November 22-24, 2013
Télécom ParisTech, 46 rue Barrault,
75013 Paris, France

 

Fri 22/11	17:00-18.00	Opening Plenary		Complete Program 2013
	18:15-19.15	5 Conference Talks
	19.15-20.15	Cocktail dînatoire, Poster session & Visiting stands
Sat 23/11	10.00-18.30	30+ Conference Talks and 1 Plenary Session
	18.30-19.30	Reception, Poster session, Visiting stands
	19:30-21.30	Open Mic Night - Talent Show! Music, songs, stand up comedy, and more!
Sun 24/11	10:30-15:00	20+ Conference Talks, 1 Closing Plenary and a Prize Draw including Best Poster Announcement

 

Plenary Speakers' Bios and Abstracts

Sue Palmer
Toxic Childhood

It's seven years since UK literacy specialist, Sue Palmer, published Toxic Childhood, a book about the effects of contemporary culture on children's development, including their potential to learn. In this presentation she will summarise her original findings, and speak about her current research, revising and updating the book for a new edition next year. While parents and teachers are now more aware of the implications of a sedentary, screen-based lifestyle for children's physical, emotional, social and cognitive development, there is still a long way to go to ensure that all children experience the sort of childhood that will equip them to survive and thrive in the modern world.

Sue Palmer, a former primary headteacher, has been an independent educational consultant for over 25 years. During that time she has written over two hundred books, software packages and TV programmes about primary literacy, and worked as a consultant for the Department for Education, the National Literacy Trust, the Basic Skills Agency, many educational publishers and the BBC. She is a popular speaker in the UK and beyond, both on literacy and, more recently, ‘child development in the modern world’. Her first book on this subject, Toxic Childhood, was published in 2006, since when she has been involved in many national campaigns around education, outdoor play, screen-based entertainment and the commercialisation of childhood. She has twice been cited in the Evening Standard as among the 1000 most influential people in London (which she finds particularly thrilling, since she lives in Edinburgh) and is currently a member of the Scottish Government’s Early Years Task Force and co-chair of the Task Force’s committee on Culture Change.
Kindly sponsored by: TESOL France

 

Scott Thornbury
The Learning Body

The separation between mind and body – a fundamental ‘truth’ in modern Western thought – is succumbing to a view that thinking, and hence learning, is ‘embodied’, i.e. that the mind extends beyond the grey matter of the brain, and is realised, at least in part, through gesture, movement, and physicality. What might this mean for (second) language learning?  In this talk I’ll review developments in this exciting new field, and (very tentatively) suggest some applications.

Scott Thornbury lives in Spain. He has an MA (TEFL) from the University of Reading and is currently curriculum coordinator on the MA TESOL program at The New School in New York. His previous experience includes teaching and teacher training in Egypt, UK, Spain, and in his native New Zealand. His writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology (including Teaching Unplugged, with Luke Meddings) as well as a number of journal articles and book chapters on such diverse subjects as voice-setting phonology, corpus linguistics, speaking instruction, and embodied learning. He is series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers.
Kindly sponsored by: The New School in New York

 

Rosa Aronson
Globalization, English Language Teaching & Professional Standards

In her closing presentation, TESOL executive director Rosa Aronson will discuss the need for professional standards in the age of globalization. As English continues to take a prominent role in the areas of business, science, technology and diplomacy, increasing numbers of people around the world perceive English as a gateway to social mobility and prosperity. For better or for worse, knowledge of English has become part of what is needed for success in a global economy. As a result, mastery of English has become a critical component of anyone interested in advancing career goals. Are teachers of English fully prepared to equip their students with the proficiency they need in this context? Rosa Aronson will share TESOL's views on professional teaching standards and will discuss teacher quality issues in France and across the world.

Rosa Aronson is the Executive Director of the TESOL International Association (TESOL).   A former Fulbright exchange teacher, Dr. Aronson started her education career as an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher in France. She holds an Master’s degree in English Linguistics from the University of Aix-en-Provence, France, and a Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from the University of Virginia, in the United States.  Aronson earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives.
Prior to her service at TESOL, Dr. Aronson had 24 years of experience in nonprofit association management with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), headquartered in Reston, Virginia, USA. Her most recent presentations have been in Dubai, UAE; Kabul, Afghanistan; Miragoane, Haiti; and Iquique, Chile. Dr. Aronson is bilingual (French).
Kindly sponsored by: TESOL International