IATEFL, Dogme, Coursebooks and the World of ELT

The 47th Annual International Conference is just around the corner, 8th – 12th April, and I’ve just been perusing the programme. As usual, there is a tremendously rich selection of presentations on offer, and, with the aid of the very useful and user-friendly IATEFL conference app, I’ve been able to start considering the presentations I’d like to attend - much, much better than selecting the night before, or even on the hop during the breaks (with a snatched coffee and precious catch-up time with friends from previous lives).

Reflecting on the fruits of my initial foray, two particular areas of interest seem to have emerged, and, interestingly enough, they often sit (at times perhaps, uncomfortably) together. From reading abstracts, and chasing up a couple of leads on the internet, I realise that, although I have opinions on both, I seem to be rather in need of much more enlightenment on one. I think I was too busy writing coursebook materials when the Dogme movement started blossoming, consequently I think I have some learning to do.

The next IATEFL conference is to be held in Liverpool, and the British Council and IATEFL will be making the event accessible to us all through Liverpool Online, with video sessions, recorded highlights, interviews and a wide range of multimedia resources from a selection of sessions. Liverpool Online will launch a month before the conference http:///iatefl.britishcouncil.org  I’m really looking forward to being there, learning more about my known and unknown unknowns, developing an informed, balanced pragmatic point of view, and sharing conference reports on our website http://hancockmcdonald.com/

Why don’t you visit http://iatelf.org  and see what tickles your fancy? And then, by reflecting on your choices, you might think about positioning yourself on the ELT map http://hancockmcdonald.com/ideas/map-elt  mull over where you are, and where you might like to visit next.