1) Marc Helgesen
DIY NeuroELT – Making your textbook more brain-friendly.
Some people think the brain is like a sponge, soaking up more information than we can really use. No, it is really more like a sieve. 99% of the input we receive is discarded nearly instantly. How to we make sure the important information in our classroom doesn’t disappear? Brain science is making huge progress in the field of mind, brain, education. But how to connect those ideas to the books we are using in our English classrooms? This session will look at seven ways we can make our current textbooks more brain-friendly. The author will show examples for English Firsthand, plus ways to add them to books, even where they don’t currently exist.
Marc Helgesen, Professor, Miyagi Gakuin Women's University, Sendai is author of over 150 books, textbooks, and article. He has been an invited or featured speaker at conference on 5 continents.
2) John Wiltshier
4 Good Ways to Motivate Children and 1 Bad one!
Abstract:
What are some proven principles that can increase a child’s motivation to become an active learner? This presentation will outline four. Both theoretical insights and practical suggestions will be included. John will support his presentation, where appropriate, with examples from his new children's course and online world; Our Discovery Island. In addition, one bad idea for trying to motivate children, although commonly used, will be disssected with clear explanations of why it is not good. The presentation will focus on teaching Young Learners, but the motivational principles discussed are generally applicable.
Bio-data – John Wiltshier
John Wiltshier has been a teacher for 21 years and currently holds the position of Associate Professor at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University in Sendai. He has presented nationally and internationally in Asia, Europe and the U.S being invited speaker on the ETJ Teacher Training Tour, plenary speaker at the PANSIG conference and MICELT conference in Malaysia. Most recently he was featured-speaker at JALT2012 national conference. He is author and series consultant (Japan) of the new global six level primary course: Our Discovery Island. In additon, John is co-author of the highly successful English Firsthand series.
