The 26th Annual Virtual NileTESOL Conference

Dr. Deena Boraie

Dr. Deena Boraie will speak about "The Science of Learning and Coping with the New Normal"  On Friday Januanry 28, 2022 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Bio: Dr. Deena Boraie is the Vice President for Student Life at the American University in Cairo. Dr. Boraie is currently the Senior Advisor to Egypt’s Minister of Education for assessment, examinations, and curriculum. Dr. Boraie is a language testing expert and an assessment and evaluation consultant and trainer with extensive experience working with education projects and organizations in Egypt and the region. She is a Trustee of the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF). She is Past President (she served as President from 2013-2014) of the TESOL International Association, a large U.S.-based international association for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. She has published and presented extensively at international conferences on assessment literacy, language testing and assessment, teacher beliefs, student and teacher motivation, teacher professional development and English as a lingua franca. Dr. Boraie holds a PhD in Education (language testing) from the University of Wolverhampton in the UK.

Summary: Our experience during the pandemic challenged us all to use new technologies in our teaching and find new ways to effectively engage students. The pandemic has also had a negative impact on many students’ academic progress and some have experienced unfinished learning or learning loss. A number of educators have turned to the science of learning to find practical ways to enhance their teaching and support students' learning. The science of learning is a multidisciplinary field that studies how learning occurs to help us rethink the way we teach to optimize learning for all students. This presentation will discuss a number of effective teaching / learning strategies in light of findings from the science of learning. The presenter will also reflect on how the science of learning has shown that learning styles is a myth in spite of the fact that many educators still believe in them.

Genevieve Gilmore

Genevieve Gilmore will speak about "Blending ESL Face-to-Face Teaching with Online Learning" On Friday, January 28, 2022, from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Bio: Genevieve Gilmore is CEO at Prosper Education and a 20-year veteran in Edtech, teaching at one of Australia’s most distinguished schools for 10 years, before co-founding 3P Learning in 2003, which went on to list on the ASX in 2013. Her passion for how education can change lives led her to co-founding World’s Math Day in 2007.  As a direct result of the Games, enough UNICEF School-in-a-Box packs have been donated to send 33,000 students to school in developing countries. In 2016, Genevieve moved into the SAAS world as Chief Operations Officer at Learnosity, a B2B educational technology company that offers a suite of assessment technologies (APIs) which enable organisations to easily incorporate powerful, interactive assessment capabilities into any digital product, new or existing. In that same year, Genevieve was also recognized as one of the top 50 Global Makers & Shakers of Education Technology by EdTechXGlobal and WISE.

Summary: Creating a learning environment that can adapt to today’s ever changing social, economic and health requirements is challenging.  We will discuss how to use technology to support a consistent approach to learning during these challenging times - without adding more pressure to teachers’ already busy schedules.  The focus is on young ESL learners, however is applicable to most learners.

Claire Hart

Claire Hart will speak about "Getting students talking in online lessons" On Friday, January 28, 2022, from 3:30 pm to 4:00 pm

Bio: Claire Hart has been involved in the teaching and learning of English since 2007. Having grown up in the UK, Claire graduated from the University of Cambridge before moving abroad to teach English: first to France, then Italy and then Germany, where she now resides. Claire has taught in a wide range of different contexts including secondary and tertiary education, language schools and adult education colleges. Since 2010, Claire has also published ELT materials and she is the author of the New Hello! Secondary student books levels 1-3. An experienced online teacher, Claire enjoys helping other teachers to succeed in this sometimes challenging teaching scenario.

Summary: This session will provide helpful advice about how to deal with the inhibitions that can stop students from communicating verbally in online lessons. We'll first look at how to prepare lessons and adapt materials for the online context, before focusing on classroom management techniques and sustaining engagement. There will also be lots of suggestions for online speaking activities and discussions about how to use them in your teaching context.

Hind Kassir

Hind Kassir will speak about "Blended Learning Aligned with SDGs & the Innovation Theory of the Entrepreneurship" On Friday, January 28, 2022, from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Bio: I was selected among the top 20 women leaders for 2022 in Education by the corporate magazine. I am the CEO and Founder of SEEDS and my vision is to develop human capital through professional consultation services seeking innovative development with the spirit of well-being for youth our core focus. I am an advisor for education partnerships and implementation with Ghana education service agency and in the UAE working with the educator sector at the governmental level. I am an advisor for education with Sheikhah Azza Bint  Rashid al Neaimi Ajman - with Himaya Foundation. I was a key speaker for youth empowerment in Espoo (Finland) and Vatican (Rome) and member of the international foundation of professional development in New York for women empowerment. My focus is to build an operational plan to support youth after the COVID-19 and seek for all students who were affected by the COVID19 and left their academic tracks in order to provide for them new opportunities for work. My line of research and publication focus on science inquiry and global impact on education policies and reforms in the Arab region.

Summary: This session discusses the current global status. Focus will be on additional modern reforms after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Blended Learning is a NEED, the localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is essential with focus on tools and outcomes. The presenter will also focus on WHY entrepreneurships are much needed. Time will be allowed for questions and answers.

Dr. Keith Folse

Dr. Keith Folse will speak about "Meeting the New Norms in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary Successfully" On Friday, January 28, 2022, from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Bio: Dr. Keith Folse is a Professor of TESOL at the University of Central Florida where he teaches in several programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.  He has taught English for 40 years in the US, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Japan, and Kuwait.  He has also taught French in the US and Spanish in Japan. In addition to teaching languages, Dr. Folse is also an avid language learner and has studied six foreign languages: French, Spanish, Arabic, Malay, Japanese, and German.

Summary: Vocabulary is important in learning a new language. Without vocabulary, you cannot communicate in that language. In today’s talk, we will look at what recent research on vocabulary in a second language tells us as teachers and as learners. What things have changed during the recent move to online teaching? Will these changes last?

Gregg Sotiropoulos

Gregg Sotiropoulos will speak about "Work Ethic: Preparing our Future  Global Agents of Change to compete in today’s ever-changing world." On Friday, January 28, 2022, from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Bio: Gregg Sotiropoulos (BA, MBA) was born in New York, USA. He began his career in education as an elementary school teacher in 1998 in New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Education, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and has participated in numerous seminars and conferences concentrating on Leadership, Coaching, Negotiations and Training. He has extensive experience in teaching English as a foreign language at all levels. He is currently working for MM Publications as an ELT consultant and teacher trainer.

Summary: As a father of two wonderful children and an educationalist for over 20 years, I have experienced just how important the concept of “work ethic” is for our students. We will examine this concept by looking further into how we can prepare and advocate work ethic as a creative, meaningful, self-fulfilling and productive competence. It starts at home, continues through school, and thus helps children understand their position in the family, in their homes, in their community and in the world.

Katherine Bensel

Katherine Bensel will speak about "Teaching with Technology: Using Close Reading Tools to Improve English Skills" On Friday, January 28, 2022, from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm



Bio: Katherine Bensel joined StudySync in 2014 after developing a passion for academic design during her six years as a classroom teacher and instructional coach. Driven to find equitable learning solutions for today’s learners, Katherine began building award-winning instructional materials for English Language Arts and English Language Learners programs. Katherine leads the development of StudySync’s English Learner programs and approach to differentiation. Katherine currently serves as a Senior Director of Curriculum and continues to design and create interactive and engaging content for students and teachers. Katherine currently lives with her husband in Columbus, Ohio, and she enjoys hand-crafting amazing gifts for her friends and colleagues.

Summary: How can we support students’ English Language development and acquisition by reading literature? More importantly, how can we do this while teaching online? In this session, you will learn proven strategies to support your students’ English language development and acquisition using StudySync’s Global Language Arts close reading routine. While leveraging technology and media to engage and inspire students in their academic pursuits, StudySync provides ELA educators with an easy-to-use platform to deliver adaptable, interactive, and equitable learning solutions, ready and tested for remote learning.

Jonathan Hadley

Jonathan Hadley will speak about "Engaging primary pupils in an online classroom" On Saturday, January 29, 2022, from 11:00 am to 11:30 am

Bio: Jonathan Hadley has worked in ELT for 27 years as an English teacher, teacher trainer and curriculum/materials writer, working with both children and adults. With MAs in Applied Linguistics/TESOL and Arabic and Islamic Studies, he specialises in educational reform programmes in North Africa and the Middle East, working with teachers, educational institutions and Ministries of Education. Jonathan is particularly interested in the challenges of teaching English to large, multi-level classes.

Abstract: This presentation will look at ways to bring the textbook to life in an online world. Using examples from York Press’s Connect 4 coursebook and digital resources, we will explore some tools and strategies for motivating pupils, maintaining their interest and keeping their focus, as well as maximizing opportunities for communicative interaction in a virtual classroom.

Paul Ashe

Paul Ashe will speak about "Staying connected and one step ahead with Connect Plus" On Saturday, January 29, 2022, from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm

Bio: Paul Ashe has been involved in the world of TEFL since 1997. He is a lifelong learner and has experienced various areas of the ELT sector as teacher, print and digital materials writer, editor, online and F2F teacher trainer, Academic Manager, School Director & Educational Consultant. Paul has been involved in Business and Academic Management and Consultancy since 2004 and has provided consultancy for several publishers. He has been a senior manager of a large private language school and is qualified and experienced in online marketing and E-learning. He is CLIL qualified and as a teacher trainer he has helped State and Private School teachers around the world in conjunction with their respective Ministries of Education and international organisations. He has trained teachers on a range of courses, from Business Management, Academic Management, Online Tutoring, CELTA, DELTA, TKT, Business English Teaching and Customer Service.

Abstract: The World Economic Forum's 'Schools of the Future' report outlined what education needs to do to become future-proof. However, long before this report was published, York Publishing and Longman Egypt had already started working on the recipe for success in order to keep up with and stay ahead of changes. We shall see how the original vision to transform and catapult a nation into the future, through education from the roots up, can be seen in the print and digital elements of Connect Plus.

Georgios Kormpas

Georgios Kormpas will speak about "The Power of Adaptive Learning for EAP Instruction" On Saturday, January 29, 2022, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Bio: Georgios Kormpas is the Director of Teaching, Skills and Development Center at Al Yamamah University in Saudi Arabia. He is an instructor at the Humanities Department, under the College of Law in Al Yamamah University. He is currently teaching Critical Thinking, Introduction to Social Science, and Introduction to Psychology. Georgios has had experience teaching English at the INTERLINK International Institute located at Al Yamamah University for the last 7 years. He is also involved with the Executive Education Department where he assists with curriculum development of different topics as the Senior Academic Specialist. Georgios holds a Diploma in Teaching from Saint Michael’s University in Colchester Vermont, as well as, an MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the same College. Georgios is currently undertaking a Ph.D. in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning, at the university of Lancaster in the UK at the School of Education. He focuses on teacher motivation on tertiary education in Saudi Arabia.

Summary: New Interactions is a five level EAP series for students studying at Higher Education institutes requiring English as part of their studies. The fully integrated online course offers a rich environment that expands students’ learning and supports teachers’ teaching with automatically graded practice, assessment, classroom presentation tools, online community and more. In this demo, you’ll get a look into the content and the technology behind New Interactions.

Dean Blaine

Dean Blaine will speak about "The Egyptian Scholastic Test: Show the World You're Ready" On Saturday, January 29, 2022, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

 

Bio: Dean Blaine has spent his career as a writer and educator. For years, he taught English as a second language, and he has written and edited English assessment tests for a number of publishers. He has specialized in helping students learn the proper use and pronunciation of American English, and is an expert in fields including music, science, history, art, and literature. He has worked with ESL students ranging in age from five to 18, and taught English at all levels from beginner to advanced. Dean has also worked as a journalist in the United States, contributing travel articles and other stories to magazines, newspapers, and online outlets; including Norwegian Cruise Lines, Hyatt Hotels, and Booking. His work has taken him to more than 30 countries, and six continents. He had the pleasure to visit Egypt in 2008, as a guest of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, and was immediately enthralled by the people. the food, and the unmistakable ancient history. Dean resides in Los Angeles, California.

Summary: The Egyptian Scholastic Test (EST) is a standardized exam designed to provide American Diploma students with the confidence they need to take their next steps in education. The EST is an assessment of college readiness in the essential subjects of reading, writing, and mathematics; through tests of both cognitive and analytical skills. The EST provides both students and universities with meaningful evaluations to aid in academic decisions.