Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) had conducted the 28th Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) International Conference from 17th February 2024 to 19th February 2024 at DAV College in Lalitpur with the theme "Rethinking ELT Diversity: Equity, Inclusion and Innovation".
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| Inauguration Time |
The conference aims to gather English Language Teachers from both Nepal and abroad. As far as I'm concerned, there were ELT professionals from more than ten different countries. As previous, NELTA invited them to the conference to present their innovative ideas on various contemporary topics from which novice ELT practitioners was believed to get some techniques to take them into English Language Teaching classroom. Furthermore, it is a mega event for all the ELT practitioners in Nepal. So, ELT practitioners attend it enthusiastically. There were approximately four thousand participants including presenters and rapporteurs in the conference. Luckily, I was sponsored by Regional English Language Office (RELO) for the conference. For me, it was a golden opportunity to take part in such a mega event.
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| Figure 2 With NELTA Member on the right and Deputy chair on the left at the NELTA International Conference |
In addition, the conference helped me develop networking with teachers from different geographies. and different countries too, instantly, Australia, USA, Bangladesh, Maldives, United Kingdom (UK) and many more. It is actually the platform to introduce each other and share existing issues that English professionals face in the classroom while facilitating the students. At the 28th NELTA International Conference, there were 4 keynote speakers; Prof. Dr. Maria Villalobos-Buehner, Prof. Dr. Jib Lal Sapkota, Prof. Dr. Hemendra Singh Chandalia and Prof. Emeritus Dr. Stephen Krashen who presented papers on different issues in regards to English Language Teaching. Nonetheless, I prefer to listen to the topics like Diversity, Multilingualism, Equity and Inclusity. That's why, I enjoyed Prof. Dr. Chandalia's presentation who presented on Policy Imperatives for Ascertaining Inclusity and Equity in ELT: An Experimental Study with Indigenous Learners in India.
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| Figure 3 Prof. Dr. Chandalia is presenting his paper. |
He is from India. He had brought an idea how indigenous students in India learn English. He displayed various ethnic groups and their learning styles as well in India. As far as I know, the context of English language teaching in India is as same as the context of English language teaching in Nepal. His presentation depicted that English was taught in students' local languages (Mother tongues). It was so relatable to me and my teaching context.
There were nine plenary speeches in which ELT experts put their notions smartly on different contemporary titles from which ELT practitioners got ample of ideas for teaching and manipulating the students with techniques in the ELT classroom. Moreover, there was a poetry session too led by Bal Ram Adhikari with Prof. Dr. Abhi Subedi, Prof. Dr. Vishnu Singh Rai and Prof. Dr. Z. N. Patil. It was another enthusiastic session for me during the conference. there were 164 concurrent sessions with various issues which have been presented in different rooms of DAV college in three days. When I saw the presentation's schedule, I got my topics which was looking for in room no. 3. Hence, I entered Room no. 3 on the second day to receive ideas of translanguage pedagogy, diversity, Teaching English from supplementation of L1 in the multilingual classroom.
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| Figure 4 Julyan Nut is presenting his paper on "Improving Classroom efficiency through L1 Supplementation". Mr. Julyan Nut stressed on using L1 to make classroom learning proactive and effective. He shared with us that his students got excited when he used L1 in the classroom while teaching English language iin the classroom.They thought that students in multilingual couldn't comprehend the contents in depth from English Medium Instruction (EMI). Therefore, they shared their experiences of teaching English language in multilingual classroom by using different local languages which comforted the students in the classroom. Nani Babu Ghimire came up with the similar idea that EMI was deceasing students creativity. Moreover, it doesn't allow them to open up with their own ideas as they can't express their notions in L2. What he stressed on that policy makers should rethink on EMI ideology. |
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| Figure 5 Nani Babu Ghimire is presenting his paper. |
Besides, Prof. Dr. Roby Marlina had given a fabulous presentation on "Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in ELT Textbooks: from the Global Englishes Lens." He made ELT practitioner think on how about the book they teach in the classroom.
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| Figure 6 Prof. Dr. Marlina is presenting his paper. |
In nutshell, the conference was insightful and mind-pleasing. there should a place to grow for every person. For ELT practitioners, NELTA International Conference that happens every year from 17th February to 19th February is the significant platform to grow up professionally.
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