Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment are delighted to welcome English language teachers to

Cambridge Day
Gdańsk, 17 April 2015 (Friday)

Centrum Konferencyjne VNS, CH Manhattan ul. Grunwaldzka 82, 80-244 Gdańsk


Conference timetable

10:30 – 11:00 Registration

11:00 – 12:00 Prepared for Exams or Prepared for Life? Olha Madylus

12:00 – 12:30 Break and refreshments

12:30 – 13:30 The Teacher as Listener: Informal Assessment in the Classroom. Adrian Doff


The conference is free of charge. Due to the limited number of places, we kindly ask you to confirm your attendance by emailing cambridge@cambridge.org.pl (please put ‘Gdańsk’ in the subject line) or by filling in the registration form available on www.cambridge.org.pl / News and Events.

Prepared for Exams or Prepared for Life?

This is the teacher’s dilemma when teaching what we call Exam classes. Is our main aim to ensure that students are prepared as well as possible in order to pass the exam or do we put exam preparation aside and focus on language skills development, communication and cultivating a joy in learning English?

This presentation argues that we can and should do both. In fact the overlap is huge and it is crucial that not only teachers but learners understand that. Understanding and being able to use grammar correctly; having a large bank of vocabulary to use in different situation; understanding the communicative value of a text are not just useful skills that enable learners to do well in exams but are also needed to use a language in real situations.

Exam skills are, of course, also important. These include deciphering rubric, allotting sufficient time for different parts of a question, ensuring marks are not unnecessarily lost. This session will look at strategies that combine age appropriate topics and tasks for younger learners (10- 17), focussing on what is interesting, relevant and useful for them as well
as building skills that will help them approach examinations. Let’s flip the perspective and consider how fun activities such as games, drama, projects etc can be considered as valuable exam preparation.


The Teacher as Listener: Informal Assessment in the Classroom.

An important part of teaching is being able to evaluate learners' progress. The Teacher can often achieve more by doing this informally in class than by giving more formal kinds of assessment. This talk will explore some of the issues involved in informal assessment and will consider some practical ways in which the Teacher can evaluate learners' progress effectively.


Olha Madylus began her teaching career in a secondary state school in England teaching English and Drama. She has now been involved in YLELT for over 25 years: living, teaching and training in Hong Kong and Venezuela as well as Greece. She is currently based in the UK.
For the past thirteen years she has been a freelance YL consultant, materials’ writer, and trainer for local state and private language school teachers (and trainers) worldwide in countries as diverse as Peru, Croatia, Taiwan, Yemen and Burma. She is also a Cambridge CELTA and CELYL trainer. Her focus is on motivating both primary and secondary aged children.


Adrian Doff has taught English and trained teachers in Finland, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Egypt, Germany and the UK. He is co-author of Cambridge’s new adult course Cambridge English Empower. He has also written or co-authored many other books for Cambridge University Press, including the coursebooks Meanings into Words, Language in Use, and English Unlimited, the teacher training book Teach English, the listening skills books in the Cambridge Skills for Fluency series, and the self-study reference series Language Links. He is currently living in Germany and working as a free-lance writer, teacher and teacher trainer, and works as a tutor on training courses for the CELTA and DELTA certificates.



Conference Pack

All participants will receive:

 a sample copy of Cambridge English Empower Student’s Book with Online Assessment, and Online Workbook
 a certificate of attendance


Exhibition

Throughout the day there will be an exhibition, which will give you the opportunity to buy the latest ELT publications and exam materials published by Cambridge University Press. All conference attendees will receive a substantial discount on any purchases made. The stand will be run by Omnibus Bookshop.

Additionally, during the conference, there will be an opportunity to visit the stands of Cambridge English Language Assessment Authorised Examination Centres in Gdańsk including the British Council and English Unlimited. The personnel of the Centres will be on hand to offer information and advice.

http://www.cambridge.org/ 2015-04-02