Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
This month committee member Helen Slee shares their reflections on some very impactful IATEFL conference sessions.
Time has flown since the April 2026 IATEFL conference, and some of us are still percolating our learning moments. Some have applied new ideas from IATEFL practically and are reflecting and/or trying again. Others are already looking forward to the April 2027 Birmingham conference. Many of us are a mix of all three.
Which sessions or events from this year’s IATEFL conference impacted you so much that their content is still fresh in your mind and stayed with you?
On that subject, have any events or sessions from previous conferences influenced and stayed with you? I’m thinking of last year’s Edinburgh conference, 2024’s in Brighton, the 2023 conference in Harrogate, and 2022’s Belfast week. In Belfast I was the recipient of the Teacher Development Special Interest Group TDSIG’s Michael Berman scholarship, enabling me to attend for the first time.
Now I’ve attended five conferences I have to say that, for me, it is the sessions sponsored by National Geographic Learning that always linger. Here’s why:
1. The content is always PRACTICAL and easy to apply to lesson plans, material content creation, or my methodology.
Charlotte Ellis’ 2022 “ELT and the Climate Crisis – Developing Sustainable Students” reminded us ‘Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something’. This workshop gave practical and relevant ideas on developing sustainable values in students of all ages, while she pointed out that educators can do plenty to foster sustainable values and a commitment to tackle the climate crisis within lessons. I used some ideas from this session in 1:1 online lessons with young learners which went well.
Emily Bryson’s 2023 “Just keep teaching! Maintaining focus and wellbeing in disrupted classrooms” reminded attendees that many learners attend classes while facing difficulties such as mental health issues, homelessness, war, or displacement, challenging both the learners and teachers. Using examples from National Geographic Learning’s ‘Teaching through Crisis’ website, Emily guided us to explore practical ways to support learners living unsettled lives and suggested ideas for maintaining teacher wellbeing. I went away with sketches, resources, activities, and ideas.
Alex Warren’s 2024 “Utilising visible thinking routines in the EAP classroom” emphasised that critical thinking is a key academic skill, can be incorporated into classes. With examples from National Geographic Learning’s Pathways series, this workshop showed participants how to use visible thinking routines within our lessons to develop our students’ cognitive skills, while also stimulating meaningful discussion involving everyone. At the time, I was using materials which had embedded visible thinking routines, so this workshop really encouraged me to keep exploring them.
2. The speakers are always MEMORABLE and engaging, with their facilitation of the content always sticking in my mind weeks, months, and even years after I’ve seen the session or event.
Alex Warren’s 2023 “For what it’s Earth: Incorporating Sustainability Education into EAP classrooms” opened by reminding us that teaching English is not just teaching English — educators must also prepare students with skills, values and knowledge to contribute to our global society. We explored ways to incorporate education for sustainable development into EAP classes using examples from National Geographic Learning titles to truly prepare students for their futures.
Andrew Walkley’s 2024 “Using mediation for better outcomes” discussed the benefits of considering mediation at all lesson stages to enable genuine conversations between learners and enable them to develop good learning practices. He made use of mediation in exercises from National Geographic Learning’s Outcomes, showing teachers how we might exploit mediation and dispel some myths and fears surrounding it. I applied several techniques with an A2-level adult class who responded well.
Emily Bryson’s 2025 “Real role models: authentic voices that make an impact” focused on the idea that learners need role models to lead by example, and using authentic voices and stories in class will make the material real and relatable for them. She also emphasised learners choosing their own role models and projects to ensure their work and English use comes from the heart, and getting involved in actual local community initiatives to be a part of collective action for change. Near the end of the session, she pointed out that children have an interest in their future and being part of change, highlighting Alicia Water Galàn’s One in a Million Waste Challenge as a real role model for young people… and then Ali was in the audience and spontaneously and came up onto the stage to speak! Impactful and unforgettable. This session inspired me when I was working 1:1 with a C1-level young adult, and contributed to a series of lessons she and I had together.
3. The titles of the talks, workshops, or other types of sessions are always MEANINGFUL and easy to recall, and spring to mind whenever I am working on something related to the session content, or in discussion with an ELT colleague about something related.
Marek Kiczkowiak’s 2022 “10 Practical Activities for teaching pronunciation for the 21st Century” highlighted the importance of using all kinds of linguistically diverse pronunciation models to meet the needs of learners using a global lingua franca, moving away from accentism and nativespeakerism. I distinctly remember feeling a burst of joy when he played audio recordings for practical exercises that featured model proficient speakers of English who were not native speakers. That feeling and the session itself has stayed with me, four years later.
Lewis Lansford’s 2023 “Global English: chaos, communication and the art of the kludge” opened with the reality we must face: that coursebook model conversations generally feature complete sentences, clear turn-taking, and straightforward communication — unlike the reality of communication. While they are useful for grammar and vocabulary, they do not prepare learners for the relative real-world chaos of improvised conversation. That requires mastery of the ‘kludge’ – a quick fix to bridge communication breakdowns using available resources. With examples from National Geographic’s Voices series to demonstrate, Lewis showed us different communication ‘kludges’ and ways learners can use them. Never mind that the word ‘kludge’ will never leave my brain, the concept itself is key for language learners’ communication, so I’ve never forgotten this session.
Chia Suan Chong’s 2024 “Teaching mediation: mediating concepts and mediating communication” started by asking how we can teach students to mediate concepts and communication beyond lists of useful phrases. She demonstrated how students can better participate in group conversations, deal with disagreements and manage differences in multicultural spaces using mediation, a skill the CEFR has highlighted as key. With practical ideas of helping students develop their communication skills and being more communicatively competent, I went away from this session with ways to help the A2 learners I was working with at the time and was able to apply some ideas to help them. Successful development and seeing learners notice it in themselves is always memorable.
For those of us who are able, willing, and privileged to attend the IATEFL conference, we enjoy so many benefits; from networking and socialising, to introductions to new ideas and professionals, to access to resources and vendors, and learning from plenaries, presentations, panel discussions, and poster presentations. Sessions and events sponsored by National Geographic Learning, facilitated by Charlotte Ellis, Emily Bryson, Alex Warren, Andrew Walkley, Marek Kiczkowiak, Lewis Lansford, and Chia Suan Chong are one of the many benefits that I keep coming back to every year, because they continue to be practical, memorable, and meaningful.
Thank you to all of the speakers mentioned above for your efforts at every IATEFL conference I’ve attended, and I look forward to seeing what you all will bring to future conferences. The 60th Annual IATEFL Conference will be here before we know it!
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About Helen Slee:
Helen Slee is a nonbinary British-Canadian English language teacher, writer, editor, and content creator who has been teaching English since 2015 to learners of all ages and levels. They have taught online and in multiple countries, including five years in Spain, and have spoken and written about ELT since 2020, and will not stop anytime soon. They are currently volunteering for TDSIG, teaching privately, working on several creative projects, and always looking for professional development opportunities. Helen currently produces the teachers’ podcast Developod for the IATEFL Teacher Development Special Interest Group (TDSIG) as a committee member. Contact Helen on social media @HelenTeachesEng (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Threads) or by email [email protected].