The 8th International Conference on TESOL was successfully held by the English Language Center (ELC) at Shantou University from April 15th to 17th, 2016. The theme of this year’s conference was “Bridging ELT Theory and Practice: Innovations and Reservations in the Digital Age”. The opening ceremony started at 8:30 a.m. on April 15th, with our guests of honor: Prof. Lin Danming, Vice President of Shantou University; Prof. Roland Sussex, Research Professor in the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation at the University of Queensland, Australia; Professor He Lianzhen, Dean of the School of International Studies, Zhejiang University; Prof. Arthur McNeill, Director of the Center for Language Education at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Mr. Li Hongzhao, Vice Chairman, Shantou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese; Ms. Yang Rong, Director of Academic and Societies Affairs Department, Shantou Association for Science and Technology; Dr. Lawrence Liao, Deputy Director of the Office of the President of Shantou University and Head of the International Cooperation Department; Prof. Quan Hongling, Former Dean of College of Foreign Languages, Xinjiang Normal University; Prof. Joanna Radwanska-Williams, Editor of the Journal of Intercultural Communication Studies and Professor of English at Macao Polytechnic Institute; Mr. Jack Purdie, Director of Office of Development and External Relations, Washington State University; Madame Julia Hsiao, Director of International and Special Projects, Li Ka Shing Foundation, sent her regards to the success of the Conference. The chair of the Academic Committee, Mark McAndrews, hosted the ceremony and the Director of English Language Center Professor Mao Sihui gave a welcome speech.
More than 100 professors, teachers and scholars from both mainland China and overseas such as America, Australia, HK, Macao, Singapore participated in the conference. The conference programme includes roughly sixty individual paper presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and posters, representing a rich diversity of topics, from the innovative use of technologies, to intercultural communication, curriculum development, critical thinking and beyond. About 30 Chinese and International teachers of ELC, Shantou University carried out workshops and panel discussions and presented their papers and researches based on the English teaching and learning practice in Shantou University.
Six distinguished plenary speakers made excellent presentations sharing their innovative ideas of language education. In his presentation, Prof. Roland Sussex encourages participants to consider how aspects of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) could be integrated into the teaching and learning of languages in the future. Prof. Mao Sihui explores what critical thinking and transcultural communicative competence mean in the contemporary context of globalized media, and suggests innovative ways teachers and students can enhance these skills in the TESOL classroom. Prof. He Lianzhen presents insights into the ongoing reforms of the college enrollment system in China, which include the development of the China Standards of English (CSE), and the National English Test System (NETS). Pro. Arthur McNeill, describes context-customized lexical profiling software that allows learners to compare the vocabulary in their writing to given wordlists, and presents evidence for the effectiveness of this type of digital language learning tool. Through video call, Prof. Andy Curtis and Prof. Liying Cheng were able to share their ideas with all the participants of the Conference. Andy Curtis explores the concept of emerging global literacies and its implications for the teaching and learning of English in the digital age. Liying Cheng presents results and implications of her study into the grading practices of Chinese English teachers.
Hosting the closing panel session, Prof. Mao Sihui expressed his gratitude to all the presenters and participants of this year’s Conference. The panel members, Arthur McNeill, Roland Sussex, Joanna Radwanska-Williams, Quan Hongling and Liu Shaolong (Zhejiang University of Technology) discussed the essentials of this Conference and shared their vision of the future of English teaching in the digital age.
This Conference served as a forum where language education professionals and students from China and around the world can share, engage with, debate, and create new ideas and new ways in TESOL. It also provided a great opportunity to present the unique features and fruits of English teaching in Shantou University to colleagues from other universities.
The ELC 9th International Conference on TESOL will be held in 2018.
Editors: Mark McAndrews, Vera Ma
