Cambridge
Talks
Mexico
May 21, 22 & 23
Register and participate!
Welcome to the official website for our Higher Education event. Take a look at our programme and register for one, two or the three days! See your there!
Tuesday 21
An analysis of what inclusion means in today’s world and its importance in our profession. Tips for embracing inclusive practice and suggestions for problematizing it.
Wednesday 22
Practical activities for teachers to use in class to get adult learners thinking critically and talking about the application of genAI tools to language learning.
Meet Our Experts
Rosalía Valero
Senior Assessment Services Manager.
English for Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean in the Cambridge office in Mexico.
Rosalía has an MSc in Teaching English from Aston University, England. Her professional career started as an ELT teacher then a trainer, coordinator, head of department, ELT manager, etc.
Rosalía enjoys engaging in some of her favourite subjects/topics as much as possible: lexicography, gender issues from a linguistic point of view, English Language Teaching management, among others. She also enjoys writing whenever possible and had a great time when she created blogs for a fortnightly periodical for working parents that touched on issues regarding education in general (sometimes) and learning/practising English at home (mostly).
Rosalía lives in Mexico City with her small but noisy family that includes her son, husband and two dogs.
Ben Goldstein
Author and teacher trainer.
Ben is a writer, teacher trainer and conference speaker. He taught materials writing for many years on the online MATESOL program of the New School in New York.
He has published two methodology handbooks for teachers: Language Learning with Digital Video (with Paul Driver) and Working with Images. For students, he has co-authored Evolve and Evolve Digital, an adult course for adults and Eyes Open/Uncover for teenagers (all Cambridge University Press). A pocket handbook 30 Ideas for Inclusion in ELT will be published by Cambridge in April 2025.
Brad Bawtinheimer
International speaker specializing in oracy, growth mindset, and special educational needs.
Brad Bawtinheimer, originally from Canada and now based in Mexico City, is an international speaker specializing in oracy, growth mindset, and special educational needs. He is the co-author of several textbooks for primary, secondary, and young adults and is currently the senior academic consultant at Cambridge, Mexico. Brad holds a master's degree in language education, and his dissertation explored the professional development needs of language teachers in relation to inclusive teaching practices for students with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
Claire Ross
Training consultant and education expert with over 20 years of experience in ELT.
Claire developed the online British Council Assured Certificate for Teacher Educators and created online teacher training courses for FutureLearn. Currently she is supporting the creation of teacher communities of practice in Ukraine, and finalising an EL teacher training project for the Punjabi ministry of education. She has published her work (with Isabelle Grappe) on supporting language teachers in Lebanon to integrate Syrian refugee children
TUESDAY 21
TOP 3 TRENDS IN ELT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
TUESDAY 21 - TOP 3 TRENDS IN ELT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
- 4:00 – 4:10 - Welcome
- 4:10 – 4:40 – “Ensuring Inclusion” – Ben Goldstein
An increased awareness of inclusive teaching practices has moved the ethical values that underlie our work to the forefront. Yet, addressing inclusion presents challenges, not least the time it requires of teachers. With a particular focus on materials section and teacher development, this talk will suggest that inclusive practice must be holistic and learner-focused for it to be effective in class.- 4:40 – 4:50 – Coffee break
- 4:50 – 5:20 – “Navigating Communication in the Classroom” - Brad Bawtinheimer
Join us to explore essential communication strategies for higher education teachers. Learn to overcome classroom dialogue barriers, balance accuracy with fluency, and master feedback techniques. Discover how to create safe and productive environments for student interactions, enhancing teaching and learning.- 5:20 – 5:30 – Coffee break
- 5:30 – 6:00 – “What do English language teachers need to know about genAI?” - Claire Ross
Everyone’s talking about it. People are using it - including teachers and students. How can we see through the media hype on genAI and stay with the times without compromising our values, beliefs and experience as teaching professionals?
Explore highlights from current research on AI about the affordances and challenges facing teachers of English in the light of this technological shift. Join the conversation as we investigate how to respond appropriately to the genAI boom in an ethical, human and pedagogically-sound way.- 6:00 – 6:05 - Closing
Wednesday 22
TOP TEACHING TIPS
4:00 – 4:05 - Welcome
4:05 – 4:35 - Critical thinking in the age of AI – Claire Ross
In the current climate of big data, fake news and AI, it’s more important than ever to critically evaluate new information.
Experience classroom strategies to help your adult students reflect critically on what they already know (or think they know!) about languages and learning. Consider practical activities to help your learners critically discuss the uses, limitations and outputs of genAI so that together you can negotiate how it should or shouldn’t be used to aid English language learning.
4:35 – 4:45 – Coffee break
4:45 – 5:15 – “Empowering Educators to Cultivate Independent Learners” – Brad Bawtinheimer
In this session, explore how to empower students to take charge of their own learning. Discover strategies to teach students effective study habits, memory techniques, and ways to independently source information, all framed within the Cambridge competency framework. Equip yourself with tools to foster a self-directed learning environment, preparing students for ongoing success in an evolving educational landscape.
5:15 – 5:25 – Coffee break
5:25 – 5:55 – “Exploring the visual” – Ben GoldsteinToday, we communicate via visual images almost more than we do via text. What are the implications of this dependence on the image for our classroom practice? Using a variety of image types, we will see how their appeal and immediacy can help us incorporate intercultural awareness and critical thinking into our teaching and make it more inclusive.
5:55 – 6:00 - Closing
Thursday 23
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
4:00 – 4:05 - Welcome
4:05 – 4:35 – Never too little! Never too old!– Rosalía Valero
What happens to our Continuous Professional Development (CPD) when we start feeling that we haven’t got enough time to do ‘important things’, or that we’re simply too tired after teaching/coordinating/training/etc. all day long? Time to think about the What?, Why?, When?, Where?, How/How much?, Who/Who with?
4:35 – 4:45 – Coffee break
4:45 – 5:15 – “Alone, together alone: growing through reflective practice” – (Claire Ross)
Take control of your professional development with reflective techniques to help you to learn from what you do and learn from others. Whether you’re a solo freelance teacher, the only English teacher at your school or part of a large English department, discover opportunities for critical reflection in your community of practice. You’ll consider how reflective practice can help you to build your knowledge and skills, and how you can give back to other teachers through collaborative reflection.
5:15 – 5:25 – Coffee break
5:25 – 5:55 – “Recovering The Human Touch” – Ben Goldstein
For many of us, the pandemic taught us the importance of SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) and teacher and student well-being. It showed that fostering empathy and community was possible even in an online environment. Now the pandemic is over, have we lost something of that human touch? This talk emphasizes the importance of keeping it personal in this world of screens.
5:55 – Closing
