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Laura began her talk with a poll on menti.com asking the audience for two emotions they feel most often as teachers. Her talk then continued with an interesting point: that there is a wealth of consideration given to as well as research about learner emotions but very little given to the emotions of teachers. Emotions, as Laura said, help us to make sense of the world and are worth considering as, if we know what we feel, we can do something about it. Laura highlighted the significant amount of "emotional labour" put in by teachers. This is defined as the process of managing feelings in order to do your job. This includes: - Perceived emotions - How we act - Displaying inauthentic emotions - Expected emotions - Deep acting - Accepting Laura then went through a range of research on the subject. The results of Laura's menti.com survey can be viewed in the word cloud below:

Ciaran's talk entitled "How do You Meme?" was a real standout of the conference for me. It really challenged my understanding and enlightened me about how internet memes, perhaps not something traditionally thought of (at least by me) as a classroom task or language-learning tool, can be used for pedagogical purposes Ciaran tested our meme knowledge ("memetic proficiency") with a task in which we had to complete famous meme statements such as am"I may not always ...", "If you could ..." and so on. I was also introduced to the term "memetic language" and how language is used in memes. Memes, Ciaran stated, are cultural units of information, pass from individual or groups online and dominate online discourse regardless of language or culture.Ciaran highlighted how there are four types of meme: - Text-based memes made up of text alone with a specific format or layout. These could be "snowclones" in which a fragment of text can be changed (such as "Keep Calm and ..."). - Image macros, which are the most common form of meme, made up of an image with txt overlaying (such a the "jealous girlfriend" meme). - Reaction memes made up of two or more images with text; these tend to be taken from TV or film (such as the "woman shouting at cat" meme). - Videos / gifs which are very short extracts incorporating motion and, potentially, sound (such as the "triggered" gif). Ciaran made brilliant use of QR codes to engage us in tasks in which we produced our own memes using online meme generators. In terms of classroom tasks, memes are sociable and people want to share them - they make great warmers and practice for lexical chunks. In the fun atmosphere of Ciaran's session, I felt I could finally ask about a collocation I have been curious about for a while - the idea of a "dank meme" which Ciaran explained brilliantly. A great talk and thoroughly enjoyable experience due to, in no small part, the atmosphere created by the speaker.

Daniela Sora's talk gave us a wonderfully-concise 30-minute introduction to the subject of Design Thinking - ostensibly a way of producing products and services using empathy and problem-solving to improve the experience of users or customers. This was a subject I had only briefly come across before in passing so gained my interest in the conference programme. A glance in the room where Daniela would be speaking showed sticky notes set out on the seats so audience members knew there would be creative and meaningful activities. Design thinking, as Daniela explained, has five stages and I have provided a very conciser summary below: 1. Empathise: place yourself in the position of your end users, consider their needs and wants, think about why they want something. 2. Define: have a clear idea of the challenge and what you aim to achieve. 3. Ideate: brainstorm, mind map and using sticky notes to generate creative ideas. 4. Prototype: create draft and models as first versions of your idea. 5. Test: gather feedback from users and make improvements. Audience members responded well to these new ideas. This was a nice introduction to a deep and complex yet highly useful area that I look forward to learning about. This would easily justify a longer workshop.

Introducing the Fundamentals of Instructional Design at the ELT Ireland Conference On the weekend of 18th and 19th February, Michelle and I were back at ELT Ireland’s Annual Conference. This marked a welcome return for both of us: for Michelle, it was her second conference after her extremely well-received and inspiring plenary last year while, for me, it was my eighth having first spoken there at this event in 2016 and returning ever since. 2023’s Annual Conference did not disappoint with the mixture of good humour, creativity, impressive expertise and atmosphere that we have come to expect from these events. This year, I was delivering two talks; the first of these was entitled “From Teacher to Instructional Designer”. My intention being to provide an understanding of the key principles of Instructional Design in a 45-minute conference slot! Instructional Design appears as a complex business riddled with multi-stage processes, models and acronyms but the fundamental principle is all about a systematic approach to development that considers all stages of the developmental process. Firstly, I wished to know from the audience what they believed the session to be about. This elicited varied responses that demonstrated that those I attendance were highly open to what would evidently be new ideas, concepts and approaches. My answer to the same question was that the session is about a transition from teacher, suggestive of delivery and evaluation, to Instructional Designer capable of managing all stages of the learning process not only the delivery of prescribed materials such as coursebooks. The learning process in question here being represented in the most famous of Instructional Design models, ADDIE. While there are, of course, a plethora of models that summarise the essence of Instructional Design, this seemed a pragmatic place to start an introductory talk: · Analyse needs of the learners / course participants · Design goals, objectives and outcomes · Develop and / or select material and prepare for the delivery · Implement the develop and deliver the training · Evaluate the outcomes through recording and reporting attendance, feedback, test results and so on Needs analysis should be something useful to help a course designer meet (or, even better, exceed) the expectations of those attending a course and other stakeholders. We moved on to discuss what we can do as development professionals to analyse these needs. A quick group brainstorm covered a range of approaches from asking or observing people to using questionnaires or interviews, psychometric testing, monitoring of workplace metrics and more. It was highlighted how needs analysis is not just gathering data, it must be acted upon. Form this, we set our big-picture goal for the course, our specific future-focused objectives and our lists of outcomes for what learners can do once they leave the course. Next, comes the issue of preparation in the form of development and the actual delivery and implementation; being an audience of teachers, this was no problem at all – let us remember that this is what teachers do. While an audience of subject matter experts in any other field may have the subject knowledge but lack the competences to manage or deliver training in an engaging way (other than a “telling approach”), my audience in Dublin specialised in impactful, engaging delivery as education professionals. This took us to the final point about how we can evaluate the success of any developmental outcome and, as with needs analysis, the audience suggested multiple measures of this ranging from attendance to testing knowledge via multiple choice test, case study analysis, assessed presentations, reports and much more. I greatly enjoyed this talk and is a great experience for a conference speaker to have their own professional interests and passions reciprocated by such an audience who, as ever, were keen to know more, to learn from each other, to share their thoughts and ideas with me and each other, and to apply their own learning from the talks they attend. You can download the slides below: Interested in taking a course about Instructional Design? Take a look here: https://www.the-distance-cert-ibet.com/additonalcourses/certificate-in-instructional-design

Tuesday 18th April saw the start of IATEFL's 2023 Conference. After a challenging journey from York that morning, navigating my way to the auditorium, and getting my brain in gear during the obligatory welcome spiel, it was finally time for the first plenary of the conference: Evan Frendo looking for answers about English for the workplace . I have been using Evan's seminal book "How to Teach Business English" and its subsequent editions for many years. Indeed, his definition of "Business English" forms one of the many classic definitions we encourage our course participants to critique as part of our Distance Cert IBET course. The first time I had the opportunity to actually speak with Evan was in Gdansk, Poland, at BESIG's 2022 Conference; I greatly enjoyed his candor and enthusiasm for his field. As a speaker, Evan does not disappoint in what he delivers. Everything is supported with anecdotes or evidence and delivered with energy. Let us to turn to his content. Evan divided his talk into three parts: 1. What is English for the workplace? 2. What is the perspective from outside ELT? 3. So what? Answering this first question, Evan highlighted an interesting point: that we must differentiate between "users" of English and "learners" or English, the former working with the level they have. He illustrated this with examples from Maritime English in which various nationalities use English as a lingua franca. Evan also highlighted how any communication is context-specific and the jargon of a role or company will be known and acquired only by those within the organisation - a teacher cannot teach this for the simple reason they do not know it. He also referred to the idea of "language-brokering" in which another acts as an informal translator. Evan make a jump from the teaching approach to that of Instructional Design (though he did not use the term) and a critique of the approach in the ADDIE model. This, he stated was too "top-down" though Evan did not: - Offer a direct alternative or solution (though we could state that the "coaching" approach, one that is unstructured and responsive would be such a thing which he mentioned in passing) - Highlight that many teachers / trainers using a classic "teaching" approach might not focus on any form of Instructional Design, such as needs analysis or setting bespoke goals, objectives and outcomes - Express that, for other fields in which a trainer is the one with expertise, a structured approach, such as ADDIE (for information on ADDIE, click here), is essential Evan then moved on to talk about material and how this should be "curated". A nice idea for resources that are specific to an individual or company and something that should also be accompanied by bespoke materials responding to a client's need. Turning to the second question of "what is the perspective from outside ELT?", Evan illustrated different perspectives from various individuals and communications (rather than research). He made the point that there is a difference between what teachers focus on versus what those in an industry focus on. He then turned to testing which, he stated, should be occupational-specific. A standardised test does not tell you how well you can work or function. These tests judge English not how well someone can do their job in English. He cited negotiation as an example ; this is a good choice of example as negotiation is indeed a matter of more than just the right lexis but requires the right strategy, tactics and mindset. (Something I talked about at the recent ELT Ireland conference - read here). He highlighted a trend in HR where staff are expected to learn informally and on a micro-level. I remember the term, not used in the talk, "nimble learning" in which anyone can pick up information on an on-going basis, find opportunities for learning and acquire information as things change and develop. This is a good point and an interesting trend. Gamification can be part of this culture. The third and final part of Evan's talk asked us "so what?" and to consider the implications of what this means. How can Business English teachers remain relevant and understand how people learn in the workplace and how they work? New technologies will form part of this. Overall, this was a hugely interesting talk with a colourful speaker whose experience has shaped his approach and ideas. A great start to the conference and a lot to think about (and act upon). Evan's talk can viewed here. If you are interested to know more about teaching Business English, then our Distance Cert IBET could be for you. If you want to know more about Instructional Design, we offer a short course in that area as well for you to learn more about ADDIE and other structured approaches to learning and development and a course in gamification.

I had long taken a dim view of social media in general - I use Facebook for news and was banned from Twitter. I have mocked Tik Tok (long referred to by me as "Tik Tw*t") and have no idea about Instagram but disparaged it as a vehicle for vanity. However, attending this year's IATEFL conference, I had resolved to be more open-minded about attending talks on subjects that were outside my area, experience or capability. With the above points in mind, I headed over to listen to Claire Bowes' talk on using social media in teaching. This was one of the highlights of the conference for me, and one of the best talks I attended. It was Claire's first ever IATEFL talk, and she did not fail to impress! She highlighted how social media is one of the main methods for English language learners to learn English. Tik Tok and Instagram are two key platforms for this. To "teach" someone using social media, Claire stated we must ask ourselves the question "what can I teach someone in one minute?". The key rules when creating social media content that Claire highlighted were very useful to hear: - Do not over do it - Manageable chunks - Reduce teacher talk time with no pre-amble, - Thumb-nail must tell the viewer what it is about and what they will learn - There is no need for clickbait - Pique their interest - Share knowledge and get to point - Be visual and use images and animation - Be super upbeat (to compete with those cute dog videos) - Pose a question Hardware and software are the major barriers to production but Claire believes that learners using social media do not look for quality video but quality content. This lead to the question: what do we need to get started? Claire's answer: just our phone. Professional equipment does not equate to engagement; viewers are concerned with content. For editing software, Claire recommends Canva, Capcut and Premiere Pro though the latter does need some expertise. Claire also did a great job of answering my question about using social media as part of running a business: it's a hook and a shop window. Distance Cert will soon be offering a Certificate in Teaching Using Social Media. To register your interest, email us at info@the-distance-cert-ibet.com.

After a heartfelt introduction by her close friend and colleague, Divya Madhavan started her talk "Lean on Me: Stories of Coaching, Mentoring and Teacher Resilience". It was a somewhat Ulysses-style walk through of her ideas and, later, the experiences and thoughts of four teachers Divya had interviewed for the purposes of this plenary talk. Divya started with a statement that coaching and mentoring are "metaphors for leaning on those around us" - essentially metaphors for a metaphor! Still, this is a nice idea. Divya invited us to reflect on what it means to be a teacher who supports and nurtures others. Coaching and mentoring are two roles a teacher can take. With reference to one of her regular activities with college students, Divya, called herself a "debating coach". She then went on to equate coaching to training and guiding. This interpretation caught my attention as a perspective that I personally, based on experience, disagree with. For me, coaching is a non-directive developmental intervention (as well as a leadership style) characterised by question and answer conversations oriented towards an agreed goal. A pure coaching methodology does not involve direct input, teaching, guidance or directive feedback. Which is actually what Divya demonstrated beautifully in the video clips she shared, of the interviews she conducted with the 4 teachers. One point she made with which I agree wholeheartedly, is that a coach does not need to be an expert. I noted she (wisely) distanced herself from professional coaches. On the topic of mentoring, I found we have a common view. Divya's definition of mentoring is closer to my own in that we both believe it relies on advice and expertise. As such, this becomes the more natural relationship teachers have with each other. I like her phrase "stories that resemble our own" as that is exactly what is needed for mentoring in any context to be effective. Another point Divya touched on, which surprised me in light of criticisms I have often seen leveled at our conference organising body, IATEFL; she highlighted the poor pay and conditions suffered by teachers around the world that is disproportionate to the education levels requirements for the role. A contentious topic, traditionally avoided by our hosts. Continuing with points Divya raised that resonated with me, - I paraphrase here - subject matter expertise does not equate to teaching or training ability. Divya went on to state that "going-the-extra-mile gestures are universal in the world of teaching", and she asked the question: who "shows up" for (i.e. supports) teachers in order to build their resilience? The 4 elements needed to develop resilience, according to Divya: - Trust (in a teacher's organisation, manager, colleagues) - Confidence (in oneself and one's teaching ability) - Courage - Perseverance Having laid the ground work, our plenary speaker presented a series of 4 interviews she had conducted with a range of (all women) teachers detailing stories of support. Reflecting through my own lens, some thoughts come to mind: 1. Despite strong understanding of mentoring (Divya is clearly an experienced and successful teacher educator and department manager), I felt this talk perpetuated many of the common misunderstandings of coaching that plague the industry. 2. Can we really be there for all of our colleagues all of the time? How practical, realistic or pragmatic is this? What are the consequences? We would all love, I am sure, to believe that we would step up when and where necessary, but this is not always possible. When we haven't stepped up, have we failed in some way? Overall, I have to say this was a lovely, warm and heartfelt talk that, despite some issues of definitions, gave us a good deal of food for thought. Divya's plenary talk can be viewed here.

It's February in the conference calendar which means off to Dublin for the annual ELT Ireland conference. Ben and I have the opportunity to meet up in person for all things TDCI-related; AND we get to head off to Griffith College to spend the weekend with ELT colleagues from around the island of Ireland - and beyond. This is an ideal conference from which to launch our new website feature - the TDCI Blog! Maybe a little late to the bloggers party, there are so many great conference bloggers 'out there' who have been sharing their highlights both live, in-situ and retrospectively for years. In the spirit of reflexive practice, Ben and I are going to follow suit - reflecting on what we see, hear and learn at conferences we attend, and channeling back to fellow TDCI students (past, present, future) and anyone else interested in following us on our adventures. We'll aim to follow the K.I.S.S. principle and keep our musing short and simple. Most importantly, we'll aim to reflect critically on what we can take away from the talks we attend and plough what we learn back into what we develop here on The Distance Cert IBET programme. Watch this space - and feel free to comment with your own thoughts and reflections.

The weekend of February 18th and 19th saw Ben and I in Dublin for the annual ELT Ireland conference. Having attended last year (I'd been invited to deliver the opening plenary, read more here: https://www.elt-ireland.com/event-speaker-slides) I was very much looking forward to a return visit this year. And I was not disappointed. The Guinnes was as sublime as ever, the company as warm and jovial, and the weather was even better! The talk I delivered after lunch on the Saturday gave nod to the conference theme of Back to A Future - I spoke about what I've learned from a recent past experience that will be ploughed back into my future teaching practice. It was a talk covering 3 + 1 learning points: My intention was to share how I deepened my communications skills knowledge by exploring the more academic and theoretical side of our field. Knowing about different communication theories not only gave me more credibility in the new academic content course I had developed, it rounded out what I already knew about how we communicate; the knowledge gave my content substance and gave me confidence. But this new found sense of confidence took a knock when the content moved into less familiar territory. Despite creating what I felt was a varied, interesting and challenging course in the 4th semester (of 6 semesters in total), some students honed in on where the course lacked depth and robustness. They picked up on my lack of expert knowledge of information technology and that I was using a very loose, Socratic approach as opposed to, what I assume, they are used to in other content courses, like law or economics: the lecturer comes from that field with an intimate deep knowledge AND practical experience of how it all works. I do not have such competencies in the field of communication and technology in business! At least, I thought that was the problem. However, another student gave feedback that suggested I had done a good job. Who knows against what criteria each student evaluates and judges their teachers. One thing for sure - and learning point 3 - as a language teacher, I know how the English language works and where the pitfalls and problems lie. So even when our task is not language focused, we can certainly help coach students / learners on how better or more accurately they can express themselves. Finally, the bonus learning from the experience I shared in the talk, was that we can leverage other people's expertise. I realised that, with online teaching, experts could be "Zoomed" in to give mini-lectures or presentations to the students. I was lucky to have 3 different people in my network who were happy to share their stories and / or expertise in a Zoom room with my students. This took the pressure off me and went down really well with the students. A win-win for all. The stories I shared seemed to go down well with the colleagues in Dublin; we had some exchanges during the session, a few giggles and the atmosphere was energising for me at least! I'm looking forward to going back to ELT Ireland again next February for the 10th anniversary conference. It's bound to be a good Craic!! Feel free to download the presentation slide deck.

Saturday 18th February "The international education mark and the vision for ELT in Ireland" by Mary Grennan QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland) is the state agency responsible for promoting the quality, integrity and reputation of Ireland’s further and higher education system. In ELT Ireland's opening plenary, Mary Grennan spoke about how Irish-based ELT providers can be part of the community of award providers. Mary made interesting points about quality assurance and the 10-level NFQ (National Framework for Qualifications) in Ireland and went on to speak about the International Education Mark (IEM) and the impact it will have. Involving significant amounts of due diligence, this is awarded to higher education and English language education providers who have demonstrated that they meet set national standards. This is one mark for any provider of education. The aim is to ensure a high-quality experience for international students. This is voluntary unless schools take non-EEA students. Mary highlighted the differing codes of practice for HE and ELE providers and how they compare and contrast. Implementation of the IEM has involved significant consultation with schools and other bodies. Applications for the IEM will open in Q3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'Beyond the correction slot" by Emma Meade-Flynn Emma started off talking about opportunities for feedback in the training room and emerging language. She talked about emerging (or emergent) language and unplanned language that the teacher chooses to focus on. This might be for clarification or modification. Emma posed the interesting question of where we focus our feedback and if we focus on errors, communication breakdowns, phrasing or something else. Her recommendation was to make dealing with emerging language the target of a lesson. She pointed out how "learning is more durable when noticed". Emma also stressed the need not just for responsive reactive feedback but also feedforward. She went on to differentiate between language in the form of exercises and genuine, interesting communication in which there are no set or known answers. Course books, Emma said, are about language and don't tend to be used in a motivational way. Using material is different to using activities she claimed! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "A framework for academic managers' CPD" by Lou McLaughlin Lou introduced some background to Eaquals and its objectives including to develop quality standards, to deliver accreditation and to develop practical resources. Lou discussed the Eaquals framework for language teacher training and development of 2016 and it's equivalent for academic purposes in 2020 and academic management in 2021. She stressed the importance of values being displayed in the classroom. Lou posed interesting questions about what academic management is, what am academic manager does and how the role if academic manager can be more attractive. She talked about four levels of development: 1. deliver existing systems 2. evaluate these systems 3. create the new at institutional level 4. facilitate development of people for benefit of the organisation. Lou also mentioned eight levels of competence for managers each with a range of skills and functions: - Managing self - People systems and processes - Professional development - Course and assessment design - Planning and administration - Managing resources - Change management - Quality, marketing and customer service ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "VR in the Classroom" by Anna Maroutian Anna opened her talk with a personal recollection about her international experiences growing up. This was a hugely confident talk with no slides in which Anna posed questions about the audience's views on and experiences of VR and how it links to language training. Anna stated that VR today is viewed much like IWBs were years ago and now these are standard tools; space and costs, however, are two limiting factors. She gave us a demonstration of VR using "Noun Town" and an open critique of how VR fit educational purposes is at the moment and the sharp contrast in quality between VR in games and VR used for educational purposes. We were also introduced us to twee.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Embracing Change: the Heart of the Matter" by Julia Aliverti In a characteristically inspiring plenary talk, Julia spoke about changes in her teaching and practice in Greece as experienced during demands for changes in working practice and the Covid-19 pandemic. She raised the issue of digital literacy and what level is needed in order to successfully learn virtually. Julia continued to introduce the principles of "techno-ethics" and the importance this has in ensuring success in virtual learning. She went on to describe what is needed for successful intercultural communication and what it takes to be an "intercultural speaker" with key traits such as empathy, active listening, adaptability, flexibility in communication and more. These are essential, Julia stated, for the internal environment of the classroom to be conducive. Julia proposed the use of empathy mapping and "I am from ..." poems in the classroom to develop understanding, empathy, self-awareness and authenticity. She firmly advocated the role of the teacher as an agent of improvement and change and helping others to "explore".

Finally, I am getting around to the follow up post I promised in my last post (Conference Attendance with Purpose). I got a bit distracted by being at the conference and in the thick of things that blogging got somewhat neglected. Luckily, my more focused business partner, Ben, picked up the slack. He posted 5 times during the conference based on some sage advice he'd read somewhere...!! The other reason for my reticence about picking up on where I left off last time ("how I manage all my conference "luggage", and especially, where to stash my business cards so they can be quickly and easily whipped out at a moments notice."), is that I didn't do so well with whipping out my business cards. Although, on the whole, I was successful in keeping the conference "luggage" to a minimum most of the time. At least, I didn't suffer from the sore shoulder and aching back of previous conferences this time. For 4 out for the 5 conference days, I had my cards in my jacket pocket - changed jacket on Wednesday and forgot to transfer them! BUT what I noticed overall is that very few people have business cards. There was hardly a need to hand mine out. Why is that? IATEFL-ers generally don't have / see the need for business cards? They're too expensive to create and print? It's not eco-friendly to produce more print material? People simply forget to hand them out? Business cards are not en vogue any more....? Most presenters have cottoned on to the convenience of a QR code at the end of their presentations - we do that too. So much easier to snap a code than write down an email address. Does that make a business card redundant? I'm old-school, I guess, from a generation of people for whom it was the norm, particularly working in businesses, to represent yourself / your job on a little rectangular piece of card. And I like designing them too - I wasted - no, invested, many hours playing with Canva. But perhaps it's time to let go of that little bit of paraphernalia? It doesn't add much weight to my conference "luggage" but it is one thing to have to think about (I was so annoyed when I realised they weren't in my pocked on Wednesday!) What about you, dear reader? Do you have a stack of business cards that you keep at the ready when you're out and about? Is it something, as a business English trainer, that you feel is an essential part of your professional persona, something to demonstrate to potential clients that you mean business? Or is it time to relegate the business card to the dustbin of old-fashioned, unnecessary items?

Attending one of the plenaries at IATEFL's 2023 Conference in Harrogate this week got me thinking about ways to engage with plenary talks at such events. Here are my thoughts on what a conference delegate could do (not) when listening to a plenary. Do: 1. Always attend a talk with an open mind even if it is not "your thing"; there will be something to learn or just to think about. 2. Find a way to engage in a way that works for you - this could be note-taking, active listening, asking questions, tweeting or blogging. Change your method if you feel you are becoming jaded. 3. Always question (ie: critically reflect). Do not think you have to agree with everything just because this is a plenary talk delivered by a "thought leader". 4. Think critically and feel free to reject the speaker's ideas if they do not work for you, your culture, your organisation, your students or your wider context. 5. Write up your notes and share with colleagues or the wider community in some form. 6. Talk to the speaker at a suitable time beyond the plenary session. Take a selfie if you can! Do NOT: 1. Dismiss the talk or speaker based on the title or their field, nor place them on a pedestal. 2. Panic after the talk and think you must change your entire teaching practice - test new ideas and adapt old ones based on what you learned. 3. Get swept along with a crowd; some plenaries can evoke a certain group dynamic which, on reflection may be over the top - either in a positive or negative way. 4. Jump on something because it is a fad; take ideas that will enhance your teaching, not just act as a substitute for something else. 5. Be afraid to critique openly - you can evaluate and be polite. A person's status in the industry (real or perceived) does not mean they are immune from being questioned. 6. Feel any form of guilt as a result of the plenary or think that what you have been doing is wrong! 7. Feel afraid to speak to a plenary speaker after their talk or when you see them around the conference venue. What do you think? What would you add to this list?