BILC 2012 Prague

Professional Development Opportunities at DSL and in the UK

Jean Meakin

Senior Lecturer, English Language Wing,

Defence School of Languages, UK

Outline

• ‘Best Practice’ Staff Development Programme at DSL

• The IATEFL Conference in the UK

‘Best Practice’

Mission Deliver a staff development programme of

sharing best practice for instructors across the whole of DSL

Aims• Share skills and ideas• Get to know colleagues• Increase uniformity

• Started May 2007• Workshops on different topics related to

teaching• All instructors encouraged to attend• Sessions facilitated by different instructors

from across the School• Every 4 weeks, term time, Weds 3pm-4.30pm

The Programme

The Sessions

• Refreshments

• Introduction by facilitator

• Group discussions

• Plenary feedback

Topics

• See handout

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22

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Lessons Learnt

Informal 3 sessions per term No need for write-ups Keep attendance register, no certificates Refreshments Publicise widely, various media Find facilitators well in advance Brief facilitators fully

Feedback

Students Instructors Inspectors 41 sessions so far, more planned Average attendance 24 instructors

IATEFLInternational Association of

Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

‘Linking, developing and supporting English Language Teaching professionals worldwide’

IATEFL Background

• Founded in UK, 1967

• Annual Conference

• Special Interest Groups

• Newsletters

• 4,000 members from 100 countries

Glasgow IATEFL Conference, April 2012

• 4-day programme

• 2,313 delegates, 116 countries

• 581 talks, workshops, symposiums

• 70 ELT related exhibitors: British Council, BBC, OUP, CUP, Macmillan etc

• Watching online: 60,000 people from 170 countries

• Social programme, cultural visits

Benefits

• Meet leading writers, theorists, practitioners, all sectors of ELT

• Lots of free materials

• Generous discounts

• Your chance to present or exhibit

• Try before you buy: whiteboards, interactive materials

• 30 scholarships for 2013 conference

Michael Swan

Raymond Murphy

Geoffrey Leech

Henry Emery

Talk to publishers

Listen to expertsBe an exhibitor

Try the Technology

14 Special Interest Groups

• Learner Autonomy• Teacher Training and Education• Pronunciation• Testing, Assessment and Evaluation

(Collaboration with AMATE, Conference in Prague 12-13 Oct 12, Setting and Maintaining Assessment Standards. Call for papers now.)

47th Annual International IATEFL Conference: Liverpool

• 8-12 April 2013

• Proposals by September 2012

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