3rd International ELT conference: Telling ELT tales out of school

INTRODUCTION

Once upon a time, a tale was told describing the events in the city of Babel. Ever since, it has been through language and teaching tales that language pedagogy has evolved. Around the end of the first millennium, a pedagogical grammar was developed by an Anglo-Saxon scholar called Aelfric. The boundless imagination of such language practitioners over the centuries has helped build a storehouse of fascinating told and untold tales. These tales narrate old and new, failure and success, and tradition and innovation in teaching practice. They are tales that continue to inspire us because they are rooted in professional experience.
The ELT culture has exerted a powerful influence on language education internationally. On behalf of the ELT Department of Education Faculty at the Eastern Mediterranean University, we would like to invite you to tell ELT “tales out of your school”, to share tales from different settings, learners and teachers, as well as e-tales about innovative practice in your context. We genuinely believe that at our convention we will all learn lessons from these tales about maximizing learning, empowering teaching, exploiting resources and fostering cultural awareness.

THEMES

Maximizing learning
-Learner-centered Instruction
-Learning Process
-Learning Outcomes
-Individual Learner Differences
-Learner Autonomy/Independence
-Learner Language/Interlanguage
-Learner strategies

Empowering teachers
-Teaching Strategies
-Teacher Training
-Professional Development
-Teacher Talk
-Teacher Motivation

Exploiting resources
-Curriculum/Syllabus Design
-ELT Management
-Materials/Aids/Realia
-Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
-Common European Framework
-Corpora in Language Education

Fostering cultural awareness
-English and Englishes
-English as a Lingua Franca
-Cross-cultural Awareness
-Critical Thinking Skills
- Multiple literacies

PRESENTATION TYPES

Paper presentation [20 + 10 mins]
The proposal should indicate the purpose of the study and its relevance to the theme of the conference. It can describe completed research or research in progress. For completed research, the methodology including the data collection and analysis procedures and the findings should be provided. For research in progress, steps related to the data collection and analysis processes should be described. For either submission, the proposal should include actual or anticipated results and their implications for future practices or further research.

Workshop [45 mins]
The proposal should clearly indicate how a new idea for teacher or learner development will be presented as a series of hands-on activities rather than as paper delivery. The idea to be shared with participants could be a new teaching technique; a new perspective on teacher development or learner progress; or it can be a new technological tool or software to foster teaching, learning or research. The proposal should clearly identify the stages of the workshop, showing how participants will gain insights into the new idea presented.

Poster Presentation
Posters will also play a significant part in the conference, with a special area set aside for posters. Poster presenters will also have the chance to have their work published in the proceedings should they submit their work in the required format for publication. A Proposal for a poster presentation should clearly indicate the purpose of the work as in the case of a paper presentation proposal- and its relevance to the conference theme. Posters may be of any size as long as they meet the criteria (please see the link on the conference website for details and instructions).

REVIEW AND NOTIFICATION PROCESS
The review process will start immediately after the deadline for submission: 25 December, 2009. All proposals will be evaluated on the basis of standard criteria of originality, novelty, significance and clarity by external and internal reviewers. Notifications of acceptance will be e-mailed as of 5 February, 2010. All presenters are expected to register in the specified registration periods. The following are the details for registration:

Early registration: 15 February, 2010 to 15 March, 2010.
Registration: 16 March, 2010 to 26 April, 2010

Registration fees are as follows:

Presenters
Early registration
Overseas : 125 €
Turkey & Local: 75 €
Registration
Overseas: 150 €
Turkey & Local: 100 €

ELTE104- FINAL EXAM RESULTS

Dear all,
Below is the results of the final exam (30%): Reading (20%) + Writing (10%)
040810- 13 + 6.5
050001- 11.75 + 6.5
050005- 10 + 6.5
050006- 10.25 + 9.5
050020- 10 + 7
050023- 10 + 6.5
050028- 14 + 5.5
050043- 12 + 7.5
050057- 10.5 + 7
050060- 12 + 7
050063- 11 + 6
054001- 14.75 + 7.5
057008- 8.25 + 6.5
057015- 13 + 7.5
060156- 11 + 6
061524- 3 + 5
064604- 8 + 5
070170- 13.5 + 7
070179- 15 + 8
070180- 15 + 10
070181- 17 + 9.5
070184- 18.75 + 8.5
070191- 9.5 + 8
077105- ...
077115- 6.75 + 7
077119- 6.75 + 6
077130- 8.5 + 4.5
077134- ...
078205- 16 + 10
078206- 12.75 + 7.5
078290- 18 + 8.5
______________________
Average: 17.66
St. Dev: 6.5

Week12: Citing Sources in text

Dear all,
Here is the document we looked at in class; my feedback on how to cite sources in text. Here you can also find the three websites to look at how to give proper references in the bibliography (according to the APA format).
Thanks

Week9: Argumentative Writing: Feedback on 1st Drafts - Working while studying

Dear all,
Here is an electronic booklet of the essays drafts you have written on the argumentative topic: Working while studying. In the booklet you will read the essays written by your friends who have kindly posted their essays on the blog. You'll also read the specific feedback and suggestions I have given for each essay.
The electronic booklet will make it easier for you flip through the pages and read the essays comfortably. Just click on the booklet to make it larger and then enjoy reading the essays. Our next discussion topic should be: Does technology make our lives easier :-D

3 topics

1- Should animals be used for scientific researches?
2-Wearing scarf at university
3-Is plastic surgery healthy or unhealthy?

WORKING GOOD OR BAD?

WORKING GOOD OR BAD?

While studying, working in a job is good idea at first sight, But when you think its positive and negative sides, you can see more negative than positive sides. In my opinion, working at a job while studying is not good and it has many negative effects. If you decide to work at a part time job while studying, you will face to face these problems; not to sleep very well, being unsuccessful.

First, if you are both study and work at a job, it will be difficult for you. Because you have many problems but most important one is you can not sleep very well. According to some research; many scientist and doctors say that a person needs sleep at least six hours a day. So, if you work and study at the same time, you can not find a time for sleep and it will harm your body.

Second, if you study and work at the same time you have another difficulty which is being unsuccessful. Because you has to do your homework, projects, and also participate the lesson regularly. But if you work at the same time you can’t anything about lesson. Because you feel tired and sleepless and you can’t participate and sometimes miss the many class. This problem leads to failure and being unsuccessful in school life.

Third, many people who are studying university, think earning money is a good thing for students. In my opinion, earning money is good but not good for students. Because student earns money by working hard but s/he feels tired, faces with many problems and most problematic is not being successful. I think a student’s aim must be finishing the university with success. We will already earn money when we finish our school.

In conclusion, while studying, working at a job is not good idea. First students should finish their school and then they should looking for job and earn money.

Week 9: A Fresh Start after MIDTERMS!

Dear all,
I hope all your exams went well. Please accept my "gecmis olsun" wishes...
Now it's time to get back to work! Thank you those who've submitted their first drafts online and suggested possible argumentative topics. So far, there are 18 topics suggested in total; some of these topics look too general, some seem okay...
Please look for topics you can take a firm argumentative side, and defend your argument. Please also remember you will have to support your arguments with evidence, and examples, and etc. So think of topics about which you can find support (on the Internet, in books or magazines, etc.).
This week we'll look at how we can write an outline for our essay, so please come to class with some topics in mind (and written somewhere to share with us) and START LOOKING for SUPPORT (online, from the books, newspapers and magazines...
Thanks
ps. You can also look at the 10 Steps to Writing link on the right. Check STEP 5- writing an outline
ps2. Results of the READING section of the midterm exam will be ready on Monday. We'll announce your WRITING results after a standardization procedure in which Nilgun, Elmaz and I will decide on an agreed marking criteria.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY TOPICS

1- The influence of mass media on younger generation.
2- Are the exams necessary? Are they aimed at checking our knowledge or just causing stress?
3- Should the animals be used for scientific research? Is it humanly?

Having a job while studying at university..

COMPLEXITY
Having a job while studying causes some disadvantages, isnt’t it? When a student goes to the university he must take more attention to his lessons than the other things. Because he can develop himself perfecly in these university years.If someone has a job while studying he comes across some inevitable disadvantages, like geting bad marks and sleepless days and nights.
Firstly, I want to talk about geting bad marks. If a student works while studying he can not focus on his lectures effectively. Because while at work he can not he can not think about his homework or something like this. So, working takes the first place of his life. But some people believe that if you can keep the balance you can work while studying. However, this is not easy and nobody can do this even he says I can do it. If I say this sentence to them immediately they say “But I know somebody keeping that balance”. But we are talkig n general so exceptions do not change anything in this topic. I want to say just one thing about geing bad marks. If we get bad marks this shows us we do not know anything aboout out lectures, and this one shows that in the future we will come across a lot of difficulties in our working life.
Secondly, workng while studying at university results in sleepless days and nights. Since if our job at night or at late hours we must not sleep at work and we can not sleep at school as well. So, sleepless days and nights are inevitable. We can see a person who works at night sleeps on his desk at school. Therefore, he can not learn anything and maybe this will be an unsocial life. Some people say that you can choose a job which is suitable for you and you do not have to work at nights. It maybe true but there is no job waiting for us in anticipation and employers are not admite to us. They choose an employee not we. But of course if you do not want to work you don’t.
Shortly, I’m against the idea of having a job while studying at university. I believe that if you do not take care of your real works nothing takes care of you. Lastly, there is a sentence about doing lots of things: “A person who wants to do lots of things can not do anything.”
HATİCE ERARSLAN

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