A Night out in Brighton - IATEFL style!

What a night - wine, cake, stories and songs!  I never realised that conferences could be so varied and entertaining.

6.30 pm

First I went to the British Council networking reception in the Grand Hotel.  We were greeted with wine and the room was full of people - all talking.  During this session I made an attempt to find Sue Palmer (Toxic Childhood) to ask her a question and was eventually successful!

I asked Sue whether her book could apply to children being taught English.  She replied that the principles of her book applied to all children.  She said that bi-linqual children have the best of both worlds and that although they may have small adjustment problems at the beginning of learning two languages, in the end they really shine!

I learnt about the fantastic British Council website Learn English which I shall definitely be using with my students.  There are three on-line resources:

• www.teachingenglish.org.uk
• www.britishcouncil.org.uk/learnenglish
• www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

Also there is a new English language teaching programme which is being produced by the British Council and the BBC and entitled 'Word on the Street'.  We saw a clip of this programme which features young people living in the UK using authentic and current English.  For more details see www.britishcouncil.org/wordonthestreet.

Finally there were copies available of the new book Dreams and Realities: Developing Countries and the English Language which is also available on line - go to www.teachingenglish.org.uk then 'Teacher Development' and finally 'Books' where you can download a copy.

7.10 pm

I went to the OUP celebration of the launch of their new grammar series - Oxford English Grammar Course by Michael Swan and Catherine Walter.  There was cake (in the shape of a grammar book), chocolate and sparkling wine.

7.40 pm

I crept into the Paganini Room at the Old Ship Hotel to join David Heathfield's Tales we've been told, story telling event.  David was in the middle of an amusing story from Japan and everyone was laughing.  What a friendly atmosphere!

During the evening we heard stories from all over the world including one I told from Dartmoor in the UK.  I felt very brave to have done this.  Some people told us jokes and some sang songs.  We ended singing a song altogether.  A fantastic multicultural event!

9.15 pm

I was on my way back to the hotel walking quickly as I was tired after a long day.  In front of me I spotted Sue Palmer and a friend walking at a leisurely pace in deep conversation.

'Good night Sue.'  I called as I passed them to which Sue replied 'Oh the Roving Reporter - roving again.'