The 42nd Annual International IATEFL Conference Report
University of Exeter, Devon, UK, 7-11 April 2008

The Figures 

• About 1,600 participants from countries from all over the world (Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, New Zealand are some of them);

• 4 plenary sessions;

• Over 100 sessions a day (123 on 8 April, 128 on 9 April, 114 on 10 April, 34 on 11 April);

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• 20 rooms for the sessions, in 3 different buildings: The Great Hall of the University of Exeter, Peter Chalk Hall and Newman Hall;

• 48 exhibitors, located in 2 different buildings;

• 14 poster presentations (throughout the conference) from Mongolia to Finland, from Student teachers'development as writers of poetry to Spicing the reader's task;

• Special Interest Group Sessions: each of the 14 SIGs had 7 sessions a day.
  

7 April "The Associates" Day:

About 40 participants, from all over the world, presented their associations activities, and debated "hot" issues, such as TA finances, how to work regionally, how to attract more members and keep them interested in the association.

RATE's poster presentation (the largest on display) was favourably appraised by many of the present associates.

Highlights from the plenary sessions

8 April: Alastair Pennycook - Changing Global ELT Practices

Alastair Pennycook, Professor of Language in Education at the University of Technology, Sydney is concerned with how we understand language in relation to globalization, colonial history, identity, popular culture and pedagogy (he has been involved in English language teaching for many years and worked as an English teacher in England, Germany, Japan, China, Canada, Hong Kong.

9 April: Zoltan Dorneyi - Motivation and the Vision of Knowing a Second Language

Zoltan Dorney, Professor of Psycholinguistics in the School of English Studies, University of Nottingham described a new theory of understanding the "Motivational Self System". His novel approach seeks out to open up a whole new avenue for promoting student motivation by means of increasing the elaborateness and vividness of the students "self-relevant" imagery.

10 April: Rosa Jinyoung Shim -  Empowering EFL Students Through Teaching English

 Dr. Rosa Jinnyoung Shim, Professor of English at Open Cyber University Seul, Korea, spoke about providing students with the necessary tools to function appropriately in a "chaotic world" where the rapid progress and the velocity of advancement in information technology has far surpassed the threshold of systematic control.

11 April: Radmila Popovic from Serbia has given a heartfelt talk on Forging Peace Through ELT - Utopia or Reality?

The SIGs (Special Interest Groups) sessions:

• How to manage projects effectively;

• The Challenges of globalization;

• Good practice in teaching English to migrants and refugees;

• ESP and EAP advances in the 21st century;

• Autonomy in language learning:

• Overcoming obstacles and seizing opportunities;

• Digital audio for language learning;

• Reading circles;

• The learning teacher; Portfolios for and of professional development;

• Reaching out to every student.

Special Events

Daytime events:

Fracas English, a local school children group(specialized in music for English language learning), performed during breaks.

Afternoon events:

Guided tour of Exeter and Exeter Cathedral, a splendid Gothic masterpiece dating mostly from the 13th and 14th centuries. It is notable for its stout Norman towers, its Gothic west front covered in weathered sculptures, and its beautiful nave, which boasts the longest unbroken Gothic ceiling in the world.

Excursions to different castles in the region:

• To Bickleigh Castle, dating back to Norman times,

• to the granite Castle Drogo, built between 1910-1930,

• to the dream house of India's tea baron, Julius Drewe,

• to Killerton House, a huge estate of over 6000 acres, including a Georgian country house, a superb garden, woodlands, and a rich exhibition of 18th- 20th century costumes (about 9000 outfits).

Evening events:

7 April: WELCOME RECEPTION - Great Hall, Devonshire House-open to all registered delegates. Marion Williams, President of IATEL welcomed the delegates and the Lord Mayor, Councillor Hazel Slack attended and welcomed everybody to the city of Exeter.

8 April: AN EVENING OF STORIES AND POEMS by Alan Maley and Andrew Wright. Andrew told some of his favourite stories, often with a spice of mischief and always full of his usual human warmth. The stories were interspersed with poems on several themes - all nice! The main thing was to share fun with words and enjoyment of being with the group.

IATEFL PECHA KUCHA NIGHT - A snapshot of ELT. The event gathered some well-known and experienced speakers and challenged them to "do"a PK, each speaking about a different aspect of ELT today. Presenters were allowed 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds each for a total of 6 min and 40 seconds. The event was hosted by Lindsay Clandfield, and the speakers were: Susan Barduhn, Margit Szesztay, Gavin Dudeney, Jenny Johnson, Scott Thornbury, Rose Senior, Adrian Tenant and Jeremy Harmer.

9 April: LANGUAGE PLAYERS. David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Hilary Crystal, explored the world of language play at the Corn Exchange, to the delight of the lucky ones who attended.

10 April: DEVON TALES. An evening of storytelling and song (shape-shifters, fortune-seekers, fairies and fools), with Devon-based story-teller, teacher, teacher trainer, role actor, drama worker, David Heathfield.

10 April: DEVON EVENING. English in Devon, the regional group of BC accredited schools sponsored an evening of music and barn dance.