TDSIG Blog
Peer-motivated teachers
by Anthony Gaughan One challenge that arose from the open space conversations was how to encourage teachers to engage in CPD, and especially the recording of this development for governmental purposes, when there are no obvious financial motivations for doing...
Thoughts on teacher training from our SIG members
Riin Kont-Kontson TTK University of Applied Sciences My initial teacher training prepared me for….sorry my mind went blank trying to finish this sentence. To be honest, everything I have learned has come from my practice as a university lecturer- there I have...
What can you do when everyone loves your work but you?
by Tyson Seburn Anthony Gaughan wonders how often we are applauded as though our teaching is perfect. Regarding the context of his teacher training experience in Germany, he notes how much his practice had become a finely tuned machine. In this apparent perfection,...
‘The ideal candidate should be…’ The Native Speaker – Non-Native Speaker Debate.
by Higor Cavalcante In our third talk of the day, our facilitator, Higor Cavalcante gave a brilliant, witty talk on deep issues of prejudice and avoidance that we need to address in our field of ELT. He drew on quotes from well-known authors and speakers in the field,...
Away from deconstructing and towards co-constructing
Fiona Mauchline echoed Mike’s words on teacher training being a deconstruction of teacher, where teachers tend to be spoken at and not spoken with. Mike said “I learnt as much, if not more, from the other participants on my training course as I did from the trainer....
Opening Day, Open Space
by Divya Madhavan It’s the start of IATEFL 2015! Every SIG holds their Pre-Conference Event today and at the TDSIG, our day is an Open Space, with four facilitators; Anthony Gaughan, Fiona Mauchline, Mike Harrison and Higor Cavalcante, who have travelled from near and...
Shaving and Innovation in Education
by Anthony Gaughan I recently started shaving with a straight razor. No, this isn’t going to be a post about how manly I am. It’s going to be about how I decided to make this change, and what this has to do with my becoming mistrustful of innovation as a force for...
IATEFL TDSIG DAY Profile: Margit Szesztay
In our final post on our SIG Day at IATEFL this year, we're happy to share the work of Margit Szesztay. Margit is a Hungarian teacher and teacher trainer. At present she is the coordinator of IATEFL’s Global Issues SIG. What she is really passionate about is group...
IATEFL TDSIG Day Profile: Tom Heaven
Our next featured speaker for our SIG Day at IATEFL is Tom Heaven. Tom originally comes from England's second city, Birmingham, but lives and works in Berlin where he teaches lawyers, art historians and engineers, among many other people, on various courses at...