Inspire the Growth of Kazakhstan's Global Citizens

Last month was that time of year when Salem Social Village once again hosted the best teaching conference in town!

Our annual Essential Teacher Skills conference for English teachers has become a key date in the calendar for many, and this year built on the excellent offering from previous years. It was the seventh time we have run this conference, and feedback from participants continues to indicate the value they place on this chance to develop at a deeper level - as teachers, as educators, and as people.

The Essential Teacher Skills program this year included not just hard skills and soft skills, but also 'meta skills' - those aspects essential for healthy personal and interpersonal development, regardless of profession or context. The 15 conference sessions included talks about using AI, blended learning, the lexical approach, developing soft skills, creating a healthy atmosphere of trust, using psychology, and more. A total of 16 speakers kept the participants' attention and greatly broadened their awareness and understanding of many aspects of teaching.

Alongside seminar sessions and Q&A time, participants were given various group tasks to begin using some of the content from the sessions in practice. One of the sessions included a group task to build a tower solely from spagghetti and tape, which certainly got people thinking.

The conference is not solely about participant development, but also gives a chance for experienced educators to present their own material and develop their skills and expertise through facilitating sessions. Some of the most positive feedback came from those we invited to present at the conference, who were incredibly appreciative of the trust we placed in them to present, and who found it a very positive developmental experience.

As in previous years, attendees were English teachers from a wide range of schools and English Centres, many of whom we have worked with in some way previously. The network of cooperative partnership that Salem is developing now has a significant impact across the city.

Participant interaction throughout the two days was a key part of the event, ensuring dynamic involvment and minimising passive listening. Activities that got people working together to demonstrate the principle being explained were very popular!

We were also very pleased to welcome Oxford University Press as a conference partner, ensuring the opportunity for the participants to expand their awareness of the range of resources now available in the region.

Links:

• Salem Social Village online