AI meets English Teaching and Assessment: that was the theme of an interactive teacher workshop hosted jointly by the FernUni Hagen Campus Berlin and the British Council on Thursday 4 June. Over forty language teachers from in and around Berlin and Brandenburg made the commute to the FernUni campus in the capital – a glossy maze of rooms rightfully located in Ku’damm, one of the swishest precincts in the city.
The Purpose
As the UK’s flagship promoter of British cultural heritage worldwide, the British Council aims “to create positive collaborations and platforms for knowledge exchange”. It is in this light that their Berlin outpost holds an exclusive annual workshop for teachers, focusing on interesting innovations and best practice. This year, Dr Prue Goredema of studyFIT was the featured speaker, giving a workshop entitled AI meets English & Assessment.
The Proceedings
After signing in and receiving their goody-bags, the guests were warmly welcomed by Dr Heike Holtgrewe who heads Campus Berlin. She described the mission of the FernUniversität in Hagen – Germany’s sole public distance learning university, and she also discussed how Campus Berlin fits into that bigger picture.
Dr Prue Goredema then took to the stage and showcased ways for language teachers to keep the tried and tested principles of sound pedagogy in mind when engaging AI in English language teaching.
A case was made for how to apply aspects of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, Learner Autonomy, Krashen’s Natural Approach and good old-fashioned Connectionism in AI-enhanced settings.
The teachers tackled the workshop tasks enthusiastically. “This has been such an informative and engaging workshop,” chirped Mandy Welfare, an English for Academic Purposes lecturer at Arden University, one of the enthusiastic workshop participants. “This workshop has been an eyeopener,” she added.
She is not alone in her positive appraisal of the workshop. Event organiser Erica Callery of the British Council beamed, “We received very good feedback from the workshop attendees. We are pleased to have been a bridge between the FernUniversität and this community of teachers,” she said.
Eileen Loughlin who also works for the Exams division of the British Council Berlin office said, “We are pleased to see such a large turnout, especially at the end of a long working day.”
As the formal portion of the afternoon came to a close, Callery and Loughlin gave a presentation explaining how the British Council supports arts, culture and education in Germany.
The workshop was topped off by a networking hour, where, over cool white wine and cheese-encrusted pretzels, acquaintances were made, contact details exchanged and much laughter was shared.
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