We are living in unprecedented times with significantly exigent challenges which include access to education through technology, school dropouts, bullying, child abuse, and mental health concerns.  Therefore, the need for teachers as influential individuals to take up the role of a leader and innovator has never been more significant. Oftentimes we may think that we need extravagant and grandiose ideas to solve problems. However, this session will focus on what matters most, which is the effectiveness of the innovation, the trust, and the alliance built with the community, on top of promoting values of diversity and inclusion.

https://youtu.be/l9Vq0aIwngU

ELT in Indonesia’s rural areas has faced huge challenges during the pandemic. Poor exposure of English and the status of English in society have prevented an ideal learning environment. This presentation tries to capture how the pandemic has affected the practice of ELT in such a rural area, SMP 5 Ngawen. With the absence of face-to-face meetings, the 2020/2021 academic year has been an experimental year. Online classroom management tools were used but not without problems and drawbacks. Virtual classroom done synchronously via video conference tools was not feasible due to unstable network. Prerecorded audio/video explanation has been a more accessible choice. Emergency remote online learning has not reached beyond a rudimentary and basic level. The teacher has been relying on video/audio explanations, assignment slides, and chatlines. Meanwhile, the teacher also turned his focus to providing more effective feedback and to catering to individualized learning.

https://youtu.be/OAKWqb1mNyg

It is in times of seeming chaos and true adversity that creativity and innovation flourishes: ELT is no exception. The transborder dynamics between Mexico and the United States are marked not only by a wall, but by asymmetries, migration, and violence. Every day the border city of Tijuana receives deportations from the United States, an incoming flux of migrant caravans, and conational populations displaced by the drug wars. In this volatile context, exacerbated by the pandemic, English teachers deal with an ever-growing culturally diverse classroom that demands creative approaches for both teaching and learning. Through trial and error, through inventiveness and playfulness, as a collective and as individuals, we learn how to build bridges to reach and teach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R86aKrXOe-A

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered education in Thailand from face-to-face classrooms to remote teaching on digital platforms. English language teachers must adapt themselves to survive in this critical situation. To equip the teachers with technological knowledge and skills for English language teaching is, therefore, in need. This presentation highlights an innovative English language teacher training model used by Thailand TESOL. Informed by a professional development needs analysis, teacher training workshops were organized under the theme “Using Technology for ELT” in different regions of Thailand. The workshops were to prepare the English language school teachers across the country with technology-integrated teaching skills. More than 1,500 teachers participated in these workshops. The workshop evaluations showed highly positive feedback and some limitations for the online training. The presentation concludes with suggestions and practical guidelines to conduct this innovative teacher training model in a technology-driven situation.

https://youtu.be/hpu3HCf0TJw