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Monday 25th June
Tuesday 26th June
Tuesday 26th June
Wednesday 27th June
MORNING
AFTERNOON
A main issue for teachers and schools is how to understand and apply inclusive practices improving learning outcomes for everyone. I believe it is less about who we are teaching and more about how we support learning in ways that are meaningful for everyone through creating more inclusive classroom and schools. In this talk I will focus on how good practice has moved beyond a concept of special education needs to one of inclusive education aimed at meeting the needs of all learners. More importantly – how can we take steps in doing this in very different global contexts?
I will also present a framework – 10 approaches to quality teaching and learning.
Emotional wellbeing is affected not only by our internal world of thoughts and feelings, but also by our social interactions and the culture of the organisation we belong to. Increased levels of compassion within an organisation can help all members to thrive, achieving optimum levels of creativity, motivation and performance. This case study shows how a compassion focused approach to wellbeing was introduced into a UK school, with the aim of improving the emotional wellbeing of both staff and students.
Working memory (WM) supports classroom learning. Low levels of WM
performance are widely reported in groups of children with difficulties in reading, maths and science. I will review the impact of WM problems in the classroom and discuss how these issues can be managed. I will also emphasise the need to
consider broader cognitive profiles when developing targeted interventions
to support individual children.
Research on exam preparation usually aims to prepare students technically for specific language exams. However, research on the psychological characteristics of learners and the role of concepts like emotions, beliefs and anxiety in exam preparation can offer distinct and valuable insights. This talk centres on IELTS exam takers in China, and demonstrates how equipping students technically may not help with issues of stress and anxiety. Based on a meta-analysis, we argue that teachers and students would also benefit from knowledge of the more human side of test-taking and we offer some practical, research-informed recommendations for the exam classroom.
Students generally measure their own language proficiency through their ability to speak confidently and fluently. Teachers understand the importance of developing speaking skills. But are we giving speaking the time it needs? In this session we will ask how much time we need to dedicate to speaking and explore ways of finding this time, both in our classrooms and in our curricula.
Lucy will discuss the school-level features that support teachers in 'top-performing'systems to teach consistently good lessons, and to keep improving throughout their careers.
Registration and networking activity
Conference opening · The Wolfson Hall
Keynote 1 · The Wolfson Hall
Improving teaching: Lessons from the world's top-performing
education systems · Lucy Crehan
Keynote follow-up discussion
Lunch
PICK AND CHOOSE TALKS
Session 1A · The Wolfson Hall
Teaching for All: Unlocking learning potential in all our learners through good inclusive practice approaches · Phil Dexter
Session 1B · Jock Colville Hall
Making time for speaking · Ceri Jones
PICK AND CHOOSE TALKS
Session 2A · The Wolfson Hall
Best practices for exam preparation: Reflecting on the human learner
· Niall Curry & Tony Clark
Session 2B · Jock Colville Hall
Compassionate schools: A whole school approach to wellbeing
· Kate Brierton
Coffee break
Delegate poster session
Keynote 2 · The Wolfson Hall
Working memory and classroom learning · Joni Holmes
Day 1 Closing remarks · The Wolfson Hall
Drinks & Dinner
9.30
10.40
11.00
12.00
12.30
13.30
14.30
15.15
16.20
17.15
19.00
Monday
25th June
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MORNING
AFTERNOON
Monday 25th June
Tuesday 26th June
Tuesday 26th June
Wednesday 27th June
Although there is a lot of research evidence demonstrating the benefits of extensive reading (ER), it remains a relatively under used practice in ELT. This talk will outline the linguistic benefits learners may gain from participating in ER programmes, consider the reasons why ER is not more widely used and how the blocks to ER may be overcome. We will then go on to examine the part ER can play in successfully developing thinking and learning skills.
As education becomes increasingly global, bilingualism is becoming a core education policy for more and more countries. From improved cognitive skills and problem-solving abilities through to improved cultural awareness and preparation for English medium tertiary education, there is growing evidence of the benefits for some students of bilingual education. But what are the implications for teachers in the classroom? This session will explore the lessons and opportunities for teachers and educational leaders implementing a bilingual approach.
This session seeks to provoke some questions with regard to shifts and turns in more recent socio-cultural and political landscapes which are rapidly changing the face of classrooms across the world. Given that increasing numbers of classes are multilingual and multicultural, I believe that learning in any context with languages other than the learners' first is offering a rich opportunity to build on what we know supports successful learning whilst extending and re-conceptualising through a more holistic lens the role of (pluri)literacies in learning across ages and stages across languages and contexts. In particular, I will draw on more recent research in content and language integrated learning and look at how these principles and practices might impact positively on more language-oriented classrooms.
In this keynote, Tim considers the role which education has in building collaborative skills in learners, with reference to PISA 2015.
An opportunity for a coffee and conversation about hot educational issues. We will look at recent headlines from the news, which relate to education, and discuss the impact on our educational contexts.
This talk will look at how we can better understand the different aspects of 21st century/life skills and how they can be integrated into English language programmes. We will look at the Cambridge Framework for Life Competencies, and show how it can help us develop these skills through teaching, curriculum, materials and assessment.
PICK AND CHOOSE TALKS
Optional Session 1A · The Wolfson Hall
The Cambridge Framework for Life Competencies · Ben Knight
Optional Session 1B · Jock Colville Hall
Education in the news · Karen Momber and Jo Timerick
Keynote 3 · The Wolfson Hall
Assessing collaborative skills: OECD's interest in widening ideas of student performance · Tim Oates
Keynote 4 · The Wolfson Hall
Adapting, adopting and implementing bilingual approaches in our programmes: principles, practices and possibilities · Do Coyle
Coffee break
PICK AND CHOOSE TALKS
Session 3A · The Wolfson Hall
Gone global: Learning lessons from successful bilingual classrooms
· Jane Mann
Session 3B · Jock Colville Hall
Reading skills, language development and life competencies:
The benefits of extensive reading · Peter Watkins
Lunch
Innovation Showcase
8.30
9.30
10.25
11.15
11.45
12.30
MORNING
Tuesday
26th July
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Monday 25th June
Tuesday 26th June
Tuesday 26th June
Wednesday 27th June
MORNING
AFTERNOON
AFTERNOON
Tuesday
26th June
My talk will give an overview of the trends in the mixed media landscape of children's content. I will showcase some innovative digital work from a schools hub in Germany. I will offer some thoughts and ideas on how best to balance the relationship between traditional and digital learning tools today.
Digital literacies are the technical skills and social practices needed to effectively interact with and communicate via digital technologies. Digital literacies are key 21st century skills, and are increasingly important in educational curricula the world over, across all subject areas. This plenary looks at some of the theory underpinning digital literacies, and considers the implications for educational managers and leaders. We explore how educational institutions can take a principled and effective approach to integrating digital literacies into the English as foreign language curriculum.
There has been some recent interest in research evidence in ELT. This has mostly focused on debunking popular approaches: what doesn't work. In this presentation,
I will draw on four of the most widely quoted meta-analyses (studies that bring together many research projects) in general educational research to identify things that might work in ELT classrooms. The personal list I will present includes some surprising (and unfashionable) approaches. I will conclude by analysing meta-analyses themselves and consider the extent to which language teaching can actually be evidence-based.
PICK AND CHOOSE TALKS
Session 4A · The Wolfson Hall
What might work · Philip Kerr
Session 4B · Jock Colville Hall
Balancing digital: Learning and play today · Neal Hoskins
Keynote 5 · The Wolfson Hall
Digital literacies · Nicky Hockly
Forum session with refreshments
Day 2 Closing remarks · The Wolfson Hall
14.00
15.00
15.55
17.20
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Monday 25th June
Tuesday 26th June
Tuesday 26th June
Wednesday 27th June
MORNING
AFTERNOON
This talk will draw on research evidence from large-scale international studies to explore why teachers' CPD is a fundamental activity in any organisation that is serious about its learners' learning, what forms of CPD are particularly effective, what factors need to be in place, and how leaders can ensure that effective CPD is implemented.
Textbooks have certain limitations, specifically relating to issues of authenticity, context, immersion and practical application. VR can be an excellent tool to address these shortcomings as it allows students to see English in an authentic context, one that simulates the environment in which they will actually be deploying the language. Furthermore, considering the majority of students are EFL learners (i.e. learning in non-native English speaking countries) VR is especially beneficial to presenting cultural nuances of language use. In conclusion, although at the current point and time VR can be used as excellent supplement to textbook-learning, in the future, it could very well change the way in which we teach, learn, and use language.
Virtual reality (VR) is becoming increasingly prevalent in a range of contexts, including medicine, entertainment and education. One simple way of experiencing VR is through 360-degree video, an immersive type of video that allows viewers to move and look around in all directions, affording choice and control over what they see. This talk will discuss the strengths, limitations, opportunities, and software necessary to begin exploiting the significant potential of VR as a tool for engaging students, designing materials and supporting trainee teachers.
With speaking in English being the most difficult skill to master among L2 users, understanding how to help learners become better speakers remains at the core of ELT research. Such research often centres on identifying trends and patterns that differentiate spoken and written language. However, psycholinguistic and language learning research increasingly demonstrates the importance of identifying role models and creating safe-spaces in which to use language in the development of speaking skills. This talk extrapolates on several of these studies, illustrating what teachers and learners can do to develop speaking strategies from a research-informed perspective.
Optional Session 2 · The Wolfson Hall
Developing speaking skills: Contemporary approaches in ELT and psycholinguistics · Laura Grimes & Niall Curry
Keynote 6 · The Wolfson Hall
Exploring virtual reality for teacher training, materials development and student engagement · Paul Driver
Session · The Wolfson Hall
Textbooks turned 360: How Virtual Reality facilitates language learning and improves student outcomes· Lulwa Bordcosh
The Cambridge experience · The Wolfson Hall
A virtual trip around Cambridge · Rupert Daniels
Coffee break
Keynote 7 · The Wolfson Hall
Impactful leadership of teachers' professional
development: What matters and why it matters · Silvana Richardson
Closing remarks · The Wolfson Hall
Lunch
Optional Cambridge Activity
Punting!
8.30
9.30
10.25
10.50
11.05
11.25
12.15
12.45
15.00
Wednesday
27th June
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Philip
Kerr
Tim
Oates
Paul
Driver
Lulwa
Bordcosh
Kate
Brierton
Phil
Dexter
Do
Coyle
Silvana
Richardson
Nicky
Hockly
Peter
Watkins
Lucy
Crehan
Karen
Momber
Joni
Holmes
Ceri
Jones
Rupert
Daniels
Tony
Clark
Niall
Curry
Neal
Hoskins
Laura
Grimes
Jo
Timerick
Jane
Mann
Ben
Knight
Silvana Richardson is Head of Teacher Development at Bell Educational Services, Academic Director at Bell Teacher Campus, Cambridge, and Programme Quality Manager at the Bell Foundation. She has worked in English Language Teaching for 30 years as teacher and academic manager, and has trained EFL, MFL, ESOL, EAL, CLIL and subject teachers and trainers in the state and private sectors both in the UK and abroad. She has been Director of the Bell Delta Online and has written materials for Cambridge University Press and the Bell Delta Online Modules. Silvana is a speaker in international conferences and a Quality Assurance inspector.
Nicky Hockly is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com), an award-winning online training and development organisation. She has worked in the field of English Language Teaching since 1987, is an international plenary speaker, and gives workshops and training courses for teachers all over the world. Nicky writes regular columns on technology for teachers in ETP (English Teaching Professional) magazine, and in the ELTJ (English Language Teaching Journal). She has also written several prize-winning methodology books about new technologies in language teaching. The latest of these are Focus on Learning Technologies (OUP, 2016) and ETpedia Technology (Pavilion Publishing, 2017). Nicky lives in Barcelona, and is a technophobe turned technophile.
Rupert is the Global Marketing Director at Cambridge University Press and joined the world of ELT 4 years ago having previously worked for Arsenal Football Club and FIFA. Passionate about education, the move to Cambridge was a natural fit. Rupert is responsible for branding, communications, digital & social, research, design and conferences, like this one!
Tony Clark is Senior Research Manager at Cambridge English Language Assessment, working on the IELTS exam and IELTS-related projects. His PhD thesis focused on how Chinese and Japanese students learn
to write in academic English, and how test preparation in their country of origin
relates to their subsequent UK university experience. Tony has also worked on research projects about admissions testing, language acquisition and test development with Bristol University, Swansea University and Assessment Europe. Prior to his
current role, Tony was an exam preparation instructor for the British Council in Japan and Morocco, in addition to teaching in
Italy and Hungary and working as a Cambridge Examiner.
Niall Curry is a Senior ELT Research Manager at Cambridge University Press and conducts research on language and language pedagogy to inform materials development. He focuses on how we can use research from fields like corpus linguistics to better inform the choice of language to be learnt as well as educational research to guide the best way to learn language. Prior to working at Cambridge University Press, Niall worked as a language teacher and lecturer in applied linguistics at universities in France and Ireland. He is also completing his PhD at the University of Limerick, Ireland on corpus-based contrastive linguistics of academic writing in English, French and Spanish.
Peter Watkins has been involved in teacher education for many years and is a currently the Course Leader for the MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the University of Portsmouth, UK. His main research interests relate to teacher education and teacher education materials writing. His publications include Teaching and Developing Reading Skills (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Learning to Teach English (Delta Publishing, second edition 2014, first edition 2005), Cambridge English Teacher: Vocabulary and Pronunciation (Cambridge University Press, 2012),The CELTA Course Trainee Book and The CELTA Course Trainer's Manual (both co-authored with Scott Thornbury, Cambridge University Press, 2007). He is also the author of the Cambridge White Paper ‘Extensive Reading in ELT: What and How?’ (2018).
Lucy is an education explorer and international education consultant. She taught science and Psychology at a secondary school in London before completing a Masters in Education at Cambridge. She then spent time working in schools and living with teachers in six 'top-performing' education systems; the basis for her book, ‘Cleverlands: the secrets behind the success of the world's education superpowers’, one of The Economist’s ‘books of the year 2016’. On her return, Lucy wrote a book on teacher career structures for IIEP UNESCO, and spent a year as part of a team advising foreign governments on education reform at Education Development Trust. She now works as an independent consultant, and is conducting research for another book.
Karen is the Teacher Development Publisher at Cambridge ELT. Before joining the Press, Karen was involved in ELT teaching and training in Europe and Latin America. She holds a Diploma in English Language Teaching and an MEd in Educational Technology and ELT. As well as commissioning teacher development resources and courses for the Press, Karen is currently involved in monitoring teaching and learning, in her role as Chair of Governors, at a local secondary school.
Dr Joni Holmes is Head of the Centre for Attention Learning and Memory at the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge. She has a PhD in Psychology, which was awarded by the University of Durham in 2005. Joni’s research focuses on the causes and remediation of specific learning difficulties with a particular focus on working memory. She runs a research clinic for children with difficulties in attention, learning and memory, which aims to illuminate the cognitive, neural and genetic underpinnings of learning difficulties. The clinic provides free resources for professionals supporting struggling learners: http://calm.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/useful-resources/.
Ceri Jones is a freelance teacher, trainer and materials writer. She’s been working in ELT since 1986 and in Spain since 1998. She’s particularly interested in student-centred materials and activities. She writes about her experiences and her experiments on her blog, Close Up (www.cerij.wordpress.com). She is co-author of the secondary course, Eyes Open, published by Cambridge, in collaboration with Discovery Education.
Philip Kerr is a teacher trainer, lecturer and materials writer who is based in Vienna. His publications include a number of coursebook series as well as the award-winning ‘Translation and Own-Language Activities’ (CUP, 2014). His current interests include the development of vocabulary learning apps, one of which was shortlisted for an ELTON. He blogs about technology and English language teaching at https://adaptivelearninginelt.wordpress.com/
Tim Oates is Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment, focussing on national and international research on assessment and measurement. More recently, he has undertaken wide-ranging international comparison of the performance of
education systems, and advised OECD on its curriculum review work. In 2010 he published ‘Could do better’ which laid down the principles for the review of the National Curriculum in England. From 2010-2013,
he was chair of the Expert Panel for
Review of the National Curriculum. He
has published widely on assessment and curriculum. He was a member of the Ofqual Vocational Standards Advisory Group.
Tim routinely provides briefings and advice to UK and other governments. He is a
Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge.
In 2015 he was awarded a CBE for services
to education.
Paul is an Educational Technologist at Anglia Ruskin University. He has 25 years of ELT experience and holds an M.A. in Creative Media Practice (TESOL). He is an award-winning materials writer, a teacher trainer, graphic designer and book illustrator.
Paul’s research interests span across many fields, exploring the roles of technology, virtual reality, game design and
embodied cognition.
Lulwa Bordcosh is the Academic Director of LASC, an English language institute based in Southern California. She has 10+ years’ experience in ESL education serving in both tactical and strategic roles in the industry. Her current role is focused on teacher support, training, and the utilization of technology to improve both the learning and managerial implications of a multi-campus educational centre. Her research interests centre around metadata analysis and the use of crowd sourcing as a means of facilitating independent language learning and second language acquisition.
Kate is an Independent Clinical Psychologist and school Governor. She completed her first degree at Cambridge University and followed this with a doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. After a career break, she returned to the profession as an Associate Lecturer for the Open University in Psychology and Counselling before setting up her own private clinical practice in 2014. In her day job, she supports children with complex needs in both mainstream and special schools. She has a longstanding interest in education and became involved in school governance in 2015, as a founding Trustee of the Morris Education Trust. She currently sits on the local governing body of Impington Village college, where she has worked with school leaders to develop a compassionate approach to wellbeing for both staff and students.
Phil Dexter is a British Council UK Education Senior Consultant responsible for continuous professional development for teachers with a specific focus on inclusive education and inclusive practices in the classroom as part of the Teaching for Success CPD Framework approach. Phil’s most recent consultancy involves working with Governments in South Africa, Tanzania, Chile, Uruguay and Germany. The current support to the Department for Basic Education in South Africa involves embedding good inclusive practices in university under-graduate teacher training courses. Phil has a Master’s Degree in English language studies from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Diploma in Special Educational Needs.
Do Coyle is Professor of Languages Education and Classroom Pedagogies and Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange in the School of Education, University of Edinburgh. Her research involves bilingual pedagogies especially in CLIL contexts and technology-enhanced learning including the use of shared learning spaces and digital communication. Do is most known for her work in bilingual pedagogies in the field of integrated learning using more than more language. She is a founder member of the European Graz Group which is developing an inclusive learning model for pluriliteracies education. She has published extensively on learning through the medium of other languages and has worked globally with governments and agencies to promote bilingual education in English medium settings.
Neal Hoskins is the Digital Media consultant for the Bologna Children's Book fair and runs the Digital Cafe programme there
each spring. He has worked for The EU Commission and the London Olympics
on special digital publishing projects for
young learners.
Laura Grimes is a Senior ELT Research Manager at Cambridge University Press. She has worked in the field of ELT for over six years, both as a teacher in Spain and the UK, and as a researcher at the Press. Laura’s work currently focuses on the application of research in the development of English Language Teaching materials. During her time at the Press, she has worked on a broad range of projects, including the collection of the Spoken British National Corpus, the development of the English Vocabulary Profile and the English Grammar Profile, and the Cambridge Corpus of Academic English.
Jo is the Senior Editor working in the Teacher Development team at Cambridge University Press. Having worked for Cambridge Assessment and taught at a number of adult education institutions, Jo moved into ELT in 2010. Her enthusiasm for teacher development grew whilst working for Embassy English Cambridge as a teacher and trainer in the use of classroom technologies. There, Jo helped to devise a programme of directed face-to-face and online training which was delivered throughout Embassy schools. As well as working on a variety of professional development publications, Jo is currently involved with the development of a number of face-to-face and online teacher training modules designed to support sustained and relevant ‘on-the-job’ training.
Jane Mann is an experienced publisher, author, editor and trainer, and is Director of Education Reform at Cambridge University Press. She has worked in educational publishing for over two decades, leading many international education reform projects in publishing and capacity development. Jane has implemented and managed publishing programmes to support international and national curricula, working with ministries of education, government agencies, NGOs, donor agencies and educational organisations to design effective materials and infrastructures.
She contributed to the Cambridge Approach to Textbooks, and has worked with government clients on process redesign, stakeholder engagement and best practice in resources. Jane is a member of the BESA Executive Council.
Ben Knight works for Cambridge University Press as their Director of ELT Research and Teacher Development. His responsibilities include ensuring that high quality research underpins the learning materials, curriculum development and teacher support that CUP provides. Ben has taught and worked in several countries around the world, with International House, the British Council, Cambridge Assessment, City & Guilds, and various other schools and universities.
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betterlearning@cambridge.org
For any questions surrounding the conference please email
Our Better Learning conference attendance is by invite only.
You should now have all your flight information, if this is not the case, then please do get in touch with us: betterlearning@cambridge.org
All of our guests will be greeted at the airport, you should receive details via email over your airport transfers two weeks before the conference start date.
Once exiting arrivals at your London airport (after clearing immigration and collecting luggage) a representative will be waiting to collect you, they will be easily identifiable, as they will have one of our Better Learning Conference and Cambridge University Press signs, they will then drive you straight to Churchill College in Cambridge.
Download our immigration letter here.
All of our guests are staying at the Churchill College and this is where the conference is hosted.
Is one of the prettiest Cambridge University Colleges and set in spacious wooded grounds, just outside of the Cambridge city centre. There are local shops, restaurants and cafes close by for convenience.
During your spare time, outside of the conference programme, you may wish to explore the historic city centre and we will be happy to advise the best ways of doing this.
Look at the map ›
All of our guests are invited to attend our formal dinner at Churchill College. Dinner will be served at 19:00.
Dress code is smart/formal, but no need for black tie!
This will be a free evening for guests to spend as they wish
After lunch we have arranged to take our guests on a guided punting tour on the river Cam, to see the famous sights of Cambridge. There will also be some free time for guests to explore Cambridge themselves too (please note comfortable shoes are advised).
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Formal Dinner
Monday 25th June
Wednesday
27th June
Tuesday 26th June
Churchill
College
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