Teaching beyond Boundaries
For most people, the word ‘boundary’ brings to mind concepts like limits, restrictions and divisions, especially when there are still many walls and border fences that continue to separate nations and thoughts. However, with the changing views of mobility and the increasing number of opportunities available across the globe, boundaries have started to fade, affecting many professions along the way.
The field of ELT encompasses many such changes. Following the new trends, we as English teachers dedicate ourselves not only to developing our students’ language skills, but also to fostering a sense of awareness in learners to help them become more responsible global citizens.
Considering the changing perspectives and needs in the context of English language education, we can also talk about many other boundaries that we come across in our professional life, from the curriculum that may make us feel restricted, to the materials, tests or deadlines. On the other hand, we, as teachers, sometimes prefer to set boundaries in order to create a more peaceful and effective classroom environment.
Despite variations in practice, we mostly share the same goal: to welcome all these challenges and provide the best opportunities for our learners to become competent language users who can think critically and use their communication skills effectively. In this respect, the 13th METU International ELT Convention aims to cover any issues implying boundaries for us to go beyond in teaching, learning and researching, related to (but not limited to):
- World Englishes; ELF; EIL
- Cultural studies in English Language Teaching
- Assessment Techniques and Methodology
- Curriculum and Material Development
- English Language Teacher Education
- Applied Linguistics (including sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics)
- Corpus studies
- Literature in English Language Teaching
- Teaching and Learning Practices
- Research methods in related fields
We would like to welcome you all to the 13th METU International ELT Convention to define our boundaries and offer solutions to go beyond them by sharing different perspectives, implementations and practices in English language education.
