TEFL lecture series

Motivating stories and stirring images, high quality language input, essential phonological and semantic repetition, genuine communication when talking around texts, empathy training, perspective-taking and opportunities for creativity, these are just some of the reasons for sharing stories in the primary school. The picturebook has over the last several decades developed into a highly sophisticated multimodal format, essentially defined by the interaction between the words and pictures as vital to the meaning-making process. During and between the readings of a picturebook, both language development and cognitive development of the young learners can take place, and visual literacy of the teacher as well as the children. This presentation will look at the many language-related educational goals possible when we include children’s literature in language education, and the roles of the teacher in sharing a picturebook. I will give examples using Anthony Browne’s classic picturebook Zoo.

Janice Bland is Professor of English Education at Nord University, Norway. Her main interests are children’s and young adult literature in English language education, multiple literacies, in-depth learning, creative writing and drama methodology. Janice is editor-in-chief of the open access journal, Children’s Literature in English Language Education.

Date: 05/05/2021 from 18:00-19:30 CET [30 min presentation + discussion + interview]

Zoom: uni-bamberg.zoom.us/j/97007777365
Passcode: Primary1!

Meeting ID: 970 0777 7365

English language teaching materials in Swiss primary schools are fraught with images and examples that upon closer scrutiny, need unpacking or even replacement to steer learners away from stereotypes and to promote deeper thought and encourage exposure to the world. The purpose of this lecture is multifold. Firstly, you will be introduced to the Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards and shown how these can be applied to standard coursebook images for basic A1, A2 and B1 level activities and see that these same activities can be applied to images and texts from other sources, such as international newspapers’ images of the day. Secondly, results of a classroom experiment with pre-service teachers using the Dispositions for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Scale will be shared and ideas for prompting discussion provided. Finally, larger projects that could be done in EFL lessons in public primary schools to promote an anti-bias stance to education will be suggested. 

Laura Loder-Büchel is a teacher trainer at Zurich University of Teacher Education. You can read more about her here: https://phzh.ch/personen/laura.loder

Date: 12/05/2021 from 18:00-19:30 CET [30 min presentation + discussion + interview]

Zoom: uni-bamberg.zoom.us/j/97007777365
Passcode: Primary1!

Meeting ID: 970 0777 7365

When teaching English as a foreign language to young learners, the focus is usually on oral skills: speaking and listening. Reading and writing are ascribed a supportive function, yet they are partly being neglected overall. This presentation will provide details about the status of written competences in the primary EFL classroom and critically discuss pro and con arguments in the debate on early biliteracy. It will outline research results as well as practical suggestions as to how teachers can (and should) include reading and writing activities with young language learners. I will also make a case for challenging reading and writing activities that are interesting and relevant for young learners, also touching in supportive measures and differentiation in heterogeneous learner groups. Without contesting the primacy of oral skills, the question is no longer if reading and writing should be included in early foreign language learning, but how.

Julia Reckermann holds a junior professorship for teaching English as a foreign language at the University of Muenster. One of her foci is teaching young language learners. She is a fully trained primary school English teacher and has conducted her PhD on reading picture books in the primary school EFL classroom.

Date: 19/05/2021 from 18:00-19:30 CET [30 min presentation + discussion + interview]

Zoom: uni-bamberg.zoom.us/j/97007777365
Passcode: Primary1!

Meeting ID: 970 0777 7365

Managing a smooth transition (and not gap!) between primary and secondary schools has been quite a challenge. On top of that, questionable prejudices and assumptions like “they only sing and play at primary schools” or “they only focus on grammar and vocab tests at secondary schools” contribute to a rough path to successfully generate a “bridge” between primary and secondary level of education.

In this lecture, we will be dealing with a specific element of this challenge: assessment.
1. We will look at natural biases (e.g. effects like Halo, leniency, primacy, …) that influence our assessment of learners.
2. Together, we will collect and discuss different examples of assessment tasks in the areas of speaking, writing, listening and reading – for both primary and secondary level.
3. Finally, we will talk about how to manage the transition between primary and secondary schools.

Martin Bastkowski has taught at primary and secondary schools in Germany, Ireland and the US. Currently, he is head of the foreign languages department and member of the school management at a comprehensive school in Lower Saxony, visiting lecturer for English language education at the English Department at Hildesheim University, author and advisor for teaching materials and teacher-trainer.

Date: 09/06/2021 from 18:00-19:30 CET [30 min presentation + discussion + interview]

Zoom: uni-bamberg.zoom.us/j/97007777365
Passcode: Primary1!

Meeting ID: 970 0777 7365

Many studies have shown that most students attending bilingual programmes develop much higher levels of foreign language proficiency than students in “traditional” foreign language lessons. In Bavaria, bilingual programmes already have a longer tradition at secondary schools. However, since 2015 bilingual programmes have also been initiated at several Bavarian primary schools. In our presentation, we will illustrate similarities and differences between the teaching strategies used in regular English lessons and in bilingual programmes. Then we will summarize the results of studies examining questions teachers, parents and school administrators are often concerned about, for example: Do students in bilingual programmes show deficits in the development of their native language or in the development of subject knowledge? Are bilingual programmes also suitable for children from migrant backgrounds and for children who are at risk of poor academic achivement? Finally, we will discuss how children who attended a bilingual programme in primary school should be supported in secondary school.

Thorsten Piske is Professor and Chair of Foreign Language Education at the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. His research focuses on first and second language acquisition and on bilingual education. His recent publications reflect his strong interest in the implications of first and second language research for language classrooms.

Steinlen, Anja is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Foreign Language Education at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. In 2002, she completed her PhD on L2 speech learning at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. Her work currently focuses on first, second and third language acquisition in bilingual and regular institutions, especially with regard to children with a migration background and learning disabilities. The results of her PhD and post-doc projects have been published in two books (2005, 2021).

Date: 16/06/2021 from 18:00-19:30 CET [30 min presentation + discussion + interview]

Zoom: uni-bamberg.zoom.us/j/97007777365
Passcode: Primary1!

Meeting ID: 970 0777 7365

Possibly the most powerful and most underused tool we have for increasing language ability and knowledge is self-selected fiction. It works for first language, second language, and heritage language development, is pleasant, and low-cost. Self-selected reading also includes, of course, “light” reading, such as comic books and graphic novels. To take advantage of self-selected reading, however, students must have access to reading material.

Stephen Krashen has published over 500 articles and a dozen scholarly books in the fields of literacy, language acquisition, neurolinguistics, and bilingual education. He is the most frequently cited scholar in language education.

Date: 23/06/2021 from 18:00-19:30 CET [30 min presentation + discussion + interview]

Zoom: uni-bamberg.zoom.us/j/97007777365
Passcode: Primary1!

Meeting ID: 970 0777 7365