Conference Schedule
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Pre-conference Reflective Practice Workshop by Stewart Gray
12:00 p.m.
Registration Begins
1:00-1:10 p.m.
Opening Ceremony
1:10-1:50 p.m.
Plenary Session: Will You Dare to Care and Share? Liberating Stories of Teaching and Learning by Maria Lisak
2:00-2:45 p.m.
What Makes a Great Lesson? vs. What Makes a Lesson Great? by Dan Svoboda
Life, Truth, & Hope: Teaching English with Generation Climate Change by Julian Warmington
Stereotype Threat: Understanding and Addressing L2 Speakers’ Group Anxieties by Stewart Gray (2:00-2:25 p.m.)
Cultivating Cosmopolitan Orientations in University Students: An Initial Foray by Lindsay Herron (2:25-2:50 p.m.)
3:00-3:45 p.m.
Context: An Essential Ingredient by Tyson Vieira
The Dangers and Rewards of Gamification by Zon D. Petilla
When 500 Students Yell at You: The American Dream by Simone Hutchings
Participants’ Perspectives: LGBTQ Discussions in the Classroom by Arturo Collado
4:00-4:45 p.m.
Incorporating Seven Effective Habits in Conversation Class by Lynne van Lelyveld
Spotlight on Vocabulary by Jessica Ives
Reading Culture and Reading Skills by Angela Jeannette
Making Our English Language Classrooms Safe for LGBTIQ+ Students by the Social Justice SIG
5:00-5:45 p.m.
Classroom Harmony: Encouraging Young Learners to Work Together by Jessica Magnusson
Teaching Writing in a Second Language for Tertiary Education by Hwami Amy Lee
Research Focus: Citing Citations and Listing References, APA Style by David E. Shaffer
How to Be Better Allies for Our Students by Mitzi Kaufman
5:45-6:00 p.m.
Closing & Prize Drawing
Abstracts and Biographical Profiles
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Pre-conference Reflective Practice Workshop
Reflecting on Emotional Experiences in Teaching
Our emotions connect us to our practice. They are often the first indicator of things going well or not so well in our classrooms. As such, reflecting on our emotional experiences (the good and the bad, when we have them, what causes them) helps us understand ourselves as teachers and gives us hints about how to shape and reshape our teaching. This reflective session is designed with emotions in mind; participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own emotional experiences in teaching, share these with others, and discuss potential implications for practice.
Stewart Gray is an English teacher at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He is a graduate of Dankook University (MA TESOL), a Ph.D. student at the University of Leeds, a coordinator for the KOTESOL Reflective Practice Special Interest Group, chair of the KOTESOL 2018 National Conference, and the current president of the Yongin-Gyeonggi KOTESOL chapter. His research interests include language and identity, reflective practice, critical thinking, and critical pedagogies. Email: ec_391@hotmail.com
1:10-1:50 p.m. Plenary Session
Will You Dare to Care and Share? Liberating Stories of Teaching and Learning
This plenary address hopes to frame the conference with kindness, connection and audacity. Teaching is a care-giving profession and balancing how to care for students, self and institutions is a challenge that is common among educators. Opportunities like this face-to-face conference offer chances for us to construct knowledge together by sharing the problems and constraints we face, while getting quality feedback from experts, colleagues and peers. By sharing and caring, we develop confidence in a safe, supportive environment, propelling us to risk-take more, daring to explore our full potential in all the roles we hold in life!
Maria Lisak celebrated the 22nd anniversary of her first steps in South Korea last month. From the Midwest in the U.S., her Chicago accent still plagues her Korean pronunciation. In answering the question that a Korean colleague asked her last semester, she is still here because she can live a simple life while pursuing her love of learning in a community that values education. She has been teaching public administration and social welfare at Chosun University since 2012. You can check out her degree pedigree on her blog: koreamaria.typepad.com/gwangju
Effective Teaching Strand
2:00–2:45 What Makes a Great Lesson? vs. What Makes a Lesson Great?
Teaching is all about creating great lessons. Whatever age group or skill level you find yourself teaching, you probably spend time creating the best possible lessons and delivering new and existing lessons in the best possible way. This workshop will look at several factors related to creating a “great lesson,” including content, students, delivery, classroom, teachers, and other miscellaneous factors. Instead of being prescribed simple and quick fixes, participants will ask themselves engaging questions, reflect on their own experiences, and share ideas on what makes a lesson “great.”
Daniel Svoboda is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in Seoul. Following an undergraduate degree in English, he graduated with an M.A. in English in 2011. Over a teaching career that spans almost a decade, Daniel has worked with learners as diverse as kindergarten students and company executives—and just about every age level in between—at private academies, elementary schools, high schools, universities, and in-house corporate training programs. Email: dansvo82@naver.com
3:00-3:45 Context: An Essential Ingredient
The topic of contextual learning is hardly new. Actually, it would be difficult to read a language learning text or attend an ESL/EFL conference without coming across the word “context.” However, in my interview experiences and according to several hiring coordinators, “setting the context” is a box that oftentimes is left unchecked during job interview demonstration lessons and peer observations.
This workshop will start by looking at the importance of context, elements needed for efficiency, and tips for adding solid context while lesson planning. Then we will observe examples of context application in language lessons. Later, we will break into small groups and practice creating and demonstrating contexts using textbook lessons currently used in Korean schools.
Tyson Vieira works at Kyungnam University in Masan, South Gyeongsang province, as the special programs coordinator and an English assistant professor. Prior to university teaching, he worked for the Jeollanamdo Language Program (JLP) under the Provincial Office of Education. He earned his M.A. degree in TESOL from Azusa Pacific University in California, and his CELTA through International House in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He served as the RP-SIG co-facilitator and member-at-large for the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter.
4:00-4:45 Incorporating Seven Effective Habits in Conversation Class
Are you, like me, struggling with how to have a more vibrant classroom? This presentation will start with a discussion of what the most daunting problems for teachers of ESL are in the classroom. I will then explain how Dr. Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People can help with solving these problems. I will show further reasons for using these “7 habits” in the classroom, including research that has been done on using this book in education. Next, I will show some practical ways I use it in my class.
We as teachers all care for our students’ development and their enjoyment of English; I believe that using Dr. Covey’s book can help with these goals. Attendees will leave this presentation with practical knowledge and resources for implementing these “7 habits” in their own classes; I hope they will dare to follow through.
Lynne van Lelyveld earned a B.A. in anthropology and sociology at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. She is currently an English language instructor at the Christian College of Nursing in Gwangju and has enjoyed the privilege of being an ELT professional for 15 years now.
5:00-5:45 Classroom Harmony: Encouraging Young Learners to Work Together
Students fighting, refusing to work together, or insulting and teasing each other is the source of a lot of stress for teachers of young learners. This can be especially frustrating for those teaching English since English activities are often set up for the purpose of being communicative. How can teachers get students to communicate with each other in English when they are not communicating in their native language (Korean)?
This presentation explores why such disharmonious behaviors occur and steps teachers can take towards attaining a more harmonious classroom. The development of social skills such as taking turns, waiting patiently, sharing, and asking permission will be explored. Participants will be given an opportunity to share their own experiences and tips. This presentation draws on readings from teacher training resources and other relevant literature, and from personal classroom experiences.
Jessica Magnusson has taught English conversation, teacher training, and special programs at Gwangju National University of Education (GNUE) since 2011. She earned an M.A. in TESOL from the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA. She is interested in teaching vocabulary and reading comprehension to all ages of learners.
Skills & Know-How Strand
3:00-3:45 The Dangers and Rewards of Gamification
Adolescents are targeted by game companies using gamification to look for ways to seduce children to beg, borrow, or steal money to pay for “loot boxes” (Gault, 2017; TheGnomeCast, 2017). Governments are looking at legislation to protect children from loot boxes (Gault, 2017; Taylor, 2018). Educators should be aware that many of their students have been exposed to them via popular games like Clash Royale (edihau, 2017). Nonetheless, teachers should consider how loot boxes could work as part of a classroom management toolset (Kolb, 2015; McGonigal, 2016). My workshop aims to inform teachers about loot boxes, why they are controversial, and the ways this type of system could promote team and autonomous self-learning in an English classroom.
Zon D. Petilla (B.A., linguistics, California State University Fresno; M.S., Full Sail) has worked with ESL and EFL students since 2007 as an instructor in the U.S. for private schools and community colleges such as ECLA, FCCC and CCCC. He has taught grades K-12 in three cities as a GEPIK and EPIK NET since 2011. Currently, he teaches at the Ojeong English Center in Gwangju, a publicly funded program aimed to help low- and middle-class students obtain affordable English instruction. He develops games as a hobby.
4:00-4:45 Spotlight on Vocabulary
Learning a language is a complex process. Typically, grammar is seen as the most important component for learning a language. While grammar is certainly important, the role of vocabulary to convey the speaker’s message during communication is often left in the background. As Wilkins (1972) states, “[W]ithout grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” (p. 111). Generally, knowing vocabulary constitutes knowing the definition. However, is knowing only the definition enough? With this in mind, the focus of this workshop is to place a spotlight on the importance of vocabulary and how teachers can help students gain a deeper understanding of the words being learned. Based on Scott Thornbury’s ideas, this workshop will encompass a range of activities to address various factors related to teaching vocabulary: how to introduce vocabulary, multiple meanings of words, a word’s relationship with other words (collocation), and how to practice newly-introduced vocabulary.
Jessica Ives is from Niagara Falls, Canada. She is a professor at Dongshin University in Naju. Before teaching in Korea, she was an ESL instructor at Brock University, where she also completed both her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master of Arts in applied linguistics (TESL).
5:00-5:45 Teaching Writing in a Second Language for Tertiary Education
Teaching a writing course for the first time can be a challenging but rewarding process that equips us to meet the course goal and the needs of the students, and ultimately gain experience. This presentation will explore the parameters of a writing course taught by the presenter and the activities utilized to engage the students while providing practice to a new way of writing in a new language. Challenges faced throughout the course will be discussed as well, and what remedies were taken. The course was designed to teach students basic writing skills, closely following the American writing model and format. Students also had to participate in a social media activity in which they had to participate weekly by posting online, as well as completing an online form which imitated social media. Aspects of second language writing in the Korean university setting will be discussed.
Hwami Amy Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Liberal Arts at Konkuk University, Glocal Campus. She has taught various courses in English, mainly courses focusing on the four skills. Her expertise also includes ESP for nursing and business English. She received her master’s degree in TESOL from The New School in New York.
Culture Focus Strand
2:00–2:25 Stereotype Threat: Understanding and Addressing L2 Speakers’ Group Anxieties (25 minutes)
In the field of language teaching, counterproductive stereotypes proliferate—certain groups of people are assumed to be naturally poor at speaking certain languages. Research demonstrates that subjection to stereotypes causes anxiety, inhibits learning, and harms performance. This is stereotype threat: fear that poor performance will confirm for observers the deficiencies of your group—a fear that prevents learners from performing in line with their actual skill level. Drawing from research literature and his own experiences, the presenter will highlight the nature and causes of stereotype threat, some ways in which it manifests for L2 speakers, and some principles that teachers and others can follow to reduce the sense of threat and thereby encourage low-anxiety interactions and better language performance.
Stewart Gray is an English teacher at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He is a graduate of Dankook University (MA TESOL), a Ph.D. student at the University of Leeds, a coordinator for the KOTESOL Reflective Practice Special Interest Group, chair of the KOTESOL 2018 National Conference, and the current president of the Yongin-Gyeonggi KOTESOL chapter. His research interests include language and identity, reflective practice, critical thinking, and critical pedagogies.
2:25–2:50 Cultivating Cosmopolitan Orientations in University Students: An Initial Foray (25 minutes)
In today’s climate of impatience, intolerance, and obduracy, there is a need to consider the potential of critical cosmopolitan education in facilitating more open-minded, responsive dispositions in students. Cosmopolitanism is, in essence, a fundamental sense of hospitality; it involves openness and receptiveness, empathy and forgiveness, trust and belonging, and mutuality and connectedness. Situated in a sociocultural framework and using an ethnographic approach, this presentation explores the cosmopolitan literacies displayed by university students in Korea participating in a semester-long, online intercultural exchange with diverse counterparts at a community college in the eastern United States. Overall, while students demonstrated a variety of cosmopolitan literacies and took a generally hospitable stance toward their counterparts, the full potential of the exchange seemed stunted, possibly due in part to students’ cultural assumptions, inequitable investment in the online discussion group, and even the positive atmosphere of the group. Lessons from this research and future steps will be discussed.
Lindsay Herron has taught at Gwangju National University of Education for nearly a decade. She has an MA in cinema studies and an MSEd in literacy, culture, and language education (LCLE). She is currently working on a doctorate in LCLE.
3:00-3:45 When 500 Students Yell at You: The American Dream
High school student participation in South Korea can be a struggle akin to pulling teeth. The students are tired from late-night academy sessions, and the native English teacher’s conversation class comes in a distant 100th on their priority list. What happened in Gwangyang, then, that caused over 500 high school students to actively participate in a lesson, yelling at their English teacher in frustration? This presentation explores how a purposefully unfair group activity and the “American Dream” can affect even the most apathetic (and tired) Korean high school student.
Simone Hutchings is a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Jungma High School in Gwangyang. She is a recent graduate of American University and Wesley Theological Seminary’s dual degree program where she studied the intersection of religion, ethics, and international conflict. She has taught literacy to “at-risk” kindergarteners and facilitated dialogues for high school students in conflict areas across the United States. She is committed to youth civic engagement and the cultivation of critical thinking and creativity inside and outside of the classroom.
4:00–4:45 Reading Culture and Reading Skills
Ways to approach texts vary between cultures, which can lead to difficulties in the foreign language classroom. As students have been socialized into a specific classroom culture, they often (unconsciously) transfer expectations about goals, methods, styles, and teacher/student responsibilities from their L1 environment into further languages studied.
The theoretical part of this workshop, intended to raise teachers’ awareness of students’ backgrounds, will compare information on reading goals, styles, and strategies as mentioned in the CEFR with findings from research on reading in Korea. We will then consider which difficulties Korean learners may encounter in the foreign language classroom (L2, L3, or further) and why. Participants will be asked to draw upon their own classroom experience in order to discuss ways to help students acquire more effective reading styles in a culturally appropriate way.
Angela Jeannette is currently an assistant professor in the Department of German at Chosun University, Gwangju. Previously, she worked for almost two decades for Germany’s official institutions for culture and academic contact (German Academic Exchange Service [DAAD] and the Goethe-Institut) in Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and South Korea.
5:00-5:45 Research Focus: Citing Citations and Listing References, APA Style
In research paper submissions made to scholarly journals, academic proceedings, graduate courses, and the like, errors in formatting references in the reference list and in-text citations are among the highest in frequency. Poor formatting of references and citations could be a major reason for a journal rejecting a paper submission. Consequently, the importance of proper formatting of references and citations cannot be overemphasized.
In this workshop, we will cover the mechanics of recording the most common references and citations according to APA publication guidelines, including journal articles, books, and dissertations, both print and digital. The most common mistakes found in submissions will be highlighted. This will be a highly participatory workshop session.
David E. Shaffer, PhD, is an early member of Korea TESOL and a long-term resident of Gwangju, where his career has been as a professor on the English Department faculty at Chosun University. Over the years, he has served on the KOTESOL National Council in numerous positions, including Publications Committee Chair, and at the chapter level. He has 20 years of experience editing and proofing, and as editor-in-chief of KOTESOL publications and those of other ELT organizations. He is presently the KOTESOL national president, Proceedings editor-in-chief, Korea TESOL Journal associate editor, and Gwangju News editor-in-chief
Social Justice Strand
2:00–2:45 Life, Truth, & Hope: Teaching English with Generation Climate Change
What shall we tell the kids? What should we teach our students? What ought we know about climate change, ourselves? This 45-minute interactive presentation:
(a) shares questions and content on teaching the greenhouse gas effect, from physics through to experiences building community “resilience”;
(b) develops a nation-wide network of resources and material, including teachers prepared to share expertise or understanding in English, or to share research, writing, or production expertise to produce a new curriculum;
(c) shares this network as it stands already so far, involving a keen and committed multi-national group with diverse backgrounds and interests;
(d) demonstrates use of story to present the key elements of the climate challenge.
Julian Warmington has 15 years’ experience teaching at the university level in South Korea, was editor-in-chief for KOTESOL quarterly The English Connection, and is a member of the Social Justice SIG. He sees the challenges presented by the greenhouse effect being about social justice as much as the environment.
3:00-3:45 Participants’ Perspectives: LGBTQ Discussions in the Classroom
In this workshop, we will share our varying experiences and perspectives about the LGBTQ community. Same-sex marriage is now legal in twenty-six countries. The Queer Culture Festival in South Korea continues to grow. In our classrooms, we all have students that are LGBTQ. Should we broach this subject? How? What facts can we present? What concerns do we have regarding all the stakeholders in our learning community? How do we make our learning environments safe for LGBTQ students? Our discussions will be held under the premise that it is fundamental for our students as future world citizens to be able to engage with this topic and to advocate for human rights.
Arturo Collado currently teaches in Korean public schools and plans to land a university position in the fall of 2018. He holds an M.A. in English education and a B.A. in film studies and has been teaching for seven years. Home will always be New York City, where he grew up and served as a secondary public school teacher. The different modes and mediums of storytelling are his passion, and he remains deeply committed to promoting social justice.
4:00-4:45 Making Our English Language Classrooms Safe for LGBTIQ+ Students
As teachers we have a responsibility to make our classrooms safe and respectful places for our students. As English language teachers in Korea, it might be challenging to fulfil this responsibility to our LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) students. There are many factors to consider, including using graded language, school/educational culture and expectations, and the particular dynamics of student groups.
In this workshop we will focus on responding to in-class student language that could hurt LGBTIQ+ students. We will look at resources designed to help teachers make their classrooms safe for LGBTIQ+ students, discuss these in terms of our own contexts, and consider how we might adapt them. We will also work through some example classroom scenarios, thinking about changes that could help us improve our classroom environments.
This session will be hosted by KOTESOL’s Social Justice Special Interest Group (SJ-SIG). The Social Justice SIG was formed in 2015 and promotes discussion leading to transformative social outcomes through teaching and learning. Social justice focuses on equal participation among groups in society, and on collaborative effort towards a society which meets the needs of all.
5:00–5:45 How to Be Better Allies for Our Students
Potentially marginalized students—based on their ability, age, ancestry, color, disability, educational background, gender identity, medical condition, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, spousal affiliation, socioeconomic status, or any number of other factors—are often looking to their teachers to be “allies” who can provide a safe and supportive environment for learning. Let’s work together to explore ideas for lessons that can help students open their minds and hearts to others who may experience things quite differently than they do. I will share several specific lessons I have used with my adult students, and we will also discuss how these lessons could be modified for younger students as well.
Mitzi Kaufman is a visiting professor at the language center at KAIST University in Daejeon. She served from 2015-2017 as a member-at-large for the Daejeon-Chungcheong Chapter of KOTESOL. She has a master's from Texas A&M University and holds an adult education teaching credential from the state of California. While at Texas A&M, Mitzi worked in the Women’s and Gender Equity Resource Center, where she received training as an Aggie Ally.
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