Finally I here you cry!

After a well-deserved coffee and slice of caramel shortbread I popped into another couple of sessions:

Teachers change learners, learners change teachers: changing methodologies with Jane Spiro

Jane was a breath of enthuasiasm for all things TEFL, at a moment in the day when I was flagging. A simple, well-presented experience where we were asked to think about some crucial questions and situate ourselves on a scale. Teachers were encouraged to share experiences  on the following:

Who chooses how and what to learn? The teacher or the students?

Is my job to improve their English or improve their lives? – Where are the boundaries?

Am I really the teacher I think I am? -Does recording a class change your beliefs?

Am I afraid of silence in a classroom? (I teach at secondary school, so it’s more a dream than a problem!)

What is discipline? What is fair discipline?

What makes us change as a teacher? Students? Other teachers? something you read? Self-realization?

Jane finished with this quote; “The TESOL profession now connects the word with the world”.

The Earlier the better? Empirical results on primary EFL instruction by Eva Wilden

Eva presented results from the early stages of what will become a longtitudal study on the effect of early EFL in Germany. So far results have shown improvements in L1 reading comprehension amongst German speakers, but not amongst speakers of other languages.

This session also gave me a chance to catch up with Fiona Copland who proposed the motion in the morning’s debate. I discovered that in fact she has taught primary English for years.

So harrogate Thursday draws to the end, just as Harrogate Friday is about to begin. I’ll probably fit in less sessions today, however I have my chat with Cambridge this morning to look forward to, and my own workshop this afternoon (1:35 in Studley if you are interested!)