Egresado de la Universidad de Guanajuato de la Licenciatura en Administración, asesor de inglés y español a niños japoneses en nivel primaria y secundaria en Kakehashi Celaya, profesor de Alemán niveles A1-B2 en el colegio Arturo Rosenblueth, trabajo de voluntariado en el Hospital General de Celaya en el área de Recursos Humanos, actualmente forma parte de AIESEC Celaya vinculando a Celaya con ciudades como Cairo, Bogotá, Delhi, Sao Paulo entre otras y enviando a personas a realizar prácticas al extranjero en países como Polonia, Brasil, Egipto, Argentina entre otros, formando parte de AIESEC participó en un proyecto para promover el atractivo turístico que posee Egipto, así como la interacción con los habitantes de este país para buscar soluciones que incrementaran el turismo. Además de su idioma natal español, habla Inglés (TOEFL ITP), Alemán (Zertifikat Deutsch B1 INGESAMT: 249,00 PRÄDIKAT: GUT) y Japonés básico.

The aim of the presentation is to provide students and teachers alike with practical ideas and tips to encourage independent learning. It addresses both theoretical and practical reasons why independent learning is an integral part of the language acquisition process. It stresses the importance of the teacher as a facilitator, responsible for guiding the learning process and equipping students with the skills and knowledge they need to be independent but ultimately encouraging students to take ownership over their own learning.

This is a practical presentation which focusses on developing students’ ability to assess peers and ultimately be able to critically assess themselves. It will focus on the value of peer assessment and how it can be implemented within a classroom setting. It discusses how students can deliver feedback constructively while at the same time use the process to refine their own skills and accuracy in English. Moreover, the presentation hopes to transmit how motivating and dynamic peer assessment can be as well as its longer-term cognitive value.

The Fins have declared it and Krashen (2015) has stated it; we must stop teaching subjects and academic language. The focus should be on the teaching of content. Language is a life skill, not only learning our mother tongue but also any second or third language which we need to master, in order to function as citizen of the world. Learning is a human right.

With the recent surge and interest in developing life skills in main stream education, ELT must keep up with this change. Content-based instruction (CBI) may prove the most effective way to do so.

This presentation examines the model of CBI that is most suitable for ELT contexts and makes a case for the use of this approach to teaching English as a foreign language.

Summary

Learning is changing faster than we are able to cope with. The contemporary challenges facing humans is to be part of the global village and able to interact with different cultures, to co-exist and strive for a better quality of life. To make the most of this life is to develop the necessary skills to reconcile cultural differences, and make connections with other human beings through word and dialogue. Language learning is at the core of these life skills.

In spite of this, EFL classrooms are still characterised by the teaching of English as though it were any other subject to be studied under a structure-dominated, scholastic sterility with grammar learning as the primary focus, and where the content of lessons is the language itself. This, in principle, denies learners their right to develop a skill that enables the free movement and expression of ideas; an essential skill to function as citizens of the world.

It is time to think of our learners as human beings and not just recipients of knowledge. Madhavan (2015) urges teachers of Science, Maths, Physics, English and the like to embrace a humanistic pedagogy where relevant and life useful themes and topics are the core of any instruction, if the well-being and development of learners is in their best interest.

Content- based instruction is an approach that emphasises learning about something rather than learning about language. Davies (2003) identifies three models of CBI, the Sheltered Model, the Adjunct Model and the Theme Model. The first two seem to be most appropriate for higher and mainstream education as their focus is on EAP and ESP. The latter, however, presupposes the teaching of every day life themes which can easily be handled by EFL teachers. Teachers do not need to be content specialists, but rather become skilful in identifying those themes and topics which are relevant to learners’ realities, in order to encourage them to use the foreign language communicatively and thus learn how to actually use it. In this presentation we will review one such model that could respond to our learners’ needs for life skills.

Many Primary School teachers shy away from the word literature, considering it too daunting, too heavy, and perhaps boring for children. It is hoped that this will be proven wrong throughout this workshop.

Literary texts can provide rich linguistic input, effective stimuli for children to express themselves in the target language, and can be a very powerful motivational tool.

Through fast-paced and engaging activities, we will explore why and how literature can be an invaluable classroom resource.

Let's take the scariness out of Shakespeare and the wild wariness out of Oscar Wilde!