Event Details

  • Start Date 24/06/2023
  • Start Time 10:00
  • End Date 24/06/2023
  • End Time 12:00

Trends in Corporate Language Learning with Evan Frendo

At the recent IATEFL conference in Harrogate I was invited to give a plenary on English for the workplace. I started by describing what English for the workplace is, focussing very much on the idea that the people using English in the workplace are primarily users of English, not learners. The priority is on getting the job done, not how “good” the English is. I also focussed on just how context-specific most workplace interactions are. I then looked at perspectives of workplace language learning from outside the ELT industry  I quoted various insiders from different companies and showed that the reality is a very mixed picture, but that trends are emerging. One of these is that informal learning is becoming much more significant in how people learn languages in the workplace – the days of beautifully designed formal courses may be coming to an end, replaced by a wide range of other learning resources, ranging from social learning, to on-the-job learning, to microlearning and gamification. None of these involve the traditional classroom. Our roles in future may increasingly be to curate these assets and make them accessible to the learner when and where they need them, rather than follow the time honoured ADDIE model. I finished by suggesting that if we wish to remain relevant we need to 1. learn a lot more about how people in the workplace learn languages; 2. change the way we think about teacher training, education and development; and 3. learn to use the new technologies, particularly AI.

This session is very much a follow-up to this plenary. I will start by briefly outlining the key points from my plenary, and then we will break into small groups and discuss some of the issues and trends which are influencing how we operate as teachers and trainers in corporate contexts. The aim is to share experiences and perspectives, and perhaps even discuss what we need to do in order to remain relevant.

Note: the full plenary can be accessed here:  https://lnkd.in/ev3sh_Vj. Geoff Jordan reviewed the talk here: https://applingtesol.wordpress.com/2023/04/19/thoughts-on-evan-frendos-plenary-english-for-the-workplace-iatefl-2023/

 

Biodata:

Evan Frendo has been involved in ESP/ business English teaching since 1993. He is based in Berlin, but his work, at least before COVID, took him to many places in Europe and Asia. Nowadays he divides his time between training, writing and consulting, almost all of it online.  For more information see www.e4b.de.

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Cost for ELTAF or other ELTA members: FREE; non-members: EUR 10.

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