2009
Intensive Teacher Training Institute for Vladivostok English Language Teachers
The Far Eastern English Language Teachers’ Association (FEELTA) and the Far Eastern National University hosted a two-day intensive Fall Teacher Training Institute for English language teachers in the Vladivostok area that focused on the use of Web 2.0 tools in English language teaching and the growth of varieties of English throughout the world. Approximately 60 instructors attended the five presentations by Senior English Language Fellow Robyn Shifrin and English Language Officer David Fay, taking copious notes on the use of Google sites, wiki pages, Ning social networks and blogs to further both professional development and language acquisition. The sessions took advantage of building on online coursework done by US-based professor Michael Krauss with some of the FELTA members, one of whom will soon be launching a social networking site for area teachers. On September 25, David Fay made a presentation at the American Corner about “Bloglish, Teenspeak and Spanglish: America’s Struggle to Understand Itself”.