English Teachers' Forum - Libya

English Teachers' Forum on Facebook

2012-01-20T08:15:00.005+01:00

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English Teachers' Forum, Libya - 28 January 2012

2012-01-13T13:07:00.000+01:00

The English Teachers' Forum is proud to announce the first of this year's workshops.

Topic:

"The key to success,via TOEFL iBT " a presentation about TOEFL iBT and how to guide your students to success

Followed by an agenda meeting to discuss plans for the events of 2012

Speaker:

Laila Arif has a BA in English Literature (US) Purdue University and an MA in Tesol (UK) University of London. She is fluent in Arabic, English, Italian and French. She is the Executive Manager and English Language Programme Director of Alshati Language and Training Center. Since 1992 she has been active in EFL teaching and the upgrading of Libyan teachers in the public and private sectors, offering support where needed to obtain good quality teaching for the future generations of Libya. She is also co-founder of the English Teachers' Forum, Libya.

Date:

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

Time:

10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Venue:

Alshati Language and Training Center

Map: http://www.altc-ly.com/contactus.html

Refreshments will be served following the presentation

Two Online IATEFL Events

2011-09-21T22:12:00.000+02:00

The IATEFL Learning Technologies special interest group kindly invites you to participate in the following online events as part of the Social Media week being organised by the British Council, Moscow:

Session One:

'Social Media for Continuous Professional Development in ELT'

( a round table online discussion )

The discussion will take place on:
Thursday 22nd September from 14:00 -15:00 CET
(check your local time here: http://timeanddate.com/s/24jt)

During the discussion, a number of invited guest speakers from different parts of the world will be talking about how they see the role of social media for CPD in ELT.

You can enter the Adobe Connect webinar room using this link:
http://connectpro10829081.adobeconnect.com/cpd/

Session Two:
A presentation on Gaming in Education

The discussion will take place on:
Friday 23rd September from 17:00 -18:00 CET
(check your local time here: http://timeanddate.com/s/24ju)

You can enter the Adobe Connect webinar room using this link:
http://connectpro10829081.adobeconnect.com/gaming/

* Please note this is because space is limited to 100 participants (including the panel guests) – please turn up early to ensure a 'virtual seat' in the discussion room

This online event is part of the 'Social Media Week' organised by the British Council in Moscow (see http://www.britishcouncil.org/russia-english-social-media-week-bc-2.htm
for details)

These sessions will also be recorded and made available for those who are not able to attend live.

Regards,

Graham Stanley
Coordinator,
IATEFL Learning Technologies SIG
http://ltsig.org.uk

Teacher Knowledge Test (TKT) course in Tripoli

2011-02-06T13:08:00.000+01:00

Is TKT for you?

Would like to teach English but haven’t started yet?
Are you already teaching English but don’t have teaching qualifications?
Have you trained sometime ago and need to refresh your knowledge?

What is TKT?

It is a foundation in the core areas of knowledge needed for English Language teaching.

It will help you to understand:

different methodologies for teaching
the ‘language of teaching’
the ways in which resources can be used
the key aspects of lesson planning
classroom management methods for different needs

Our teachers will prepare you to take the ESOL TKT (Teacher Knowledge Test )

When: 17th February to 21st April 2011 Every Saturday 13:15 to 17:45 (40-hour course)
Where: British Council, Tripoli
How much: 460LYD

* You need at least Intermediate 3 level English to join this course.

Want to be a better language teacher!
What are you waiting for ?

Contact British Council, Tripoli:
Info.libya@ly.british council.org
T + 218 (0) 21 484 3164 – 67
www.britishcouncil.org/libya

English Language Training Workshops - Sat. Jan. 29, 2011

2011-01-27T17:05:00.000+01:00

The English Teachers' Forum is pleased to announce .....

In preparation for the upcoming ELT Conference, the British Council, Libya will present the following workshops with feedback sessions to English teachers in Libya:

Recycling & Reviewing Vocabulary for All Levels

Presented by two British Council teachers, Jo and Emma Myszka

Monitoring During Speaking Activities

Presented by Shaheena Bakhshov, British Council Country Project Manager

Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011
Time: 4:00pm
Venue: British Council, Libya - Rooms 6 & 8 (see map below)
* These workshops are open to the public and are free of charge.

English Teachers' Forum - 11 Dec 2010

2010-12-06T13:36:00.002+01:00

Mr. Michael Rundell will present a workshop titled: Helping Learners To Be Confident Writers at the next English Teachers' Forum, hosted by Alalameya Center for Languages & Training.

"Michael Rundell has been a lexicographer since 1980, and he is the author (with Sue Atkins) of the Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography (2008). He edited several well-known dictionaries before becoming Editor-in-Chief of the Macmillan family of learners’ dictionaries. He was involved in the development of the British National Corpus, and has been at the forefront of applying new technology to the development of reference resources. He has published widely in the field of corpus-based language study, and his company (Lexicography MasterClass) runs training courses in lexicography and lexical computing."

Please join us for this free workshop.

Title: Helping Learners To Be Confident Writers

Venue: Alalameya Center for Languages & Training (see map below)

Date: Saturday, December 11th

Time: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

The presenter: Michael Rundell

English Teachers' Forum - 20 Nov 2010

2010-11-17T09:42:00.005+01:00

The English Teachers' Forum is proud to announce a presentation on Saturday, November 20th, 2010 by ESL expert, Mr. Peter Lucantoni.

"Peter Lucantoni has had a long career in English language teaching and teacher training in Europe, the Middle East, and, since 1993, in Cyprus. He is the author and co-author of several popular coursebooks for students, including IGCSE English as a Second Language Levels 1 and 2, published by Cambridge University Press, and wrote the English as a Second Language title in the Teaching and Assessing Skills series for Cambridge International Examinations. Peter regularly speaks at ELT conferences and trains teachers internationally in both the public and private sectors, and is a course tutor for Cambridge CELTYL, CELTA & DELTA, and an assessor for Cambridge CELTYL, and still teaches when he is home in Cyprus. "

Venue: University of Libya - Informatics (see map below)

Date: Saturday, November 20th, 2010

Time: 10am to 12pm

Presentation Synopsis:

This workshop will look at how vocabulary is taught and learned, and discuss how the Ventures course from Cambridge University Press reinforces the key elements. There will be time spent on an overview of Ventures so that teachers can go away with a clear understanding of what the course offers both teachers and learners.

Click on the image for an enlargement

English Teachers' Forum - 26 June 2010

2010-06-20T22:51:00.004+02:00

Warm-ups, Fillers, and Wrap-ups:

Maximizing Their Value in English Language Classes

Date: Saturday, 26th June, 2010
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon
Venue: The Academy of Graduate Studies - Janzour, Libya

Synopsis:

Very often a small amount of dead time occurs during a class. This can happen at the beginning of a class when students are arriving, when a class that is underway is interrupted for some reason, or at the end of a class when students begin to think about leaving. When dead time occurs, often the best option is to present a short, interesting activity that lasts for only a few minutes, but allows that time to be used productively. This session will consider how to derive maximum benefit from the use of warm-ups, fillers, and wrap-ups, and will provide teachers with an extensive array of short exercises they can use in their classes.

Presented by:

John Harrington has a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language from the University of Colorado and a Doctor's degree that was awarded by Baker University. He also possesses a Master of Arts degree in the field of Community Development and a Bachelor of Arts degree in the fields of Political Science and Sociology, both from Southern Illinois University.

Since 1992, Mr. Harrington has taught at the university and secondary school levels and at private language schools in Russia (six years), Slovenia (five years), Hungary (two years), Bosnia-Herzegovina (one year, Estonia (one year), and Armenia (one year). He has also conducted workshops in Turkey, Austria, and Ukraine. He worked for ten years under the auspices of the Soros Foundation and is currently nearing the completion of his sixth year of work with the English Language Fellow Program funded by the U. S. Department of State. At present he is teaching courses in Second Language Acquisition, English Language Teaching Methods, and Academic Writing at the Academy of Graduate Studies in Tripoli. His teacher training experience dates back to 1998. He is particularly interested in Medical English, Civics Education, and Environmental Education at the community level, but has also had extensive involvement in Business English. While with the Soros Foundation he authored a guide to business simulation games that was used in over 30 countries.

He is in the process of writing two books, one of which will be a teacher's resource book tentatively titled "Tapping into Teen Interests: Classroom Activities with Special Appeal for Teenagers."

We've got a group on Facebook

2010-06-19T14:57:00.002+02:00

The English Teachers' Forum is now on Facebook too.

You can find us here: English Teachers' Forum

English Teachers' Forum - 29 May 2010

2010-05-26T23:51:00.005+02:00

Topic: 'An Introductory Insight into Modern ELT Publishing'.
Date: Saturday, May 29, 2010
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon
Venue: Alshati Language and Training Center
Map: http://www.altc-ly.com/contactus.html
Refreshments will be served following the presentation

Synopsis:

Tarek Benrewin, Associate Manager North Africa in English Language Teaching and Education for Cambridge University Press, will be talking briefly about the respected history of Cambridge University Press and about English language publishing in general. The presentation will concentrate on new trends in English language publishing & blended learning that teachers should know and explains to teachers the importance of using the Corpus in text books. The attendance will have a clear simplified idea about publishing as a whole. The presenter will kindly be answering any questions regarding ELT publishing.

Cambridge University Press is a department of the University of Cambridge and a not-for-profit organisation. We aim to further, through publication and printing, the University of Cambridge’s own objective of advancing learning, knowledge and research worldwide. Cambridge University Press is one of the world’s leading publishers of English Language Teaching material, supplying to almost every country in the world. These learning materials exemplify the cutting edge of English teaching methodology and the quality of the Cambridge ELT list is universally acknowledged by the teaching profession for both British and American English.

English Teachers' Forum - Wednesday, 17th March 2010

2010-03-07T11:12:00.005+01:00

Topic: What General English Students Want and Need to be Successful in their Careers
Date: Wednesday 17th March 2010
Time: 5:30 pm
Venue: Bell International / Awardbrand, El Noflien, Tripoli, Libya - location: Map
RSVP: send an email with 'Language Leader' in the subject line to: brentdq @ yahoo.co.uk

David Cotton will be giving a talk about 'What General English Students Want and Need'. This talk will focus on what skills students need to be successful in their careers, and will show how he attempted to meet students' wants and needs in Pearson Longman's new Advanced Level 'Language Leader' series, of which David Cotton is co-author.

Mr. Cotton studied Economics in England at the University of Reading and French Language and Literature at the University of Toronto in Canada. He has over 35 years' experience teaching and training in EFL, ESP and English for Business, and is the author of numerous business English titles, including Agenda, World of Business, International Business Topics, and Keys to Management. He is also one of the authors of the best-selling Business Class and a co-author of the Language Leader series. He has taught in Canada, France and England, and been visiting lecturer in many universities worldwide.

English Teachers' Forum - Saturday, 20 Feb. 2010

2010-02-13T09:49:00.004+01:00

Presentations Skills Workshop

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Time: 10am to 12pm
Venue: Farhati Hall, Benashur (see map)
Cost: FREE

About the workshop:

Speaking in front of people is often the source of anxiety for many. The best way to alleviate that stress is to know what is necessary to hold a successful workshop that will interest and inform the participant. This workshop hopes to give you those presentation skills. The topics covered will discuss knowing the audience you are presenting to, developing a plan, structuring a presentation, and giving good delivery including your voice, rapport with the audience, and body language. These ideas will be reviewed, discussed, and, if there are any brave audience members, practiced in an educational environment where the participants do just that . . . participate!

About the speaker:

Brendan Carson has been in teaching and English and training English language teachers for about fifteen years in the United States, Korea, Ireland, Qatar, China, Afghanistan, and currently Libya. He has been living in Tripoli as an English Language Fellow through Georgetown University and the US State Department and is splitting his time between lecturing MA in Applied Linguistics students at the Academy of Graduate Studies and holding training workshops around Libya. He is new to Libya so any good advice for him will be greatly welcomed!

English Teachers' Forum - Saturday 30 January 2010

2010-01-22T18:14:00.001+01:00

Welcome to 2010!

This is the fourth year of the English Teachers' Forum. Thanks to all the teachers who have come and participated in past forums and have helped to make the English Teachers' Forum a success!

What's in store for Libya's English teachers this year?

This month's forum is a planning session for this year's agenda. We'll also find out what the upcoming ELTEX 2010 will be all about and get information about how teachers in Libya can apply to present papers and workshops at ELTEX 2010.

Date: Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Time: 10am to 12pm
Venue: University of Libya (Informatics) - see map

Click on the map for a larger version

CELTA Course - Tripoli, Libya

2010-01-08T22:19:00.000+01:00

Cambridge ESOL Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA)

The British Council is delighted to announce the running of a Cambridge ESOL Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) teacher training course in 2010.

The course runs from Sunday 21^st February to Monday 22^nd March with a two-day break on the 2^nd & 3^rd of March.

The 120-hour-course includes the following: input sessions, supervised lesson planning, and teaching practice with extensive feedback, tutorials, peer observation and the observation of experienced teachers.

The input is given in the form of workshops designed to be as "hands on" and practical as possible.

Further information on the course is available from the Cambridge website at http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teaching/celta.htm

Eligibility for the course

To be eligible for the course, you should have native speaker or near native speaker-like ability in English. For anyone assessed using CEF levels, this means a good C1 level. The course is extremely difficult, and not suitable for anyone who does not have this level of English. The demands of the course in teaching, language analysis, and discussion and in assignment preparation are extremely high.
You should be aged 20 or over with a standard of education equivalent to that required for entry into higher education.
Teaching experience is not essential but is an advantage.
You should be aware that the course is full time and will require 100% focus for the duration.

Cost

The cost of the course is 3080 Libyan Dinars. This will include all course fees, materials and certification from Cambridge.

Open Evening

On Thursday 14^th January, the British Council Tripoli is hosting a CELTA Open Evening. This is a chance for potential candidates to come and see a presentation about the CELTA and to meet people who took the course recently. . If you think the course is suitable for you, you can then ask for an application form. The evening will run from 7-9 pm with a buffet. The event is free, but limited to the first 50 people who reply. If you want to attend, please contact Erika.Sigvallius@ly.britishcouncil.org by 10^th January. You will be contacted after this date to confirm whether you have a ticket for the open evening.

Application procedure

After 10^th January you can apply to Erika.Sigvallius@ly.britishcouncil.org for an application form, or visit us for a hard copy. This will need to be completed and returned to us by 21st January. Successful candidates will then be called for an interview. We expect interviews to take place between 25th and 31st January with successful candidates being notified within 2 working days. There are only 10 places available on the course but should demand from suitably qualified candidates exceed supply then we will certainly consider running another course in late 2010.

Erika Sigvallius | Training, Development & ICT Coordinator | British Council

T +218 (0)21 4843164 -67 | F +218 (0)21 484 0178 |

Casablanca Street, Hey El Wihda Al -Arabia, Siyahia. PO Box 6797 Tripoli |

Erika.Sigvallius@ly.britishcouncil.org | www.britishcouncil.org/libya |

English Teachers' Forum - October 17th 2009

2009-10-05T21:58:00.006+02:00

Exam Skills Interactive Workshop

Venue: International House Tripoli - Elite (see map)
Date: Saturday, October 17th 2009
Time: 10am - 12pm
There will be a light buffet served following the workshop.

R.S.V.P.:

Please send an email if you plan on attending to: youssef@ihtripoli-elite.com

The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program

2009-10-01T21:46:00.000+02:00

A chance to study and teach in America

The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program brings young English language teachers to America to refine their teaching skills and increase their English proficiency. As a FLTA Fellow, you will spend one academic year at a U.S. university where you will teach Arabic and enroll in at least two U.S. studies or teaching methodology classes each semester. You will also share the culture and values of your country with Americans in university clubs, dormitories, and in the community. When you return home, you will have a high proficiency in English and will speak with firsthand knowledge about the United States, its culture, and people.

Assistants:

Have formal academic training or professional experience in teaching and must have a sincere interest in teaching their native language and culture to students in the U.S.
Have an in-depth knowledge of their culture and current events in their country
Have leadership skills and the ability to motivate students in an emphatic manner
Have the ability to engage students informally
Should be able to work creatively and be self-reliant, while being willing to work cooperatively as part of a team with faculty, staff and students
Preferably have good organizational and computer skills
Demonstrate flexibility and a willingness to learn
Have interest in such activities as sports, music, cooking, poetry, dance, etc.
Should be adaptable to living in rural or urban areas.

Assistantships:

Are in diverse locations, including small, suburban communities or rural areas which may have limited access to good public transportation
Involve diverse duties at the host institution and many may not be limited to working exclusively in a formal classroom setting
Frequently involve participation in extracurricular activities such as leading conversation groups, participating in community social events/lectures, working in language laboratories, etc.
Frequently involve living in residence halls or language houses and interacting with students outside the classroom on a daily basis
Frequently involve "animating" language clubs - making language learning interesting and personal
Involve initiating activities for students and the university/college community using the language being taught in a friendly, outgoing and flexible manner
Involve being a cultural ambassador
May or may not be considered faculty positions. If they are, they carry faculty responsibilities, including the responsibility of helping students individually at all times and keeping regular office hours
Must not carry a workload that exceeds 20 hours per week
Must be carried out solely at the institution specified on visa documentation.

Application information available at http://libya.usembassy.gov

APPLY BY: OCTOBER 15, 2009

For more information contact the U.S. Embassy · Public Affairs Section · Tripoli, Libya

US-Exchanges-Libya@state.gov · (0) 91-375-6528

English Teachers' Forum - June 27th, 2009

2009-06-21T00:53:00.002+02:00

The British Council, Tripoli will host parallel workshops for June's English Teachers' Forum

Topic: Identify pronunciation problems learners have and using appropriate techniques and activities to help learners develop their pronunciation.

A workshop by Shaheena Bakhshov will focus on: Contractions, schwa, weak and strong sounds, phonemic chart, stress, rhythm, intonation, pitch.

Daniel Johnston's workshop will focus on providing teachers with classroom ideas and activities to help Libyan students with problematic sounds such as:

Consonants, e.g. /p/ and /b/

Consonant clusters, e.g. ‘spr’

Date: Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Time: 10am to 12pm

Venue: British Council, Seyaheya, Tripoli

English Teachers' Forum - May 30th, 2009

2009-05-27T13:53:00.004+02:00

How Do Teachers Develop Themselves?

Why are we teachers?
What made us choose this career among others?
Are we satisfied with our jobs or not?
How do teachers develop themselves?

The answers to these questions will be discussed at the next English Teachers' Forum.

Venue: Al-Alalameya Center (see map below)

Date: Saturday, 30th May 2009

Time: 10:00 a.m

For additional information:

Mobile: 092-640-8174
Tel: 021-477 23 66
E-mail:alalameya_tc@yahoo.com

English Teachers' Forum - 25 April 2009

2009-04-16T17:06:00.004+02:00

Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm

Venue: The Petroleum Institute (PTQI), Seyahia ( Gergarish )

Presenter: Chris Redston

Chris Redston is the co-author of face2face, the best-selling general English course for adults from Cambridge University Press. He has worked in ELT for over twenty years, teaching in Turkey, Argentina and the UK for International House. He has also run teacher-training courses in Italy and the UK, and is an experienced author of adult course materials. He has travelled extensively, visiting over forty countries, and currently lives in London.

Get the Perfect Start with face2face or Getting Started with face2face

How can we help starter and elementary students acquire the core language and skills they need to communicate successfully in today's world? Chris Redston, co-author of face2face, discusses how teachers can help lower-level students to develop effective strategies for successful language learning. He also introduces the new Starter level of face2face and explains how the innovative key features of this best-selling course have been adapted to meet the needs of beginner-level students.

Which words don't we listen to?

Listening is probably the hardest skill for students to master, and teachers are often unsure how to help their students improve their listening in the classroom. Chris Redston, co-author of face2face, explores the underlying reasons why listening to natural spoken English is so problematic, then discusses practical ways in which teachers can really help students get better at listening. There will be a particular focus on lower-level students

March 2009 - Forum

2009-03-25T20:13:00.002+01:00

Here are some images of March's English Teachers' Forum that was hosted by ALETC. Special thanks to Marietta Forrest for her wonderful workshop 'Communicative Reading & Writing Activities'.

Laila Arif, Marietta Forrest and Hana Gusbi

More images of the event can be found here: March 2009 workshop

English Teachers' Forum - 28 March 2009

2009-03-20T02:21:00.004+01:00

Communicative Reading & Writing Activities

Teacher trainer, Marietta Forrest, who has a six month fellowship at Alfateh University, will present a free workshop for teachers on how to integrate communicative reading and writing activities into their lessons.

Please bring a successful reading or writing activity that you use with your students to share with the other participants.

Date: Saturday, March 28th 2009
Time: 10am to 12pm
Place: American Libyan English Training Center (ALETC) – Benashur, Tripoli, Libya

ELTEX Conference 2009

2009-03-14T20:48:00.004+01:00

This year we have some great international presenters at ELTEX Conference 2009.

The Conference will be held at AlFatah University in the Language Lab.

The Conference is from 16-18th March beginning at 2pm every day in Tripoli and 19th March in Benghazi.

Please be aware that the timetable could change depending upon circumstances and it is recommendedthat you arrive early to ensure a place in the workshops and Plenaries.

Download the timetable here: Provisional Timetable ELTEX 2009

See the map below (click on the image for an enlargement).

English Teachers' Forum - 28 February 2009

2009-02-18T14:55:00.003+01:00

The Cultural Affairs Department of the U.S. Embassy of Libya will host the English Teachers' Forum for the month of February. English Language Instructor, Dr. Ruth Petzold, will conduct a workshop titled:

A Good Use of Time

Dr. Ruth Petzold is the Regional English Language Officer (RELO) for North Africa. She is based in Rabat and covers Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The mission of the RELO consists in working with local educational institutions to improve the teaching of English as a foreign language in the private and public sectors.

Date: Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Time: 10am to 12pm

Venue: Alshati Language and Training Center - map: http://www.altc-ly.com/contactus.html

January 2009 - Forum

2009-01-30T20:41:00.000+01:00

English Teachers' Forum - January 2008

2009-01-24T17:15:00.003+01:00

Yethreb Institute will host January's English Teachers' Forum.

Topic: Using Music in the EFL/ESL Classroom

Date: Saturday 31 January, 2009

Time: 10 a.m. to 12 noon

Venue: Yethreb Institute - located in Benashur, near Mukhtar Clinic (please click on the map for an enlargement)

Quality Assurance Scheme - Symposium

2009-01-20T07:14:00.000+01:00

The British Council will be holding a symposium to present and discuss their Quality Assurance Scheme on January 22nd at 1pm at the British Council.

Please contact Ms. Shaheena Bakhshov of the British Council to confirm that you will be attending the symposium. You may also contact her if you have any questions.

Hey El Wihda El Arabia, Siyahia, PO Box 6797, Tripoli |

November 2008 - Forum

2008-11-29T21:00:00.001+01:00

Click on image for an enlargement

English Teachers' Forum - 29 November, 2008

2008-11-24T22:01:00.000+01:00

The English Teachers' Forum will host a three-hour workshop presented by Amy Sarkiss of Cambridge University Press. In this workshop, Amy Sarkiss will present different ways to exploit Cambridge University teaching materials and English language books in general in order to make learning more interesting and fun for learners. The workshop will provide teachers with exciting new ways to make the lessons more productive, memorable and rewarding.

Amy Sarkiss is a Teacher Trainer and Editorial Consultant for Cambridge University Press, Middle East-North Africa. She holds a BA in English and Comparative Literature from the American University in Cairo and the RSA CTEFLA and DTEFLA from Cambridge University. She was an EFL teacher for fourteen years, the last nine of which were at the British Council in Cairo, Egypt.

Please join us!

Date: Saturday, 29 November, 2008

Time: 10:00am (Time 3 hrs approx)

Location: Alshati Language and Training Center - map: http://www.altc-ly.com/contactus.html

Refreshments will be served.

Please forward this message to others who may be interested in attending.

July's ETF workshop

2008-08-05T09:57:00.000+02:00

Waha Training Centre hosted July's Teachers' Forum with a workshop of Motivating Games and Activities.

Presented by Amina and Zainab Shabani, the workshop highlighted various way to use games and other activities to motivate students at different levels. The teachers who attended were able to try out different games as well as share their own ideas.

Not only was the workshop fun and entertaining, it was also informative for all who attended.

Thank you Waha Training Centre for hosting the English Teachers' Forum!

eMagazine for English Teacher Training

2008-08-04T13:38:00.004+02:00

Phil Dexter, who is an active participant at English Teachers' Forum meetings, sent in a link to share: Humanising Language Teaching, an eMagazine for English Teacher Training.

This month's issue contains a range of major articles as well as some informative short articles, jokes, and lesson plans and other useful information:

Major Articles

Working with a Modified Sound / Color Chart
Donald E. Cherry, US/Japan
Laughter Yoga in English Language Teaching
Danny Singh, UK
Exploiting DVDs’ Extra Features: an Added Bonus in the EFL Class
María Palmira Massi and Bettiana Andrea Blázquez, Argentina
Extensive Reading Programme in Japan: ‘Just studying English is boring... but reading is nice’
Ian M. Robinson, Japan
Art and Artistry in ELT
Alan Maley, UK

Short Articles

Language Learning Strategies
Carmen Gloria Garrido Barra, Chile
Notes to the Theme of “Building a Community of Learners”
Robert McNeer, Italy
The Roots of Improvisation
Ken Wilson, UK
A New Type of Vocabulary Test for Early Language Learning – with a Child and Teacher Friendly Design
Peter Edelenbos and Angelika Kubanek, Germany
Humanising your Staff Room
Lindsay Clandfield and Duncan Foord, Spain
Literature on Language 3: Pronunciation
Jonathan Marks, Poland
Teacher-training in the Dark: Ignorant Westerner Works with Top Quality EFL Teachers from China
Mario Rinvolucri, UK and Simon Greenall, UK/China
The Heart of the Matter: Native Speaker Teachers of English and Non-Native Speaker Teachers of English
Lou Spaventa, US
Off the Beaten Path: Memory Techniques
Hall Houston, Hong Kong

Please visit the website for further details: Humanising Language Teaching Magazine

Thank You Phil!

English Teachers' Forum, Tripoli, Libya - July 2008

2008-07-16T14:15:00.004+02:00

Waha Training Centre will host July's English Teachers' Forum

A workshop of Motivating Games and Activities
~~~~~~
By Amina & Zaineb Shebani

Date: Saturday, July 26, 2008

Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Venue: Waha Training Centre - located in Fellah (please click on the map for an enlargement)

Highlights from June's Forum

2008-07-13T01:18:00.003+02:00

June’s Forum was hosted by Elite International House, Tripoli. The topic chosen was ‘THROW OUT THE COURSEBOOK (well sometimes)’ and was divided into two different presentations given by the staff of Elite International House.

The First Presentation: One Text – Four Teaching Ideas

This presentation showed four different ideas on how to use an extract from a story, an article or any text of a suitable level for a class.

1 – Divided text – dividing up a text and giving different students in a group the pieces of text to read, explain vocabulary and put in the correct order

2 – Timeline – After eliciting a timeline, students are given a text and asked to make a timeline of the sequences of events that take place in the text.

3 – Vocabulary cards – Two different games using vocabulary words on cards. The first was a vocabulary game in which in groups of four or five, each student picks up a card and explains it’s meaning without showing the card. The other students try to guess the word. In the second game the cards are divided equally among the group, students make sentences using the words on their cards and then dictate their sentences to the other members of their group.

4 – Hot seat – a vocabulary game that uses two teams of students. One student from each team sits in chairs facing the class. The teacher writes a vocabulary word on the board and the team members try to explain the meaning of the word without saying it. The student in the ‘hot seat’ to say the word first wins the point for their team. More points can be awarded for spelling, word stress and using it correctly in a sentence.

The Second Presentation: Outside the Book, Two lesson demonstrations using Authentic Texts

The first part of this presentation involved using an article taken from the internet. First a photo was shown from the story and students asked to guess the story in one minute. This was followed by skimming the story for gist, answering questions and discussion, an exercise from words and phrases taken from the article, and a grammar point from the text.

A warmer for another text taken from the internet was to have the students write a caption for the picture. After everyone shared their ideas the real caption was revealed. Vocabulary was taken from the text and students were asked to put them into categories:

Words I know and can give an example of
Words I think I know but I’m not sure about
Words I don’t know

Afterwards students were asked to share the meanings of the words with each other. When the meanings of all vocabulary were understood a gapped text was given to the students who were asked to creatively complete the missing sentences. A second gap fill exercise followed in which students were asked to choose the correct phrase for each gap from a list of phases given. Finally the complete text was given with comprehension questions.

The second part of this presentation was using the local English newspaper, The Tripoli Post, as a part of the lesson. For beginner students it was suggested that teachers have students find pictures of vocabulary written on the board. For students from Elementary and above it was recommended having them describe pictures and talk about events and articles in the paper. The last part of the presentation was showing ways that the classified ads can be used with more advanced students.

After the presentations the forum members discussed the future of the English Teachers’ Forum. Questions raised were:

How to get more teachers and schools to participate in the monthly forums
The possibility of having an IATEFL Libya
Who would host future Forum meetings
Having a meeting of the managers/directors of Libyan language schools and centres

Elite International House presented a scrumptious buffet following the meeting!

The English Teachers’ Forum would like to thank Elite International House for hosting June's meeting.

Attn: Language Schools in Libya

2008-06-29T13:19:00.001+02:00

We are currently making a list of the websites for all language centres in Libya. If you would like to have your school's site listed on the sidebar please let us know the address.

Thank You

English Teacher's Forum - June 2008

2008-06-18T23:42:00.004+02:00

The next meeting of The English Teacher's Forum:

Topic: THROW OUT THE COURSEBOOK (well sometimes)

Place: IHTripoli-Elite (see map below)

Date: Saturday, 28th of June, 2008

Time: 10am to 12pm

Click on the map to see it larger.

List of Events – 2008

2008-06-15T10:50:00.003+02:00

Unless otherwise noted, the forums will be held on the last Saturday of the month from 10am to 12 noon.

This list will be updated - please check back frequently.

January
• Venue: ICOE
• Topic: Testing

February
• ELTEX

March
• Venue: Kortag English Language Training Center - Ayen Zara, in front of Nasser University
• Topic: English Language Teaching Methodology in Libya

April
• Venue: Jawabi Tech & Training
• Topic: Standardized Testing

May
• Venue: Communication Language Centre
• Topic: Concept Questions - Speaker: Abubaker Habib, from Success School in Benghazi

June
• Venue: IHTripoli-Elite
• Topic: Throw away the coursebook (well sometimes)

July
• Venue: Waha Training Centre
• Topic: Motivating Games & Activities

August
• No event scheduled

September
• Ramadan – No event scheduled

October
• No event scheduled

November
• Venue: Alshatti Training Centre
• Topic: Guest speaker, Amy Sarkiss, from Cambridge University Press

December
• Venue: Yethreb Institute for English and Vocational Studies
• Topic: Using Music in the Libyan EFL/ESL Classroom

Highlights from May's Forum

2008-06-05T00:10:00.001+02:00

Communication was the host of the May 2008 English Teacher's Forum. They presented a well planned topic about issues related to lesson planning. The presentation included many activities such as role plays, kinesthetic activities, stories and open discussion. One of the questions discussed was: 'What might go wrong in a lesson plan?' Everyone joined in the discussion by eliciting possible answers and solutions.

Thanks Communication for hosting a very successful Forum!

EL Gazette

2008-05-21T22:09:00.003+02:00

The EL Gazette is a monthly international ELT (English Language Teaching) newspaper that covers a range of articles and information for teachers. The journal is available in the traditional paper format and also available in digital format.

Registration for the digital service is free: EL Gazette

English Teacher's Forum, Tripoli - May 2008

2008-05-15T21:38:00.005+02:00

The next meeting of The English Teacher's Forum:

Topic: Concept Questions

Speaker: Abubaker Habib, from Success School in Benghazi

Place: Communication (see map below)

Date: Saturday, 31st of May, 2008

Time: 10am to 12pm

Click on the image to see an enlargement

IATEFL Teacher Training Sessions

2008-05-14T23:17:00.002+02:00

The current up-to-date list of recordings available from the recent IATEFL Exeter online conference, to be found at:

http://exeteronline.britishcouncil.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=189

(You will need to register first, but that costs nothing.)

Recordings of sessions available

Find them in their respective Special Interest Areas or click on the titles to go directly there:

Catherine Walter & Michael Swan - Teaching reading skills - mostly a waste of time? (Applied Linguistics)
Robert Hill - Expansive reading: the text and beyond (Literature, Media & Cultural Studies, Materials Development)
Margit Szesztay - Using visuals creatively (Teacher Development)
Jennifer Uhler & Jeffrey Mattison - Interactive group blogging: teacher reflection, global connections (Teacher Training & Education, Teacher Development)
Janice Bland - Choosing literary texts for critical literacy in language education (Young Learners, Literature, Media & Cultural Studies)
Graham Stanley - Tales of mystery and imagination: teenage learners and second life (Learning Technologies, Learner Autonomy)
Zarina Subhan-Brewer - From the language of colonialism to that of conflict mitigation? (Global Issues)
John Wells & Gerald Kelly - Is it time to lay R.P. to rest? (Pronunciation)
Susan Barduhn - What keeps teachers going? What keeps teachers developing? (Teacher Training & Education, Teacher Development)
Gary Motteram - Sociocultural language teacher education (Teacher Training and Education, Teacher Development)
Anna Gorevanova - Encouraging learner autonomy: the SOLC experience (Learner Autonomy)
Ian McMaster - So who can't you understand and why? (Business English)
Barry Tomalin - How to teach culture? (Literature, Media & Cultural Studies)
Bev Davies - The real world? Taking ESOL support beyond academic survival (ESOL)
Anne Burns - Currriculum research and practice in Australian ESOL (ESOL)
Gavin Dudeney - Net advantage: marketing 2.0 (ELT Management, Learning Technologies)
Hugh Dellar - ELF – and other fairy stories (Global Issues)
Hyoshin Kim - Bringing debate into the classroom (Young Learners)

Discussion threads are available for all the above presentations, in their respective Special Interest Areas.

Recordings of sessions that were broadcast live

The Pecha Kucha session
Alastair Pennycook's plenary session - Changing global ELT practices
British Council panel discussion - Debating frameworks for diversity and equal opportunity in ELT
Closing plenary - Radmila Popovic - Forging peace through ELT: utopia or reality?

Others will be available soon.

Highlights from April's Forum

2008-05-01T12:58:00.000+02:00

We thank Jawabi for hosting April's forum.

Our gracious hosts offered a huge buffet so that we could get acquainted over and then we proceeded on to the meeting.

The topic of discussion was:

" Do we teach what we test or do we test what we teach?"

Slips were given out for guidance to the grouped teachers. The discussion became quite intense but was always well controlled and monitored, nevertheless.

Also discussed was the need to standardise tests locally in Libyan language centres. We came to a conclusion that we test what we teach.

Again we thank Jawabi for hosting us and presenting a very successful workshop!

IATEFL - Exeter

2008-04-21T14:33:00.002+02:00

You don't have to go to the IATEFL conference to be able to participate in the events because the IATEFL - Exeter website has many of the sessions available online in the form of videos. You have to register first, but this is free.

http://exeteronline.britishcouncil.org/login/index.php

English Teacher's Forum, Tripoli - April 2008

2008-03-31T11:57:00.003+02:00

The next meeting of the English Teachers' Forum:

Host: Jawabi Tech & Training

Topic: Standardized Testing

Date: Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Click on the map below for a larger image.

The March 2008 Forum

2008-03-31T11:51:00.002+02:00

The March 2008 English Teachers' Forum was graciously hosted by Kortag English Language & Training Center. Various problems that face Libyan English teachers were discussed and possible solutions and ideas were shared.
Six questions were posed for open discussion:

1. The Libyan English teachers are not familiar enough with the Course Book which they are supposed to tutor. Do you agree? What are possible solutions?

2. Teacher take the responsibility for meaning-understanding. There is little opportunity for students to develop the skills of understanding words or structures in context. Do you agree? What are possible solutions?

3. Students repeat words in isolation without evidence that they have understood the meaning. Do you agree? What are possible solutions?

4. All the classroom language pratice shows that although students are 'on task' they have few opportunities to demonstrate independent learning. Do you agree? What are possible solutions?

5. Procedures for receptive skills (listening, reading) do NOT orient the students to the subject matter before they are expected to read or listen to it. Responses are expected before students fully understand the texts. Do you agree? What are possible solutions?

6. Procedures for productive skills (writing, speaking) are very teacher-controlled which results in little opportunity in class for students to produce language of their own and they are in some cases insufficiently prepared to produce this language in follow-up or homework tasks. Do you agree? What are possible solutions?
Special thanks to Hamed Hritani for producing the material along with a powerpoint and to Laila Arif for helping to present the material for discussion.

English Teachers' Forum, Tripoli - March 2008

2008-03-11T21:28:00.003+01:00

The next meeting of the English Teachers' Forum:

Host: Kortag English Language & Training Center
located near Nassar University, Ayen Zara, Tripoli

Topic: English Language Teaching Methodology in Libya

Date: Saturday, March 29th, 2008

Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

English Teacher Forum Activities

2008-01-30T10:45:00.000+01:00

The First Year

2007-12-24T21:47:00.000+01:00

The very first Teacher's Forum was graciously hosted at Alshati Language and Training Center. Our first meeting was to bring teachers together to decide about just what the forum should be, create an agenda and brainstorm ideas about what English teachers in Libya wanted and needed. Our main mission at the first meeting was to set an agenda for future gatherings. It was decided that Tripoli's language schools and centres would take turns hosting the forum. We also decided at that time that the host would also get to choose their topic and design their program. We hoped that we would be able to get together monthly and though that unfortunately didn't happen it should be noted that we have met 6 times over the course of this first year and that is something that should make us very happy because that means that we have made a wonderful beginning for the future of English language learning and teaching in Libya.

We all eagerly attended the next meeting which was hosted by the Academy of Graduate Studies in Janzour. They chose the topic 'Speaking' and everyone enjoyed participating in small discussion groups and later each group presented what they had learned; each group focusing on different aspects of speaking.

The next meeting was hosted by AlSafwa English Language Center, in Benashur. It was a productive meeting in which all participants eagerly shared their ideas and knowledge about the topic of 'CLT - Communicative Language Teaching' and discussed ways to encourage students to use the target language using this approach to teaching.

Another host during the year was the British Council who's chosen topic 'Writing' was presented as a workshop by Duncan Perrin, the British Council's teaching manager. Everyone who attended took part in various writing activities using different methods, some of which included dictation, using our imaginations, and a game of sentence prompts. It was often light-hearted fun and was enjoyed by all. In speaking with quite a few of the teachers afterwards it was found that many of the writing ideas that were brought up by Duncan were put to use in the classroom.

Yethreb Institute hosted a forum during the summer. The topic was 'Tactile & Kinesthetic Learning'. A brief introduction of just what the topic was about was given and was then followed by a presentation of different activities that could be used in all levels of learning. Participants shared their own ideas about using games and activities with their students as well and discussing ideas of how to get students (and teachers) over feeling silly about playing while they learned.

Finally, it seemed only fitting that we were back to where we had begun a year ago at Alshati Language and Training Center for the last meeting for 2007. The topic for the meeting was 'Language Acquisition; Interference with the Mother Tongue'. A presentation was given and was followed by small group discussions about the various questions pertaining to the topic. Later everyone enjoyed presenting what they had discovered in their groups and debating over their findings.