Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter October Meeting
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----- Morning Reflective Practice Session -----
Topic: Fear and Anxiety in the Classroom
Session Facilitator: Bryan Hale (with Jocelyn Wright)
Time: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
NEW Location: Aldersgate (올더스게이트), cozy cafe near GNUE. Ground floor of 광주우리교회 Building.
----- Main Meeting Schedule -----
Time: Saturday, October 17, 2015, 1:45 - 5:00 pm
NEW Location: Gwangju National University of Education (GNUE), Teacher Training Center (교사교육센터) 1st Floor; Room 811. Detailed directions HERE.
1:45 pm: Sign-in and Meet-and-Greet (Admission is free. Future membership is welcomed.)
2:00 - 2:50 pm: Presentation
Story Writing as a Path to Academic Writing
Bryan Hale (Sunkyung Academy, Gwangju)
2:50 - 3:10 pm: Refreshment Break
3:10 - 4:00 pm: Discussion Session
KOTESOL International Conference Share: Insights, impressions, information, and inquiries related to IC 2015
4:00 - 5:00 pm: Swap-Shop Presentations: Halloween Theme
Share your Teaching Ideas, Classroom Activities, and Teaching Wisdom with the group. Halloween-themed contributions are especially welcomed; others also fine.
(Everyone is encouraged to share. Short tidbits are welcomed. Handouts also welcomed.)
5:00 pm: Announcements / Drawing for Door Prizes / Closing
Presentation Synopses and Presenter Bio-Sketches
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Story Writing as a Path to Academic Writing
Bryan Hale
Academic writing can be a frustrating exercise in English language classes, for students and for teachers. Students might not be very personally invested, even if teachers have encouraged them to write about topics that interest them and to write with a personal voice. Different cultural approaches to writing and rhetoric can lead to miscommunication rather than illuminating exchanges. It’s easy for students and teachers to retreat into "just because": "But teacher, there’s nothing more to write. The reason is, just because!" "You have to explain this more, the way I’m telling you to explain it more, just because!"
Story writing can offer an alternative and maybe more productive path into academic writing. Story writing can help students to feel ownership of writing and to be more engaged with the content of their writing. Story writing can help students to think consciously about structure and how to build cohesive, coherent texts in English. Story writing offers lots of opportunities for purposeful and creative revision. And story writing can encourage more authentic negotiation and exchange between students and teachers.
In this workshop, we will try some creative writing activities that I have found useful with students from the higher elementary school grades and up. Together, we will write some (little) stories ourselves and also think about what students might make of the processes we try, and how these writing processes might build towards academic writing. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on the purposes of teaching writing in English language classes, and to get some activity ideas to use in class.
The Presenter
Bryan Hale is a teacher from Australia who has been in Korea since 2011. Bryan currently teaches conversation and writing to elementary and middle school students at Sunkyung Academy in Gwangju. He has experience teaching students in Korea of all ages, from very young to adult. Bryan is currently the Membership Coordinator for Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter and Co-facilitator for the Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL Reflective Practice SIG. Email: bryan.english.teacher@gmail.com
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KOTESOL International Conference Share: Insights, impressions, information, and inquiries related to IC 2015
The International Conference (IC) is KOTESOL's biggest event of the year, and Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter participation was significant. Chapter members played major roles on the IC Committee, others presented at the IC, and still others participated as attendees.
In this session, those who participated in the conference will be sharing their impressions of the conference, what they learned, and what they liked. Those working behind the scenes can add their perspective on how the conference is organized and how it operates. Those who were not able to attend can ask any questions they have and make their own contributions.
Those on the Conference Committee were Lindsay Herron, Dave Shaffer, Ynell Lumantao, Bill Mulligan, Tyson Vieira, Seongsuk Yun, Gene Shaffer, and Yeon-seong Park. Presenting at the IC were Jocelyn Wright, Bryan Hale, Dave Shaffer, and Lindsay Herron (Friday Workshops). Trevor Homeniuk and several other Chapter members were also at the conference over the weekend.
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Photo: Gwangju National University of Education (GNUE), Teacher Training Center (교사교육센터).
