TESOL Macedonia Thrace Convention 2015

I've been meaning to write about TESOL Macedonia-Thrace 2015 Convention for some weeks now, because I want my experience to be recorded.

It's been some years since my last convention-back in 2012-and I felt I had to do everything possible to attend this one. When it was all over I realized I had done the right thing. It was just then that it occured to me that the last time I attended a TESOL convention I learnt so much for the years to follow and a whole lot I had been using since. I realised that this happens with every TESOL convention. And I made the promise to myself to try and attend every TESOL every year. I hope I will be able to keep it!

A significant fact that made the difference for me at this convention this year is the people I met. First of all, old and dear friends. Then, people I knew from the social media but had never met. The feeling was unique! It was as if I had already known them in person for years. Last but not least, the new people I met at the convention. Exciting people with whom we communicate now almost every day.

So first of all, before writing about plenaries, presentations and workshops I attended, I want to make something clear. I may be able to report what I've seen and learnt but what I cannot do is convey the buzzing atmosphere, the incredible aura of some speakers, the interesting hangouts of the participants during the breaks and most of all I cannot convey the feelings. And all these are what make it such a memorable and definitely worth attending event.

Day 1: My day started with Marjorie Rosenberg's plenary "Getting unstuck: Stretching out of our comfort zones". Marjorie introduced to us many ways on how to keep our interest keen and develop further professionally. I loved her reasearch in the social media and the answers she got by colleagues around the world. It seems that everyone is trying out new things to evolve as educators and keep the fire burning these days. A lot of ideas were included in the plenary: using web tools,PLNs, ELT Chat, disabled access friendly campaign, Simple Engish videos, attending MOOCs and writing blogs among others. The presentation by Vicky Kostara-an old friend-and Katerina Kyriakidou "Let's follow Kavafy's footsteps" travelled us on a journey to the famous poet's works through the eyes of their students. A presentation which illustrated what our students can do with the right kind of motivation.

Margarita Kosior and Thomas Mantzaris in "Re-negotiating the Basics: Learner Autonomy", suggested in what ways we can foster our students' interest, engage them with the content and let their creativity flourish. The use of technology, games, the Internet, oral presentations along with peer evaluation forms, social media and other online platforms are some of their ideas in order to promote learner autonomy.

The next plenary by Alec Williams was amusing to say the least. "Bringing it Alive! Interactive Storytelling and the Early Years" made it so clear that learning certainly takes place when you have fun! As he quoted Strabon "Pleasure acts as a charm to incite the learning". He certainly brought alive many stories and made his plenary memorable. Dagmara Mathes-Sobocinska talked about gamification and how we can use game mechanics and game design techniques to make our students achieve a goal in her presentation "Changing the world through leadership skills". Many new ideas which I hadn't heard before and a lot to process after her presentation. The last presentation for the day by Aphrodite Giouri was one that touched me personally, because Aphrodite is a colleague in a state school -like myself-and it was a relief to see that there are colleagues out there in the public sector who work miracles. She talked about "Ten motivation success stories" motivated we felt indeed after her presentation! The presentation was full of practical tips and ideas. The Pecha Kucha was enjoyable and it came as the natural closing to a full and productive day! 

Day 2:   I couldn't make it before the first plenary which was "Only Connect: Seven Strategies for Ensuring Teacher-Student Communication in the Classroom" by Ken Wilson! A charismatic speaker, Mr.Wilson reminded us that Primary Education is the most revolutionary area in education-where all the changes take place-Thank God for this! He talked about ways to stay connected with our students whether we use the technology or not and gave plenty of original ideas to keep our students' interest! Lots of new things to try! The play by Dr Luke Prodromou, David Gibson, Aggeliki Markou and Maria-Araxi Sachpazian was a success as usual! "All the World is a Stage: Celebrating 451 years of Shakespeare". One naturally thinks how much  a teacher and an actor have in common. A successful performance is a give-and-take between the actor and the audience. The same goes for a successful lesson. It is a game of interaction. After the lunch break the inspirational Vassiliki Mandalou provided us with lots of food for thought talking about the connection between Philosophy and Literature. "Practical Literature in Class: Discovering Philosophy in Disguise". The material she chose to use filled the room with inspiration and tranquility something that was also reflected on Vassiliki's voice and face! Marina Tzalamoura  in her" Learning Difficulties: Dyslexia in Second Language Learning" talked about dyslexia in a packed room, something that showed how dyslexia is a porblem for educators and that we are all trying to find ways to deal with it so that they can help their students. She offered not only definitions and symptoms but also practictal advice on how to deal with dyslexic students. The last presentation I attended-because I had a train to catch-was "Harnessing the Complicated Phenomenon of Language Acquisition: Theories and Aspects" by Maria-Araxi Sachpazian. Maria is one of those gifted people who can talk about the most difficult topic and make it sound so simple. She said so much in so little time and  through a flashback in approaches and methods made us think or re-think about the techniques we are using to teach-what we should keep and what we should change.

On my way home I was bringing back to mind what I experienced during this full weekend! I kept some notes for future reference and I sent some friend requests on Facebook to all the new, interesting people I had met. The exchange of comments and experiences after the convention kept the feeling alive for days. The communication is constant and I think we all look forward to the next event where we could all meet together again.

Towards a growth mindset- It's not intelligence that leads to success, it's the belief that you can succeed.

Children in Greece strive for grades. They study to do well in tests. They study to pass the exams. And when they don't do well in tests or exams they are disappointed,  disheartened. They often give up! They don't believe in themselves. This is because our educational system rewards intelligence and not effort. It's the binary trap of success and failure that is the aim. Nobody has ever taught them that the aim of education is learning not grades. We see children with good grades as smart children, we tend to praise ability rather than effort. We say "You did it! Look how smart you are"! And if the ability isn't good enough, what can you do? If you fail, in spite of being smart, then what? Where can you go from there?

So what should we do? It is my firm belief that as educators we can always make a difference! In this case we should try to create growth mindset environments for our students. And if the system doesn't promote such a mindset let's show our students the way. To create a growth mindset environment it means to teach your students not to focus on scores but on the learning process. If the outcome of this sprocess is not what they wished, teach them to try again. Mistakes are only part of the learning process for a growth mindset. There is no such thing as failure, because every "failure"is a stepping stone to the path of success. 

When you have a growth mindset you know that intelligence can be developed. So can talents and creativity. The brain is like a muscle and if you train it hard, if you challenge it enough, you can take it further. "Effort, good strategies and proactive help seeking are the 3 attributes of a growth mindset" according to Dr.Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, who has been doing a research on growth mindset. You don't have to worry about how smart you are because you know that you can always change this. Your focus is on hard work and improvement. Your goal is learning. "At the heart of what makes the growth mindset so winsome, Dweck found, is that it creates a passion for learning rather than a hunger for approval."..."Stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself."

We should also teach that other values contribute to success, such as goal setting, grit or our perseverance  for long term goals, self-control in order not only to get started by setting a goal but also stay on track. A growth mindset is part of what we call character education, which is my intention to discuss in a future post.

Last but not least, we should set the example as teachers, practicing what we preach by developing a growth mindset ourselves. We should always try to learn: from our students, from reflection, from trial and error, from peers/colleagues,mentors/ supervisors or academic information in our field. We should be committed to lifelong learning and ongoing professional development. We should also be open minded, dare to embrace new ideas or implement changes. We should be all these we wish to see in our students.

(If you are interested in growth mindset you can watch Carol Dweck's videos on YouTube, or visit the following site: www. mindsetworks.com.  Also there is an article on Carol Dweck on Brainpickings- 29/01/2014)

How to transform a noisy class.

I have always said that I want my classes to be noisy! What I can't handle is demotivated students that are quiet and withdrawn. But when I say noisy, I mean noisy for a reason. I mean the buzzing of meaningful engagement, the creative kind of noise! So here are some tips on how to transform a noisy-without-a-reason class to a creative-noisy class.

Tip 1: Never teach by the book- literally and metaphorically.

Books address to a general audience. They cannot be tailored to your students' needs. Yoy are the one who knows their needs, this is why you have to make choices as to what should be taught and how you should teach it. Don't be afraid to be inventive and flexible. Supplement your book with your own material.

Tip 2: Give your students a variety of activities. 

A certain everyday routine is said to give students a feeling of security as to what they should expect in every lesson. Apart from this, though, try to vary the kind of activities you give your students so that they have the chance to practise all four skills. Give them a listening task and ask them to give an oral summary as an after-listening activity. Or a reading passage with no ending and ask them to write their own ending. The ideas are infinite!

Tip 3: Always-and I mean always-be well prepared. 

After 17 years of teaching I have come to the conclusion that almost all class management problems stem from...teachers! A well prepared teacher with a carefully planned lesson plan focuses on the process and gives the message that she is determined to get on with her lesson no matter what. Moreover, a well prepared teacher radiates with confidence because she knows what she's doing. Besides, she may even have a back-up plan to deal with anticipated problems. Of course this doesn't mean that you shouldn't allow for flexiblity or change of plan if something doesn't work. But again expertise would guide you into adapting the lesson accordingly .

Tip 4: Let your students be creative.

Avoid extensive TTT(teacher talking time). Don't do all the thinking and all the talking for them. Instead focus on giving clear instructions and let them do the rest. You'd be amazed at what children can come up with if they feel that you trust them.

Tip 5: Let them interact with each other. 

A noisy class needs to be expressed anyway. Let them channel all this energy to a purpose. Let them be noisy for a good reason. Use debates, information-gap filling activities, role plays etc. Don't be afraid to let them mingle in order to gather information. The "chaos" you think they are creating is well worth it. The outcome is almost always more than you expect!