Prof. Dr. Benâ Gül Peker
Professor Benâ Gül Peker has worked at the Middle East Technical University, Department of Basic English, Bilkent University MA TEFL Program and Gazi University, Faculty of Education, ELT Department, Ankara, Turkey. She has been involved in the writing of the 2006 new primary English curriculum and course books (Time for English & Spot-On Grades) (2006-2011). A plenary speaker at the 2006 40th IATEFL Convention, she has presented nationally and internationally. Her professional interests include educational change, teacher empowerment, EFL methodology, NLP, and drama. She is a certified NLP trainer.
Oh, no! You left the balcony door open!!!!!: Learning about disempowering and empowering styles of communication
This workshop will focus on the five communication styles by Virginia Satir, a successful therapist and communication guru. Four of these styles are actually disempowering strategies while the fifth, leveling, is a style of communication that we can engage in when we are open to each other, listen and share from a place of caring and honesty. It is therefore empowering as we feel connected in our humanness. That is to say, once we become aware of the kind of communication that we are capable of, we can let go of old ways of interacting which are no longer useful to us.
Dr. Lyndsay R. Buckingham
Dr. Lyndsay R. Buckingham is a lecturer and researcher at Comillas Pontifical University (Madrid, Spain) where she teaches EFL and CLIL pedagogy in the initial teacher training degrees for early childhood and primary education and in the master’s degree for secondary education. Her research interests include bilingual education, teacher education, intercultural competence, and co-teaching.
Empowering teachers through co-teaching
Collaboration is the key to success when working toward most goals. We often ask our students to collaborate when working in the classroom because we understand the benefits, but how often do we collaborate as teaching professionals? Collaborative teaching, or co-teaching, is an empowering force for novice and veteran teachers alike. It is a practice that allows each professional to make the most of their skills and complement those of their teaching partners. It also allows us to learn from our colleagues and develop our pedagogical and interpersonal competences, among others. When collaborating, we provide a positive role model for our students and demonstrate what can be achieved when we work together. In this talk we’ll explore various ways in which co-teaching can take place, the many benefits of this practice, and how to minimize the inevitable obstacles.
Assist. Prof. Dr. Elif BOZYİĞİT
Dr. Elif BOZYİĞİT has been working as an assistant professor doctor in the Department of Foreign Language Education at Sakarya University, where she has been working since 2013. She received her undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees from Gazi University. She took part in many undergraduate and graduate-level courses, publications, and project activities on foreign language education, teacher education, reflective practices, adult education, child education, digital competence, outdoor practices, and qualitative research methods. With these experiences, she continues to carry out academic studies in the field of foreign language education and to give lectures at undergraduate and graduate levels.
Update, up-to-date, upended: Becoming and being an ‘excellent’ teacher
In the never-ending journey of becoming and being an English language teacher, the pursuit of excellence often intersects with the pressure to stay current and innovative. As aspiring educators, we find ourselves surrounded with a barrage of questions: Have you seen what that teacher did in their class? How many certificates have you received this year? Have you heard about that teacher winning the award? These inquiries, while well-intentioned, underscore a deeper challenge: the tension between the aspiration for excellence and the evolving demands of the profession. Amidst the flurry of webinars, accolades, and professional projects, it's easy to lose sight of the essence of teaching itself. In this plenary session, we put the heart of this dichotomy under a microscope, exploring the confluence of teacher apprehension and the quest for excellence. Let us challenge the notion that excellence is merely a checklist of achievements, and instead, discover its essence in the profound impact we have on our students' lives.
Lect. Patrick T. Randolph
Patrick T. Randolph specializes in vocabulary acquisition, creative and academic writing, speech, mindfulness, and debate. Patrick has published Cat Got Your Tongue? (2014) and New Ways in Teaching with Creative Writing (2020) with TESOL Press and is the author of over 100 articles, 200 poems, eight books, and three short stories. He has given over 200 presentations on a variety of topics: language pedagogy, discoveries and applications of neuroscience, vocabulary acquisition, mindfulness and well-being, poetry, and philosophy. Patrick lives with his soul- uplifting wife, Gamze; insightful daughter, Aylene; wonderfully wise cat, Master Gable; and comical puppy, Bubbles, in the USA.
Easy and Effective Mindfulness Activities for Better Teaching and Learning
This energetic session surveys the psychological and physical benefits of mindfulness, and it demonstrates a number of short but very insightful mindfulness activities that guarantee to create positive perspectives about life and promote healthy insights of gratitude and well-being. First, we will briefly look at some of the main issues that we encounter on a daily basis that often cause stress and anxiety. Next, I will define mindfulness and offer three of the main mindfulness principles that will help attendees understand how mindfulness works. I will, then, demonstrate a variety of easy-to-use activities that promote mindfulness both in and outside the classroom. These include self-inquiry mindfulness (e.g., training the mind to be aware of things happening at the moment without being judgmental); gratitude awareness (e.g., waking up and giving thanks to the body); restfulness in action (e.g., learning to rest while doing physical actions during the day); and being aware of and appreciating unique daily experiences (e.g., being mindful of the five senses as the day unfolds). Each of these leads to a growth in cognitive, psychological, spiritual, and physical development. I will conclude the session with a brief discussion on how the ideas can be implemented in the lives of the participants and how these can add to the cognitive, psychological, and physical health of the attendees and their students. Please bring a smile and a desire to learn to this life-loving session!
