2020 Yongin KOTESOL Conference presentations
(Details of further presentations will be added here shortly)
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Presenter: Bryan Hale
Playfulness in Communication Activities: Investigating the Dynamics of the Korean EFL Classroom
Does playful engagement with communication activities benefit foreign language development? Can teachers leverage this? This presentation shares findings from an idiodynamic study into Korean high school students’ experiences of playfulness during English activities, and the relationship between their fluctuating playfulness and their behavior. Following the Idiodynamic Method, participants watched recordings of themselves during communication activities and rated moment-to-moment fluctuations in experience, and then a graph of these fluctuations guided stimulated recall interviews. Learner perspectives were used to inform an analysis of the classroom activities, exploring the dynamic role of playfulness in the activities as they unfolded. Themes touched upon in this presentation include students’ uses of local, school-level culture and discourse, the nature of friendly teasing, and the relationship between playfulness and activity design. We will also discuss the relationship between playfulness and particular language features. This session is aimed at any teachers interested in using playfulness and spontaneity to support more authentic speaking and communication.
Bio: Bryan Hale teaches at Yeongam High School in Jeollanamdo, South Korea. He has worked with all age groups, but especially teenagers, in both public school and private academy settings. Bryan recently completed a Master of Applied Linguistics (TESOL) research project exploring Korean learners’ experiences of playfulness during English language tasks. bryan.english.teacher@gmail.com
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Presenter: Cecilia Nobre
Benefits and shortcomings of Flipgrid and Edmodo
In this talk, I will present the benefits and shortcomings of using Flipgrid and Edmodo as part of the asynchronous learning process in my class of intermediate university students in Istanbul.
Bio: Cecilia is a teacher, teacher trainer and mentor who has over 20 years of experience in teaching all levels and ages. She is passionate about online teaching teacher development, technology in education, material development and CPD. She was awarded the Hornby scholarship to do an MA in ELT at the University of Warwick. She has been teaching online for the past 6 years and she loves it. She has taught in Brazil, the UK and Turkey. She is currently teaching EAP in a private university in Istanbul.
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Presenter: Elexis Nelson
English for Everyone – Not One Size Fits All
Instructors of young learners, especially in public institutions, face mixed –level classes. These gaps in students’ abilities have only widened with online-teaching practices. There are plenty of workshops targeted to coping with post-Covid changes; many teachers have started conversations around Zoom and the like. What is less commonly addressed is also the presence of mixed learning styles while battling the pandemic with online classes. Online classes have affected the way we approach our classrooms. In many ways, instructors are finding themselves compromising more than ever before!
We know that teaching English does not benefit from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ methodology (or an all-inclusive platform). ‘English for Everyone – Not One Size Fits All’ is both informative and pragmatic; allowing participants to reflect on how this pandemic has altered their teacher identities and determine for themselves how effective those changes have been for their students.
Bio: Elexis Nelson is an American teacher, originally from Flint, Michigan, USA. She’s taught English through the EPIK program for the past four years. With a BA in Linguistics from the University of Michigan, Nelson uses her acquired knowledge of English to teach in public schools across Busan. Outside of the classroom, Nelson shares Korean travel tips and vlogs under the moniker ‘Your Bae From Busan'. Nelson intertwines her desires for students’ fluency with her passions for increasing tourism and foreign residency in Busan. Through KOTESOL, Nelson intends to assist other teachers in developing new teaching tactics and reflective-practices in the classroom.
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Presenter: Jack L. Ajayi
From traditional to hybrid curriculum before Corona
In one of my recent articles in Redstar, an English magazine based in Qingdao, China, I wrote about how technology has shaped my experience and transformed our curriculum in the last 5 years. Thanks to the pandemic situation, an overwhelming majority of businesses have had to adapt or be left behind. The private education sector which I happened to be part of was not spared either. The truth of the matter is, most were not adequately prepared and so, could not respond accordingly.
Nonetheless, a few forward thinking educational organizations have had to come up with innovative ways to mitigate the unexpected situation. This would not have been possible without technology. It is crystal clear that schooling have been affected, however, I strongly believe learning should not be constrained in any forms be it space, place or time.
Thus, in my presentation, I will be discussing how my team and I have leveraged technology, our vision for and experiences in teaching and learning, and autodidacting before the current pandemic situation to evolve from traditional face-2-face classes to hybrid learning, and how this has not only helped us stay afloat but also create other revenue sources.
Bio: Jack L. Ajayi, an EdTech enthusiast, is the co-founder and D.O.S of Aceish Education (aceish.com), a language training and Edtech start-up in China. He co-founded the start-up in 2013 with his tech savvy wife, Grace Peng, the founder, a year after relocating from the UK.
Prior to embarking on duopreneurship, Jack had taught IELTS, TOEFL, general English, English for Specific Purposes and K12 science privately at international schools, corporate training department of an oil and gas company and language training centres in China, the UK and Qatar.
Jack and his team at Aceish Education have designed and developed several self-paced, tutor-led, interactive and stimulating courses for young learners,adult professionals and IELTS test takers in China.
Jack enjoys playing tennis, travelling and learning about new cultures, reading creative non -fiction, magic realism and science fiction.
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Presenter: James Papple
Energizing English language classes with Augmented and Virtual Reality
This webinar will explore the use of Augmented and Virtual reality and its potential implications for teaching language content in EAP/ESP contexts. This webinar offers instructors practical ways to introduce new experiences to classes, with virtual experiences. The presenter will share his experience with using virtual and augmented reality as well as how to create a VR tour at the beginner level. The workshop will conclude with a discussion exploring the potential applications in the class.
Bio: Jim Papple is an Interim Associate Director with York University’s English language Institute, in Toronto Canada, past chair of TESL Ontario (2016-17), as well as a past member of KOTESOL (2012). He is also a past member of the Brock University Makerspace Think Tank, where he began by hammering together contraptions with his EAP students before moving up to virtual and augmented reality. Jim had no idea at the time that he would go on to write and present on digital transformation in the EAP classroom.
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Presenter: Rhea Metituk
Conversation tips for teaching university students
Rhea will share conversation tips used to guide university freshmen in a real-time online flipped classroom using a university LMS. Learning objectives are focused on developing confidence and fluency as well as providing attention to pronunciation and intonation and incorporates methods for providing corrective feedback derived from a pedagogy emphasizing student-centered learning, metacognition and student self-reflection.
Bio: Rhea is currently at the University of Ulsan Language Education Center where she has been teaching classes in conversation, business English, writing, TOEIC speaking and listening, and creative film projects and presentations to Korean and international students. This past two semesters like many at post-secondary institutes she has adapted to new methods which at UOU has entailed real-time speaking classes on zoom using blended learning methods. In KOTESOL, Rhea is the 2020 First Vice President.
