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Biodata
Daniel Xerri is a Lecturer in TESOL at the University of Malta. He is a member of IATEFL’s Conference Committee and of TESOL International Association’s Research Professional Council. Between 2015 and 2017, he was the Joint Coordinator of the IATEFL Research SIG. He holds postgraduate degrees in English and Applied Linguistics, as well as a PhD in Education from the University of York. He is the author of many publications on different areas of education and TESOL. His most recent books are ‘The Image in English Language Teaching’ (2017, ELT Council), ‘ELT Research in Action: Bridging the Gap between Research and Classroom Practice’ (2018, IATEFL), ‘Teacher Involvement in High-stakes Language Testing’ (2018, Springer), and ‘Becoming Research Literate: Supporting Teacher Research in English Language Teaching’ (2018, ETAS).

Developing the reading comprehension skills of diverse groups students can be challenging for teachers because they often lack the understanding of students’ difficulties and the tools to assist them. In this presentation, first I will briefly explain what causes difficulties in reading in another language and show how recent research findings on additional support can yield insights for  an inclusive language classroom.  The talk will then outline several ways in which teachers can design and use reading texts and tasks to foster the development of comprehension skills of all language learners, including those with specific learning difficulties. Examples for inclusive digital teaching materials from the EU-funded ENGaGE project will be shown to illustrate the recommended techniques.

Judit Kormos is a Professor in Second Language Acquisition at Lancaster University. Her research interests include the psycholinguistic aspects of second language acquisition, specific learning differences and cognitive factors in language learning. She was a key partner in the award-winning DysTEFL project sponsored by the European Commission and is a lead educator in the Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching massive open online learning course offered by Future Learn. She is the author of the book ‘Speech production and second language acquisition’ and ‘The second language acquisition processes of students with specific learning difficulties’. She has published several research articles in international journals on the role of cognitive differences in second language learning.

We are told that automation and AI are two of the key features that will shape the economy of the near future. However, the idea that ‘robots are coming for your jobs’ is hardly new in the world of science fiction, and nor is it a new threat – or promise – in the world of education. How likely is the scenario to take place in ELT? This plenary looks at the discourse and history of the push for automation and teaching machines in language education. I’ll argue that some of the apocalyptic predictions of robot teachers might not only be incorrect visions of the future, but are also harmful to our present-day practices.

Lindsay Clandfield is an award-winning writer, teacher, teacher trainer and international speaker in the field of English language teaching. He has written or co-written several coursebooks and is the main author of the new young adult course Studio (Helbling Languages). Lindsay is the series editor a range of Teacher Development books and has co-written various methodology books for teachers. Lindsay is also the creative force behind various web projects including the popular blog Six Things, the e-publishing collective The Round and the sci-fi/adventure materials website Extreme Language Teaching. You can find out more about him at his website www.lindsayclandfield.com.

In recent years, contemporary understandings of 21st century life skills have been expanded from the traditional 4Cs to include skills such as, socio-emotional competence, citizenship, ecoliteracy, and compassion among others. In this talk, I introduce Positive Language Education, which is a dual focused approach to developing linguistic competence alongside life skills. I reflect on the rationale for integrating language and life skills in sustainable ways, which are motivating for learners and teachers. We will consider a range of practical ideas drawing parallels to CLIL approaches.

Sarah Mercer is Professor of Foreign Language Teaching at the University of Graz, Austria, where she is Head of ELT methodology. Her research interests include all aspects of the psychology surrounding the foreign language learning experience. She is the author, co-author and co-editor of several books in this area. Currently and in the past few years, she has been Principal Investigator on various funded research projects examining language teacher wellbeing. She works on the editorial board of various journals, was co-editor of the journal System for several years, is currently vice-president of the International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning (IAPLL), and serves as a consultant on several international projects. In 2018, she was awarded the Robert C Gardner Award for excellence in second language research by the International Association of Language and Social Psychology (IALSP).

She is the author, co-author and co-editor of several books in this area including, ‘Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept’, ‘Psychology for Language Learning’, ‘Multiple Perspectives on the Self’ in SLA’, ‘New Directions in Language Learning Psychology’, ‘Positive Psychology in SLA’, ‘Exploring Psychology for Language Teachers’ (Winner of the IH Ben Warren Prize), ‘Language Teacher Psychology’ and 'Engaging Language Learners in Contemporary Classrooms.'