British Council, Macmillan and Cambridge University Press are organizing online teacher conferences. These online sessions will provide useful and practical advice that you can apply to your own teaching context. Attendance is free and open to all. Sessions will also be recorded and made available after the event. Whether you just want to casually attend, or interact in the discussion panels, these conferences are easily accessible to everyone! Above all, the presenters are well-educated, and the sessions are free.

WORLD TEACHER’S DAY WEB CONFERENCE – BRITISH COUNCIL AND IATEFL

5TH OF OCTOBER

Join IATEFL and British Council to celebrate World Teachers’ Day with a one-day web conference. The conference features 16 separate sessions on a wide range of themes and issues. Some topics include inclusive education and materials development, life skills, learning technologies, classroom tips and advice and many more. You will participate in:

• Plenary talks;
• Practical workshops;
• Discussion forums on key topics;
• Q&A sessions with plenary speakers.

Conference program:

Plenary 1 – Seminar Room 1 – 10:00 – 11:00

Antonia Clare – Taking Flight from the Intermediate Plateau

Seminar Room 1 –  11:15 – 12:00

Carolyn Westbrook and Richard Spiby – Assessment training for language teachers

Seminar Room 2

Georgia Papamichailidou – Developmental practice through evidence based observations

Breakout Room

Plenary 1 Question and Answer session

Seminar Room 1 – 12:15 – 13:00

Joanna Budden, Joanna Gore, Kirk Moore, Jonathan Rickard – The LearnEnglish team’s top ten tips

Seminar Room 2

Florence Muluh – Challenges to teacher professional development in low resource contexts

Breakout Room – Staff Room chat

Plenary 2 – Seminar Room 2 – 13.15 – 14.15

Konstantina Ntomprou – Life Skills: Lessons taught; lessons learnt

Seminar Room 1 – 14.45 – 15.30

Desislava Zareva, Nelson Arditto, Cristiana Osan, Teodora Naiba – Teacher educator discussion forum – Making the transition from teacher to teacher educator

Seminar Room 2

Vuyokazi Makubalo – Teacher reflections on learning and teaching through English as an additional language in South Africa

Seminar Room 1 – 15:45 – 16:30

Lucy Norris – Teaching for success: Establishing a culture of Continuing Professional Development

Seminar Room 2

Breakout Room – Staff Room chat

Plenary 3 – Seminar Room 1 – 16:45 – 17:45

Tyson Seburn – Tick boxes don’t matter, representation does

Seminar Room 1 – 18:15 – 19:00

Bella Szyszkowska, Ella Watkins – Eyes Open – Celebrating Diversity in YL Literature

Seminar Room 2

Carolina Novak – My journey teaching SDGs and why you should start yours

Breakout Room

Plenary 3 Question and Answer session

Seminar Room 1 – 19:15 – 20:00

Roxana Zapata – Leveraging Communities of Practice for Continuous Professional Development

Seminar Room 2

Vicky Saumell – Digital projects to spark language use, creativity, and engagement

Plenary 4 – Seminar Room 2 –  20:15 – 21:45

Daniel Barber and Kath Bilsborough – Exploring our ELT footprint

Teacher’s Day Conference – Macmillan Education

2ND OF OCTOBER

In the Macmillan Teacher’s Day online conference you will be able to hear 6 45 minute talks with a relaxed, non-academic tone. These sessions could motivate you and provide you with fresh ideas to start your new school year. Macmillan organizes online teacher conferences every year.

SATURDAY, 2ND OF OCTOBER

12:00 – 12:45 – Carol Read – How to survive and thrive as a language teacher of children

13:00 – 13:45 – Emma Reynolds – Mind full or Mindful? An introduction to Mindfulness for teachers

14:00 – 14:45 – Amy Blanchard – Teaching EFL and EAP

15:00 – 15:45 – Chia Suan Chong – Making the most of the Teacher’s Book

16:00 – 16:45 – Jo Ramsden – Extending literacy beyond the classroom

17:00 – 17:45 – Russell Stannard – Collaboration and sharing: Ideas, approaches and technologies that can help.

IATEFL Young Learners and Teenagers SIG

Opening the ‘YL’ Umbrella: Age-Appropriate Pedagogies in ELT

3-day event, 25 – 27 October 2019

This year’s event features 9 world-class plenaries, 2 fascinating panel discussions, 1 interactive Q&A session. The event has 15 highly creative talks focused on early years, primary, lower and upper secondary ELT! The web conference moves away from ‘YL’ as an umbrella term and showcases fresh pedagogies. See the digital program for more information and register here. Most importantly, IATEFL organizes online teacher conferences every year!

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS – ACADEMIC ELT FREE ONLINE CONFERENCE

29TH OF OCTOBER – 31ST OF OCTOBER

In the Cambridge University Press Academic ELT Online conference you will be able to:

• Listen to a variety of engaging topics delivered by academic experts. Topics will include critical thinking, vocabulary in speaking, listening skills, plagiarism and many more. 
• Discuss and share thoughts with like-minded people.
• Join a talk and receive a certificate of attendance.

TUESDAY, 29TH OF OCTOBER

09:00 – Averil Coxhead – Focus on vocabulary in speaking in English for Academic Purposes

12.00 – James Dunn – Extending Critical Thinking Past the Text: Strategies for creating supplemental printouts that focus on students’ needs

17:00 – Rhonda Petree – An intentional approach to syllabus design for EAP courses

WEDNESDAY, 30TH OF OCTOBER

09:00 – Gaby Lawson – Teaching HOT (Higher Order Thinking) Reading skills: teaching summarising more effectively with two strategies

12:00 – Diane Pecorari – Plagiarism and academic literacy: What EAP teachers need to know

TUESDAY, 31st OF OCTOBER

09:00 UK- Melissa Oldroyd – Using active listening skills to improve listening comprehension in expository discussions

12:00 UK – Racher Robinson – How to help students develop strategies for giving more effective presentations

What do you think about online professional development and online teacher conferences? Do you believe they can be equally good as the in-person conferences? Let me know in the comments!