Talks, presentations and workshops

We often present at ELT conferences and events. Just select the title below if you're looking for the handout or download from a talk or workshop you have attended.

'Marking' Speaking

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, March 10, 2012 - 15:30
Venue: 
TESOL Spain Annual National Convention
Location: 
Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao
Extra info: 
Includes handouts
'Marking' Speaking

How can we 'mark' students’ oral production? In this session, we will look at suitable tasks for classroom assessment. We will then look at criteria with which both teacher and students can evaluate speaking. You will leave the session with strategies for creating ‘marking menus’ which are balanced and appropriate for different tasks and levels.

Pronunciation Games for Spain

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, November 12, 2011 - 16:15
Venue: 
ACEIA
Location: 
Sevilla
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Pronunciation Games for Spain

We will look at 8 features of pronunciation which are of particular relevance for Spanish speaking learners of English. These will include vowels, spelling of vowels, consonants, clusters, word stress, stress patterns, tonic syllables and joined up speech. Each feature will be explained, contrasted with Spanish and demonstrated with an example game.

Politeness: more than just please and thank you

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Monday, April 18, 2011 - 17:45
Venue: 
IATEFL conference
Location: 
Brighton
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Politeness: more than just please and thank you

In this workshop, we will look at how politeness works in English. We will see that there is more than one kind of politeness, and it varies according to the relationship of speaker to listener. We will consider the problems this may present for learners and try out some classroom activities for raising awareness of this aspect of language.

Increasing Motivation and Inspiring Effective Learning: Two birds, one stone

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Friday, March 11, 2011 - 14:15
Venue: 
34th TESOL-Spain National Convention
Location: 
Madrid
Extra info: 
Handouts and downloads
Motivated students?

If you’re motivated to do something you value what you’re doing, and if you value what you’re doing you’re motivated – you’ll attend to the task at hand and be more likely to achieve success. In this presentation, we’ll briefly examine the nature of motivation alongside different aspects of courses we teach.

Motivation: the inside story

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 11:15
Venue: 
APAC
Location: 
Barcelona
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Motivation: the inside story

In this presentation, we will look at intrinsic motivation in the ELT classroom. I will suggest that for a lesson to generate intrinsic motivation, it should appeal not also to the student-as-learner but also the student-as-person.

Testing Oral Skills

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 16:00
Venue: 
XXX Encuentro de profesores de inglés Universidad de Otoño
Location: 
Universidad Complutense Madrid
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Testing Oral Skills

Many learners of English are now required to take an end-of-course speaking test, which teachers have to design, administer and assess. In this presentation, we’ll examine characteristics of practice tests which provide useful pointers for in-house test design.

Responding to Students' Written Work: What are the options?

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Sunday, September 5, 2010 - 11:30
Extra info: 
Includes handouts
Talks - hancockmcdonald.com/talks

Providing feedback is one of the most commonly conceived functions of a teacher, yet, according to Nunan (1991), the ultimate effect of feedback is often doubtful. How do we tend to respond to students' written work? What messages are we sending to our students as a result? Is the ultimate effect really, as Nunan suggests, doubtful? What are the implications for our teaching?

Language as communication: an action-oriented approach

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Friday, September 3, 2010 - 11:30
Venue: 
Fischer Conference
Location: 
Bucharest
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Language as communication: an action-oriented approach

"I've studied English for X years but I still can't use it". Sound familiar? It's what you get when you present language as a ladder of grammar rules rather than as communicative potential. If learners want to be able to use English,  they need an action-oriented approach to language: developing communicative competences rather than just knowledge of form.

Connecting Pronunciation and Grammar

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Saturday, March 14, 2009 - 13:00
Venue: 
TESOL Spain
Location: 
Sevilla
Extra info: 
Plus downloads
Connecting Pronunciation and Grammar

In this workshop, we will look at the pronunciation of grammar features including verb inflections, contractions, auxiliaries, part of speech and clause structure. We will see how the pronunciation of these features is particularly important for meaning, and can be easily integrated into course materials. We will look at ways of working on these areas of pronunciation.

Using Attainment Tests to Motivate

Speaker: 
Event date: 
Thursday, April 10, 2008 - 17:45
Venue: 
IATEFL National Convention
Location: 
Exeter University, England
Extra info: 
Handouts and downloads
Using Attainment Tests to Motivate

ELT teachers have used attainment tests for many purposes - to evaluate, assess, or even threaten students! But they can also be a force for motivation. We will investigate how typical tests and question types (mainly testing grammar) may impact on student motivation, and look at ways to design, adapt and use them to increase their motivational value.

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