On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its founding, in cooperation with the Slovak Chamber of English Language Teachers (SKA), the Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies (KLIŠ) hosted the third international conference entitled “Lifelines and Life Skills: ELT for the Real World”, held on 22-23 September 2017, at the Faculty of Education of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (UKF).
The conference, which was held under the auspices of Andrej Kiska, the current president of the Slovak Republic, was opened with speeches from prof. Mgr. Eva Szórádová, CSc., the Dean of the Faculty of Education, who was followed by doc. Mgr. Božena Horváthová, PhD., the head of the Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies and Linda M. Steyne, PhD., the chairwoman of the Slovak Chamber of English Language Teachers.
The two-day conference was formally divided into plenaries and workshops. The plenaries were held by experts from the universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Budapest and Vienna. The workshops were led by experienced teachers with rich and long-term practice in the field of English language teaching.
The workshops were focused on practical tips for teachers which could be applied directly to pupils and students of all age groups and language levels. The conference was attended by more than 100 experts and teachers from ten countries, demonstrating the interest not only of foreign lecturers but also of Slovak teachers, to follow the latest trends in foreign language education and their application to local conditions.
The conference workshops were held in six sections:
- teaching English to young learners
- teaching English at lower secondary level of education
- teaching English at secondary schools
- teaching English at universities
- teaching English to adults
- teaching Business English
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who supported and helped with the organisation of this remarkable event – which was primarily devoted to English language teachers at primary and secondary schools. We believe that they will be able to implement what they experienced in their practice easily.
The Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies is looking forward to meeting you again next year as well as to a continuing cooperation!
Author of the text: Mgr. Diana Židová, PhD.
English version: Mgr. Jana Kamenická
Photo by: Ondrej Koščík