ICOLLT 4.0 2024 WORKSHOPS: UNLEASHING ENDLESS KNOWLEDGE AND DISCOVERY GALORE
21 May 2024 – The second day of the Fourth International Conference on Language Learning and Teaching (ICoLLT) 2024 was no less uplifting with the demonstration and presentations from industry experts, and academics.
The day began with the Smart Board Demonstration by Midwich Asia representatives, Mr. Ng Kian Eng and Mr. Chia Wai Hoe, one of the main sponsors of ICoLLT 4.0 2024. The introduction to Smart Board is timely and appropriate in equipping conference workshop participants with the latest technology in the market. The participants were in awe of the interactive features of the board that allow users to interact with digital content not only with a touch of a pen but also with one’s finger. Furthermore, the board is so sturdy that even if it falls, it will not break. As participants representing the Centre for Modern Languages, the device is hoped to be part of our soon-to-be established self-access resource centre. This centre is one of the CML’s efforts to become Malaysia’s east coast hub for language learning.
Moving on with specific knowledge galore for the day, the first workshop was conducted by a corpus expert from Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Dr Ikmi Nur Oktavianti who shared her passion for teaching language using the corpus. She is also a prolific writer with works on corpus-based perspectives, syntax and diachronic linguistics. Her workshop entitled “Working with Corpus and Data-Driven Learning to Teach Vocabulary and Grammar” provided participants with a taste of the vastness of language corpus studies applicable to any EFL or ESL student. The participants were exposed to several English corpus platforms such as Oxford English Corpus (OEC) and The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). For practice during the workshop, COCA was introduced to the participants. Through the application, only then did the participants understand the meaning of data-driven learning of vocabulary and grammar. While the use of certain collocations would be fine in the local context, it may not be common in the global context. Participants could see with their own eyes if their use of language is typical or uncommon.
The next workshop was shared by Dr. Nguyen Vu Thuy Tien, who has a rich background in language teaching, research, and educational leadership. She is a lecturer at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology & Education (HCMUTE) and has work experience in Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES), Australia. Dr Tien’s workshop was “Exploring Effective Language Teaching Strategies for Learners with Diverse Cultural Backgrounds” and she presented hands-on activities for the participants to immerse themselves through learning by doing. Participants were put in groups and collaborated to complete the tasks given. Strategies learnt in this workshop most certainly could be extended to not only learners from diverse cultural backgrounds but also in any language and context as the activities were designed to keep learners engaged and bring out their competitive nature.
The Fourth ICoLLT 2024 drew its curtain with photo sessions and networking to seal its productive and enriching conference benefits - as a platform for meaningful discussions, fruitful collaborations, and impactful contributions to language learning and teaching. ICoLLT 4.0 2024 wishes all participants virtual and physical, all committees and all delegates from UAD and HCMUTE, fond conference memories until we connect again!
Prepared by:
Dr Azwin Arif Abdul Rahim
Dr Nor Yazi Khamis
Dr Wan Jumani Fauzi
