Dear OpenTESOL participants and presenters,

Please register to join our pre-conference workshops on Friday 24th May 2019 at 1.30 p.m. Only 60 seats are available on first come first serve basis (according to your registration date for OpenTESOL 2019). Registration will be available until 11.59 p.m. Tuesday 21st May 2019.

Pre-conference Program:

1. Prof. Richmond Stroupe
 
Developing students’ autonomy through professional development for instructors
 
The development of student autonomy results in benefits for students far beyond the classroom. Yet many instructors at the secondary and tertiary level do little to develop this characteristic of their students, and in some cases, are skeptical that such development is even possible. Based on the literature examining teachers’ beliefs and how they impact what happens in the learning environment, this workshop will provide the participant's opportunities to examine their own beliefs about the feasibility and usefulness of developing student autonomy. In addition, participants will examine definitions of student autonomy, and how they can be practically applied to the development of educational activities. Participants will also have the opportunity to discuss strategies to overcome cultural and institutional obstacles to developing student autonomy in their contexts. This collaborative workshop will provide the participants with multiple opportunities to compare their experiences with their colleagues, express their concerns, and receive recommendations on how to successfully implement the development of student autonomy in their home teaching environments.

2. Prof.John Macalister

Promoting meaning focused output through extensive reading


One of the criticisms of extensive reading is that it can exist as an isolated component of a language learning programme. Teachers who are concerned about this criticism need to think of ways in which they can integrate extensive reading into the rest of the programme. One possibility is to link this type of reading to other tasks. This workshop will begin with a brief overview of extensive reading, followed by a discussion of meaning-focused output. Participants will then experience an output activity (the Say It activity) and consider the features of this activity as they design their own example based on a short text.

See you soon!