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Look back on the events APLIUT & UPLEGESS 2024
Our ETS EMEA teams had the pleasure of attending these two educational events.
The APLIUT and UPLEGESS congresses are key events for language teaching professionals at Instituts Universitaires de Technologie (IUTs) and Grandes Écoles d'Ingénieur and de Management. These events provide an opportunity to share teaching practices, research in language didactics and thoughts on the future of language teaching.
Members of ETS EMEA had the opportunity to attend these events, taking an active part in the discussions and workshops organized.
- APLIUT, dedicated to promoting language teaching in IUTs, strives to enhance teachers' skills and defend innovative teaching practices. Its 44th congress, held in Tours on June 6, 7 and 8, focused on active pedagogies in specialty languages, highlighting methods that place students at the heart of their learning, encourage experimentation and promote soft skills.
- UPLEGESS, meanwhile, is celebrating its 50th congress in Paris this year, held from May 29 to June 1, under the theme "Giving a voice to languages for a learning planet". This gathering explored the current and future challenges facing language teaching in a world undergoing rapid technological and cultural change, raising the crucial question of the future of language teaching in 2050.
44th APLIUT Congress
This year, the 44th APLIUT congress took place in Tours on June 6, 7 and 8, on the theme of active pedagogy in specialty languages.
Active pedagogy is one of the strategies used to respond to the emergence of new technologies and the reform of the BUT. Putting students at the heart of the learning process means involving them in their learning and helping them to succeed. Combining this with a playful approach helps to anchor learning more firmly, as errors are played down and the trial-and-error method is encouraged. It's also a pedagogy that favors working in sub-groups, making it easier to speak up and acquire soft skills.
The organization of the conference in the form of plenary lectures provided a theoretical basis and an overview of current research in this field, from learning how to regulate one's thoughts and emotions, to edutainment in university management schools with the introduction of tabletop role-playing games, to active teaching in the workplace and theatrical practices.
Numerous workshops were held during the congress. Among them was the workshop by Celestina Cardoz-Maury, our Senior ELT Coordinator, entitled "Enhancing learning in ESP courses through Cuisine and Culture", which was attended by almost 20 people. Celestina spoke about the intersection of cuisine and culture in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) class and how this theory could bring many benefits to learners and teachers alike.
This session focused on preparation materials, evaluations and feedback from an English for Business (EBP) course designed for English language learners in universities and business schools. The course, designed by Celestina, was entitled "The Emperor, the Merchant and the Tiger". During the course, students explored multiple aspects of Indian culture, while improving their oral and written communication skills in English. The course aimed to develop learners' language skills while encouraging socio-cultural awareness, intercultural communication, critical thinking, and multicultural collaboration. A highlight of the course was a workshop on spices, where participants made a culinary discovery while exploring the history and trade of the spice route. For the participants in her APLIUT communication, Celestina repurposed this interactive workshop where participants focused on the olfactory and pedagogical activity around spices and the spice route, followed by a discussion to define workshop objectives and learning outcomes (LOs).
50th UPLEGESS Congress
This year's 50th UPLEGESS congress, entitled "Giving a voice to languages for a learning planet: 50 years of experience and plans for the future". It was held from May 29 to June 1, in Paris, at the Ecole des Mines and the Paris School of business.
The congress focused on several themes, such as the most pressing challenges facing a society in the throes of technological change, artificial intelligence, the need to adapt language programs, the key skills to be acquired by students, and the role of language-culture teachers.
Whether in the form of an analysis of experience, a sharing of points of view or a review of the current state of research, the congress has, in a nutshell, provided the beginnings of an answer to the question "How do we perceive the future of language-culture teaching by 2050, taking into account technological, cultural and societal developments?"
As part of the workshops, Celestina Cardoz Maury gave a talk entitled "Re-inventing teaching in the light of technology and multiculturalism".
In her talk, Célestina raised 3 points which she felt were essential for teachers and academic managers. Firstly, what might be the ideal learning platform of the future; secondly, in keeping with the trend of ever-increasing student mobility, is a real framework possible for analyzing the intercultural skills of our learners; and finally, the heart of our profession: how AI might help us, not replace us, in language assessment.
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to all the organisers, speakers, and participants who contributed to the success of these conferences.