International Webinar on ELT & Technology

I got a chance to attend the second webinar organised by Department of English (my favourite place where I earned my Post graduation degree) MKBU, Bhavnagar, Gujarat on 2^nd and 3^rd June 2020 on the topic ELT & Technology. This time I presented a paper and my topic was "The use, advantages and disadvantages of Multimedia technology in English Language Teaching."

Abstract- The paper aims to analyse the use of technology to ELT in the non-native speaking countries and to bring out the problems faced by both teachers and learners of English. The rapid development of science and technology such as multimedia technology has offered a better tool to explore the new teaching methods. It has played an important role in ELT, especially, in the non-native speaking of English situations. It also aims to make non-native speakers of English as language teachers aware of the strategies to use it in an effective manner.

Earlier it was a one day webinar but there were around 90 paper presenters so Dilip Sir decided to extend the event to 2 days. But there were some problems with the weather conditions. A cyclone (Nisarg) was predicted at the seashore so it may disrupt the event but sir is always ready with Plan B. Fortunately everything went on smoothly both the days. As it is said- 'Where there is a will, there is a way'. Sir's dedication towards work has always been appreciable and beneficial not only for him but for others too.

This was my second experience of participating and presenting in an International event. The paper presenters were from different states and countries. All the paper presenters presented their papers very well. Their topics were very different where I came to know about many new concepts and tools used in language teaching like Flip grid and Mentimeter. Plenary sessions were also very interesting as the speakers talked about their real life experiences and the teaching methods were also discussed. The plenary speakers were-

1) Vance Stevens (Malaysia) who talked on "From thinking SMALL on social media assisted language learning to TALIN: Teaching and Learning in IsolatioN."  He showed one image from the past and one of present. Then a comparison was done. In the nearer beginning, there were computers and there was language learning and the two began to converge in the 1970s. Then be showed some images of earlier computers, a spirit copier and typical output. A discussion was also done on Krashen's book "Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition" (1981). He then talked about Siemens on the necessity of chaos in learning, learning language by making sense of chaos. A talk was also held on Levy and Hubbard's (2005) Why call CALL 'CALL'? (this term has been in use for 2 decades at the time the article was written). SMALL (social media assisted language learning) was also discussed along with TALIN (Teaching and Learning in IsolatioN). Overall, it was an interesting topic and we got to know many new things.

2) Dr. Ania Lian (Australia) spoke on "Remote teaching and learning of English Language in higher education contexts: Experiences and research from a country where distance learning is be norm, not a calamity." She discussed on what makes leaning in higher education different today where Top 10 skills required in 2020 were told i.e. Complex problem solving, Critical thinking, Creativity, People management, coordinating with others, Emotional intelligence, Judgement and Cognitive flexibility. The first point was the expectations of technology which are HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills), Learning by immersion and Self- directed learning. Second point was what is available were it was told about the activities that extend the students' capacity to act in a broad range of contexts, expand their intercultural understandings and values and develop critical thinking. The third point was limitations of what is currently available online and they are Preparation, Scope of activities and Technology Tools.  The fourth point was what can we do today. This too was an interesting session as we got to know about the latest skills which are required and the different activities which take place in different countries (which we can also experiment on our students).

3) Heike Philp (Belgium) interacted on "Is teaching live online the new normal?" An online poll was taken on some questions like How do you feel about teaching remotely, Name the tool/app/platform which can be used in remote teaching for development of 'Writing skills', What other hurdles in using technologies in your local environment are there and how are teachers' ready to use technology. This vote was taken on mentimeter where the speaker can control the questions on the screen. This session was very interactive as after the live poll, every question was discussed in detail and the poll results were also shown where the speaker discussed about her own experiences too.

After the webinar was over, we had to give an online test and then give feedback. In the online test, I scored 30/30 and I got a Certificate of Participation and a Certificate of Paper Presentation. These two days were very fruitful for me and helped me expanding the horizons. All thanks to the organising team and Dilip Sir who never misses a chance to motivate us with his tireless interest and efforts.