22nd Conference 2017 | iateflukraine

22nd Annual National IATEFL Ukraine Conference

31 March - 01 April 2017

Conference venue

The National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine is one of the leading institutions of education, science and culture in Ukraine. More than 26 thousand students and more than 600 graduates, PhD students and seekers study at 3 educational and research institutes and 13 departments in Kyiv and 10 separate units of NULES of Ukraine – regional institutions of І-ІІІ accreditation levels.

http://nubip.edu.ua/en/

Plenary speakers

Margit Szesztay

Margit Szesztay has been involved in teacher education for the past 25 years. Her professional interests include learning through discussion, creativity in ELT, the teacher as educator, and building professional communities. She is currently incoming President of IATEFL.

Discussion, Debate, Dialogue in the ELT Classroom

As a language teacher, I have always wanted my students to communicate in English - beyond the ability to buy a ticket, order a meal, or refuse an invitation politely. A deeper dimension of talk involves exploring ideas creatively, appreciating a richness of perspectives, and at times questioning your own beliefs and assumptions. Engaging in discussion and dialogue takes special language skills, as well as personal qualities such as open-mindedness and the ability to listen attentively. This plenary will explore what language teachers can do to trigger and facilitate engaging and meaningful classroom interaction.

Simon Etherton

Simon Etherton is the Head of English Projects for the British Council in Ukraine. He has been involved in teaching and teacher education for over 30 years in contexts as diverse as India, Oman, Europe and the South Pacific. Areas of professional interest include initial literacy, practitioner research and teacher knowledge.

Active learning principles:

supporting the construction of knowledge and development of skills

How can we change what we do in our classrooms to make a real difference to the quality of learning of our students? By adopting active learning principles to our teaching, we can ensure more deep level and individualised learning, greater engagement as well as supporting the development of a variety of core skills from critical thinking and problem solving to communication and collaboration. This plenary will clarify what we understand by active learning and identify specific strategies and practices we can use in our classrooms.

Tony Prince is an Academic Director at NILE - responsible for Tertiary Education. He has worked in a University setting for many years, managing Precessional and Insessional courses, the latter involving support for a number of subjects, including business, economics, law, environmental science, computing and politics. He has run training workshops for the British council in Ukraine involving teachers from Universities across the region. He has presented on a variety of subjects in many different settings from Poland to Portugal, Georgia to Glasgow.

21st century education:

what Ukraine can learn from abroad, and what abroad can learn from Ukraine

A number of studies, including the PISA project have attempted to establish examples of best practise in educational cultures across the globe. The danger with such projects is that they are are seen as ‘ranking’ countries, resulting in recommendations that ‘poorly’ performing countries adopt the practices of those that are ‘ranked’ higher. This frequently ignores the culture of each country and the feasibility of transplanting practices from one place to another.

This talk will look at some of the findings from research into educational best practise, suggesting if and how they might be relevant in Ukraine. It will look at the strengths of the Ukrainian educational system, and of what those outside the country might learn from it. These suggestions are based on discussions with and feedback from participants on training courses that the speaker has conducted across Ukraine in 2015-16.

Olha Madylus

Olha began her teaching career in a secondary state school in England teaching English and Drama. She has now been involved in YLELT for over 25 years: living, teaching and training in Hong Kong and Venezuela as well as Greece. She is currently based in the UK.

For the past thirteen years she has been a freelance YL consultant, materials’ writer, and trainer for local state and private language school teachers (and trainers) worldwide in countries as diverse as Peru, Croatia, Taiwan, Yemen and Burma. She is also a Cambridge CELTA and CELYL trainer. Her focus is on motivating both primary and secondary aged children.

Teaching English in the 21st Century

What types of skills and competencies that will our learners need in the future?

Although it is impossible to predict exactly what the children who we teach today will need to survive and flourish in the middle of this century, we need to be aware of their possible needs.

Beginning with a look at how curriculum designers are embracing future needs, this presentation will suggest practical and meaningful strategies for the English language classroom.

Iryna Gorlach

Head of Volunteer coordination, GoGlobal.

Currently working with GoGlobal – a non-government organization that aims at promoting language and professional skills among Ukrainians that help them become competitive in the 21st century. Previously, established and developed alternative education initiatives and training programs for civic activists and media representatives.

Teaching core skills: meeting the demand of the 21st century

According to World Economic Forum two-thirds of children entering primary school in 2016 are likely to find themselves working in jobs that do not exist yet. Researchers find that as the job marker changes, it become more and more important for business and workers to keep skills relevant and up-to-date. In this talk we'll explore what are the core 21st century skills and how to tackle them.