The Third International Conference

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE FACULTY OF LIBERAL ARTS, MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY, IN CORPORATION WITH THE AMERICAN EMBASSY: REGIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ORGANISATION AND VOICES IN ASIA COMMITTEE

 

Thailand 16 – 17 January 2012

 

Theme: English Language Education in Asian Contexts: Prospects, Challenges and Proposals

 

1. Context

In order to foster a mutual exchange of ideas among the ELT practitioners and share their best practices, a group of scholars from Asia organized the Voices in Asia Symposium in 2009 at MARA University of Technology, Shah Alam, Malaysia.  The first symposium set the scene to promote mutual learning and collaboration among the ELT practitioners in Asia. English is now a global language and lingua franca.  It is no longer confined to native language geographical territories.  The majority of the people who speak English are non-native speakers and in non-native contexts.  Thus, the dynamics of the pedagogy and practice of English have changed.  Within this context, the Faculty of Liberal Arts and the Voices in Asia committee would like to continue to explore the pedagogy and practices of English in the Asian context and learn from one another's experiences. The team would, thus, like to organize a conference where the scholars in Asia will present their experiences of teaching English in different contexts and collaborate together for the enhancement of English language learning in the Asian contexts.

 

2.  Objectives

The key objectives of the symposium are:

a)            To foster the mutual exchange of English teaching ideas in different Asian contexts.

b)           To promote collaboration among ELT professionals in different aspects of ELT.

c)            To set up a Voices in Asia Journal.

d)           To encourage collaborative research and student exchange across Asia.

e)            To nurture cultural heritage in Asia.

 

3.  Participants

The participants are ELT practitioners from different Asian countries; the presenters are accomplished professionals who have been working in ELT for a long period of time. In addition to the presentations, thematic discussion on the various ELT issues will also be organized to find areas of collaboration for further projects.

 

The details of the presenters are as follows.

 

List of the presenters and participants

 

4.  Conference Expectation:

The expected outcomes of the conference are:

a)            Dissemination  of teaching ideas 

b)            Collaboration among Asian professionals in various aspects such as student exchange program or specific interest groups research

c)            Voices  in  Asia  Journal

d)            Research  collaboration  among  Asian  countries to promote English teaching

e)             Asian  educational network and cultural enrichment

 

5.  Date and venue

The conference will be held at Mahidol University, Thailand. The dates of the conference are 16 – 17 January, 2012.

 

6.  Conference fee:     50 USD or 1,500 THB

                                    62 USD or 1,850 THB (including reception)

 

7.  Publication

The  papers  presented  in  the  conference will  be  published  in  the  Voices  in  Asia  Journal.