Voice of the Conference 2009 Questions and Feedback

Voice of the Conference 2009 Following last year’s enthusiastic response, we would like to again use the annual conference as an opportunity to engage and inform delegates in identifying our collective professional values and providing the mandate for NATECLA’s national role. Using graffiti walls and tables at Saturday breakfast and lunchtimes, an innovative approach based on Annette Zera’s Knowledge Café, will be used to engage delegates with some of the key questions facing the ESOL field and contributing to the Voice of the Conference. Voice of the Conference Questions 1.The ESOL community – facing the future How can we have a stronger voice? How can we lobby better? What are the best ways of resisting job cuts and cuts in ESOL provision? 2. The New Approach What does this mean for you and your learners? How can it be harnessed to our advantage? What are the pitfalls? How can we influence or engage with it? 3. Employability focused-ESOL What should we be trying to achieve in work-based or workplace learning? What are the links with citizenship, social cohesion and employability? What is the value of functional skills for ESOL learners? 4. ESOL Learners Is ESOL a right or an obligation? What could be NATECLA’s role with regards to Community Languages? How can bi and multilingualism be valued in ESOL practices? ESOL learner qualifications: what is the current debate? 5. ESOL Teaching How can learners with ESOL basic literacy be supported? ESOL teaching qualifications: how are they going? What quality CPD do ESOL teachers want? Stewards will capture the discussions and graffiti and bring a summary of these to the final plenary on Sunday morning. The feedback from 2009 Leeds Conference is attached. Other presentations can be found on http://www.natecla.org.uk/content/502/national_conference_2009_facin/