Tuesday August 31, 4-5:30 pm

Online Event

VicTESOL, the state association for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) & Multicultural Education, is holding our next annual Symposium on Tuesday 31 August. This will be live online from 4-5:30pm AEST.  For this event, we have a panel of speakers, experts in TESOL and multicultural education and related fields who will discuss what they see as implications of the COVID pandemic for the field of teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL) in Victoria and Australia.  

They will discuss what TESOL might look like in the next few years and in the longer term as a result of what we are currently experiencing. With the pausing and slowing of some programs during the pandemic, is there a chance that TESOL and other programs may change?  Is there a chance that while there are no new arrivals that existing programs and services will be affected, not only in the short term, but also in the longer term? How might this look? What might be some of the advantages of possible changes? What might be some less positive consequences of change during and post COVID? What can we do to prepare ourselves for ensuring we maintain and build on the quality of EAL and associated learning and support that has been established over many, many years?

Panelists:

Jessica Bishop, Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne)

Margaret Corrigan, CEO of Carringbush Adult Education and President of the Australian Council of TESOL associations

Dr Susan Creagh, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Education, The University of Queensland

Associate Professor Russell Cross, Language and Literacy Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Carmel Guerra, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Multicultural Youth

Mark Melican, Principal of Blackburn English Language School

Matt Rodger, Senior Schools Support Officer – RESP Education & Early Years Program Practice & Sector Development, The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture

Chermaine Thomas, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS)