Professional Learning
Presentations & Workshops 2025
As a community of educators, we believe that ongoing and evolving professional learning enables us to support each other and share the rich experiences which makes us all better educators. ATESOL NSW schedules regular events, including open forums. We value input from our members and welcome any suggestions for professional learning that you and your colleagues may have, especially if you are in regional NSW.
Would you like to host an ATESOL workshop at your school, TAFE or Early Childhood workplace? Contact us: ATESOL NSW Professional Learning Committee atesolnswinc@gmail.com
Be Proactive, not Reactive - How to organise a New Arrivals Box before your EAL/D students arrive
Details:
This session will include ways of addressing initial needs of CALD students newly arrived in Australia. (1.3) It show examples of being proactive in arranging New Arrival Boxes to support students during resettlement (2.2), creating a sense of safety and enhancing learning (4.1).The session will provide opportunities for teachers to share their experiences with colleagues about how they prepare for newly arrived students (6.2).
Audience: Primary
Presenters:
Robyn Johnson is currently a Kindergarten Teacher in the Riverina area. She has 24 years teaching experience, having taught as an EAL/D teacher in South West Sydney and Riverina areas. Robyn has a Masters in TESOL and has experience in consultancy for South West Sydney and state office. Robyn has presented and tutored at Wollongong and Sydney Universities.
Dannyelle Thompson is currently an EAL/D teacher in the Riverina area. She began her teaching career 20 years ago. Dannyelle spent 10 years teaching in the Middle East, where she was a Stage 1 teacher and Team Leader and had the privilege of working with colleagues, students and families from around the world.
When:
Term 1 Week 8 Thursday 20th March 2025
4pm - 6pm.
Where: Online
Cost: $20 Members, $30 Non-members
Click Here to Register Now!
Readers Theatre: Theatre of the imagination
Details:
This session aims to show how a creative and inclusive translanguaging space can be developed by incorporating Readers Theatre in a range of subject areas, especially English. This strategy supports reading, writing, listening and speaking and encourages the use of the first language (Dutton et al, 2018, p.47). Participants will be introduced to strategies where stories, fact or fiction, personal or published are developed into a script using all the creative, linguistic and cultural resources which students bring to the text.
Audience: Adult, Secondary, Primary
Presenters:
Robyn Ewing AM is Professor Emerita and Co-Director of the Creativity in Research, Engaging the Arts, Transforming Education, Health and Wellbeing (CREATE) Centre at the University of Sydney. Robyn is passionate about the arts and education and the role quality arts experiences and processes can and should play in creative pedagogy and transforming the curriculum at all levels of education.
Dr Kathy Rushton is an experienced TESOL and classroom teacher working in primary, secondary and tertiary settings and with adults learning English. She is an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Sydney and is interested in the development of language and literacy, especially in culturally and linguistically diverse socio-economically disadvantaged communities.
When:
Term 1 Week 9
Wednesday 26 March 4.00 – 5.00 PM
Where: Online
Cost: $20 members, $30 non-members
Click Here to Register Now!
Scaffolding English language learners’ imaginative writing
Details:
This session examines a successful experimental teaching strategy, ‘Storystyles,’ which improved EAL/D learners’ ability to write engaging imaginative narrative texts using stylistic language and literary techniques of narration, perspective, descriptive setting and mood, and dialogue and voice. The scaffolded task design of the teaching experiment is examined, the quality of student responses evaluated, and their language acquisition analysed, with a view to teachers designing and implementing the strategy in their own classrooms.
Audience: Upper Primary, Secondary
Presenter:
Dr Michael Michell worked as an ESL teacher and senior education officer in the NSW Department of Education. He was part of the national writing team for the ESL Scales and the UTS research team investigating scaffolding in EAL/D classrooms. He worked as a language and literacy lecturer at UNSW (2008 – 2016) and is now an honorary lecturer at the School. Michael was President of ACTA (2015-2020) and is currently President of ATESOL NSW.
When:
Term 1 Week 10 Wednesday 2nd April 4:00-5:30 pm
Where: Online
Cost: $20 members, $30 non-members
Click Here to Register Now!
Understanding Democracy in Australia: Roleplay to debate a Bill in Parliament
Details:
In this workshop we will deliver a course project, presenting a Bill for debate in Parliament.
Students develop:
- a persuasive text—written and spoken
- pronunciation skills for public speaking
- students AV record their practice taking the roles of members of parliament.
The session satisfies TAFE standards for teachers to maintain professional currency requirements and NESA standards at proficient teacher level
The workshop will use AV recordings from the classroom. Workshop participants will receive a free workbook with audio.
Audience: Adult, Secondary
Presenters: Glenice Aiken & Marina Pearce
When: 6 May 2025 POSTPONED - New Date to be Announced
Time: 4-5:30pm
Where: Online
Cost: Members $ 20.00, Non Members $30.00
Registrations will close on Monday 4th May 2025.
Click Here to Register Now!
Integrated programming for language learning - what are the non-negotiables?
Details:
This session shows primary and middle school teachers how they can plan an integrated literature teaching program that supports English language learners. It will cover key areas of building the field, vocabulary instruction, speaking and listening, comprehension at word, sentence and whole text levels, and writing in context including audience and purpose, grammar and cohesion, vocabulary and spelling. Participants will be supported with exemplar EAL/D resources.
Audience: Secondary, Primary
Presenter: Janet Freeman
Janet Freeman began teaching in 1985 completing TESOL training in 1989-90, teaching EAL/D until 2002 and was ESL Rural and Regional &R consultant with Jodie Braiding. Completed MA TESOL and MA Language and Literacy in 2004-5; was Sydney Region ESL consultant 2006-2013. EAL/D teacher and part-time TESOL Tutor at USYD from 2009-19 and Macquarie University 2020-22. President of ATESOLNSW 2018-19. Since 2023, Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instructional Leader.
When:
Week 5 - 28th May 2025
Time: 4.00-5.30pm
Where: Online
Cost: Members $20.00, Non Members $30.00
Click Here to Register Now!
Differentiating writing assessment for EAL/D learners
Details:
The first workshop will identify language and content demands of the new secondary syllabuses with a focus on writing and suggest ways for designing differentiated teaching and assessment.
The second workshop will provide opportunities for participants to share their differentiated assessments.
Audience: Adult, Secondary
Presenters: David Partridge and Margaret Turnbull
Margaret Turnbull, Associate Lecturer, Language and Literacy, University of Wollongong.
Margaret Turnbull has worked as a secondary teacher, Instructional Leader, regional consultant, statewide EAL/D coordinator and researcher. In these roles her work has focused on leading teacher learning in EAL/D pedagogy and assessment and on the development of EAL/D curriculum, policy and research projects.
David Partridge, Sessional Academic, University of New England
David works as EAL/D specialist, primary in rural education context. He has a background as a secondary school teacher, head teacher, curriculum advisor and EAL/D Education Leader. David’s research interests include how teachers use students’ plurilingualism in their practice, the role of bilingual teaching assistants and refugee education.
When:
Workshop 1 - 21st May 2025
Workshop 2 - 11th June 2025
Time: 3:30 – 4:30pm
Where: Online
Cost: These workshops are complimentary - registration is essential.
Click Here to Register Now!
Pronunciation Bites: Intonation & Pragmatics
Details:
This practical session will provide teachers with the basic tools to teach intonation, along with pragmatics, to EAL/D learners. Techniques for teaching a range of adolescent-adult learners, from beginning level to advanced levels of English proficiency, will be demonstrated and discussed. Demonstrations will include visual, audio, and tactile/kinesthetic techniques.
Audience:
Adult
Secondary
Presenter:
Associate professor Amanda Baker, UOW
Amanda Baker is an Associate Professor in TESOL at the University of Wollongong in Australia. Her research interests focus on the dynamic relationships that exist between teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and teaching practices, especially regarding oral communication pedagogy. She has given numerous plenaries and presentations at national and international conferences.
When: Term 2, Week 6, 3rd June 2025
Time: 6-7pm
Where: Online
Cost: Members $ 20.00, Non Members $30.00
Assessing and teaching Oracy
Details:
In this session we will present a case history (AV recordings) demonstrating a practical classroom-based methodology which involves learners hands-on from day one of a course in diagnostic assessment of their oracy, setting relevant objectives and designing a learning plan.
In this workshop participants will be able to:
- review research into issues affecting judgements of ‘intelligibility’
- undertake assessments of video-recorded samples of learner English using a draft assessment tool for intelligibility
- clarify factors in the assessment process: task design, the stakeholders, the local moderation process: ensuring ‘fairness’ and 'validity'.
The workshop will use AV recordings from the classroom. Workshop participants will receive a free workbook with audio.
This session satisfies TAFE standards for teachers to maintain professional currency requirements and NESA standards at proficient teacher level.
Audience: Adult, Secondary
Presenters: Glenice Aiken & Marina Pearce
Glenice Aiken and Marina Pearce, University of Sydney, TAFE. Their work draws on fields including linguistics, drama and voice production (NIDA), AV production for educational purposes (AFTRS), speech physiology, phonetics and phonology.
Research interests and publications focus on pronunciation and listening; language development and stabilization, and design of materials and methods; independent learning skills and self-assessment; AV recording skills for self/ peer assessment; oral history to promote language development.
When: 17 June 2025
Time: 4-5:30pm
Where: Online
Cost: Members $ 20.00, Non Members $30.00
Click Here to Register Now!
Teaching the Sounds - Parts 1 and 2
Details:
Part 1: Teach your students to recognise their problems with pronunciation and
listening and develop strategies for improving pronunciation
Part 2: Use a pronunciation toolkit for individual and class practice
You can choose to attend one or both parts of Teaching the Sounds
This session satisfies TAFE standards for teachers to maintain professional currency requirements and NESA standards at proficient teacher level.
The workshop will use AV recordings from the classroom. Workshop participants will receive a free workbook with audio.
Audience: Adult, Secondary
Presenters: Glenice Aiken & Marina Pearce
When:
Part 1: 5 August 2025, 4-5:30pm
Part 2: 19 August 2025, 4-5:30pm
Where: Online
Cost: if attending two sessions the price is the same as attending one session
Members $ 20.00, Non Members $30.00
Click Here to Register Now!
Details coming soon
Recorded Events
As a member of ATESOL NSW, you are able to participate in professional learning offered by other state and territory associations across Australia associated with ACTA. The professional learning cost is the same for any association member.
Below are links to sessions ran in the last few years which are open to all to view.
Teaching EAL/D Reading Skills
Details:
In this webinar, Dr Misty Adoniou presents EAL/D reading strategies which support students in the Beginning Phase of learning English as an additional language to:
- Build on their oral language – learners’ reading skills progress when they learn how to decode words in their existing vocabulary.
- Learn new vocabulary – understanding the meaning of new words helps students to comprehend and decode what they read.
- Understand English grammar – through listening, reading and responding to rich engaging texts learners develop their understanding of English grammar.
- Draw on their rich life experiences – students are motivated to read texts which reflect their life experiences and identities.
When: 1 August 2024, ATESOL NT
Where: Available via Youtube
Using the EAL/D Learning Progression for initial assessment across K-6
When: 3 November 2021
Presenter: Caitlin Park
Click here.
Revitalisation and maintenance of Aboriginal languages
When: 12 August 2021
Presenter: Aboriginal Teachers from Central Australia & NSW, with Susan Poetsch
Click here.
Multilingual Storyboxes in the EAL/D Classroom
When: 10 August 2021
Presenter: Gill Pennington
Click here.
Shared experiences in teaching and supporting refugee students
When: 17 June 2021
Presenter: Kim Cootes, Gill Pennington, Cindy Valdez-Adams, Vi Nguyen & Nathan Jeffrey
Click here.
Teaching refugees – The way forward
When: 16 June 2021
Presenter: Dorothy Hoddinott AO
Click here.
Developing language through the Arts
When: Monday, 14 June 2021
Presenter: Cindy Valdez-Adams
Click here.
Exploring, thinking, and learning about languages and literacies with young people in Australian classrooms
When: Monday, 15 March
2021
Presenter: Dr Jacqueline D’warte
Click here. The presentation notes for this session are available here.
More resources are available here.
Listening to AMEP Teachers – A forum with Alison Larkins, Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services
When: 10 March 2021
Click here.
Other Events
Other Professional Learning
Our partners offer Professional Learning that demonstrates effective pedagogies to support all learners.