25 June, 2015

Principles for Meaningful Technology Integration





Presented at 11th Anglo Congress 2014 in Montevideo, Uruguay on August 9th, 2014
Presented at CUP event in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 27th, 2014
Presented at IATEFL 2015 in Manchester, UK on April 12th, 2015

18 April, 2014

Ways of promoting creativity in the classroom


Ways of Promoting Creativity in the Classroom from Vicky Saumell

Presented at IATEFL 2014 in Harrogate, UK on April 3rd, 2014
Presented at BrazTESOL 2014 in Joao Pessoa, Brazil on May 1st, 2014
Presented at LABCI 2015 in Montevideo, Uruguay on July 9th, 2015

12 October, 2013

Speaking homework: Illusion or reality?

Speaking homework has always been deemed impossible. Not any more! This workshop will examine current drawback to setting up speaking homework and demonstrate technology tools, ideas and strategies to implement speaking homework with any level and age group.



Presented at ACINNE 2013 in Recife, Brazil on October 13th, 2013

25 September, 2013

Exploring identity and culture through creative tasks and technology

This workshop aims at showcasing and discussing different ways in which creativity and technology can be used to explore identity and cultural diversity issues. A brief theoretical framework of culture and identity will be outlined and then followed by practical advice on how to develop creative tasks using technology. Examples of such tasks and projects done by students, including the tools used, will be showcased to demonstrate how they can be introduced into different contexts.



Presented at FAAPI 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 27th, 2013

21 July, 2013

Meaningful Use of Web 2.0 Projects


Meaningful Use of Web 2.0 Projects from Vicky Saumell

Presented at Casa Thomas Jefferson Conference in Brasilia, Brazil on July 19th, 2013
Presented at Pearson TDC+ in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 26th, 2013

19 April, 2013

Attracting a real audience for learners through e-publishing


This session is about the benefits of attracting a real audience for your learners through the use of e-publishing tools. I will define e-publishing in a language learning setting and we will brainstorm and discuss benefits such as motivation, more attention to accuracy, ownership and the importance of purpose on the part of the students, among others.  We will also try to identify drawbacks and ways to minimize them and address the issue of reciprocity (the importance of becoming a real audience for other learners as well).

Examples of a variety of free e-publishing tools appealing to teachers with or without experience in the integration of technology will be presented. The tools will be shown through samples of actual students’ projects. Some of the tools to be shown are: Bookr, Issuu, Calameo, My Ebook, Brainshark, Storybird, wikis and blogs.

We will also look at some tools and strategies for spreading the word about your students’ work as well as for finding interesting projects for which your students can be a real audience.

We will finally work on the relationship between these benefits, the tools and pedagogically sound practices in the classroom to allow teachers to make effective choices regarding e-publishing in their unique contexts.



Attracting a real audience for learners through e-publishing from Vicky Saumell

Presented at IATEFL 2013 in Liverpool, England on April 9th, 2013
Presented at Cultura Inglesa, Casa Forte in Recife,  Brazil on April 29th, 2014

05 November, 2012

Cultural Awareness and Diversity in the adult classroom

Culture is not usually at the heart of EFL teachers’ concerns. This talk aims at showing how your coursebook can serve as the perfect springboard to dive into cultural issues, an essential and integral aspect of language. I will show examples of how topics usually found in course books can be given a cultural focus and be transformed into opportunities for worthwhile discussion and learning about intercultural issues. The use of authentic materials will also be referred to as a means to engage learners in meaningful tasks that promote cultural awareness and respect. I will go over the process of adapting such course book materials, coming up with authentic cultural links and using the power of the world wide web to find and organize authentic materials that can bring these links to life and provide a meaningful opportunity for discussion and learning. This process will be made transparent and systematized for easy implementation by any teacher. Presented at Teacher Development Conference in Cusco, Peru on October 26th, 2012.