2012 – 19th Annual Conference, Pilsen

The ICC 19th Annual Conference 2012 was hosted by the University of West Bohemia in Plzen, Czech Republic. We have received a great deal of very positive feedback.

This time the ICC 19th Annual Conference had put its focus on ‘Perception and Reality in Language Education’. It seems that there are many disconnects nowadays. What learners perceive as good learning is often at odds with what teachers claim to know. What teachers consider conditions for good learning seems to be at odds with projects like the Hole-in-the-Wall initiative. (see Sugata Mitra).

The claims made by advocates of the new technologies are often at odds with the realities experienced by users. There are increasing doubts about the reliability of information on the new interactive databases – anyone is now an author and anyone is an information consumer – so who can trust whom? Language is perceived as a unifying force in globalisation and yet language and culture are what are often used precisely to define in-groups and national identities. This has profound implications on what precisely language education involves if we are to contribute to better international and intercultural communication.

The conference offered a timely spotlight on issues surrounding teaching and teacher training. With speakers from the worlds of publishing, intercultural communication, education management, ICT in education and those with a range of teaching expertise, the conference offered an opportunity for lively debate on the issues raised above.

The conference ‘Perception and Reality in Language Education’ covered the following areas:

• Teacher Qualification
• Certification – Testing, Assessment
• Teaching Czech as a foreign Language
• Classroom Practice
• Technology and Language Teaching
• Intercultural Training
• Vocational Training
• ICT based language teaching solutions