Don't miss it. Not this Time!

Internet and the like have changed our societies and they are likely to change our schools. That is why we want to focus in our Convention, this February, on how “To teach the ne(x)t generation”. We have put this central issue at the core of our conference. My first question is: What do we talk about when we talk about technology? We often feel overwhelmed when we hear those technology fetishists discussing how amazing their resources are. What about us, then? We’ve been teaching generations of students alright and we’ve done without the new beast. When we hear talk about technology –at least, at APAC- we want to make sure they don’t forget to remember that it’s teaching that we should be talking about. We want to hear how the wonderful new ICT resources fit into the educational goals we are here to serve. Bearing this in mind we have asked two outstanding lecturers to state their case at the very start of the convention. In the opening session Jeremy Harmer, the author of the now classic “The Practice of English Language Teaching”, will discuss that very archaic sort of technology: candles. Are they really obsolete? Or do they still shed the right kind of light to, well, to spark off the sort of conversations that really matter? You know what I mean. But then, our keynote speaker, Gavin Dudeney, the author of “The Internet and the Language Classroom”, will shed pedagogical light on the world of computer games and what they teach “us” about today’s learners. Quite frankly, having the likes of Harmer and Dudeney to set things in motion sounds like a privilege to me. I’m sure you all agree. It’s hard to imagine a more adequate follow-up to the last APAC monograph: “Technology in English Teaching: Looking Forward”. And don’t forget that our roundtable this time will be a discussion on the pros and cons of ICT with primary and secondary schoolteachers and chaired by our webweaver, Tom Maguire.

And, as usual, more specific areas will be covered: from the role of grammar (Michael Swan) to CLIL experiences in our schools. And there are presentations to cater for educational levels from primary school to university and a great variety of special approaches, like story-telling or drama in the classroom. All in all an exciting prospect that will feature a special presentation of BritLit, the British Council project that involves contemporary writers of English interacting with our students, including very young learners. In collaboration with the British Council, APAC will present a special monograph issue devoted to the great pedagogical potential of the BritLit project to which a number of schools in Catalonia have already been attracted. And last but not least we’ll have the usual display of publishers, examiners’ bodies, educational services, language schools, etc. In the hall at the UPF you’ll find 26 stands with the latest on pedagogical materials and resources.

I do feel we’ll have three days packed with interesting and relevant things for all of us. So here is my advice: Don’t miss it. Not this time!