Abstracts & short bios
Prof Michael McCarthy
Subject: Spoken corpora, grammar and grammars
Abstract:
In this talk, I explore some of the key concepts which have emerged from corpus-based research into the grammar of everyday conversational speaking. These include real-time constraints, joint construction, ellipsis and tense-aspect choices. Observations of spoken features suggest a change in how we should approach syllabus content and the relationship between speaking and listening skills. However, because of the centrifugal character of conversation, we see a plurality of grammars around the English-speaking world. We look at some examples of language contact and global influences which offer a more dynamic view of English grammar, but one which brings new challenges with it.
Short bio
Michael McCarthy is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham. He is author/co-author/editor of 53 books, including Touchstone, Viewpoint, the Cambridge Grammar of English, English Grammar Today, From Corpus to Classroom, The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Linguistics, Innovations and Challenges in Grammar, English Grammar: The Basics, titles in the English Vocabulary in Use series and 113 academic papers. He was co-founder of the CANCODE and CANBEC spoken English corpora. He has taught in the UK, Europe and Asia, and has been involved in language teaching and applied linguistics for 55 years.
Prof Kathleen Graves
Subject: What do we mean by ‘curriculum’?
Abstract:
The term curriculum is a taken-for-granted concept that is widely used in writing and discussions about education. But what does it actually mean? Is it a plan for what students will learn? Is it the textbook? Is it what students actually learn? Who decides the curriculum? In this talk we will look at four different dimensions of curriculum: the intended, the enacted, the assessed, and the hidden curriculum. We will explore what they mean and how they interrelate, with particular attention to the challenges and implications for language curriculum. We will also examine the role of teachers as the crucial link between these different dimensions through the types of decisions they make in planning, instruction and assessment.
Short bio
Kathleen Graves is Professor of Education Practice at the University of Michigan where she teaches courses in educational linguistics, curriculum development, and educational inquiry. She has been involved in curriculum renewal, materials development and language teacher education in the US, Algeria, Bahrain, Brazil and Japan. Her research and publications focus on how a language curriculum is designed and enacted, the role of materials in curriculum and teacher education, and teachers’ engagement in curriculum renewal. She is the co-author of two global ELT coursebook series, East West and Icon, the editor/author of three books on language curriculum development, and series editor for TESOL’s Language Curriculum Development series. Her recent books are International perspectives on materials in ELT (with Sue Garton) and Teacher Development Over Time (with Tessa Woodward and Donald Freeman.)
Prof Marina Mattheoudakis
What immersion programs can tell us about CLIL: developments and reflections
Abstract
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes have become commonplace in Europe but also in countries beyond this continent (e.g. Yang, 2015). As a form of bilingual education, CLIL shares similarities with other types of bilingual education programmes, such as Dual Language Immersion (DLI). Such similarities include the shared vision of multilingualism and multiculturalism as well as the concept of additive bilingualism. As CLIL was introduced in Europe much later than DLI programmes in Canada or the US, we would like to explore the assessment and instructional strategies that have proven successful in DLI programmes over the years. Particular reference will be made to the sheltered instruction and to the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol model (SIOP) (Echevarria, Vogt, and Short, 2016).
Short bio
Dr Marina Mattheoudakis is a Professor at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and the director of the Lab on Foreign Language Teaching and Assessment in the same department. In 2005 she founded the 3rd Experimental Primary School of Evosmos which has launched and participated in several pioneer educational projects. Between 2017 and 2020 she worked in Delaware, USA where she designed and implemented an innovative dual language immersion program (English and Greek), for which she was nominated by the Department of Education in Delaware (Innovation Awards 2018). Her research interests lie in the fields of instructed second language acquisition, bilingual education and learner corpora. She has published widely in journals, books and conference proceedings.
Scott Thornbury
Towards an integrated curriculum: squaring the circle
Abstract
Curricular decisions – such as choice of textbook, teaching objectives, pedagogical approaches, and assessment instruments – are often made independently of one another, and this mismatch can create tensions further down the line, including resistance to change, on the one hand, or unprincipled adoption of the latest fad, on the other. Moreover, the different stakeholders – the learners, parents, employers, administrators, inspectors - might have different and even conflicting views as to how their various interests can be reconciled. In this talk (and with particular regard to communicative language teaching), I will consider ways that might help integrate these competing voices into a coherent curriculum, specifically: transparency, congruence, negotiation, and professionalization.
Short bio
Scott Thornbury has taught and trained in Egypt, UK, Spain, and in his native New Zealand. His writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology, including About Language (Cambridge) and The New A-Z of ELT (Macmillan). His two latest books are 30 Language Teaching Methods and 101 Grammar Questions (both Cambridge). He is also the series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers and a trustee of the HandsUp Project, which promotes drama activities in English for children in under-resourced regions of the Arab world.. His website is www.scottthornbury.com