Meet our IATEFL roving reporters

Join us and fellow ELT professionals from around the world to discuss, reflect on and develop ideas. The 42nd IATEFL Conference offers many opportunities for professional contact and development.

With the assistance of IATEFL and ELTeCS, we are sponsoring two English Language teachers to report 'live' from IATEFL 2008. Natia Sopromadze from Georgia and Ernesto Ramos from Philippines will reporting on the sessions they attend and also giving their personal accounts of their experiences. These pages will be updated daily throughout the conference (April 7 - 11, 2008). on the live Exeter Online Moodle site
 

Here's an introduction to our reporters:

About Natia

Hello to all the teachers of English! I feel happy to represent this distinguished class and even happier to be one of this year's IATEFL Roving Reporters.

Being a novice teacher, my achievements in ELT are modest and far from remarkable. But whatever I have been doing so far, I have definitely found it an intellectually and emotionally (I wish I could also add ‘financially') rewarding experience. I embarked on a teacher's career 4 years ago as a volunteer at secondary school in Kutaisi. This is a beautiful quiet town with centuries-old history in Western Georgia which I would advise you to visit some day.

Currently I am working at the English Studies Department at Akaki Tsereteli State University in my native town. The Department has always kept up with modern methods of teaching English and I have been actively involved in all its activities. Namely, I have supervised the Students' English Club aimed at creating an interesting and friendly English speaking environment in order to help students overcome any language difficulties. The Club not only upgrades students' English speaking skills, but also boosts their self-confidence and open-mindedness through various out-of-class activities involving literature, drama, debates, music, games, etc.

Besides, I hold the position of Assistant Coordinator of students' annual conference on "British, American and Georgian Cultural Studies" at Akaki Tsereteli State University which is directed at developing cultural awareness as well as language and public speaking skills.

I am also an enthusiastic member of ETAG (English Teachers' Association of Georgia) and have attended a wide range of teacher training courses and workshops. Moreover, last year I participated in the evaluation of the National Exams of Georgia as a marker.

I have an MA in English Language and Literature. Outside ELT, I do translations for the University and have worked as an interpreter both for governmental and non-governmental organizations. As for my leisure interests, I am keen on photography, hiking and table tennis.

About Ernesto

Hi! My name is Ernesto Ramos Jr. from the Philippines. Like many Filipinos, I have been given a variety of nicknames from the sweet-sounding 'Ernest' to the not-so-sweet 'Etot'. But, I actually prefer to be called Ervin. Now, that name is a story in itself. If you're interested to know the story, feel free to ask me during the conference.

Now about my experience in ELT, I am assistant professor at De La Salle University - Dasmarinas in the Philippines. I handle English classes for the university's first and second year students. I am also a language specialist at the university's language learning centre. The centre conducts seminars, trainings, and tutorial sessions for students and staff of the university. In my spare time, I torture students and fellow teachers with my lectures, PowerPoint presentations, as well as with online and offline classroom activities. So far, most of them have enjoyed the 'torture'. Or at least, that's what I make myself believe.

Recently, I was assigned as Publications Coordinator of the University Faculty Research Office. My research interests include language materials development, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Systemic Functional Grammar, and World Englishes. But, please don't ask me about any of those. I would like to clarify that I'm only interested in them; I'm neither an expert nor a novice in any of those areas. As I said earlier, I only find them interesting.

I also had the privilege of being elected as Public Relations Officer of the Alliance of Language and Literature Teachers in the Philippines. Through the said organisation and through organisations such as the British Council and AsiaTEFL, I have attended, presented, and helped organise some language education seminars and conferences. Now, I also have IATEFL to thank for bringing me to the 2008 Exeter Conference.

I have an MA in English Language Education and a Postgraduate Diploma in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Outside ELT, I enjoy learning about computers, the Internet and a little about Yoga.