Job Discussion Forums

[Tretyakovskii]

My university has been asked by MEXTESOL to provide 60 student-volunteers to assist with the running of the conference, which may be attended by as many as 5,000 teachers, eager to learn more and spend some time at the beach! (That will be just about the best time of the year to be here.)

Greg, do you think, in light of our contribution, that our ten full time teachers might be given consideration on the cost of enrollment which, at 1,600 or so pesos is a little rich for our blood.

[gregd75]

Brock Brady is confirmed as plenary speaker:

TESOL, A Profession in Transition: Challenges, Trends, and Aspirations

A look at some of the key trends and challenges that face English language teaching (and teachers) today -- first globally, and secondarily, in the U.S. Issues include changes in instructional approaches to provide more effective use of English for specific situations, acknowledging the validity of different varieties of English and the legitimacy of nonnative English speaking teachers, blended methodologies, defense of other languages and bilingualism, and the urgent need to protect our profession and our livelihoods in a changing instructional landscape where the demand for English is bringing in new competitors to our field.

Dr. Herbert Putcher will be delivering a plenary:

Foreign language teachers can make a difference:

Being a language teacher is not just about teaching the present perfect passive or the future perfect progressive. One of the secrets of being an excellent teacher is to inspire our students and make a real difference to their lives by influencing them in a respectful way. In this session, we will look at the differences that makes this difference � in other words, we will define what we do and what qualities we need to develop in order to be able to create a �classroom culture that our students want to belong to�.

Teaching the art of life by Steve Taylore-Knowles

Teaching is often described as an art, but what kind of art is teaching? What does the metaphor say about how we view the process, ourselves as teachers and our learners? Is it a metaphor that we can usefully turn onto the content of our teaching?

Perhaps our students need more than �language skills� in a narrow sense. If we are to equip them properly for their future, equip them for life, perhaps we need to also think in terms of teaching the art of life. This set of skills is highly prized by employers, but usually neglected by educators. Introducing effective, systematic development of these skills into our classroom is a major challenge. This session outlines some ways in which we might go about meeting that challenge.

Sounds interesting, eh?

[gregd75]

MEXTESOL offers a partial scholarship to eligible candidates living in or near the host city of the Annual Convention, in this case, Canc�n, Quintana Roo. This scholarship will consist of registration for the convention and a one-year extension of MEXTESOL membership.

Here is the application form.... give it a go!!!

http://www.mextesol.org.mx/?modulo=main&id=79

[gregd75]

More MEXTESOL conference information....

John Murphy is delivering a plenary titled:

Should we be teaching pronunciation? Yes, but rhythm comes first!

Keynote speeches:

Should we be teaching pronunciation? Yes, but rhythm comes first!
By David Nunan

Teaching teens � what on earth makes them tick?
By Herbert Puchta

Teaching Grammaring: A Revolutionary Teaching Approach
By Dianne Larson-Freeman

For more information about the conference, please visit www.mextesol.org.mx