MODERN language teachers across Scotland will have the opportunity to hear from world renowned language specialist, Gianfranco Conti at an innovative training event which turns traditional language teaching on its head. The full-day of immersive learning will take place at St Margaret’s School for Girls in Aberdeen on June 12th from 9am and will equip primary and secondary language teachers with practical learning and teaching activities, encouraging them to use the language specialists’ techniques effectively within their classrooms.
Gianfranco Conti is an award-winning applied linguistics MA and PhD graduate with almost 30 years’ experience of teaching Modern Languages at primary, secondary and university level. He is the founder of the leading language learning website ‘The Language Gym’ and his teaching resources have been downloaded over 4.5million times by over 100,000 teachers across the globe. He has also published a series of workbooks aimed at classroom and independent learning for beginner to intermediate learners of Spanish, French, German and Italian, based on his Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI) approach.
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The purpose of the event is to encourage teachers to put the ‘EPI’ approach into action in the classroom. The communicative language approach emerged from the specialists PhD research into Second Language Acquisition and focuses on teaching languages through chunks and patterns rather than the teaching of single words and grammar rules. Conti argues that the technique is more effective in terms of cognitive load, particularly for beginner to intermediate learners in classroom settings with limited contact time.
St Margaret’s students start to learn French from 1 Junior and all girls are encouraged to study at least one language other than English at National 5 level.
Karen Williamson, Head of Modern Languages at St Margaret’s School for Girls, said:
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming Gianfranco Conti to our campus for what promises to be an enlightening and enriching opportunity. Mr. Conti’s expertise in language acquisition and his practical insights into the EPI approach will undoubtedly inspire and inform our teaching practices.
Mr. Conti’s session will focus on the innovative Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI) approach, offering attendees a comprehensive introduction to its principles. In addition, participants will gain invaluable insights into each stage of the MARS EARS sequence, a cutting-edge methodology designed to enhance language learning outcomes.”
Tickets are available to purchase at a cost of £75 from https://stmargaretsevents.com/ which includes refreshments on arrival as well as a light lunch.
