The ES(O)L SIG is being held in the Tudor Room of the Old Ship Hotel which is a short walk from the Brighton Centre. For the record, the Old Ship Hotel is the oldest hotel in Brighton and the Tudor Room is at the back through a car parking area and what looks like a service entrance. When you finally get there, you arrive at a lovely 'Tudor' panelled room.
I was given a warm welcome and during the morning I found two people who already knew who I was - the welcomer/organiser and one of the speakers!
"You're Maureen from Exeter." "I'm so glad one of the Roving Reporters teaches ESOL" were the reactions.
There were lots of opportunities for interaction and discussion with other delegates and I met people from Wales, Argentina, London, Dublin, Spain and Italy just to name a few.
During the morning there were two sessions:
- Spiky profiles and a common core of language?
- Differentiated learning supported by technology
I will report on these separately! Watch this space.
I spoke to three delegates about what they were hoping to get from the ES(O)L SIG day.
Maria from Argentina
Maria is an EFL teacher who is currently studying for an MA at Leeds University. She told me that her students frequently have good reading and writing skills but that their speaking skills are at a lower level.
"I'm interested in getting some ideas to take back and use with my students.'
Liz from London
Liz is a newly qualified teacher working for two charities with asylum seekers who are working at an elementary level.
"I'm looking for a greater insight and practical things to take back and use with my learners."
Grainne from Dublin
Grainne works with young learners aged 13 - 19. These are young people who cannot yet access mainstream education in Dublin. They are a very mixed class of 20 learners and their abilities range from very elementary to fairly competent English speakers. This class comprises mainly of separated children seeking asylum which means that there are many other emotional and social issues involved in supporting them.
"I want to gain a greater insight and find practical things to take back to my learners."
ES(O)L? I'm not sure what the parenthesis means but I will find out.
The ES(O)L SIG is being held in the Tudor Room of the Old Ship Hotel which is a short walk from the Brighton Centre. For the record, the Old Ship Hotel is the oldest hotel in Brighton and the Tudor Room is at the back through a car parking area and what looks like a service entrance. When you finally get there, you arrive at a lovely 'Tudor' panelled room.
I was given a warm welcome and during the morning I found two people who already knew who I was - the welcomer/organiser and one of the speakers!
"You're Maureen from Exeter." "I'm so glad one of the Roving Reporters teaches ESOL" were the reactions.
There were lots of opportunities for interaction and discussion with other delegates and I met people from Wales, Argentina, London, Dublin, Spain and Italy just to name a few.
During the morning there were two sessions:
I will report on these separately! Watch this space.
I spoke to three delegates about what they were hoping to get from the ES(O)L SIG day.
Maria from Argentina
Maria is an EFL teacher who is currently studying for an MA at Leeds University. She told me that her students frequently have good reading and writing skills but that their speaking skills are at a lower level.
"I'm interested in getting some ideas to take back and use with my students.'
Liz from London
Liz is a newly qualified teacher working for two charities with asylum seekers who are working at an elementary level.
"I'm looking for a greater insight and practical things to take back and use with my learners."
Grainne from Dublin
Grainne works with young learners aged 13 - 19. These are young people who cannot yet access mainstream education in Dublin. They are a very mixed class of 20 learners and their abilities range from very elementary to fairly competent English speakers. This class comprises mainly of separated children seeking asylum which means that there are many other emotional and social issues involved in supporting them.
"I want to gain a greater insight and find practical things to take back to my learners."
ES(O)L? I'm not sure what the parenthesis means but I will find out.