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Introductions
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Mon, 03/09/2009 - 23:06
Please use this thread of the forum to post a brief introduction telling everyone a bit about yourself and your working context.
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:49
#2
Dear All,
My name is Albert P'Rayan. I am from Chennai, India. I have been teaching English at the tertiary level since 1994. I am a teacher trainer too. Currently, I teach English for Engineering and English Communication Skills courses at KCG College of Technology in Chennai, India.
My areas of interest in ELT include: English for Engineering and Technology, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Materials Development, Teacher Training and Education, and Learner Autonomy.
I have been contributing a column 'English Matters' to Education Express, a weekly supplement with The New Indian Express, since May 2006.
I'm also editor of English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme (ELTeCS) - India and Sri Lanka list. ELTeCS is a global network of English Language Teachers. To know more about ELTeCS visit the website: www.britishcouncil.org/eltecs
I blog at www.raydeal-engchat.blogspot.com
I'm one of the moderators of the Teacher Training and Education forum.
I look forward to meeting experienced teacher trainers from different countries online and discussing issues related to teacher training and education.
Best wishes
Albert P'Rayan
Moderator, TTE
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 00:49
#3
Hi,
My name's Justin and I'm working as a teacher, teacher trainer, and DOS in Quito, Ecuador.
My particular interest areas are teacher training for ESP (I've done a lot of English for aviation work), short course teacher training, and action-research based teacher training.
I'm currently struggling to complete a module of my MSc, so won't be around much, but am looking forward to sharing ideas about training teachers.
Best,
Justin
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 01:10
#4
Hi Albert, Hi Justin,
Some pleasure to be here sharing views about teaching. Happy Forum!
Pilar
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:24
#5
Hi Pilar, Albert and Everyone
My name is Chris and I'm one of the moderators of the Literature forum. But Teacher Training and Education is also one of my main interests. My currently doing a Masters degree in Trainer Development at Marjon, in Plymouth and I'm looking forward to discussing some teacher and teacher trainer education issues here with you.
Cheers - Chris
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 21:56
#6
Hi Chris,
It will be my pleasure to share views with you.
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:35
#7
Hi Chris!
Welcome!
We are happy to have you as a member of this forum.
There are a few discussion topics that we have initiated. You are invited to contribute your views on the topics.
Looking forword to reading your views.
Best wishes
Albert
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 15:34
#8
Hi Chris and averyone,
I am very glad to join this prestigious forum. My name is Mostafa MOUHIBE, I am one the moderators of hte LMCS ; I love all that is related to literature and edducation. I hold an M.A in modern Anglo-Saxon Literature;I am also a freelance translator; an EFL teacher since 1996.
Cheers-Mostafa
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 01:42
#9
Hi Mostafa
Welcome!
Are you interested in teacher training and education? Where are you from?
We look forward to reading your views on topics under discussion.
Best wishes
Albert
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 02:02
#10
Hi everyone
Robert Easterbrook here, I participated in Exeter Online, and look forward to discussions, insights and inspiration again.
I work in China EFL context, and have done for 8.2 years. I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy working in higher education context.
Currently completing a PhD at the University of Canberra, Australia. Research interest area is learning, as in learning styles and preferences in the classroom or formal learning context.
Wondering if I should be a moderator this time?
I remember a few names (and faces) from Exeter, Pilar, Albert, Chris, Nick (of course) and others, hello to you all.
cheers
Robert E
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 10:32
#11
Hi Robert
Welcome!
Yes, I do remember your name. We have exchanged our views on different topics before.
I took part in Aberdeen, Exeter online forums. Very interesting and fruitful indeed!
We look forward to reading your views on topics under discussion.
Best wishes
Albert
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 03:40
#12
Hi Robert,
Nice to read you again , enlighten us on your views on China and Australia, how is literature viewed ?
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 15:15
#13
Hello Everybody,
I am Gabriella and I am from Hungary.
I have been a teacher for 14 years and I have been involved in teacher training for 6 years. I teach adults and I am interested in ESP since I teach military English.
Cheerio
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 16:48
#14
Hi all,
I'm Nick, currently working in Vietnam as a teacher trainer.
This is my first stab at an online conference, and quite looking forward to seeing what's out there in the ether...
Speak to you all soon,
Nick
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 18:08
#15
Hi Nick
We are very happy to have you as part of the group.
We look forward to reading your views on topics under discussion and your experience in Vietnam. Do share with us your success stories, the challenges that you faced, the measures you have taken to overcome the challenges, etc.
Best wishes
Albert P'Rayan
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 12:40
#16
Hi, my name is Maureen McGarvey and I am Programme Manager for Educational Management Training at International House London. I run online management training modules for new and experienced managers; have a look at www.ihlonline.co.uk I am interested in providing training and support for managers and facilitating knowledge exchange and sharing of best practice among academic managers in different contexts - which is why, for me, working online makes sense! I will be attending IATEFL but will also be attending Cardiff Online so I can catch the sessions I missed. I'm looking forward to reading and participating in this forum and also the ELT Management Forum and the TTT Ed Forum. There is so much to read and so many people to meet, I don't think I will be getting much work done over the next few weeks...!!
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 12:46
#17
Hello Maureen
Welcome to IATEFL online forum. We hope to meet you here regularly to benefit us and other participants of your great expertise in educational management training.
Cheers!
Rachid.
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 15:48
#18
Hi Maureen
Welcome!
Your sharing of experience in online teaching will be a motivating force for everyone who is interested in integrating technology into teacher training and education.
You are invited to give your views on the importance of integrating technology into teacher training and education. I'm introducing it as a new topic.
Best wishes
Albert
Mon, 03/16/2009 - 05:31
#19
Hi Maureen,
Nice to working online with you again (although not as intensively this time... :-) )
Nick
Thu, 03/19/2009 - 23:05
#20
Hi, My name's Marion Williams and I'm delighted to join the teacher training and education discussion. I have been reading it with great interest.
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 11:15
#21
Hi Marion,
Welcome! Tell us more about yourself. Are you a teacher trainer / educator?
We would like to read your comments on the topics under discussion in this forum.
Albert P'Rayan
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 12:37
#22
Hello Albert
Thanks for your welcome. Yes, I am a trainer and educator. I am currently the President of IATEFL and I have posted a message of welcome to everyone which you can read. Cardiff on-line is a very exciting initiative and we are delighted to see participants from around the globe. This is fully in keeping with our charitable mission of linking, developing and supporting ELT professionals around the world, and I am fully supportive of all the efforts you are putting into it.
I have found the teacher education discussion interesting and stimulating. I hope you all enjoy the conference; we are certainly looking forward to it and to interacting with our on-line participants.
Marion Williams
Fri, 03/27/2009 - 05:04
#23
Hello Marion
many thanks for your lovely message.
Yes, IATEFL online is a wonderful platform for ELT professionals to come to know each others and discuss topics related to the field.
You deserve a pat on the back for all all this great achievement.
Best wishes
Albert
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 21:50
#24
hi Marion,
I´m Pilar from Argentina, I´m one of the online moderators in this forum, and I would like to ask you : Are you really aware of what this online forum means to people like me, people who have devoted their life to teaching a language that is foreign to them? People who are teachers of English and have never been in England. Many times when I am with my students I tell them about those days when the possibility of meaningful learning had to do with going to the cinema and listenig to the BBC, if you were lucky enough to get a good reception at 12pm. It is thanks to people like you, the IATEFL team, that we teachers have an access to what is going on. These Online conferences have made a difference.
When I was a kid my mother told me: "Learning English will give you the possibility of travelling.", I have never travelled abroad, yet, I travel every day, my computer and the IATEFL crew make the trick.My mother was absolutely right.
Thanks
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 15:48
#25
Hello Pilar
Thank you for your reply;. I was really very pleased to receive it. It is hearing such stories that makes me realise that all the energy and effort we are putting into this initiative is worthwhile. This is exactly what our organisation aims to do; to link, develop and support ELT professionals worldwide. If we can bring the conference closer to you and you closer to the conference I am delighted. We are trying to make it as interactive as possible so that you can feel a part of the occasion, and I hope to be able to send you a warm welcome from Cardiff next week. I hope you and many others like you who are unable to attend in person enjoy the event and find it professionally rewarding.
Marion Williams
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 12:49
#26
Dear Marion,
Why not consider Pilar's contribution for the "Memorable" thread I initiated in the Moderators' Only forum? It think it sums up just what we are all here for.
Diana
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 20:03
#27
Hi everyone,
I’m Shaun Wilden, the teacher coordinator for the International House World Organisation. I am based in Prague but spend most of my time working online amongst other things tutoring and writing for the IHWO online site (www.ihonlinetraining). As a teacher trainer I am interested in all aspects of training and educational management. At the moment I am particularly interested how we best use online and new technologies to facilitate teacher education around the world.
I look forward to meeting you in Cardiff ☺
Shaun
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 19:42
#28
Hi Shaun,
I won´t be there so I would love reading about your views on technology and teacher training.
Fri, 03/27/2009 - 05:09
#29
Hi Shaun
My name is Albert P'Rayan and I'm one of the moderators for the Teacher Training and Education forum. I'm based in Chennai, India. Since you have rich experience in the field of online training, why don't you contribute your views on the importance of technology-integrated teacher training and education? I have initiated this topic for discussion in this forum.
Looking forward to reading your comments.
Best wishes
Albert
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 19:34
#30
Whoops, I posted before I had introduced myself! In case you can't guess from the photo, I'm Scott Thornbury and I teach on the MA TESOL program (both online and face2face) at the New School, New York. I'll be at Cardiff promoting my new book (co-written with Luke Meddings and published by Delta) called "Teaching Unplugged".
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 19:40
#31
Hi Thornbury,
Welcome! Will you please tell us a little bit of "Teaching Unplugged", the title sounds really promising.
Wed, 03/25/2009 - 19:52
#32
Hi Pilar, I'm not sure I should be using this forum for shameless self-promotion, but hey! "Teaching Unplugged" is a condensation of the theory and practice that the Dogme ELT movement has generated over the last (almost) decade. If you're not sure what Dogme is, visit the Discussion List: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/dogme
Hope that helps,
Scott
Fri, 03/27/2009 - 05:29
#33
Hi Scott,
I'm one of the moderators for this forum. I visited the yahoo group and have become a member. Looking forward to reading your comments on the topics under discussion.
Albert P'Rayan
Thu, 03/26/2009 - 18:37
#34
Hi Scott,
Thanks for enlightening me, I have just become a Dogme member.
All the very best.
Pilar
Sun, 03/29/2009 - 17:36
#35
Hi from Inas
I am very happy to take an active part in this forum and attend this outstanding event.
I am an English teacher trainer; I work with English teachers from East Jerusalem, Palestine / Israel. I have been giving training courses for the last 10 years and work as teacher counselor in schools. I feel lucky to be awarded a scholarship to attend The IATEFl conference for the first time. I will be presenting on April 1st, and the topic of my presentation will be: "Literacy Practices in TEFL: teacher trainers investigate". If this topic interests you, you are most welcome and I will be happy to meet with you all.
Regards
Inas
Sun, 03/29/2009 - 19:09
#36
Hi Inas
Welcome!
Best wishes for your presentation at the IATEFL conference.
Do share your experience of giving teacher training sessions in Jerusalem. We look forward to reading your comments on topics under discussion.
Albert
Moderator, TTE forum
Sun, 03/29/2009 - 20:24
#37
Hello everyone,
I am not actually attending (training commitments) but am pleased to be able to participate in this event even in a small way.
My name is Marisa Constantinides and I run CELT, a TT institution in Athens, Greece. I have been running TT courses since 1989 starting with our own brand of TEFL courses, RSA DOTE & DTEFLA and now CELTA and DELTA.
I have (due to the sheer number of years- started work as a teacher trained in 1982) quite a lot of TT experience of training on a variety of courses, including numerous tailor-made ones for schools in the private and public sector as well as to 4th-year students for the University of Athens.
I am happy to follow your discussions whether you are plugged or unplugged!!!!
Sun, 03/29/2009 - 21:01
#38
Hello from Yemen,
I'm Nadeem al-Murshedi, an English teacher and a teacher trainer. I have been teaching English since 2000.It's nice to meet you here and share our experiences.
Nadeem
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 18:19
#39
Hi everybody!
I´m Orlando, and I´m currently working for Ih Mexico. I´m very very interested in Teacher Training, as I´ve just become a CELTA Trainer-in-Training and will be working on my first CELTA course in about just 3 weeks! Exciting, isn´t it? I´ve given some Teacher Development sessions at IH and also participated in national ELT conferences and events.
I look forward to talking to you all!
:-)
PS: Hi Justin, Shaun, Marisa and Scott! Good to see you all here!
:-)
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 18:31
#40
Hi Orlando,
Great to see you here. :-))
Heike
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 18:41
#41
Hey ya Orlando,
Lovely to bump into you again ;-)
Karenne
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 18:44
#42
Hi there Orlando....for old times sake wheeeee
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 18:54
#43
Hi I'm Karenne and I'm a juggler of frogs.
No, seriously, mainly I work on creating student-centered conversation materials (www.kalinago-english.com), chat about training issues, workshops, upload lesson tips (rather than full-plans, not really sure I believe in that ;-) at http://kalinago.blogspot.com and I also blog for my students and others who're learning English at http://how2learnenglish.blogspot.com
My most recent activities include creating a private community of bloggers in ELT.
Enjoying the postings and the tweets but missing a lot of the live sessions -pah, can't wait for them to be uploaded!
Karenne Sylvester
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 01:16
#44
Hi Orlando, Heike and Karenne
We are very happy to have you all as members of the TTE forum. You are invited to take part in discussions and express your views on the topics under discussion.
Karenne, I'll visit your blogs soon. Do share with us your teacher training experience.
Best wishes
Albert P'Rayan
Moderator, TTE forum
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 13:55
#45
Hi Albert,
You are probably suprised why everyone greets Orlando so enthusiastically, Shaun, Karenne, myself and many of our network too.
Orlando is one of those rocket start-ups in the scene of teacher training that the speed he is going baffles everyone involved. A mere 24 years of age, he has now become Delta certified and has already begun teaching CELTA for IH Mexico. He is also planning to start his Master of Education in Manchester later this year.
I personally experienced Orlando once when he presented at a conference to teachers about technology and web 2.0 tools and I was amazed at his truly 'conversing' with the attendees. He is such a 'natural'.
Another great thing I experienced which deeply impressed me about Orlando.
Others who look back to such a steep career as English teacher and now teacher trainer might have become a little big-headed about it. Especially when coming from Mexico where certificates are linked to social standing.
What happened was this ...
Orlando took the LANCELOT course and being technically really fit, he had no problems whatsoever and thoroughly enjoyed all this tech talk. Then however, he flew to Vancouver and instead of taking the DELTA 1 only which would have taken him 3 weeks, he decided to stay another 3 weeks to do Delta 2 also. This way he lost 6 weeks out of a 3-months course. When the final assessment took place he had just returned home, exhausted and all, then he had just gotten a new laptop, Vista O/S and then the super gau happened during the 20min LANCELOT assessment and what would otherwise have been an easy piece of cake, turned into a technical nightmare. Orlando was not prepared for this and ... well he failed the assessment. He needn't to have failed it, but he did.
And surely I would not have told you this story if that hadn't really shown Orlando's finest qualities: to accept failure as to what it is namely a chance to learn from. His humbleness really suprised me especially considering the amount of money that a LANCELOT course costs and this especially in Mexico. A huge investment for s.o. as young as he is and when this all seemed lost, he assured me (I was sooo distressed!) that he understands the reasons, that there is no problem and that next time he will do better.
This is what I truly call a great teacher, namely to be a great learner.
Hats for your achievements, your hard work and and for your charming personality Orlando. I would always endorse you as the 'new teacher trainer on the block', worth keeping an eye on. :-) wheeee
Rgds Heike
Fri, 04/03/2009 - 08:14
#46
Heike, thank you for sharing your experience with Orlando. Yes, he is a very charming guy. We wish him more success.
Albert
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 01:27
#47
Wheeeeee! Whee! indeed, Shaun!
:-D
Nice to see you as well, Karenne and Heike! wow! We just keep bumping into each other! hehehe :-)
Will definitely be following the discussions, Albert. Thanks for the welcome message!
:-)
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
:-D
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 14:49
#48
Greetings from Germany where it is sunny and beautiful today!
I'm Kenny, an American expat
living near Stuttgart Germany, a mechanical engineer, an entrepreneur, and an occasional English coach.
I don't juggle frogs but I dreamt of one living under my skin this week. Karenne's comment reminded me of
that creepy dream, Hi Karenne! Thanks Karenne for the tip on this site and conference. I am really enjoying the online videos.
My gig in the English teacher world is a website to help English language professionals including teachers, translators, interpreters, voice over experts, localization experts and any one offering English seminars or special English based services find new projects and clients. The focus of the site is mostly for ESL/EFL teachers
and English translators but the idea is to present all the English services professionals a company might want in one place. That one place is www.EnglishProfi.com and is in the final stages of development. We will be ready for new members by the end of this month.
I look forward to listening in and learning from this conference. The internet makes the world more interesting everyday and I want to thank the folks at IATELF for making this possible.
Greetings again everyone!
Kenny Christian
Fri, 04/03/2009 - 08:17
#49
Hi Kenny,
I'm also an expat living in Southern Germany, but in my case the "pat" is England and the part of S. Germany Franconia (where it's also sunny).
I am an Online Moderator for the forum ELT Management, and I urge you to come to our forum and join in the discussions, especially the new thread on Customer Care which I have just created (see link below)
I also have a question re the Assessment forum: Do you have anything to say on the subject of telc exams or the CEF, if so, please visit this forum, too.
It's so important to share one's expertise
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/forum/good-practice-company-care
Diana
Mon, 04/06/2009 - 17:14
#50
Hi Everyone
We have just returned from Cardiff which was a wonderful experience. I hope we have managed to share some of it with you to give you a feel for the event, and to let you share the atmosphere of excitement. Do watch some of the talks. And do take a look at the interview with the on-line team (on the homepage) so you can see all the members of the team who have worked so hard to bring this event to you. I hope you enjoy watching the sessions and interacting with each other.
Marion Williams
Hi from Argentina,
My name is Pilar, I´m one of the moderators in this forum. I´ve been teaching English to kids and teens for 26 years and Ihave been a teacher trainer for 25 years, that means I have been in the classrooms with kids and teachers all the time and at the same time. I´m a teacher trainer in a teachers´development programme run by the Buenos Aires province and I believe that sharing experiences is the fastest way to Learning. So ...let´s get started!