Archived Page.
2021 Invited Panels
The Conference Chair's Panel
The Problem of Native-Speakerism: Why Haven't We Resolved This?
Moderator and Organiser: Michael Free, KOTESOL 2021 Conference Chair
Participants: Hyunjung Shin, Robert Lowe, Angie White, Marek Kiczkowiak
The "Conference Chair's Panel" is an initiative of this year's conference that we hope will become a tradition. It will take an issue of particular importance or interest to the Conference Chair, and gather some experts to discuss it. This year, the topic is Native-Speakerism.
Why Native-Speakerism? Because it's important? Yes. Because it's a complex issue? Yes, that too. It's not because it hasn't been discussed, and neither is it because ELT professionals don't realise native-speakerism is a problem. It's because we — with the 'we' being ELT professionals —haven't resolved this issue to most people's satisfaction. Fortunately, all four members of this panel are all well-equipped to talk about the issue, with each bringing a different perspective. The question that serves as our point of departure will open up into a dialogue that will hopefully offer some fresh insights and take us further down the road to resolving this important problem.
Technology and Language Assessment: Consequences and Considerations.
Organiser: Christopher Redmond, British Council (East Asia Assessment Team)
Participants: Trevor Breakspear, Sheryl Cooke, Johnathan Cruise, Jan Langeslag, Neil Ryder, William Bayliss, Radosveta Valkova and Jonathan Dixon.
Technology is rapidly changing language assessment in a number of ways. Brought about at least partially by the pandemic, we at the British Council’s East Asia Assessment Solutions Team have been involved in numerous projects related to technology and language assessment. In this panel discussion, we will discuss the considerations and consequences of the following projects: remote proctoring development, test-taking strategies in automated assessment, the implications of automated assessment on English as a Lingua Franca, visual literacy in an automated environment, summative assessment in an online setting, the impact of affective factors on remote speaking assessment, as well as an evaluation of an automated scoring system for a high-stakes Speaking test. The implications for the classroom, whether digital or face-to-face, will also be discussed.
Building financial health while teaching English in Korea
Organiser: Eric Reynolds, Woosung University
Participants: Leonie Overbeek, Robert J. Dickey, Jackie Bolen, Vivienne Sales, Daniel Jones
The last year, 2020, will go down in history.
How did your bank accounts fare?
Financially, 2020 was an excellent year for the "haves" but a terrible year for the "have-nots." The purpose of this panel is to help answer questions that our colleagues have about improving their financial health, particularly in light of the impact of COVID on an expatriate lifestyle. The panelists have experience in debt reduction, investing, building “set-asides,” F.I.R.E., retirement planning, managing pensions, passive income, Korean taxes, tax in other countries we know about, planning based on your age, life after Korea, some legal issues, etc. Our goal with this panel is to provide you with a few of our top tips to improve your financial health and then answer any questions you have regarding your individual needs and situations. Working together can help everyone's financial health improve.
Green ELT: Imperatives and Conversations
Organiser: Leonie Overbeek
Participants: James Rush, Sam Macdonald, Theophilus Van Rensburg Lindzter
The future of all things depends on actions taken today, and nowhere is this more evident than in the ecological sphere. Despite almost five decades of environmental education programs, very little change is evident in how humans and nature interact. This panel discussion will present views from philosophy, education and social perspectives, with specific emphasis on how to integrate the vocabulary for discussion of ecological issues. Unless those who talk about problems and solutions understand each other, there is little progress.
