FrFriday, 10:30 am-11:30 am

The Twilight Zone: Between Grammar and Lexis

Traditionally, language syllabuses make a distinction between grammar, on the one hand, and vocabulary, on the other. But this compartmentalization ignores the fact that there is a huge body of multi-word items – variously known as formulaic expressions, lexical chunks, constructions, and so on – that don’t lend themselves easily to either category. In this talk I’ll review the evidence for these phenomena, and show how they contribute both to fluency and to language acquisition, and speculate as to how they might be integrated into the second language curriculum and classroom practice.

Scott Thornbury, Cambridge University Press and Assessment

Friday, 12:45 pm-1:45 pm

Engaging students in meaningful digital interactions

New advancements in technology mean that we’re constantly bombarded with attractive digital tools that promise to keep students engaged and motivated. But how do you cut through this digital noise and focus on what’s meaningful and truly adds value to the learning process? Are there any specific digital interactions that can help improve learning outcomes? Join Kasia to explore these and other questions related to digital learning. We’ll examine how insights from digital pedagogy can make teaching with technology more meaningful and we’ll look at some practical examples from Cambridge One to see how this this can be applied in practice.

Kasia Brzorska, Cambridge University Press and Assessment

Friday, 1:50 pm-2:35 pm

Developing Professional Communicative Competence with Wordwall

Presenters will concentrate on expanding English vocabulary through the use of software programs such as Wordwall. Softwares like Wordwall helps EFL learners build memory techniques, enhance creativity, and reduce anxiety. The educators will share their expertise by developing a number of interactive vocabulary-based exercises on Word wall and other such kind of educational software.

Durdona Pulatova, Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Russian Federation

Friday, 1:50 pm-2:35 pm

Using Etymology as a Deliberate Vocabulary Learning Approach: A Psycholinguistic Analysis

Whilst formal classrooms are inadequate to teach the needed amount of vocabulary due to time constraints, language learners are encouraged to take the vocabulary learning process outside the classroom domain. Additionally, vocabulary learning has always been accompanied by the problem of retention. Therefore, the etymological approach not only helps learners’ retention, but also equips English language learners with a decoding tool in which unknown words can be deciphered and interpreted from their building blocks.

Abdullatif Alshatti, Australian College, Kuwait

Friday, 1:50 pm-2:35 pm

Strategies for Teaching Writing to Arab Learners in an ESL/EFL Context

The presentation will discuss how educators can teach the four basic types of academic writing, such as descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical writing to Arab learners. It will also highlight the importance of explicit and implicit rule teaching, integrating grammar in writing tasks, as well as giving corrective feedback.

Ghada Alabdulaly, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait

Friday, 2:40 pm-3:40 pm

A Recipe for Teacher Learning

Teacher learning, or education, or training, is a critical element in any teacher’s professional development. This session discusses the aims of teacher learning, what we are striving for, and the benefits in terms of classroom impact. We will consider a four-step process to support teachers’ professional development and the organisations that they work for, and define three elements for successful teacher training input: personal, professional, practical (Ellman & Lucantoni, 2022).

Peter Lucantoni, Cambridge University Press and Assessment

Friday, 3:45 pm-4:30 pm

Writing Practices Post Covid-19: Exploring Third Grade English Teachers’ Perceptions

This qualitative study explored third grade English language teachers’ perceptions on writing practices and challenges prior, during, and post COVID-19 in the UAE. The findings showed that post-Covid writing challenges have significantly increased. Pedagogical and remedial implications have been taken to bridge the gap between virtual and face-to-face writing instructions.

Eman Y. Mahmoud, PhD Student, UAE

Safeya Alkatheeri, PhD Student, UAE

Friday, 3:45 pm-4:30 pm

Language Teaching as a Reflective Practice - CANCELLED

Language teachers need to continue their professional development. Language teachers' reflection helps to develop teaching and learning. Language teachers should be open to and responsible for reform. Teacher reflection should be deliberate, purposeful and structured. The reflective cycle consists of five steps; mapping, informing, contesting, appraising and acting.

Samir Omara, Shebin El-Kom IDGL School, Egypt

Friday, 3:45 pm-4:30 pm

Enhancing Language Teaching to Millennials 

In this presentation we'll look at the difficulties teachers face when working with modern students and ways of overcoming them. In this presentation the material will be organized in a metacognitive scheme, and partcicipants will go through the stages of learning to understand the effective ways of teaching post-millenials.

Maryna Tsehelska, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine

Friday, 4:35 pm-5:20 pm

Leading a School Transformation by Creating an Environment of Trust and Collaboration: An Autoethnography

School leadership is critical in ensuring the effectiveness of the education system, both in quality and quantity. A leader in a school may play a significant role in creating a conducive environment for students, teachers, staff, parents, and other stakeholders. This paper reports a case of a school principal who, in her own words, recounts her experiences of leading the school's transformation from an ordinary public school to a nationally recognized one within three years of her tenure. We used autoethnography as a genre of writing personal, evocative narratives to portray the transformative leadership experience. The first author wrote the autobiographical vignettes, placing her personal experiences into the social, cultural, and historical context of the United Arab Emirates. Then, the second author interpreted these narrative experiential anecdotes, connecting the critical nodal moments with the theory of critical transformative leadership to make sense of personal experiences within the social, cultural, and historical context. The thematic interpretive portrayals reveal four key moments of transformative school leadership practices— Accepting Challenge amid Uncertainty: Experience as a Novice School Leader; Building Relationship, Gaining Trust, and Dealing with Challenges; Dreaming of a Model School and Exposure to the Environment; and Successful Keys to Leading Change and Vision for the Future. We have discussed some practical implications of these themes.

Ameirah Mohamed, United Arab Emirates University, UAE

Friday, 4:35 pm-5:20 pm

Investigation into Instructors' Perceptions of L1 Use in EFL Classrooms

Due to alterations in foreign language educational strategies, the utilization of the L1 has invariably been one of the most contentious topics in the field. The purpose of the research was to investigate instructors’ perceptions about employing students’ L1 in language classrooms and which specific methods they favor using L1.

Adel Al-Abed, Smart Mind Institute, Kuwait

Friday, 4:35 pm-5:20 pm

Five Creative Ways to Take Language Off the Page

This session aims to share a set of low-preparation activities that will allow teachers to bring language work off the coursebook page. It involves all four macro skills, and it encourages students to use their creativity and work collaboratively on tasks that can easily be adapted to different levels and topics.There are some suggestions regarding vocabulary items and grammatical structures that can be revised or recycled with them.

Pilar Capaul, International House Buenos Aires, Argentina

Friday, 5:25 pm-6:25

Aligning Tests to the CEFR

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) (COE, 2001) was developed in order to align language testing across Europe, providing a mental framework that enables people to say where they are on a common scale: common reference levels (A2-C2). 

In 2003 and later in 2009 the Council of Europe produced a supporting manual which would allow language examination boards to align language examinations to the CEFR (COE, 2009). This manual adopted five inter-related approaches: Familiarisation; Specification; Standardisation; Standard Setting; Validation. 

In this presentation we will discuss the above approaches that users are advised to follow in order to design a linking scheme in terms of self-contained, manageable activities. CEFR alignment is part of a wider validation study which language tests providers should provide evidence for when building a validation argument. It is one of the last validation research projects that should be carried out under what is known as criterion-related validity (Weir, 2005). However, in order for test scores to be interpreted by external stakeholders it is a vital piece of work, albeit equal in importance as all other validity. 

Darren Perrett, Cambridge University Press and Assessment

Saturday, 10:00 am-11:00 am

The Great Reset: How Covid-19 Has Changed the Way We Teach and Learn English

Covid-19 has changed the way we work. This session will explore how the experiences of learners and teachers have changed, focus on those changes that are beneficial to us and and may become part of our practices, and engage with the changes that have had negative impacts on our community.

Christopher Graham, ELT Footprint

Saturday, 11:05 am-11:50 am

What Is Beyond the English Degree, Matters!

After the huge achievement of getting our degree in English language and being ELTs, we sometimes find ourselves not ready yet to handle the teaching process in its best ways inside the classroom and sometimes we struggle to find the best lead-in and activities to cover the curriculum points perfectly.

Fares Al Shammari, Kuwait College of Science and Technology, Kuwait

Saturday, 11:05 am-11:50 am

Game-Based Learning vs Game-Assisted Learning Workshop

Irrespective of the age of the learner, fun, playfulness, and games enhance attention, recognition, and retention of acquired knowledge and skills. However, it requires a lot of practice to apply and adapt games for the classroom. In this workshop, participants will play and assess (educational) games and playful activities.

Mikolaj Sobocinski, American University of the Middle East, Kuwait

Saturday, 11:05 am-11:50 am

Promoting the Oral Reading Fluency of EFL Students through Reading Progress

In acknowledging oral reading fluency as an integral part of reading ability in EFL learning, the presentation introduces Reading Progress in Microsoft Teams to foster immediate corrective feedback through assessing oral reading accuracy and tracking individual progress over time. The presentation also discusses pedagogical implications in the existing curriculum.

Shu-hua Wu, Language Center, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Kuwait

Sulaiman Alrabah, Language Center, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Kuwait

Saturday, 1:00 pm-1:45 pm

Learning Oriented Assessment: Applications in the Classroom

Teacher learning, or education, or training, is a critical element in any teacher’s professional development. This session discusses the aims of teacher learning, what we are striving for, and the benefits in terms of classroom impact. We will consider a four-step process to support teachers’ professional development and the organisations that they work for, and define three elements for successful teacher training input: personal, professional, practical (Ellman & Lucantoni, 2022).

Hisham AlSaghbini, Cambridge University Press and Assessment

Saturday, 1:50 pm-2:35 pm

Motivating Language Learning via Popular Culture in Arab Classrooms

Arab women’s cultural encounters with the West have resulted is several different outcomes. Written encounters reveal the strong dichotomy between an idealized West and a disdained ‘other’. Language has played an important factor in representing such cultural struggles and writing an Arab identity in the midst of such encounters.

Samira Jafar, Kuwait University, Kuwait

Saturday, 1:50 pm-2:35 pm

Approaching Occidentalism: The West through Arab Female Eyes

Arab women’s cultural encounters with the West have resulted in several different outcomes. Written encounters reveal the strong dichotomy between an idealized West and a disdained ‘other’. Language has played an important factor in representing such cultural struggles and writing an Arab identity in the midst of such encounters.

Sarah Ashkanani, Australian University, Kuwait

Saturday, 1:50 pm-2:35 pm

CPD That INSPIRE-s

INSPIRE helps institutions approach CPD (continuing professional development) in a systematic way, ensure that it meets their long-term objectives, teachers’ aspirations, and addresses the reality on the ground (students’ needs). This session will present INSPIRE as a model and go through the steps of building an efficient CPD program.

Sosil Somokian, Box Hill College, Kuwait

Saturday, 2:35 pm-3:20 pm

An Analysis of Arab Undergraduate Students’ Writing Performance: Applying the SWOT Framework

This study was conducted to explore and analyse the writing skill proficiency of undergraduate Arab Business Students using the SWOT framework “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats”. An analysis of a written corpus of 80 students’ written analytical essays was thoroughly conducted. The participants were businesses major students enrolled in a writing course at the Open Arab University in Kuwait. The research is still undergoing.

Alya Almutawa, Public Authority for Applied Education, Kuwait

Hanan Al Kandari, Arab Open University, Kuwait

Fatma Fayez, Arab Open University, Kuwait

Saturday, 2:35 pm-3:20 pm

Utilizing Innovative Technologies in Education

Today's learners are very different from older generations; not only are they tech savvy but they also have short spans of attention if something isn’t interesting to them. Using innovative technologies in education can be very effective to increase motivation and engagement of learners in the classroom.

Rasha Shalabi, Kuwait Technical College, Kuwait

Saturday, 2:35 pm-3:20 pm

Activating and Motivating Students through Gamification

Gamification has been significantly used in classes. Although companies have already been appling it as a way to break boredom among employees, and motivate them. Yet, we find that it is often not fully understood and that many teachers are confused between Gamification and Game-based learning. Therefore, it’s important to identify them and their uses. To be applied effectively in classrooms with students.

Shayma Matar, Ministry of Education, Kuwait

Saturday, 3:30 pm-4:30 pm

The Downfall of Dogmas in English Language Teaching: Pragmatic Grammar as a New Approach to Teaching Contextualised Language 

There is a strong affinity between theory and practice and teaching English as a foreign language, TEFL, is the best area where TEFL practice is heavily impacted by theory. Over the last fifty years, the linguistic theory has undergone several upheavals that have paved the way for the emergence of certain dogmas that have severely affected ELT practice afterwards. Formal language theories are principally based on two important pillars, the first of which is decontextualisation, and the second of which is reductionism. These two pillars have negatively affected the linguistic theory and have hindered any development of a genuine sociocultural understanding of language, creating thus grave dogmas in linguistics and in TEFL. With the emergence of pragmatics in the sixties and cultural linguistics in the 90s, a new approach to linguistics was born, and as such a new ray of hope for breaking linguistic dogmas appeared. In this talk, I will focus on the new outcomes of cultural linguistics and pragmatics in envisaging a new era of effective English language teaching, away from the shackles of linguistic dogmas that hinder foreign students from learning and producing English naturally. Non-native students of English need to construe the sociocultural context in second language learning and should develop an awareness of using language effectively in appropriate situations. Grammar, as such, should be taught as a spring of water serving the communicative purposes of non-native speakers. English teachers thus should not be teaching sporadic sentences, simply to show their students how phrase structure rules operate. Rather, the mechanics of language should be presented to students as helpful tools to achieve communicative goals. This is achieved through observing the following:

1. Identifying causes of non-native speakers’ mistakes when communicating their messages in English,
2. Developing pragmatic repertoires as instructional components,
3. Developing tests based on gauging pragmatic skills,
4. Helping non-native speakers to be strategically aware of using pragmatic acts in real-time situations,
5. Incorporating technology into teaching pragmatic skills.

In a nutshell, if English teachers really want their non-native students to excel at performing English naturally, they should pay heed to the crucial importance of pragmatics and its role in creating a communicative confluence in English language teaching and learning.

Hussain Al Sharoufi, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait