TESOL MTH CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2019-2020

We are ready to welcome the new academic year with a series of inspirational sessions, our Annual International Conference as well as a series of engaging digital events.

Join TESOL MTH at the August exhibitions

The TESOL MTh board will be happy to see old and new members, colleagues and friends of TESOL MTh at the 15th Foreign Language Forum (28/8 at Capsis Hotel) and at the 32nd Palso Northern Greece two-day Conference and Exhibition. Please visit our stand

to get a copy of our programme of events

to renew your membershing at a special discounted rate ONLY for the three days of the exhibitions.

to take part in our lucky draw for one free annual membership per exhibition. The lucky draw will be held at the end of the Forum on Wednesday and for PALSO we will have one lucky draw on Friday round 16:00. To win your membership you don't have to be there when we do the actual draw as long as you have given us your accurate contact details.

Warm wishes to all for a smashing school year!

Summer Wine with TESOL MTH!

Join TESOL Macedonia-Thrace, Northern Greece board for a glass of wine and a meal on Sunday, 23rd June at 19:00. The price (all inclusive with wine or beer) is 15 euro ατ ΑΚΡΟΝ Νεοταβέρνα in Ladadika. The menu includes grilled vegetables, a selection of dips and salad for the first course and a choice of three dishes (burgers, chicken and pork stake for the main course.) To book your place and let us know you're coming, make sure you visit our event page by clicking on the link below or the image at the end of this post!

 Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/632824810527908/

IATEFL Conference 2019

We're only a few days ago from the the 53rd IATEFL Conference and we couldn't be more excited that TESOL Macedonia Thrace Northern Greece will be represented by our Chair, Maria Araxi Sachpazian. Not only will Ms Sachpazian be representing our Association on the Associates Day, we're also immensely honoured that she will be delivering a presentation on the Associates Day event the theme of which is "Working Together".

This year's Conference will be held at the ACC and Jurys Inn Hotel in Liverpool, United Kingdom from 2 - 5 April 2019 with the Pre-Conference Events taking place on 1 April 2019 and the Conference Exhibition being on from 2 - 4 April 2019.

As usual the Conference which is considered one of the main events in English Language Teaching boasts a wide range of speakers who will be ensuring along with this year's plenary speakers , Paula Rebolledo, John Gray, Aleksandra Zaparucha and Lindsay Clandfield that the Conference will be a unique educational experience for all attendants.
This year's Conference also features a brand new interactive plenary closing event on Friday 5 April entitled Future directions in ELT: where are we headed? with Katherine Bilsborough, Evan Frendo, Amol Padwad and Mercedes Viola.

Every IATEFL Conference is a memorable experience for attendants and IATEFL affiliates as well as we get to share the vision of our Association and enjoy at the same time the educational and networking opportunities it has to offer. 53rd IATEFL Conference, here we come!

26th Annual International Conference full programme

Please, follow the link below to access and download our full conference programme!

https://files.fm/u/cajkhwem

 

26th TESOL Macedonia Thrace Northern Greece Annual International Conference - An interview with Dr Anne Margaret Smith

Our fourth plenary speaker is a lady who has inspired many of us with her pioneering work in the field of learning difficulties. Dr Anne Margaret Smith has been teaching English for 30 years, and is also a dyslexia specialist tutor and assessor. She founded ELT well (www.ELTwell.com) to bring together best practice from the two fields of ELT and SpLD support, and offers materials and training to teachers. She helped found the new IATEFL SIG: Inclusive Practices and SEN in 2016. 

1.     Your plenary session will focus on differentiation and inclusive learning. Which areas of classroom practice will the session mainly touch upon?

In my plenary talk I will be looking at the physical classroom environment, learning materials, and especially classroom management. I want to make the point that we don’t have to rewrite course books or totally change what we are already doing, but just slightly tweak current practice to make it a bit more inclusive.

2.    Your follow-up session will be on the use of multisensory activities. What are some of the benefits of using such activities in the classroom setting?

When we use multisensory activities, we make it more likely that more of our learners will remember more of what we want them to learn. We give students the opportunity to try out different ways of learning, and help them to find ways that suit them best in different situations. Also, it makes for a more varied and enjoyable experience for students and teachers.

3. Based on your long experience as a teacher and dyslexia specialist tutor and assessor, which principles do you feel are the most important when addressing different learning needs and styles in our classrooms?

The most important thing is getting to know our learners as individuals, as well as possible, and helping them to get to know themselves, and their classmates. When we build supportive and respectful relationships, we put in the foundations for inclusive practice in our classrooms, and throughout the whole school.

4.     Our 26th Convention focuses on practical suggestions to solving classroom issues . Which areas of ELT do you feel could benefit the most of a more hands-on approach?

I think perhaps we could look at the way we assess our learners’ progress, and be more creative in the way we evaluate what they can do and what they still need to work on. More practical formative assessment could be done, as opposed to summative assessment. 

 

26th TESOL Macedonia Thrace Northern Greece Annual International Conference - An interview with Dr Thomai Alexiou

Our third plenary speaker, Dr Thomai Alexiou, is a familiar name to Greek and Thessalonikians in particular for her outstanding work in Aristotle University's School of English. Thomaï Alexiou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her expertise is on early foreign language learning, methodology of teaching languages, vocabulary and material development for young learners. She has also authored and edited textbooks for children learning English as a foreign language. One of these books, Magic Book 2 has been shortlisted for the MacMillan Education Award for New Talent in Writing (ELTons 2014).

1.        Your plenary session will focus on re-evaluating vocabulary in the TEYL context. Which areas of vocabulary presentation and acquisition will the session mainly address?

The session will address issues on vocabulary development and vocabulary assessment for very young learners. A number of possible vocabulary assessment tools will be presented while I will also present Pic-lex, a new vocabulary measurement tool for young learners.

2.        In your opinion, what is one aspect of the TEYL environment which needs to be explored further?

The use of cartoon series as educational tools in the TEYL classroom.

3.        Based on your long experience as a University professor, what do you feel should be the priority of English Language students who aim at becoming EFL/ESL teachers?

The first thing they need to have is enthousiasm to teach. The first thing they should get from University is inspiration and knowledge of Pedagogy.

4.        Our 26th Convention focuses on practical suggestions to solving classroom issues. Which areas of ELT do you feel could benefit the most of a more hands-on approach?

This can be a very long list really…Monitoring progress through alternative assessment, classroom management issues, technological tools and applications in ELT etc