. We need to stand up and be proud of what we do in the TEFL world. I am proud and honoured to be part of IATEFL and connected to some of the most incredibly intelligent and talented people I've ever met. 

  Here's to IATEFL Manchester 2015 and all of the adventures we'll have before then.



From left to right:
Back row: Robin Walker (PronSIG committee and newsletter editor), Marina Cantarutti, Kristyna Poesova, Wayne Rimmer (PronSIG Coordinator)
Front Row: Anna Morris and Louise Guyett




 

Listen carefully: Day 3 IATEFL 2014

After the events of last night, I had a bit of a slower morning today. It's also my birthday and my boyfriend flew over last night to celebrate with me and my new friends.

  The first session I attended was by Philip Haines and was all about making maximum use of audio scripts. Philip introduced us to many practical activities that can be combined with other skills, such as, pronunciation, grammar, speaking and functions. The session was in a workshop format which allowed us to work in groups and do the activities. 

  Next was a session led by Sandy Millan on stepping into real world listening. We compared a text book listening recording with a real world recording. Sandy then broke this down and gave us ideas on how we can use these real world recordings of natural, spontaneous speech in the classroom. Again, this was a practical workshop and required a lot of group work, which I was delighted with as my partner was the one and only Jeremy Harmer! 

  Before the last coffee break of the day, Arizio Sweeting presented his reasons and ideas for  using action research to empower teachers to teach pronunciation. He discussed his influences in his own teaching and also invited anyone to come forward who would be interested in taking part in his research.

  After a wonderfully passionate discussion with Robin Walker and some other PronSIG members in the corridor, it was time to make a quick dash across the conference centre to get to the next talk. Lucy Palmer from Teachit ELT made a presentation on how to get you material published on the website. She highlighted the areas in which they are looking for more lessons, worksheets and articles and we discussed how to create an effective worksheet or activity.

  The final session of the day was with Sue Kay and Karen Spiller who created ELT Teacher to Writer. This is a database and training programme for teachers who would like to make the transition into ELT writing. We took part in tasks that guided us in the world of ELT publishing, writing rubrics and distinguishing between general comprehension and critical thinking tasks.

  It was then time to have a birthday dinner and celebrate into the wee hours with my lovely new IATEFL friends.