About the conference
Inclusive education aims to create equity in the classroom and raise attainment for all students, regardless of the challenges they may experience. In inclusive English language classrooms, curricula are accessible to all learners, instruction is innovative and differentiated, teachers ensure that the diverse community of learners feels welcome and valued, and the individual learners receive indispensable support to develop their inborn and new talents, and successfully achieve their goals.
This conference is an excellent opportunity for discussing key issues and current trends in promoting inclusive education in classrooms where English is taught as a foreign, second, additional or international language. A real strength of this event is that it brings together a diverse audience comprising academics, teacher educators, teacher-researchers, researchers, policy makers and materials developers, who are keen on promoting and utilising theory, research and practice to make English language education more attractive, effective, inclusive and innovative.
This conference is an excellent opportunity for discussing key issues and current trends in promoting inclusive education in classrooms where English is taught as a foreign, second, additional or international language. A real strength of this event is that it brings together a diverse audience comprising academics, teacher educators, teacher-researchers, researchers, policy makers and materials developers, who are keen on promoting and utilising theory, research and practice to make English language education more attractive, effective, inclusive and innovative.
Conference aims
The aims of the conference are as follows:
- To offer a deeper understanding of diversity and inclusivity in English language education, and the benefits and challenges they bring to the teaching-learning process.
- To create a forum for sharing current and innovative practices that promote diversity and inclusivity in the English language classroom.
- To reflect on current English language courses and the extent to which they integrate the constructs of diversity and inclusivity into their curricula, and suggest improvements if need be.
- To promote interdisciplinary research of particular relevance to diversity and inclusivity in English language education and, more specifically, to enable teacher-researchers to present their empirical findings about specific pedagogical questions they have investigated and academic researchers to not only showcase their findings, but also enter into a dialogue about the implications of their studies for classroom practice.
- To bring together researchers and research scholars to exchange their experiences, discuss challenges and promote new approaches to researching diversity and inclusivity in English language education.
- To build a global network of experts that seeks to publicize the topics of diversity and inclusivity in English language education, and leads to the creation of a high-quality publication: an edited volume on Exploring Inclusivity in English Language Education: International Perspectives (edited by D. Bao, D. O’Reilly and M. Barnes).
Significance of the conference
This conference will bring together academics, researchers, policy makers and materials developers to make preparations for diversity and inclusivity to become permanent in schools. The conference is a response to the significant gap in English language education and is hoped it will give prominence to the two concepts in question, thus addressing their noticeable insufficiency in current:
- debates at local and international levels;
- research, both pure and applied;
- publications that link theory, research and practice; and
- English language policies and curricula.
Conference organizing and programme committee
The Committee consists of ten scholars representing three universities: Ho Chi Minh City Open University (Vietnam), Monash University (Australia) and University of York (UK).
Chairs
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Dr Dat Bao, Monash University, Australia
Dat Bao is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. He has worked with Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK, Cornell University in the US, the National University of Singapore, the Assumption University of Thailand and presently Monash University. His current research interests include curriculum development, world-related learning, intercultural education, and creative pedagogy in language education. His recent books include: Understanding silence and reticence: Ways of participating in SLA (Bloomsbury, 2014), Poetry for education: Classroom ideas that inspire creative thinking (Xlibris, 2017), and Creativity and innovations in ELT materials: Looking beyond the current design (Multilingual Matters, 2018). |
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Dr Andrzej Cirocki, University of York, UK
Andrzej (Andy) Cirocki is Assistant Professor of English Language Education and Director of Taught Masters Programmes in the Department of Education at the University of York, UK. He is a teacher educator, CELTA teacher trainer and materials developer, with research interests relating to EFL/ESL teacher education and professional development, TEFL, classroom-based research and developing learner autonomy. In addition to being author of numerous publications, and being involved in international research projects and delivering CPD courses for EFL/ESL teachers worldwide, he is also Editor of The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL. |
Members
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Dr Melissa Barnes, Monash University, Australia
Melissa Barnes is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, working within the fields of teacher education, assessment, policy and TESOL. She teaches and leads research initiatives that focus on policy construction, interpretation and enactment, with a focus on how policies, including structures such as curriculum and assessments, impact and shape teaching and learning. She has published in journals such as Critical Studies in Education, Discourse and English for Academic Purposes, among others. Melissa has been a classroom teacher in the US, Germany, Vietnam and Australia, experiences which have collectively shaped her understanding and approach to teaching and learning. |
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Dr Gary Bonar, Monash University, Australia
Gary Bonar is a lecturer in the Master of TESOL, Languages and Humanities specialisation courses at the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. Prior to commencing his lecturing position, he worked in the secondary education sector in Victoria, most recently in the role of curriculum coordinator responsible for literacy, languages and social sciences. He has also taught Japanese and Italian, and English as an additional language in secondary schools. He has over ten years’ experience teaching English in diverse sectors in Asia and Europe. Gary’s research interests focus on two areas: Asia-related teaching in Australian schools and English-language related learning in the Asia region. |
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Heather Buchanan, University of York, UK
Heather Buchanan, an experienced English language teacher and teacher trainer, has worked in the UK Higher Education sector for the last twenty-five years, leading Master’s courses and training both novice and experienced teachers. Her teacher training experience has included training up and accompanying student volunteers to teach English in Thailand, as well as training more than two hundred practising teachers from Panama to deliver bilingual programmes. Heather’s main research interests concern materials development and teacher education. She is also a published coursebook writer for Oxford University Press and is currently co-editing the Routledge Handbook of Materials Development for Language Teaching, which is due to be published in 2020. |
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Dr Thu Thi Thanh Le, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam
Thu Thi Thanh Le is Co-Director of the Joint Master’s in Education (TESOL) between HCMC Open University and Edith Cowan University. She is Lecturer at the Graduate School of the HCMC Open University. Her research interests include distance education, job mobility of graduates, teacher professional development and education management. |
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Dr Thi Xuan Lan Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam
Dr Thi Xuan Lan Nguyen is Vice Dean of the Graduate School at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. In her role, she mainly focuses on the development and management of the masters and doctoral programmes. Her research interests are related to collaborative learning, computer-mediated communication in language learning and teaching, and language teaching methodology. |
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Dr Thuy Nga Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam
Dr Thuy Nga Nguyen is Senior Lecturer and a teacher educator in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. Her research interests lie largely in the areas of language education, teacher education, effective learning and teaching, learner and teacher beliefs and expectations, and change and innovation in English language teaching. |
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Dr David O’Reilly, University of York, UK
David O’Reilly is Associate Lecturer in Education at the University of York, where he lectures on a range of TESOL and education-related modules. His research interests are second language metaphoric competence in relation to vocabulary knowledge, language testing and development, and general language proficiency. David also supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students and is the Academic E-Learning Coordinator in his department. In addition, he has written summaries and delivered workshops for OASIS, a database of accessible, one-page summaries of second language research studies, supported by journal editors and professional associations. |
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Dr Jessica Premier, Monash University, Australia
Jessica Premier is Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. She teaches units in the Master of Teaching, Master of TESOL and Bachelor of Education courses. Prior to working at Monash University, Jessica held classroom teaching and leadership positions in primary and secondary schools, and tertiary English language centres. Her research areas of interest include TESOL/EAL, teacher education (for pre-service and experienced teachers), professional learning, language and literacy. |
