Presenter: Dr. Natalie Thibault
Workshop title:
Learning with Diagrams: Enhancing Expression, Comprehension, and Ideation in EFL Classrooms
Summary:
How can diagrams enhance students’ expression, comprehension, and ideation in EFL classrooms? This workshop will give answers, tips, and insight into this question by presenting a variety of visual tools suitable for EFL teaching, from anchor charts for listening to Venn diagrams for speaking and flowcharts for writing. Through hands-on activities, you will experience how useful and effective visual tools can be in language learning, and you will walk away with many implementable ideas.
The workshop will focus on strategies to help students develop and create their own diagrams (learning with them), rather than using teacher-created materials (learning from them), since research has shown that creating visual representations, compared to already-prepared visuals, can enhance observation, facilitate, and lead to a deeper understanding of concepts for students.
Bio: Dr. Natalie Thibault is an assistant professor at Wonkwang University in Iksan, South Korea. She is an experienced English as a second language (ESL) instructor, having taught in Asia for nearly two decades. In addition to her teaching career, she has been focusing her qualitative research efforts on rapport-building between students and professors, internationalization of Korean higher education, and international student experiences. Dr. Thibault is involved with several international publications dedicated to qualitative and education-related research, including The Qualitative Report, for which she is a Senior Editor.
Presenter: Nicole Cyr
Workshop title:
Social-Emotional Learning and Your Classroom
Abstract:
This workshop will introduce social-emotional learning (SEL) and how incorporating SEL concepts into an EFL teaching practice can positively influence both classroom culture and student learning outcomes. During this session, there will be space for personal reflection as well as peer discussion. Together we will look at classroom activities through an SEL-focused lens and discuss ways to expand our focus as educators from language development to the development of the whole student.
The goal is to equip participants with an understanding of SEL frameworks and practical ideas for their own classroom. Instructors teaching in any context (K-12, university, hagwon, etc.) are welcomed to attend. Participants are encouraged to bring a hard copy of a recent lesson plan they’ve taught.
Bio: Nicole Cyr is a professor at Gongju National University of Education. She completed her MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the University of Leicester, researching the use of humor and play in Korean ELT for her final dissertation. Her other research interests lie in sociolinguistics, social-emotional learning, and language policy. She can be reached at nicoleacyr@gmail.com.
