V for Variety by George Topalis & Emmanuel Kontovas - Report

Every learner is different and a good teacher should be able to not only identify those differences, but create teaching content and apply teaching methods which will cover the needs of all the students in class.

The variety of learning styles was not only discussed by George Topalis and Emmanuel Kontovas, but also by one of our plenary speakers, Marjorie Rosenberg, which further underlines the importance of the issue.

It came as an unexpected reflection that it is not only our students that learn based on their own learning styles, but that we, teachers, also teach according to our own styles.

How can we cater for the needs of everybody in the classroom? Variety is the key word. The presenters recommended a number of techniques which will spice up every classroom and engage every student.

Music is a classic choice. Have you tried instrumental music, though? According to the presenters, it has an affective nature, brings out emotions and acts as a key to imagination. Music creates mental images and using songs generate optimal circumstances for effective language learning. A perfect example is that of the song "Friends will be Friends" which can be used as a springboard for a discussion on friendship and a great source of ideas for creating relevant materials.

Using photos in the classroom to introduce new vocabulary and generate discussion is another fantastic idea. I am sure all the participants remember the two chameleons.

The speakers reminded the audience about copyright issues involved in using images available on the Internet and recommended a site with free copyright-free images available to all http://www.gettyimages.com/

Storytelling was among the popular themes during the convention. It is a great way to engage your students. Whereas our plenary speakers, Alec Williams and Andrew Wright, talked extensively about the art of storytelling, George and Manolis recommended a couple of practical tips regarding the use of storytelling in the ELT classroom. If in search of free audio stories, visit http://www.storynory.com/

We are living in the video age and short video clips are more popular than ever. Why not integrate those elements of the digital revolution into our teaching? A short video with the title "Knick Knock" available at https://goo.gl/O8RbZA which is engaging, fun to watch, and a great springboard for in-class discussion at the same time was an interesting recommendation.

The presentation closed with the projection of a short video in which children expressed their views on education and made us realize how happy they are when there is variety in learning.

By Margarita Kosior

Become a YouTube Ninja* by Dimitris Tzouris - Report

How confident do you feel when you decide to use YouTube for educational reasons? Are you really aware of how to use this powerful social medium in full extent?

Passionate with technology, a web enthusiast and a social media evangelist himself, Dimitris Tzouris gave a very interesting and valuable talk at the 22nd TESOL MTh Annual International Convention about how to use YouTube effectively.

Dimitris began his presentation by explaining what the asterix on the title of his talk meant. Well, those of us who did not know that had the chance to find out that the meaning is: “results may vary”.

Then, Dimitris indulged in a retrospection as far as how communication used to be in very old times. He mentioned the cave paintings that people used to draw back then in order to deliver a message. Visual communication gave its place to writing but, as he said, visual communication is in our DNA. This is the reason why the art of photography took ground. Moving image was then developed and along with the written script, the art of video emerged. According to Dimitris, teaching can be more engaging through video use. And he explained why.

First of all, he did a quick comparison between visual language and the printed word and he moved on to explain that a lot of research has been done on visual communication. Animated GIFs, creation of visual images and apps for smartphones like Instagram, Vine, Snapchat and of course YouTube are just some of the examples, products of this research, which prove how powerful visual communication is in the modern world. Constant connectivity can occur at anytime and in any place and this creates a whole new perspective of the world. Video has become prominent, easy and free and the possibilities are endless.

Photographs by Margarita Kosior

Before focusing on the effective use of YouTube, Dimitris informed us that 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute which turns YouTube into a very powerful medium. Millions of dollars are placed on this new trend and YouTube stars appear to become famous among young people. Then, he gave us valuable tips and lots of ideas on how to use YouTube at best way. Books being read aloud, TED talks, watching experiments and lessons from TED Ed (http://ed.ted.com/) are some great ideas which promote the notion of blended learning, the flipped classroom and the opportunity to dive deeper into a topic.

Moving to the practical part he showed us how to use buttons like “watch later," the safety toggle, how to block advertisements, how to save playlists, how to change the order of videos and how to download and keep a video offline.

Finally, he talked about the amazing opportunities that YouTube offers like coding and creating an audio library.

You can find Dimitris Tzouris' presentation here:

http://www.slideshare.net/tzouris

By Efi Tzouri

Interviewed by Lana Lemeshko

Developing Learner Autonomy and Learning Strategies in Teaching Foreign Languages at Primary School by Ljiljana Kostandinovic – Report

How important is the role of learner autonomy in the process of learning a foreign language as well as in the child's general development?

In her presentation Ljiljana Kostandinovic referred to the main theories of the child's cognitive, emotional and social development and she moved on to explain how theory is applied in learning strategies and which techniques have been developed through the learning process of a foreign language at primary school.

The main focus of her presentation was on the importance of teaching students how to learn and how to become independent and responsible for their own learning from a young age. She pointed out that due to the fact that learner autonomy is a long process, it is crucial not only to be initiated at primary school, but also different activities should be involved in order to create a positive influence on learners and lead to positive learning results.

Ms Kostandinovic introduced the meaning of metacognitive awareness. She explained that the term includes four aspects: Language, social, cognitive, and cultural awareness. Each aspect plays a very important role in developing learner autonomy. Language awareness enhances curiosity. Hence, learners tend to ask more questions about language in order to discover and understand more. Social awareness boosts social interaction,cooperation and teamwork. Cognitive awareness helps learners to understand the reasons and the ways that a foreign language is learnt at school. Finally, cultural awareness creates a positive attitude towards the target language.

To conclude with, Ms Kostandinovic pointed out that factors like time management, selective material and good coaching from the teacher lead learners to become autonomous. Also teacher's skills like setting objectives and planning their study are vital and play a significant role in learner autonomy.

By Efi Tzouri

Interviewed by Lana Lemeshko

Voice: Friend or Foe? by Maria Papachristou - Report

Cough, running out of breath, laryngitis and pharyngitis… so frequent are all of these problems among teachers that we often consider “losing the voice” a part of our job. It does not have to be like this anymore.

During the 22nd Tesol Macedonia Thrace Northern Greece Annual International Convention Ms Maria Papachristou delivered a very interesting and interactive talk with the title: “Voice: Friend or Foe?” 

Good voice projection cannot be learnt in a day. It takes a lot of effort and practice. We have to know how to project our voice correctly in order not to harm our vocal cords, since the wrong use of our voice can lead to a lot of problems ranging from a cough to more serious problems which require surgery.

Ms Papachristou first presented to us the organs of speech (the mouth, the larynx, and the diaphragm) and described how we use them and how we should use them properly. To our surprise, we found out that the right position of the tongue and the soft palate is achieved at the moment of yawning. It is that relaxing moment when everything in our mouth seems to be in the right place, so that we can produce a clear and unobstructed sound.

After presenting the organs of speech we talked about the art of breathing.

We can produce a clear voice by using some specific techniques. These techniques come from classical music and are used by opera singers who must know how to project their voice without the use of the microphone and without straining their vocal cords. Diaphragmatic breathing is more relaxing, lasts longer and helps produce unobstructed sounds. Consequently, it helps us with a lot of activities, such as walking or talking.

We were also surprised to find out that there is a part of our body which is called the speakers. The voice coming out through the speakers will be projected forward and heard more clearly.

The session was not pure theory, but the audience got an opportunity to practice the two types of breathing and notice the differences. Overall, a very interesting session which made us all realize that in order to be more productive teachers, we need to take care of one of our most important tools: the voice.

Ms Papachristou is an English teacher, but with the guidance and support of her teacher, Mrs Efthimia Chasiotou, she has studied voice projection and has also become a teacher of monody of classical music. 

By Margarita Kosior

Teaching Out of the Book by Despina Karamitsou - Report

One of our active members, Despina Karamitsou, delivered once again a brilliant talk entitled "Teaching out of the book" at TESOL Macedonia-Thrace, Northern Greece’s 22nd convention entitled "Back to Basics", on Saturday 28th March 2015. 

Photo by Margarita Kosior

It tied in well with the general theme, as she presented some excellent easy to set up activities for primary school children; activities, requiring limited resources and preparation time but involving a lot of hands-on learning, enthusiasm and unlimited fun. 

The only prerequisites needed are energy, and willingness to step outside the confines of the textbook or even the classroom. They involved TPR, teamwork, creativity and more. Ideas like creating thematic lapbooks and dioramas to setting up relay races which not only promote language learning but also an awareness of various environmental issues like the importance of conserving water. 

Despina also shared her wonderful ideas at the seminar organized by the Larissa English Teachers Association, so that our colleagues who were not able to attend this year’s conference could get a taste of what being a member offers to professionals. 

I would like to thank Despina for her devotion and eagerness to contribute and I anxiously await to see her in action again.

Photo by Aphrodite Gkiouris

By George Topalis

Harnessing the Complicated Phenomenon of Language Acquisition: Theories and Aspects by Maria-Araxi Sachpazian - Report

Language acquisition is indeed quite a complicated phenomenon; Maria Araxi Sachpazian, however, managed to simplify the various theories with her comprehensive presentation of approaches to language acquisition, while inviting participants to reexamine their own practice.

The session began with a lively discussion, in an attempt to explain the complexity of the issue. Why are there so many different theories? Is learning conscious? What happens with second or foreign language acquisition? Does a form-focused approach work? Through the discussion, our presenter practically invited us to ‘’clean up our closet’’, analyse and pinpoint the elements of each theory that work and those that prove less effective. The participants were engulfed in dialogue while the presenter was showcasing the different approaches: Grammar Translation, Audio-lingual, Suggestopedia, Cognitivism,The Natural Approach,The Silent Way (as an example of Humanistic Approaches) and Communicative Language Teaching. The unparalleled variety of teaching practices kept unfolding and each participant had their own unique view and experience to share.

By the end of the talk, all participants had had the opportunity to express their opinion, their own approach and their worries on the subject of acquisition, as well as to listen to each other, offer suggestions and understand that the best each theory gives us can be used in our teaching.

What emerged from Maria-Araxi Sachpazian’s session was that socio-cultural theories definitely affect our approach to teaching and that, in fact, our teaching is determined by our learning and training. Shifting the emphasis on our students’ ability and firmly believing in our approach as teachers seemed to be the appropriate conclusion to this thought-provoking presentation.

In the short amount of time of the session, Maria-Araxi Sachpazian managed to clarify details on the varied learning theories and challenge participants to take an inquisitive view on their personal approach to teaching.

By Christina Chorianopoulou

Interviewed by Christina Chorianopoulou

Do The Media Tell The Whole Truth? by Linda Manney - Report

What does George Orwell’s Animal Farm have in common with products such as perfumes, energy drinks and chocolate? As Linda Manney explained at the beginning of her presentation at the 22^nd International Convention, Orwell’s well-known book was the inspiration for this project aimed at 12-18 year old teenagers. The subject, of course: Propaganda.

How is propaganda used in today’s adverts which bombard our children? Are children aware of the techniques used in advertisements and which persuade them to buy the product? As Linda explained, she began the project by showing World War II posters to her students where the principles of advertising are more obvious, the images have both an emotional and personal appeal and the use of language is overdramatic. The task for the students: to find posters from the 40s. The ones the students chose definitely had the exaggeration of the time.

Moving on to today’s adverts, Linda explained how the same principles are used- they appeal to our most basic drives: glamour, wealth, excitement, adventure. Our task?  to find the clusters i.e. the group of textual parts which work together to convey a stronger message.; to watch adverts and find how the music adds to this; to find how the ads shown “speak to our fantasy”.

All in all, Linda Manney’s presentation had exactly what one would want when leaving a convention:  a project ready to use in the classroom for the teachers while at the same time doing more than just teaching English. It is this awareness raising which has become so important in today’s world and goes beyond language learning itself that this project offers and will remain with learners forever.

By Natasha Loukeri