Conference goal: This practical conference is designed for English
language teachers who want to enhance their own communication
skills while better supporting their learners` development. Through
interactive presentations, engaging workshops, and roundtable
discussions, we will share proven strategies for teaching
communication on the following topics:

1. Modern methods and principles of teaching spoken language.
2. Teaching public speaking: body language, articulation, technology (VR).
3. Psychology of communication: maintaining motivation, developing emotional intelligence in class (SEL); constructive communication between teacher and students.
4. Assessing oral communication skills: rubrics, feedback, progress measurement.

We warmly welcome colleagues who are ready to:

• adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of ELT
• engage in collaborative discussions with like-minded professionals
• implement new strategies for engaging and effective teaching                        

Conference Schedule

DAY 1: November 28

10:00 — 10:30. Registration and Coffee

10:30 — 11:00. Opening

11:00 — 11:30. Session 1. Anna Kascheeva: Methodological Frameworks for Developing Speaking Proficiency

11:30 — 12:30. Session 2. Heather Belgorodtseva: Communication Failure, the Cooperative Principle and Gricean Maxims.

12:30 — 12:45. Coffee break

12:45 — 13:45. Session 3. Tatyana Martynova: Communication that Works. How to Achieve Comprehension in the Classroom 

13:45 — 14:45. Lunch break

14:45 — 15:30. Session 4. Tatiana Skopintseva: Presenter’s Warm-Up Kit: Sound and Smile

15:30 — 16:30. Session 5. Natalya Sukhova: Embodied Phonetics:
Nonverbal Enhancement of a Public Talk

16:30 — 16:45. Coffee break

16:45 — 17:15. Session 6. Elizaveta Tikhomirova: Using VR Glasses to Teach Presentation Skills: Benefits and Limitations.

17:15 — 18:30. Round table discussion: Today’s Labor Market and ELT: Building Bridges

18:30 — 19:30. Wine & Cheese reception

DAY 2 (online). November 29

10:00. Opening.

10:15 — 10:45. Session 1. Ekaterina Semenova: Discovering Burnout: Professional Stories

10:45 — 11:45. Session 2. Ekaterina Redkina: Teaching Beyond Language: Building Emotional Intelligence for Effective Communication

11:45 — 12:00. Coffee break

12:00 — 13:00. Session 3. Tatyana Golechkova: Saving Face: Maintaining a Positive Image When Answering Difficult Questions

13:00 — 14:00. Lunch break

14:00 — 14:30. Session 4. Kevin Cancellaro: Criterion-Based, Reference-Based and Authentic Assessment: Developing Techniques and Rubrics for Measuring Speaking Proficiency

14:30 — 15:30. Session 5. Anastasia Okunkova: Assessing alphas: Why Grading and Stratification Do Not Work.

15:30 — 15:45. Coffee break

15:45 — 16:45. Session 6. David Atterberry: Removing Linguistic Bias from Oral Skills Assessments

16:45  — 17:30. Closing

Conference language — English. A participation fee applies.

Registration is required. Registration is open until November 24, 2025.