Keynote Speakers

Prof. Dr. Kenan Dikilitaş
University of Stavanger

Kenan Dikilitas is a Professor of Higher Education Pedagogies at University of Stavanger, Norway. Kenan has been involved in teacher education with specific focus on reflection and research by teachers for professional development. His recent areas of research include (bilingual) teacher development, and digital literacy of teachers. He has published articles, edited books and monographs on teacher (action) research. He has also conducted several collaborative online and face-to-face teacher research training programs. 

Critical Praxis in English Language Teacher Education

In teacher development, it is important for teachers to engage in continuous reflection and action in order to maintain a praxis cycle. As well as methodological courses, teachers need an understanding of critical pedagogies that incorporate interaction, action, and reflection with multiple stakeholders. In this talk, three major issues are stressed.  First, teacher education models in international contexts are introduced. Then, current practicum models are illustrated, highlighting recent issues in international practices. Finally, there is an examination of program courses and the emerging in-class needs in the inservice context, such as those for (bi)multilingual instructional practices, and co-teaching in CLIL classrooms. After reflection on these issues, relevant implications for teacher education in Turkey will be drawn.

Prof. Dr. Turan Paker
Pamukkale University

Turan Paker works as a Professor in the ELT Department, Faculty of Education, Pamukkale University. He had his BA degree from Selçuk University, his MA degree from Bilkent İhsan Doğramacı University, and his PhD degree from Çukurova University. Regarding the work experience, he worked first as a teacher of English in a high school in Çamardı, Niğde for 2 years. Then, he worked as an instructor in the School of Foreign Languages, Çukurova University for 10 years. After having his PhD Degree, he worked as an Assistant Professor in the ELT Departments of both Çukurova and Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Universities between 1997-2002. Later on, he founded the ELT Department of Pamukkale University in 2005 and worked as a Head of Department for 2 years. In addition, he also founded the School of Foreign Languages in Pamukkale University in 2007 and worked as a director for 4 years. He was involved in MoNE and World Bank Project related to renewal of ELT curricula of Faculty of Education between 1996-1998, and Accreditation of Faculty of Education in Turkey. He has been to Aston University, UK, in 1992 and Leeds University, UK, in 1997 for academic research. He has visited Language Schools and ELT Departments in 15 American Universities for academic visits in 1994.  In addition, he has attended seminars and meetings in Harvard University and Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) in London for Accreditation research in 1997.
Prof. Paker has been in the field of ELT as a teacher, teacher educator, researcher, Head of Department, Director of School of Foreign Languages, and a Member of University Senate for 35 years. He is also a member of Quality Committee of Pamukkale University. He teaches Approaches and Methods, ELT methodology, Assessment and Evaluation in ELT, Intercultural Communication, Material Evaluation, Adaptation and Development, and Curriculum Development in BA, MA and PhD programs. 
He has published book chapters, articles and presented papers in international and national symposiums, as well as local, national and international seminars and webinars on assessment and evaluation in ELT, ELT Methodology, TEFL, Teaching Practicum and pre- and in-service teacher education in ELT.

Assessment strategies for A2 and B1 levels in ELT

Assessment in lower levels is problematic in achievement exams in schools. They are still based on isolated grammar or vocabulary items rather than skill-based items. Teachers often ignore that learners in lower levels go through interlanguage process; however, they expect accuracy from their learners in these levels. In fact, communicative testing is crucial in order to create self-confidence and motivation for the learners. Providing feedback after the exam on the content may create awareness and scaffolding may help the learners improve their language and build self-confidence.  As structured-based tests involve discrete items, skill-based tests deal with content. In this presentation, I will focus on skill-based testing in terms of details and examples related to A2 and B1 level test items and suggests some assessment strategies based on four language skills.

Prof. Dr. Yasemin Kırkgöz
Çukurova University

Yasemin Kırkgöz is a professor in the English Language Teaching Department of Çukurova University, Turkey. She completed her master and doctoral degrees at the University of Aston in the UK. Her main research interests include language policy and practice particularly in primary and higher education, curriculum design and innovation management, teaching English to young learners, English medium instruction, problem-based learning in ELT, teacher education, English for Academic and Specific Purposes. She has published in a number of international journals including European Journal of Teacher Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Educational Policy, Teaching in Higher Education and Current Issues in Language Planning. She received various awards, including the Third Annual David E. Eskey Memorial Award for Curricular Innovation for her publication Innovation as a Curriculum Renewal Process in a Turkish University in 2006, and the Leadership and Management Special Interest Group (SIG) award from IATEFL in 2013. She is the co-editor of the book Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes in Higher Education, published by Springer in 2018. 

English medium Instruction in Turkish Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges

Using English as a medium of instruction (EMI) to teach subject courses in higher education has been increasing in Turkey and many other countries where English functions as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL).  While EMI offers opportunities for its stakeholders, mainly the students, it may also pose some challenges.  This plenary session first provides a critical review of policy related to EMI at macro and micro levels in Turkey.  Then, it reports the challenges and benefits of teaching and learning academic courses through the medium of English from the perspectives of subject teachers and students.  The final part of the session will highlight the recent research focussing on different aspects of EMI from the Turkish context to give insights into how macro policy and micro practices can be aligned in order to enhance the quality of  EMI in Turkey and similar other contexts.

Prof. Dr. Bonny Norton
The University of British Columbia

Dr. Bonny Norton (FRSC) is a University Killam Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Canada. Her primary research interests are identity and language learning, digital storytelling, and open technology. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Educational Research Association, she was awarded the BC 2020 Academic of the Year Award for her work on the Global Storybooks project (https://globalstorybooks.net/). Her website is https://faculty.educ.ubc.ca/norton/

Identity, Investment, and Digital Storytelling for a Multilingual Future

The world has changed since I published my early work on identity, investment, and language learning in the mid 1990s. Because of advancements in digital technology, there are new relations of power at micro and macro levels, and digital literacy has become essential in “claiming the right to speak.”  As language learners navigate these changing times, they need to negotiate new identities, investments, and imagined futures (Norton, 2013). Working with Ron Darvin, I have responded to new linguistic landscapes by developing an expanded model of investment that integrates identity, ideology, and linguistic capital in a comprehensive framework (Darvin & Norton, 2015). In this presentation, I will demonstrate that while there are structures that may limit a language learner’s investment, the model illustrates how learners can draw on language and literacy practices that enhance possibility. Drawing on my recent research on digital storytelling in both wealthy and poorly resourced communities worldwide (Norton, Stranger-Johannessen, & Doherty, 2020), I will discuss how freely available digital stories in multiple languages, including Turkish, can harness the linguistic capital of language learners in homes, schools, and communities, with exciting implications for the promotion of multilingualism in the 21^st Century.  

Key open access resources:

Storybooks Canada http://www.storybookscanada.ca/

Global Storybooks: http://globalstorybooks.net/

References

Darvin, R. & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 35-56.

Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. 2^nd Edition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Norton, B., Stranger-Johannessen, E., & Doherty, L. (2020). Global Storybooks: From Arabic to Zulu, freely available digital tales in 50+ languages. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/global-storybooks-from-arabic-to-zulu-freely-available-digital-tales-in-50-languages-127480

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christina Gkonou 
University of Essex

Dr Christina Gkonou is Associate Professor of TESOL and MA TESOL Programme Leader in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, UK. She convenes postgraduate modules on teacher education and development, and on psychological aspects surrounding the foreign language learning and teaching experience. She is co-editor of New Directions in Language Learning Psychology (with Sarah Mercer and Dietmar Tatzl), New Insights into Language Anxiety: Theory, Research and Educational Implications (with Jean-Marc Dewaele and Mark Daubney), and The Emotional Rollercoaster of Language Teaching (with Jean-Marc Dewaele and Jim King). She is also co-author of MYE: Managing Your Emotions Questionnaire (with Rebecca L. Oxford) and has published a number of research articles in international, peer-reviewed journals. Her new co-authored book (with Kate Brierton) for Cambridge University Press is on Cultivating teacher wellbeing and will be out in March 2022.

Embracing the future: Language teacher emotion research

Emotions are at the centre of all human behaviour, and teaching and learning are no exception. Teaching, in particular, requires careful handling of teacher own emotions and that teachers also demonstrate empathy, enthusiasm, and optimism in order to influence their learners’ emotions positively. Despite the inherent importance of teacher emotions and well-being in the process of teaching, existing research has been disproportionately less than that into language learner emotions (Gkonou, Dewaele, & King, 2020).

In this talk, I take stock of what we already know about language teacher emotions in terms of specific emotions felt as part of one’s practice, challenging moments experienced throughout one’s career, and positive psychology. I discuss how this knowledge can help us to better understand teachers and inform classroom practice. I then reflect on what we still potentially do not know about how language teacher emotions work and what possible new directions we can take within research and teacher education to address this important, yet neglected, side of teaching.   

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Inna Pevneva
Kemerovo State University

Ph.D in linguistics, associate professor of the department of foreign languages of T.F. Gorbachev Kuzbass state technical university in the city of Kemerovo, Russia, also heads the university International Cooperation Department. Inna has been working in the higher education since 2001 and has been involved in international education and teaching for over 17 years. She is a participant of several international exchange programs including academic and cultural exchange program in the United States and had internships, training and teaching experience in the universities of North America and Europe. She is also the author of over 80 research projects and publications on language studies, international education and cross-cultural communication, global competences and teaching English to students with disabilities and dyslexia.

Global competence in language teaching to genZ: success and failure 

The formation of global competencies for STEM students at all levels of professional engineering education as the basis for a successful career and social life is becoming increasingly important in today's rapidly changing world. A possible solution to this problem involves several aspects: first, the definition and description of the basic elements and structure of global competencies in the framework of a competency-based approach; secondly, the interpretation of global competencies and their components taking into account convergent and multidirectional global processes in all spheres of human activity. Third, the development of tools to promote education reform, ensure the qualitative improvement of the educational process, procedures, evaluation of results and ensure the growth of quality indicators of learning outcomes. How can a language teacher help STEM students on the way to develop these crucial skills? The results of an empirical research are provided to reveal the success of GC integration to language classrooms and key challenges that a language teacher faces under modern conditions. The results are presented in the Global competence description and the development of the global competence matrix for the foreign language acquisition. The analysis of involving non-traditional teaching tools such as “backward design” which allows to focus on the “big idea”  as well “can-do statements” as performance indicators for language learners in the language class for genZ are the examples of how language teachers of STEM students can successfully contribute to GC formation which allows to make conclusions of success stories and failures specifically under the condition of the extreme online shift.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Katalin Csizér Wein
Eötvös University

Kata Csizér is an associate professor at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Her main field of research interest is the social psychological aspects of L2 learning and teaching, as well as foreign language motivation. She has published over 100 academic papers and has co-authored several books, including the recent Palgrave Macmillan handbook of motivation for language learning with Martin Lamb, Alastair Henry and Stephen Ryan as well as volumes with Multilingual Matters (Motivational dynamics, language attitudes and language globalisation: A Hungarian perspective with Zoltán Dörnyei and Nóra Németh; and The impact of self-concept on language learning with Michael Magid).

Intended effort to learn English and its relationship with autonomy: A comparative study across secondary schools in Hungary

The investigation of individual difference variables in language learning should concentrate on their interrelationships in various learning environments (Illés, 2020; Ryan, 2019) in order to provide contextualized results that can inform teachers and researchers alike. Therefore, this presentation aims to map the relationships between learner autonomy and motivation and some of their antecedent variables in various secondary schools across Hungary with the help of a standardized questionnaire. Data was collected from students (N = 1,170) in the school years of 2019/2020/2021. The results summarized in this presentation include school-level correlation and regression analyses, while I also address differences with the help of descriptive statistics before and during the pandemic. The most important results show that some of the relationships were context-independent in the sense that they proved to be very similar in various schools, while other influences indicated school-related variations. For example, the impact of Ideal L2 selves on intended effort and autonomy proved to be prevalent, while the role of intercultural contact and L2 learning experiences emerged only in some of the school investigated. These similarities and differences will be discussed in light of L2 motivation theories and both teaching and research implications will be drawn.