19th BETA-IATEFL Annual Conference

2009-12-30 12:48 | Danuta Rurańska

19th BETA-IATEFL Annual Conference
23-25 April 2010, Veliko Turnovo
SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT

DEAR COLLEAGUE,

We are pleased to invite you to join us for the 19th BETA-IATEFL Annual International Conference, which will take place from 23-25 April 2010 in the historic city of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria. The place is conveniently located in the heart of Bulgaria and within easy reach from all Bulgarian international airports (Sofia, Varna, Burgas). The event will be hosted by the American College Arcus and the University of Veliko Turnovo, picturesquely situated in the Old Town and on the Sveta Gora Hill, to create a unique and inspiring environment for the forum.

The conference theme, “ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN DIVERSE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND CULTURES,” provides a broad platform for a vibrant exchange of ideas on a wide range of topics: Teacher Education; Teacher Training and Development; Mentoring; Teaching Young Learners; ESP; Business English; Literature, Media &Cultural Studies; Testing, Evaluation and Assessment; English Across the Curriculum; Learning Technologies; Global Issues; Bilingual Education; ELT Management and many others, related to ELT in Bulgaria and internationally.

The Conference programme will provide a mixture of plenary sessions, presentations and workshops as well as varied social events. As usual, internationally prominent professionals in the field of ELT are invited as plenary speakers. Confirmed keynote speakers so far are David Newby (Austria), Tessa Woodward (UK), Mario Rinvolucri (UK), Svetlana Dimitrova (Bulgaria). An ELT Book Exhibition of major ELT Publishers will accompany the conference. Their latest titles will be available for inspection and purchase at special conference prices throughout the event.

On 23rd April 2010, we plan to organize a PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT, devoted to teacher education and development. The theme of the forum, “TEACHERS AS LIFELONG LEARNERS,” will give a special focus to the role of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages - EPOSTL (ECML, Council of Europe 2007) for teachers’ continuous growth. The event will be held in the form of presentations, workshops and a round-table where professionals of different foreign languages can get together and swap ideas and experiences on various uses of the Portfolio: e.g., as a tool for reflective learning in teacher education, mentor training and development, in-service teacher training, course development and curriculum design, etc. Anyone interested in these areas of inquiry will be most welcome to attend the event and share their own experiences (also with portfolios other than the EPOSTL) and learn from the experiences of others. The working languages of the pre-conference event will be Bulgarian, English and German. Simultaneous interpretation will be available.

Deadline for submission of applications: 1st February 2010. For more details about participant and speaker proposal forms, fees and accommodation check www.beta-iatefl.org. For further queries, concerning the conference, contact Sylvia Velikova at beta.iateflbg@gmail.com or sylvia.velikova@gmail.com. We hope you will take this opportunity to connect and network professionally with colleagues from all over Bulgaria and beyond! Looking forward to seeing you in Veliko Tunovo!

Best regards,
BETA-IATEFL Committee