BRAZ-TESOL will be offering Pre-convention Institutes (PCIs) in conjunction with the annual convention. PCIs consist of workshops that offer hands-on professional development opportunities for interested participants registered for the convention. Designed and led by the Special Interest Groups (SIGs), the topics this year are:

• Critical Literacy in Teacher Education (Critical Literacy SIG)
• Connect, Communicate and Collaborate! (Edutech SIG).
• Developing Intercultural Competence in the Classroom (Culture SIG)
• Tune In, Speak Out: Approximating Pronunciation Teaching to Students' Needs (Pronunciation SIG)

Registration Information:

At the site of the 11th National BRAZ-TESOL Convention in Fortaleza, CE, PCIs will take place on Monday, July 14. Space is limited, so register early and take advantage of early registration rates:

CRITICAL TEACHING - Critical Literacy in Teacher Education
Full-day PCI: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (6 hours)

Teaching and learning English has never been more challenging than it is today. The ways teachers and learners perceive approaches, needs and results have dramatically changed now that English has achieved the status of a global language. Currently, not only do ELT professionals have to be knowledgeable about language and teaching per se, but they should also know how to integrate critical contemporary concepts in the teaching-learning process, such as those pertaining to citizenship, social responsibility, intercultural relations and conflict mediation.

In this one-day Event participants will discuss the current role of ELT educators and analyze the profound effects that the complex social, economic and political dimensions of today’s society have on the “Whys” of teaching and learning English, the pedagogical choices that educators make and the dynamic interrelationships in the classroom.
Presenters:
Keynote Speaker: Sara Walker
Guest Speaker: Chris Lima
Other confirmed speakers: Eliana Gonçalves Edmundo (Paraná) and Jose Antonio da Silva (Brasilia)

EduTech - Connect, Communicate and Collaborate
Full-day PCI: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (6 hours)

We would like to invite you for a journey of discovery, experimentation, conversations and fun. Find out how social media can be used to interact, network, collaborate, promote language learning and foster professional development. Join us and share your experience as well.
Barbara (Bee) Dieu
EduTech SIG Coordinator
Presenters: Graham Stanley (Connect! Communicate! Collaborate! Social Media for Language Teachers & Learners) and José Antonio da Silva (My PLE -E for experience and environment)

Culture SIG - Developing Intercultural Competence in the Classroom
Half-day PCI: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (3 hours)

Developing intercultural communicative competence involves not only learning about - gathering factual knowledge, but also learning how, why and mainly, learning to be. Lessons can be designed so as to bring culture to the foreground and to allow students to become aware of other cultures as well as of themselves as cultural beings. In this pre-convention institute, a framework will be introduced, and some practical activities (based on textbooks and freestanding) will be presented.
Ade Oliveira
Debbie Skibelski

Pronunciation SIG - Tune In, Speak Out: Approximating Pronunciation Teaching to Students' Needs
Half-day PCI: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (3 hours)

New teaching perspectives come up everyday but how do they adapt to Pronunciation teaching, and more specifically, to our Brazilian students? In this pre-convention institute, the Pron-SIG will bring these questions back into focus and suggest ways to approach Pronunciation in and beyond the classroom. Participants will be involved in working and reflecting on a range of procedures and activities that can also foster listening and speaking development.
Betty Pow
Marcello Marcelino
Sonia M. Baccari de Godoy

Click here to register now for the PCIs