Inclusion in the classroom - mini-event

About the event

This one-day webinar event featured four webinars with ELT experts from around the world. All four webinars focus on how teachers can be inclusive in the ELT classroom. The webinars were for teachers of primary, secondary and young adult English language learners. 

All webinars were recorded on 20 June 2023

About the webinars

Session 1: Being updated to face any challenge.

Speaker: 

Sajani Somatunge

Session information: 

This workshop looks at situations where some learners are not included in the teaching-learning process, why this happens, and strategies to help teachers cater to those needs. This workshop gives teachers practical ideas to help in deciding and planning how to make the classroom (FtoF / remote/ hybrid) more inclusive.

Click or tap to download the handout from this webinar

Session 2: Empowering asylum seekers and refugees through English language teaching

Speakers: 

Beatrix Smith & Reena Lal

Session information:

This webinar showcases the work done on the Transitions programme in Hong Kong, for refugees and asylum seekers. The session presents both research and practical classroom-based guidance for anyone interested in teaching and supporting the refugee and asylum-seeking community. 

Click or tap to download the handout from this webinar

Session 3: LGBTQIA+ in ELT - resisting invisibility

Speaker: 

Peter Fullagar

Session information:

This session will look at who is not represented in ELT materials, and then focus on why there should be more LGBTQIA+ representation in ELT materials.  The webinar will show teachers how to create and adapt materials which are inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people, and where to find resources and information. 

Credit, acknowledgement and thanks to Laïla El-Métoui for her tireless work for the LGBTIA+ community, which includes the information on Challenging Discrimination which was presented in this webinar.

Click or tap to download the handout from this webinar

Session 4: Diversifying pronunciation tasks- quick and easy inclusive extensions

Speaker: 

Helen Slee

Session information:

This workshop shows some common gaps in diversity and inclusion in receptive/productive pronunciation activities in mainstream coursebooks, and how a needs analysis can gain an understanding of your learner’s needs. The second part of the webinar shows you how to expand and diversify pronunciation coursebook activities or create your own from scratch. 

Click or tap to download the handout from this webinar

About the speakers

Sajani Somatunge is a teacher and trainer working for the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka and an e-moderator working in online teacher education for the British Council. She was the assistant coordinator of the Improving Teacher Education in Sri Lanka (iTESL) programme, and is interested in how inclusion affects learning opportunities.

Beatrix Smith and Reena Lal work together in the British Council Hong Kong.

Reena has taught at the British Council Hong Kong since 2015. She has taught and coordinated Young Learner classes for asylum seekers and refugees on the Transitions programme in Hong Kong for several years. She has been teaching young learners and adults the past eighteen years in diverse contexts: Cameroon, Congo, Belgium, Malaysia, Japan, and China.

Bea has been teaching Adults and Young Learners with the British Council for over eight years. She is the current Adult Transitions programme coordinator and has taught Adult classes for asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong for several years. She has a Psychology undergraduate degree and is currently doing a Master of Counselling at HKU.

Peter Fullagar has taught ELT for over seventeen years, and now works as a materials writer and editor for ELT publishers. He is committed to making the ELT industry more diverse and inclusive, and has a particular interest in LGBTQIA+, neurodiversity, age and disability. He has undertaken consultancy work on DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) and is Programme and Partnership Director for Pride in Education Conference 2023.

Helen Slee is a nonbinary British-Canadian English language teacher. They’ve been teaching English for over ten years, to students aged three up to adults, ranging from beginner level A1 to proficiency C2. They’ve taught in five different countries, including five years in Spain, and online. They have spoken at TDSIG & GISIG’s Race & Queerness in ELT Web Conference in 2020, in virtual talks 2021-present, and spoke at IATEFL 2023 in the Inclusive Practices and SEN showcase.