1.-Florencia Gimenez y María Garay con su ponencia:

PRONUNCIATION, THE CINDERELLA OF LANGUAGE TEACHING

This workshop will go over some common “myths” around pronunciation and explore current beliefs about its teaching. The audience will be asked to spot words such as fluency, intonational cues, intelligibility, comprehensibility, all aspects connected with phonological control. The operationalization of these notions, at B1 and B2 levels, will help the audience understand the importance of understanding pronunciation as a central tool to achieve successful communication. Finally, the participants will leave with practical tips as to how to integrate pronunciation to the language class, both systematically and incidentally, and how to use free online resources to promote autonomous learning in the field.

2.- Luciana Fernández con su ponencia:

THE POWER OF VISUAL LITERACY TO ENHANCE LANGUAGE AND THINKING SKILLS

“A picture is worth a thousand words”. In this presentation we will discuss the importance of using visuals in the language classroom and will explain and explore the concept of visual literacy as a staple of 21st century skills. Visual literacy is defined as the ability to interpret, recognize, appreciate and understand information presented through visuals. Language proficiency, on the other hand, refers to the ability to use the target language with structural accuracy and vocabulary in order to be able to express ideas, thoughts, needs, feelings and more in formal and informal settings on a variety of topics. If we stop to think about these two concepts, we can understand how the use of visuals in the language classroom can enhance language communication, meaningful use of structures and vocabulary and thinking skills. Visuals can trigger off the work to be done in reading, writing, listening and speaking and can motivate our students. They can provide the opportunities for students to practice and apply the language and thinking strategies learnt in the classroom, above all. In this presentation, teachers will get a deep understanding of the concepts and will explore practical, fun and high quality visual literacy activities to enhance language acquisition.)