YLTISG and LASIG are excited to join forces and present our 2023 Pre-Conference Event (PCE), taking place on 17 April in Harrogate, UK and online in hybrid format. This event recognises that autonomy means very different things for learners of different ages, and puts age-appropriacy at the heart of the practical ideas being presented.
The day will feature a plenary session from a leading name in both learner autonomy and teaching young learners, Annamaria Pinter, two highly practical and active workshops, and a panel discussion as well as great networking opportunities.
This event will be taking place in a hybrid format with all fully paid delegates receiving joining instructions nearer the time for both formats. The price to attend this event is the same, whether you are attending virtually or physically.
To register for this event, visit IATEFL’s website.
Plenary talk:
Title: Autonomy for All: from Pre-schoolers to Young Adults
Abstract: In this talk I will start by sharing my own personal conception of ‘autonomy’ and how it links with other learner-centred approaches and child-centred philosophies of learning and researching.
I will, first of all, discuss why and how I have become passionate about developing learner autonomy with young language learners of all ages. I will then outline the essential characteristics of autonomous classrooms as I see them, and drawing on inspirational work from the broader interdisciplinary literature, I will illustrate through concrete examples what can be implemented with various age groups, including pre-schoolers, and primary as well as secondary school learners.
The ideas will serve as a starting point for discussion and sharing experiences in the audience.
Bio: Annamaria Pinter is a Reader at the Department of Applied Linguistics, the University of Warwick, UK. Her research interests focus on all aspects of second/ foreign language education for children, task-based second language teaching, and engaging children actively in research. She has published widely in the area of teaching English to children and has a strong international reputation in TEYL and second language teacher education. She is the author of Teaching Young Language Learners Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers, Oxford University Press (second edition, 2017), Children Learning Second Languages, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), and joint series editor of Early Language Learning in School Contexts by Multilingual Matters.
Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group 