Alastair Henry

Alastair Henry is professor of language education at University West (Sweden). His research focuses on L2 motivation, multilingualism, language teachers’ motivational practices, and teacher identity dynamics. In addition to many articles written on these topics, he is the co-author and co-editor of several books. These include, Motivational dynamics in language learning (Multilingual Matters, co-edited with Zoltán Dörnyei and Peter D. MacIntyre), Motivational currents in language learning: Frameworks for focused interventions (Routledge, co-authored with Zoltán Dörnyei and Christine Muir), Motivational Practice: Insights from the classroom (Studentlitteratur, co-authored with Pia Sundqvist and Cecilia Thorsen), and The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (co-edited with Martin Lamb, Kata Csizér and Stephen Ryan).

ABSTRACT Title

Persistence in L2 learning: Identities, vision, and goal self-concordance

Description

Persistence is crucial to success in language learning. On the long road to fluency, diversions, hurdles, and setbacks can be many. Drawing on recent work investigating persistence in L2 learning (Dörnyei, 2020; Dörnyei & Henry, 2022), I will present and describe a framework that seeks to explain long-term motivation and motivational endurance.

Belgin ELMAS

Belgin ELNAS had her undergraduate and PhD degrees at Anadolu University ELT Department and her MA at Bilkent University with Fulbright Scholarship. All her degrees are from the field of English Language Teaching. Having worked at various positions at Anadolu University between 2004-2008, Aydın has been working as the ELT Department Head at TED University since May 2018. Working as a member of various commissions, including Quality Assurance Commission and Bologna Commission, she also acted as one of the founding members of Turkish Accreditation Association of Language Teaching. Aydın served as Deputy Director of Graduate School of Education Sciences between 2004-2008, and as the Director of School of Foreign Languages between 2014-2019. In her doctorate dissertation, Aydın focused on the sources of foreign language anxiety in speaking and writing skills and has been conducting research mainly on pre-service teacher training, professional development, technology integration in language teaching, distance learning and curriculum development. She directed many MA theses on various topics and two PhD theses on language assessment. Working as a director and a researcher in various TUBİTAK and BAP projects, Aydın presented at different national and international conferences and has been teaching courses including methodology in language teaching, teaching English to children, digital material development and individual differences in language learning.

ABSTRACT Title: How Can We Prepare Teachers to Prepare Their Learners for the Future?

How can we prepare learners for the future? This is the question the world is trying to answer. Then we, as teacher educators, need to ask how we need to prepare teachers to prepare their learners for the future. In such a rapidly changing world, answering the first question is not an easy one. We do not exactly know what kind of knowledge, skills, and experiences our learners will be expected to equip, but we know that the future will be less about teaching and more about learning. While we are not very much familiar with what is happening in the Metaverse World, we are certain that skills like becoming more resilient, persistent, and agile, mastering emotions, and establishing healthy relations will be much more important than the knowledge learners will have. We know that teachers will need to improve themselves not in delivering the content in the best possible way but in being a mentor for the individual learners in acknowledging their strengths and facilitating the learning process for them, so they can achieve their fullest potential and find the purpose of their life.

The education system has long been criticized for not preparing the learners to deal with the demands of today’s life, and the Covid 19 Pandemic, confirming these criticisms, has proved the urgent need for the transform in the education system all over the world. The ultimate question for us lies in preparing the teachers who are right in the center of this revolution. This talk will try to answer how teacher education can and should be transformed in adopting the future needs of the learners.

Amanda Yeşilbursa

 Originally from the UK, Dr Amanda Yeşilbursa has been involved in ELT and teacher education for over 30 years. She has taught students of all ages and levels, from kindergarten to postgraduate in contexts as varied as Taiwan, the UK, and Turkey. She gained her postgraduate degrees in ELT from Gazi University, and currently holds the position of full professor at Bursa Uludağ University. She teaches Teaching English Language Skills at undergraduate level, and Classroom Interaction, Language Teacher Psychology and Theories and Applications of Qualitative Research at postgraduate level. Her research interests include reflective practice, English Language teacher education, and Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry as a context for teaching practice.

Pia Sundqvist

Pia Sundqvist holds a PhD in English Linguistics from Karlstad University, Sweden, and is currently Associate Professor of English Language Education at the University of Oslo, Norway. Her main research interests are in the field of applied English linguistics, with a focus on informal language learning, especially extramural English and the relation between digital gameplay and aspects of L2 English proficiency, the assessment of L2 oral proficiency, and English language teaching in multilingual classrooms. She is the Primary Investigator of the STAGE Project (STarting AGe and Extramural English, 2021-2025, funded by the Research Council of Norway), which aims to provide new insights into the input-acquisition relationship by unraveling the relative contribution of formal instruction and Extramural English to L2 English learners’ English proficiency. Sundqvist is the author of Extramural English in Teaching and Learning (with Sylvén, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and of Motivational Practice: Insights from the Classroom (with Henry and Thorsen, Studentlitteratur, 2019). She has contributed with articles in journals such as Journal of Pragmatics, Language Learning & Technology, ReCALL, System, and TESOL Quarterly. She is a member of the board of the Swedish Association of Applied Linguistics (ASLA) and the Editor-in-Chief of its journal. Before starting her academic career, Sundqvist worked as a teacher in Sweden.

Title:

15 Years of Researching Extramural English: Lessons Learned for ELT

In this talk, keeping the theme of the conference in mind, I will focus on what fifteen years of research on extramural English has taught us about informal learning of English in out-of-school settings, and how such research findings can inform English language teaching (ELT). During this time period, there has been a clear global trend of implementing formal instruction of English as a foreign/second/additional language (L2) early in primary school (Nikolov & Mihaljević Djigunović, 2011), even though there is little empirical evidence that an early start is beneficial for learners in the long run (Muñoz & Singleton, 2011). Interestingly, during the same period, the opportunities for learning English informally have been richer than ever thanks to technological advancements, learners’ increased access to the internet, and the status of English as a global language (Graddol, 2006). Extramural English (EE) refers to ‘English outside the walls of the classroom’ in activities such as listening to music, reading books, watching streamed media content, and online gaming (Sundqvist, 2009). EE activities are initiated by the learners themselves, generally for the purpose of entertainment. However, both incidental and intentional (and online and offline) learning of L2 English is covered by the concept (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016). Because EE plays a crucial role in most learners’ daily lives, it is essential that teachers gain knowledge about learners’ EE, but how can that be done, and what are some pedagogical implications for ELT? My presentation aims to shed light on questions such as these.

References

Graddol, D. (2006). English next. London: British Council.

Muñoz, C., & Singleton, D. (2011). A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment. Language Teaching, 44(1), 1–35.

Nikolov, M., & Mihaljević Djigunović, J. (2011). All shades of every color: An overview of early teaching and learning of foreign languages. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 95–119. doi:10.1017/S0267190511000183

Sundqvist, P. (2009). Extramural English matters: Out-of-school English and its impact on Swedish ninth graders’ oral proficiency and vocabulary. (Diss.). Karlstad University, Karlstad.

Sundqvist, P., & Sylvén, L. K. (2016). Extramural English in teaching and learning: From theory and research to practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.