ICELT 2009

When opportunity comes knocking, seize it and make the best out of it.

Thanks to JPNJ for sponsoring me to attend the 2009 International Conference on English Language Teaching (ICELT).This year, it will be held at Equatorial Hotel, Malacca for two consecutive days (10-11 Nov 2009). Just like MELTA Conference, this event will be attended by local and international English Language practitioners and I'll be presenting a paper in front of these people. This is my first time so you could imagine how jittery I am. Frankly speaking, I'm still contemplating on the topic of my presentation and Monday is the dateline for the proposal, yikes!

Well, since the ICELT's theme is Profiting from Learner and Teacher Investment in ELT, I thought Education Technology would be an apt topic, after all, being IT-savvy would enable teachers to create an engaging lesson with the help of multimedia applications. Now, some people might mention that multimedia-based software in the market is rather expensive. Fret not, there are cheaper yet effective alternatives available online : freeware and games online. Voila! That's it! I shall present a paper on "Utilizing educational freeware and games in promoting self-access learning in ELT. "

I've always been a staunch supporter for Internet and multimedia-based learning. I practically use it on daily basis and I know most of my students are online and IT-savvy too. My students and I interact via Facebook and we blog as well albeit different areas of interest. I won't be surprised if some of them are more advanced than me, they quickly adapt and embrace the technology as naturally as breathing. That what inspires me to delve deeper into the wonderful realm of multimedia software and application as they offer delectable arrays of possibilities for effective language learning. I know some English Language practitioners have qualms in developing their own materials via freeware. Indeed, it's rather time consuming and a wee bit daunting but once you got the hang of it, it would be a great investment for both teachers and students.

I have practically one month to prepare for this. It's make or break so wish me luck!