Dear members,
Our July workshop looks set to be very informative and engaging. Join us as we explore students' motivation & engagement, as well as looking at how we can grow our own understanding of students' views on English.
Encouraging Engagement and Motivation
This presentation focuses on a method and style of teaching that has been developed over eight and a half years of teaching and living in Korea. The topics included in this talk are encouraging student engagement and motivation to learn and study English, and increasing our understanding of students’ perspectives of English. Based on both teaching experience and a Master’s research study, these topics will focus on: classroom dynamics; project based learning; English as a language, English as a subject, and transformative, holistic learning. Classroom management skills are often the most difficult to learn and take years of experience to fine tune. Addressing this in classroom dynamics, the focus is on the humanization of both the students and the teacher. This leads into the importance of knowing and understanding students, undertaking needs analysis and creating curriculum content that engages students in the language, breaks down barriers in confidence and encourages participation. Project-based learning (PBL) is an excellent method of achieving this and in this talk I will present an end-of-semester project that students have responded to very positively and has encouraged them with their futures, learning and studying English. The implementation of PBL and task-based learning (TBL) has been a focal point for the Freshman English Program here at KNU with a strong emphasis on holistic learning. This is exemplified in a transformative learning experience giving students the opportunity to reflect on themselves and broaden their perspectives of themselves, their community, their environment and the world. Through this presentation I hope to share some take-away points that may help others in encouraging engagement and motivation amongst their students.
Eileen Elizabeth Laffan is a Visiting Professor in the Liberal Arts Faculty at Kyungpook National University, Daegu. She has been in this position since March, 2014. She recently completed a Research Masters in Educational and Social Research from the Institute of Education at the University College London. Through this Masters program she undertook a research study for her dissertation titled ‘EFL Narratives: Korean university students’ motivations to study English’.She will continue with this study for her Education Doctorate at the IOE later this year. She has a strong dedication to education and educational research which is demonstrated by her passion to teach and learn. You can contact her by email: eileenlaffan@gmail.com, find her on linkedin or follow her on twitter @eileenlaffan.
As usual, there will be drinks and snacks, and a few members usually meet for dinner after the presentation. Feel free to join us, and please do bring any friends you think might be interested.
