International Teachers of English Conference Abstracts

Georgia

Presenting Complex Grammar: The Subjunctive Mood
Anne Marie Burk - Tbilisi, Georgia

We will look at how to present the Subjunctive Mood to express wishes, to give advice, and to express desires or conditions contrary to fact. Students will practice using this Mood with interactive memory games, with songs, and in pair activity. Verb charts and written exercises will be handed out, and teachers will be shown how to use these charts to create interactive exercises for students.

Teaching Students with Different Learning Styles
Anne Marie Burk - Tbilisi, Georgia

Teachers will discover their own learning style in a short quiz. Then we will practice activities that use visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods to teach English and that help students to speak English in class.

Helping Students to Remember Vocabulary
Diane Millar - Tbilisi, Georgia

Teachers know that students need to learn vocabulary and they spend lots of class time teaching students new words. However, several lessons later the students have trouble remembering these words. So how can we help them remember vocabulary? The presenter will show teachers how they can help students by developing a class vocabulary box (with minimal materials). This box of words can then be used to play a number of revision games in class. The presenter will demonstrate a number of activities that teachers can use. These will include guessing games, categorizing games, speaking activities and writing activities. This practical and active workshop can be used with students of all levels and all ages.

Critical Thinking in the Classroom
Diane Millar - Tbilisi, Georgia

In life and at work, students need to be able to evaluate information and make appropriate decisions. Thus one key aspect of education should be helping students to think critically. To do this, teachers need to incorporate critical thinking activities into their language classes. In this workshop the presenter will demonstrate a number of kinds of critical thinking activities that teachers can use in class. The teachers will try out activities that help with the following critical thinking skills: categorizing, ranking, deducing, setting criteria, evaluating and thinking about learning. This practical and active workshop is most appropriate for teenagers and adults from low-intermediate to advanced levels.

Teaching Writing to Young Learners
Diane Millar - Tbilisi, Georgia

Nowadays teachers realize that they need to incorporate more writing activities in their language classes. However, this is very difficult to do with young learners (ages 7 to 11). In this workshop the presenter will discuss the challenges and the appropriate stages of teaching writing with young learners. The teachers will practice a number of activities that focus on: handwriting, meaningful copying, controlled writing, and freer writing. By participating in these tasks, the teachers will see how they can use simple and fun writing activities with their own students.