RESEARCH SIG DAY at the IATEFL Conference in Liverpool DATE: THURSDAY 11TH APRIL, 2013 Check out our programme below!. Also downloadable here as a pdf file. Why not stay with us for the whole day?! 10.35-11.20 (Hall 11a) Introduction to Research SIG Day, followed by Introducing IRIS: a free, online resource for language teaching research Presenter: Emma Marsden (University of York, UK) IRIS is a freely accessible, international database of materials that have been used to collect data for research into second language learning and teaching. We demonstrate the search and download facilities and review some of the content of IRIS, illustrating the kinds of reseach areas and data collection methods that could help teachers and students who are engaging in research. 11.20-11.55 Break 11.55-12.30 (Hall 11a) Mobigam: language on the move in Gujarat Presenters: Richard Badger (University of Leeds, UK) James Simpson (University of Leeds, UK) Atanu Bhattacharya (Central University of Gujarat, India) Sunil Shah (H.M. Patel Institute of English Training & Research, India) This presentation introduces the Mobigam project on the use of mobile technologies (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, game consoles) in language learning in Gujarat, India. The project involves a new partnership between a network of language teachers and researchers in India and the UK devoted to understanding how mobile technologies can be used in language learning. 12.30-13.00 (Hall 11a) Using Mixed Methods to Explore ‘Ecologies of Schooling’ Presenter: Margaret Hawkins (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) Reporting on a mixed-methods study of schooling for immigrant students in non-gateway districts in the Midwestern United States, this paper delivers an analysis of circulating discourses and practices in educational settings, and reflects on ecologies of schooling through the lens of isolation. Discussion will include attention to study design and research approach and methods. 13.00-14.00 Lunch 14.00-14.30 (Hall 3a) Language Learning Histories in Teaching, Learning and Research Presenters: Sarah Mercer (University of Graz, Austria) David Nunan (Anaheim University, USA) Language learning histories provide rich data from the learner perspective and in learners’ own voices. In this talk, we show how narratives can be useful for researchers, teachers and the learners themselves, and we discuss how using stories from and about learners places them where they should rightfully be - at the centre of the teaching and learning process. 14.45-15.30 (Hall 11a) Research SIG Open Forum The annual meeting of SIG members and others interested in engaging with or in ELT research. 15.30-16.05 Break 16.05-16.50 (Hall 11a) Combining teaching, learning and research: an exploratory practice approach [Workshop] Presenters: Ana Inés Salvi (University of Warwick, UK) Yasmin Dar (University of Leicester, UK) Judith Hanks (University of Leeds, UK) Practitioner research offers exciting opportunities for greater understanding of our classroom language learning lives. So why don’t teachers and learners do more research? Using their experiences of Exploratory Practice in EAP contexts, the panel members will discuss ways in which both teachers and learners can integrate research with teaching and learning in their classrooms. 17.05-17.35 (Hall 11a) Growing as researchers: insider/outsider perspectives at work Presenters: Sara Hannam (Oxford Brookes International, Oxford Brookes University, UK) Radmila Popovic (SIT Graduate Institute / World Learning, USA) This interactive session engages audience members in discussion on the role of critical dialogic collaboration in research. We explore what it means to be an insider and outsider in a research process and in our understanding of a specific context (Serbia), and look at additional ways we enhanced each other's understanding in a partnership of practice and knowledge building. 17.50-18.20 (Hall 11a) Investigating the impact of action research: an Australian case study Presenters: Fiona Barker (Cambridge English, UK) Katherine Brandon (English Australia, Australia) Hanan Khalifa (Cambridge English, UK) Action research aims to enhance pedagogical practice and can be viewed as a type of professional development in which practitioners explore and address their own identified teaching challenges. This paper evaluates the impact of a national program in which teachers undertake investigations into their own classroom-based teaching within English language intensive courses for overseas students. Researching with Young Learners Webinar - organised by ReSIG in cooperation with IATEFL Young Learners SIG Date: Sunday, 27 January 2013 Time: 1.30-3.30 pm GMT Presenters: Harry Kuchah Kuchah & Annamaria Pinter Location: IATEFL online conference room LATEST NEWS: The webinar has now finished. A full recording is freely available here (this takes some time to download but is worth the wait!) Follow-up event: There will be a follow-up discussion on our YahooGroup, open to members and non-members. Please click here for further details. The Webinar As adults and teachers, we all have personal and shared opinions about pedagogic practices that can motivate young learners in the language classroom. However, it is rarely suggested that our opinions and practices might be at odds with the opinions and interests of the same learners for whom we develop these practices. While it is common practice to elicit feedback on teaching practices from adult learners, there is still little research in which adult researchers and teachers seek children’s perspectives about the way teaching should happen in their classrooms. In this webinar talk we will be sharing some thoughts about what ‘good practice’ may mean when ‘adult outsiders’ attempt to elicit interview data from children. The talk will start with a discussion about the methodological and ethical dilemmas relevant to interviewing 10-year-old children in elementary schools for research purposes. The context (Cameroon) and the actual procedures of the data collection will be described next, and we will share some of the data and our analysis of it, focussing on the complexities and challenges of interpretation, bringing together both process and product (how the conversation unfolded and what the children actually said). Then we will match children’s perspectives with those of their teachers to show that, while there may be shared perspectives of good teaching practices, adult perspectives of what constitutes good teaching with young learners may not always be enough to rely on. Finally, we will summarise the most important implications for both classroom teachers and researchers working with child subjects. Click on the title of the article below to read it online or download the pdf: Kuchah, K. & Pinter, A. (2012). 'Was this an interview?' Breaking the power barrier in adult-child interviews in an African context. Issues In Educational Research, 22(3), 283-297. The Presenters Annamaria Pinter is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, UK. She lectures at masters and doctoral levels and supervises theses in the area of teaching languages to children. Her particular interests include task based learning, socio-cultural theory and materials design. She has been involved in teacher development programmes both at Warwick and overseas. She has published widely in the area of teaching English to young learners. She is the author of Teaching Young Language Learners (Oxford University Press (2006)) and Children Learning Second Languages (Palgrave Macmillan (2011). Harry Kuchah Kuchah has worked for 14 years as ELT teacher trainer and inspector at primary and secondary levels in Cameroon. He is Teaching Fellow in Applied Linguistics in the School of English, University of Sheffield and currently completing his PhD research at the University of Warwick. His interests are in teaching and researching young learners, context-appropriate ELT methodology, teaching large and multi-grade classes, learner autonomy and teacher development. He has published widely about the African ELT context. |
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