English Central Conference

Bookmark and Share

What is the Anti-Conference Conference?
We have been attending teachers conferences for many years and, after our own experiences and talking to other teachers about their experiences, we dared to dream a little dream. Our dream was of a conference that would provide stimulating input by featuring interesting and prominent speakers from the world of English language teaching. At the same time, this dream conference would put the experience and knowledge of its participants (many of who have been teaching for over a decade) front and centre with a unique format that would facilitate peer-to-peer interaction. And finally, this conference would probe the issues of the day more deeply by narrowing its focus, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

English Central Conference 09 - November 20, 2009
On November 20, 2009, our dream became a reality with English Central's 2009 Anti-Conference Conference. The conference featured great speakers: Adrian Underhill (Freelance, UK), Susan Barduhn (SIT, USA) and Joan McCormack (University of Reading, UK).

Our conference hosted a different structure than the typical conference; with an Open Space Technology session, a resources path, a wine & cheese and a Pecha Kucha session to end the day, all participants had the opportunity to experience, contribute, guide, network and interact.

The Anti-Conference was also focused, being geared towards those teaching academic English. Even more specifically this conference will aim to address pressing issues of the day such as an influx of students with a large gap between spoken and written skills, as well as students with motivational problems.

For more information about the 2009 conference, please visit the subsite here.

Plenary Session with Joan McCormack
Fostering learner independence and critical thinking on an EAP course
Watch the entire session (view)
PowerPoint presentation (view)

Open Space Technology Session with Adrian Underhill
Professional Development (view Poster 1, Poster 2, Poster 3)
Critical Thinking (view)
Using the Lexical Approach (view)
Academic Culture (view)
Motivation (view Poster 1, Poster 2)
Admissions (view) Skills Groups (view Poster 1, Poster 2, Poster 3)
Encouraging Ss to Speak English in Class (view Poster 1, Poster 2)
Using Technology (view)
Evaluation & Feedback (view Poster 1, Poster 2)
Content & Language (view)
Course Design (view Poster 1, Poster 2)

Workshop A - Using the 'Inner Workbench' to Enrich Teaching and Learning (Adrian Underhill)
None available

What Keeps Teachers Developing? (Susan Barduhn)
PowerPoint presentation (view)

Expressing Your Ideas in Your Own Words – with Confidence (Joan McCormack)
PowerPoint presentation (view)
Workshop summary notes (view)

Pecha Kucha Session
Susan Barduhn - Teaching and Learning (view)
Andrea Griggs - Coaching can Help Transformation (view)
Tania Iveson - Owning Your Metaphors (view)
Mark Augustine - Writing and Saudi Learners at Lower Levels (view)
Nicole Graham - Spreading the Word (view)

We'd like to thank all who attended and supported our first forray into the conference world and welcome you back next year!