I count myself among the lucky few who are going to attend in-person both of the upcoming events hosted by http://www.iatefl.org/ and the http://www.britishcouncil.org.
IATEFL 43rd Annual Conference - Cardiff
Starting on 31st March and running until 4th April, the 43rd annual IATEFL conference promises to be the best yet. The range and quality of the speakers at the IATEFL conference always poses a challenge when you're flipping through the programme deciding who to go to hear speak, although little does it matter, as rarely, in my experience are you disappointed.
The great news for those who can't be there in person is you'll be able to get more than a flavour of the conference by registering at IATEFL Cardiff Online: http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/
Last year, there were 1600 participants at the conference and 5000 participating online. This year promises to be even better, with far more activity going on online to bring those not at the conference closer to the action.
Apart from the live broadcasts of the plenaries and video and audio recordings of some of the other sessions, wifi access at the conference means some participants in sessions will be live blogging or twittering (using http://www.twitter.com) to keep people in the loop. Should be a very special event indeed.
IATEFL YL SIG & LT SIG Conference - Milan
But, the week before this, there's another very special event in the form of a joint Young Learner SIG (Special Interest Group) and Learning Technologies SIG conference in Milan (March 23rd-25th) examining 'Innovations in Teaching Children and Teenagers'. If you can make it and are interested in attending, there is still time to register here: http://www.britishcouncil.org/italy-english-milan-teacher-training-aggiornamento-insegnanti-inglese-milano.htm
This event promises to be a real treat for anyone who teaches young learners, and there are three strands to the conference, which are CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning), Learning Technologies and Testing & Assessment.
Although there won't be as much online activity at this event, there will be some, and I have agreed to try my best to keep people informed by blogging here. I'll also be twittering at http://www.twitter.com/grahamstanley - hope that some of you at least can join us for the educational journey!
