ABSTRACT. Genre-based pedagogy (GBP) is an instructional approach that seeks to promote students’ comprehension and production of texts. Grounded in Systemic Functional Linguistics, the pedagogy adopts the notion that any oral or written act of social communication constitutes a text. In turn, texts are exemplars of particular genres, that is patterned ways of using language according to the context of communication. GBP takes texts as the starting point for planning, developing and assessing instruction to develop students’ ability to create meaning. In this talk I present key principles and practices of GBP. Using examples of teachers' use of GBP during the last five years, I will show how the pedagogy has been material for focusing instruction on communication, organizing curricular sequences of increasing complexity in foreign language programs, teaching grammar in favor of meaning, making decisions on what to teach and when, designing more informative and outcome-oriented assessments, and empowering teachers with specialized knowledge about texts and pedagogy.

ABSTRACT. The implementation of videogames have created a significant gaming culture among young people. The state of the art of inclusion of videogames, specifically MMOG and MMORPG, in the Colombian context suggests that despite the existence of many studies dealing with ICT´s, there is little research on MMOG in our country. Besides, many parents and teachers believe prohibition for students from playing videogames is the most suitable solution to literacy-related problems. This paper reports a research experience of an after-school context that adopts a popular videogame for English language learning. Through game-play inside the game students performed different language challenges inside the virtual world. Observation, participants´ artifacts and interviews were used to collect data about the literacy practices when video gaming and the effects on learning English as a foreign language. The results show that students engage in two categories of EFL literacy practices: literacy practices inside the game and literacy practices beyond the game. The conclusion can also be drawn that students learned language determined by the engagement in multiliteracies. These results unveil the idea of using virtual worlds and digital-story telling to fulfill the requirements of 21st century education.

ABSTRACT. Information on academic exchanges is abundant, yet very disperse. The faculty and students cannot make sense of offers without a career development plan. Campus international offices, departments, and faculty should not only have a policy of mobility but also join in efforts to guide students and their families to make decisions that enhance their formation. This presentation draws on a study and training in campus internationalization conducted by the Institute of International Education that concluded that “Institutions are more vital and attractive places when they are internationalized, and these qualities strengthen their local communities.” It also concluded that “students and faculty return to their home countries with a more accurate, nuanced understanding of cultures and scholarship.” In campus internationalization, orientation is needed to mobilize institutional and personal resources. The presenter speaks of the credentials a student, a graduate, a faculty member or a professional should prepare to study, work, obtain a teaching position, an internship or a short term opportunity abroad. For example, research and publications constitute a springboard for professional development. The audience will learn about organizations, programs, and opportunities, and more importantly, will learn to outline a feasible long-term action plan for themselves or other stakeholders.

ABSTRACT. “I don’t like English” or “I tried but it’s not for me”; are often expressed feelings by most Colombian EFL learners due to negative experiences in their learning process. This predisposition to the L2 learning process, is known as a “high affective filter” (Krashen, 1978) and is one of the most common phenomena among EFL learners in our country. This paper reports a pedagogical intervention aimed at lowering the affective filter towards English language of three groups of sixth graders in Bucaramanga, Colombia. At the beginning of every learning unit (fifteen days) an introductory lesson was designed and implemented based on Dr. Carol Dweck’s growth mindset theory, which conceives intelligence as a skill that can be developed through effort and consistency rather than a fixed, innate ability (fixed mindset). This lesson was reinforced throughout the rest of the unit by performing student-centered activities and effort-praising feedback. Data collected from interviews with students and parents, class observations and a research journal showed that not only this experience dramatically lowered students’ affective filter towards English language but also helped them reframe their beliefs about intelligence and to focus on effort and consistency in order to achieve desired outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Many students measure their own progress through their ability to speak in spontaneous situations. However, within the classroom, getting students to actively participate in speaking activities can often be a challenge due to fear of judgement and/or lack of confidence. This presentation describes practical, research-informed advice for teachers on how to create a judgement-free classroom – a “safe speaking environment” - by integrating findings from research on peer interaction and teacher feedback

ABSTRACT. English teachers often find difficulties adapting the national curriculum proposals to their local contexts (Leite, Fernandes, & Figueiredo, 2013; Pierce et al 2015; Correa & Gonzalez 2016).They often assume a reproductive stance towards the national curriculum development resulting most of the time in irrelevant curriculum enactment and learning processes. This workshop has as a main purpose to demonstrate how we can be accountable as English teachers to glocal needs and it is the result of a research carried out at Insitucion Educativa Indigena San Antonio Abad in San Antonio del Palmitos, Sucre, Colombia. The curriculum is assumed from a humanistic and learner centered perspective (Dewey, 1959; Slattery, 2006) and we consider knowledge as a complex intercultural process of negotiation of meanings wherein the community cultural capital serve as a tool to develop communicative competence and identities. In this workshop, participants will experience how they can contextualize the Suggested Curriculum to Zenu indigenous students’ socio-cultural needs. Firstly, we will present the Etnoenglish pedagogical principles, then participants will engage in developing an Etnoenglish lesson plan, after they will have the opportunity to share their lesson plan experience and finally they reflect on the significance of the workshop for their professional practice.

ABSTRACT. La presente ponencia tiene el objetivo de abordar y analizar el marco en el que se están desarrollando los procesos de Internacionalización y la Tecnopedagogía en el Instituto de Educación Superior Gordon College Haifa. Para empezar, es de conocimiento de todos, que vivimos en un tiempo de cambios constantes, acelerados y profundos y a diferencia del pasado la circulación de ideas y personas no se circunscribe a áreas en escala de país o región, sino que por el contrario va mucho más allá de las fronteras geográficas. De tal manera que, el territorio y el espacio geográfico van cediendo su importancia a nuevos mapas de la realidad, muy alejada al carácter de nación-estado-territorio, más cercana y relacionada a un concepto de movilidad y globalización. Así, en la definición del concepto de Internacionalización que adoptamos e implementamos en el instituto Gordon College, se evidencia tanto la dimensión internacional como la intercultural, a fin de resaltar el hecho de que la internacionalización no está orientada ni restringida sólo a los estados-nación, sino que incluye e incorpora a los diferentes grupos étnicos-culturales de un país. La Tecnopedagogía y las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) fortalecieron la dinámica al permitir que la globalidad llegue al mundo con un simple clic, eliminando así las barreras espaciotemporales. La internacionalización y la Tecnopedagogía al servicio de la educación son, por tanto, las herramientas ideales mediante las cuales se busca preparar a los futuros profesionales para convivir en este mundo interconectado

ABSTRACT. The necessity of a learner- centered approach that lifts 21st century skills and the lack of oral fluency drove the ongoing mixed method Action Research study which intended to explore the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL) assessed by Electronic-Portfolios (E-P) to foster Oral fluency skill in an EFL setting. Two questions guide this study: 1.What changes in Oral fluency skill might take place after the implementation of PBL assessed by E-P in EFL learners? 2.To what extent do students develop a self-view on their progress after using PBL assessed by E-P? The study was divided into three cycles, C1Pre-Research, C2 Research in action and C3 post research. The data collection techniques to gather the information such as observations, field notes and audio-recordings provided the following findings through checklist, pre-post tests, lesson planning, longitudinal and Thematic analysis in C1 and C2 cycles (1) the input on compensation strategies enhanced oral fluidity (2) the rate of fluency factors, in particular, Frequency of pauses, reduced notably, False starts fluctuated and Self-correction maintained a constant level in A1 apprentices’ speech production during the implementation of PBL and “PET” principles. Concerning assessment, initial findings on the use of E-P are being unfold.

ABSTRACT. This presentation seeks to describe the impact that a research study on teaching instructional texts from a Systemic Functional Genre-Based Approach perspective had on 11th EFL students’ writing skills. This perspective focused on texts as the main unit to convey meaning and increase the linguistic awareness of the students measuring the evolution of their meaning-making potential through a tool based on communication (Herazo, 2012; Swales, 1999). As an action-case study, the intervention was partially achieved through the use of an online video game called “Papa’s Pizzeria” that has a context based on daily life issues, as it is buying a pizza, and that follows a pattern in telling players what to do and how to do it. First of all, I will present the setting where these goals were attempted to be reached. Then, an explanation of the framework that supports my research based on GBA concerning the comprehension and the production of texts in English will be given. Finally, based on the video game and some pedagogical principles (Rothery & Stenglin, 1999; Martin & Rose, 2012), I will show my intervention plan along with the obtained results in which the different features of instructional texts were also shaped.

ABSTRACT. La recherche sur la construction identitaire des futurs formateurs en langues revêt une grande importance car elle permet aux programmes de Licence d’améliorer leurs processus académiques, formatifs, réflexifs et de recherche contenus dans leur Mission et leur Vision. En effet, le cadre normatif du Conseil National d’Accréditation (CNA, 2013) invite aux programmes académiques colombiens à réfléchir autour de la Mission et de la Vision formulées dans le Projet Éducatif Institutionnel (PEI) et le Projet Éducatif du Programme (PEP) par rapport à l’articulation et à la cohérence entre le curriculum et le profil professionnel des futurs diplômés.

Faire une recherche sur la construction identitaire du futur diplômé en langues en tant que « enseignant-chercheur » s’avère important, car elle permet de réfléchir à l’efficacité des processus d’enseignement, au rôle de la recherche formative et aux dispositifs mis en place pour atteindre cet objectif promulgué par ce programme de formation initiale.

Dès une perspective de la recherche narrative (Chase, 2015), cette étude a pour but comprendre et décrire la construction identitaire que les futurs formateurs en langues ont élaborées autour de l’identité « enseignant-chercheur » à travers de douze récits de vie recueillis à travers le journal de bord de 4 participants.

ABSTRACT. Grammar teaching has always been a matter of concern in the EFL classroom due to its prescriptive nature. Several teachers rely only on ELT textbooks to teach grammar, posing limitations in students’ engagement and motivation. The aim of the session is to provide participants with a solid theoretical background on how to foster intrinsic motivation in the EFL classroom by using common tools such as Ms PowerPoint. Based on the principles of Deci & Ryan’s self-determination theory: autonomy, relatedness and competence, the presenter will provide research-based evidence on how theme-based learning and gamification can target the above mentioned principles to foster intrinsic motivation, boosting students’ engagement, productivity and overall performance within the EFL classroom. Participants will learn how to effectively select and use image file formats, fonts and media elements to design an interactive experience around a grammar topic as well as effects and transitions to create practice-focused games. Attendees are expected to leave the session with a new strategy to target students’ intrinsic motivation using PowerPoint as a tool to create interactive resources for EFL grammar teaching and learning.

ABSTRACT. L’inclusion est un sujet qui a suscité beaucoup de controverses á l’intérieur des sociétés existantes. Actuellement, il existe des populations dites vulnérables qui souffrent des menaces tous les jours à cause de problèmes au niveau cognitif, physique, religieux ou intellectuel. En ce qui concerne les contextes de formation professionnelle, le manque d'information et de formation chez les futurs diplômés en termes d'inclusion font preuve des faiblesses que possèdent les systèmes éducatifs.

À cette fin, on a croisé certains éclairages théoriques par rapport à l’inclusion sociale (Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, 2002), le concept de compétence sociolinguistique (Conseil de l’Europe, 2001, p.18, 93), et la perception d’inclusion éducative (UNESCO, 2005).

Cette recherche action mené dans une licence en langues étrangères d’une Université publique en Colombie a pour objectif principal l'implémentation des ateliers de renforcement vers les théories de l'inclusion pour améliorer la compétence sociolinguistique des étudiants de FLE niveau B1. Pour rendre compte des résultats de cette étude, les instruments de collecte de donnée utilisée ont été deux entretiens semi-directifs, un journal de bord, et trois ateliers pédagogiques.

ABSTRACT. Les méthodologies et les perspectives utilisées au cours des dernières décennies pour l’enseignement des langues impliquent la préparation de l’étudiant aux échanges en langue étrangère. Subséquemment, il est nécessaire de l’aider à développer non seulement une compétence communicative en langue cible, mais à avoir un regard critique devant son interlocuteur et à jouer le rôle de médiateur culturel. Dans le cas particulier d’une licence en langues étrangères en Colombie, on a identifié un travail culturel axé sur la comparaison de faits sociaux et des séances limitées en durée qui ne laissent pas analyser les réactions des étudiants face aux réalités de l’Autre (Torres, 2018). La présente recherche action a suivi un processus d’observation, d’implémentation et d’évaluation à l’heure de créer un espace de formation permettant la mise en œuvre de l'approche méthodologique proposée par Beacco (2018) pour le travail de l’altérité en classe de langue. De cette façon, 10 rencontres pédagogiques ont été organisées avec un groupe d’étudiants de FLE, niveau B1. Des entretiens, un journal de bord et une analyse de documents ont aidé à recueillir les données. L’analyse interprétative (Hatch, 2002) a permis d’étaler qu’il est possible de contribuer au développement des compétences analytiques chez les apprenants.

ABSTRACT. La Licence en Langues de l’Université de Pamplona compte avec un dispositif favorisant la mise en place des stages professionnels des futurs enseignants. Ceci est appelé Espaces de Pratique et vise à accompagner la formation pédagogique des étudiants. De même, il est un moyen pour que les étudiants aient un premier rapprochement à l’enseignement du français à travers le cours de Didactique. Cette étude analyse les perceptions que les stagiaires ont par rapport au traitement de la grammaire en cours de FLE d’après leur expérience pédagogique et leurs connaissances préalable. Le cadre théorique aborde quelques notions par rapport à l’enseignement de la grammaire (Cuq, 2003), (Tanriverdieva, 2002), l’approche communicative et le concept de notion grammaticale, (Besse, 1991). Quatre participants ont été choisis à travers un échantillonnage aléatoire. De même, l’observation non-participative et l’entretien directif ont été les instruments utilisés. On utilise l’analyse interprétative (Patton, 2002) à travers des critères de validation tels que la réflexion de l’expérience des participants, la relevance et la véracité de leurs apports. Les résultats révèlent la place donnée à la grammaire, la perspective adoptée par les stagiaires, son rôle lors de l’interaction et les représentations des stagiaires par rapport au traitement de la grammaire.

ABSTRACT. Some people may consider innovations in ELT as encompassing instrumental proposals where language as a structure or a communication means plays the major role. This study attempts to go beyond that instrumentalization of the Applied Linguistics to the teaching of English field in Colombia. The research question was: What transformations does the Applied Linguistics field experience through English teachers’ proposals in pedagogical innovations towards peace construction in ELT? Theoretical concepts, including Critical Applied Linguistics (CAL), peace construction and teachers’ subjectivities inform this study. Methodological decisions embrace the Qualitative approach as an interpretive one to tackle reality from less normative frames. Data collection methods involved semi-structured interviews with 4 participants as language teachers who proposed peace construction differently. I applied document revision as a data collection strategy, considering formal and informal texts. Grounded data analysis and certain principles of CDA guided interpretations of data. Preliminary findings suggest that the AL field may experience some transformations based on an interdisciplinary liaison between ELT and peace construction in its multiple versions. To explain these transformations, the grounded metaphor on “butterfly metamorphosis” is employed. Teachers’ proposals reflect epistemological and ontological transitions in AL that challenge instrumental interests to teach and research in this field.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to present a research proposal which aims to assess the impact of professional development practices and learning experiences on teachers’ knowledge for changing classroom practices at San José Del Pantano School. Guided by a case study, this research implements multiple sources of data collection, including interviews and observations. The study may offer insights about nurturing language teacher professional learning communitites (PLCs) and overcoming contradictions during their participation in PLCs. This study focuses on the shifts of identity, thinking and practice that occurs on in-service teachers’ to examine how the repositioning of mentor teachers as fellow teacher educators allows for understanding and representing their role. The review of literature suggests that partnerships within PLCs can enhance learning opportunities for all participants when commitments are made to creating collaborative and dialogical spaces to support new approaches to teacher education.

ABSTRACT. This paper aims to analyze how Content Based Instruction Approach (Richards and Rogers 2001) facilitates foreign language acquisition in beginners. It arose as a critical analysis that, first, examined students´ appropriation of new vocabulary coming from academic fields and, second, revised the incorporation of these new lexica in both: academic language activities and those related to daily life. This interest came from a bias concept:  it was absolutely necessary to establish, first, strong language basis before using content as a mean to foreign language acquisition. The ultimate goal was to observe, in three terms during a semester, how much was spontaneous language used while having theme based as a framework, and how high the communicative competence was. The evolution of this process was seen via a comparing and contrasting methodology that evaluated activities per term, applied in 15 first semester students from a Foreign Language program in Cartagena.

ABSTRACT. A crucial instructional goal in the foreign language classroom is developing students’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC). While there are several theoretical frameworks, definitions, and models of ICC, foreign language teachers continue to face challenges in incorporating it into our teaching practices. Byram’s intercultural communicative competence model, one of the most well-respected in the field, disaggregates the concept into three dimensions: knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Using this model as a guide, - and with a particular emphasis on ICC attitudes of curiosity, openness, and the ability to suspend judgment - strategies of incorporating intercultural communicative competence into our classrooms will be shared. Specifically, how does the explicit teaching of multiple cultural contexts shape English language learners’ ICC attitudes? How does highlighting the relationships between language and identity, particularly at a local level, position our students to enhance their intercultural communicative competence? And finally, how does grappling with issues of power, privilege, and prejudice deepen our students’ willingness and abilities to engage constructively and respectfully with those who are different from them? Teachers / attendees will leave this session with a strong grasp of Bryam’s model, an understanding of the importance of incorporating ICC in their classrooms as well as the inspiration to further delve into the critical nexus of intercultural communicative competence and language development.

ABSTRACT. Reading to Learn (R2L) is a literacy development model derived from genre-based pedagogy. R2L follows a set of strategies for enabling learners to read and write successfully at grade level in the curricular areas. It has been used in different countries for the development of literacy skills in students’ first language and second language in different countries around the world. However, very few studies have reported the use of R2L to instruct learners in the development of oral skills in a foreign language. This presentation reports on the results of an action-research study that explored the adaptations an English teacher made in order to enable a group of eighth-graders to understand and produce oral biographical recounts in L2-English. Particularly, the study adapted the stages of the R2L cycle for the comprehension and production of oral texts. Participants in the study were a male English teacher and a group of eighth-grade students from a secondary state school in Colombia whose results in national standardized tests had been low, particularly in L2-English. Analysis of observations, interviews, and production tasks, showed that R2L successfully helped students to independently produce oral biographical recounts, increasing consistency in the structure of students’ texts.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents the findings of a research project aimed at analyzing pre-service language teachers’ development of English academic literacy at a BA in language teaching at a Mexican university. Second language literacy is a key issue in language teaching education programs; particularly when this is the language students will teach and still needs improvement. Researchers focused their attention on aspects of the student´s academic literacy development that allowed them to reflect on what, who, how and why students read and write during the program as they gain pedagogical skills. They used a qualitative approach to conduct this small-scale study. Participants were 14 senior students of a BA in language teaching. A narrative frame was used to gather data. Narratives were categorized using the content analysis technique, which allowed the interpretation and report of results. In general terms, it was found that students in this educational program understand the reasons why they are asked to read and write and perceive the value of these skills in the development of their profession at present and in the future. This is an evidence of a possible success of the strategies used to improve the students’ second language literacy development in this program.

ABSTRACT. The use of technology is paramount in any learning process as part of an evolved education that struggles with traditional classroom models. Flipped learning is a pedagogical tool which allows learning to be individualized and let group interactions to be more productive in classroom spaces. There is a perceived need to optimize class time to develop thinking skills and autonomy as part of the tertiary level objectives. At Universidad de Cordoba language program, French language class is an optional subject with two classes per week, which is not sufficient to cope with its linguistics goals and thinking abilities development (Bloom’s taxonomy). This presentation shows an on-going research study aiming at using flipped learning approach in French classes to help teachers and learners to achieve language course objectives and to develop LOTs (Low order thinking abilities) and HOTs (High order thinking abilities) as well. This qualitative action research may demonstrate that flipped learning is an alternative approach to work on potentiating time, building autonomy, promoting self –study and students’ independent learning. Moreover this project results will be the starting point to apply this pedagogical approach to other languages, English, and other content areas as well.

ABSTRACT. The Department of Córdoba has been an impoverished and violence-wracked region in Colombia due to the influence of armed groups operating outside the law, resulting in forced displacement, and little or no access of low-income students from public primary schools to quality education, especially in foreign languages. The University of Córdoba through its Foreign Languages Licentiate Program proposed the outreach project "Bilingualism for Peace". This project promotes educational equity and peace through the development of English communicative competence in children in vulnerable conditions in Monteria, Córdoba. This presentation describes preliminary findings of an on-going exploratory-descriptive research study which main purpose is to determine the impact of the Bilingualism For Peace Outreach Project on the development of peaceful coexistence of students in their schools and family contexts. To collect the data one of the three schools where the project is being carried out was chosen and a sample of 20% of the population (30 children and their parents) were selected at random. Initial results showed improvements on the students’ English level and changes on their life attitudes, not only at schools, but also at their near contexts, with a high component of family satisfaction and good behavior.

ABSTRACT. Interacting in a foreign language like English has become a concern in language learners. Our main interest was to find out some activities that fulfilled the need to contribute in the improvement of oral interaction with more confidence in learners. To carry out this qualitative research, Cooperative Learning Activities such as debates opened-questions, filling-gap(survey), find the differences and reflection of narrative videos, were implemented to promote oral interaction. After analyzing the data gathered we concluded that oral interaction skills can be promoted through adequate activities in the classroom. Firstly, adequacy should be ensured, in terms of the amount of support that learners require for successful activity accomplishment. A second issue is the communicative and cognitive demands made by the activities; there was observed that difficulties increased as learners passed from descriptive to narrative routines. Thus, teacher support was necessary. A third issue, regards towards with using cooperative learning, students worked together and supported each other to improve their learning and complete the tasks. Moreover, cooperative learning helped students to develop social skills, interpersonal relationship and self-confidence. The findings support the view that skill-getting can happen simultaneously, and some cooperative learning activities benefit the current interaction and the overall learning process.

ABSTRACT. Esta charla taller es una sesión de desarrollo profesional para directivos y administradores de procesos de enseñanza del inglés. Se enfoca en responder dos preguntas principales: ¿Cómo se estructura un programa de educación bilingüe? ¿Qué factores deben considerarse durante el desarrollo de un programa de educación bilingüe?

ABSTRACT. La presente ponencia tiene el objetivo de abordar y analizar el marco en el que se están desarrollando los procesos de Internacionalización y la Tecnopedagogía en el Instituto de Educación Superior Gordon College Haifa. Para empezar, es de conocimiento de todos, que vivimos en un tiempo de cambios constantes, acelerados y profundos y a diferencia del pasado la circulación de ideas y personas no se circunscribe a áreas en escala de país o región, sino que por el contrario va mucho más allá de las fronteras geográficas. De tal manera que, el territorio y el espacio geográfico van cediendo su importancia a nuevos mapas de la realidad, muy alejada al carácter de nación-estado-territorio, más cercana y relacionada a un concepto de movilidad y globalización. Así, en la definición del concepto de Internacionalización que adoptamos e implementamos en el instituto Gordon College, se evidencia tanto la dimensión internacional como la intercultural, a fin de resaltar el hecho de que la internacionalización no está orientada ni restringida sólo a los estados-nación, sino que incluye e incorpora a los diferentes grupos étnicos-culturales de un país. La Tecnopedagogía y las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) fortalecieron la dinámica al permitir que la globalidad llegue al mundo con un simple clic, eliminando así las barreras espaciotemporales. La internacionalización y la Tecnopedagogía al servicio de la educación son, por tanto, las herramientas ideales mediante las cuales se busca preparar a los futuros profesionales para convivir en este mundo interconectado