Dr. Philip Kerr

Dr. Philip Kerr,

Featured talk

Inter-cultural competence: straightforward steps to an intangible grail

The paradox of inter-cultural competence is that however much we may desire to foster its development in our students, that development will never be complete. That is not to say that it is pointless to incorporate inter-cultural elements into our teaching programmes – quite the opposite! Every stage of the language learning process can be informed by inter-cultural considerations. Using a wide range of practical examples, this presentation will explore simple and straightforward classroom materials and activities that can nudge learners towards the intangible grail of ICC

Workshop

English for Global Communication: the case of lexis

This workshop will suggest a framework for analysing the lexical needs of learners in specific Asian contexts. Participants will be invited to compare their own teaching contexts in two related ways: (1) variations in key word frequency in the target language environment, and (2) variations in lexical learning task types which are appropriate for their learners. The possibility of a core lexical syllabus will be discussed and practical examples will be shown of key learning task types. The workshop will be illustrated with material from Straightforward, a new series of coursebooks for adults.

Biodata

Philip Kerr has been involved in English language teaching for over twenty years. He has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer, writer, lecturer and director of studies in many countries in Europe and North Africa. He now lives and works in Brussels. His most recent coursebook, Straightforward, is published by Macmillan.