Dr Christine Coombe and Dr Phil Quirke
IICLLDubai2017 Featured Speakers
As Featured Speakers, Dr Christine Coombe of Dubai Men’s College, UAE, and Dr Phil Quirke of Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE, will define "productivity" and elicit what characterises a productive day for most teachers while presenting on certain issues that cause teacher productivity to decline. They will then report on a research project investigating the beliefs and practices of extremely productive English language teachers at The IAFOR International Conference on Language Learning – Dubai 2017 (IICLLDubai2017). Their full abstract is available to read below.
Christine Coombe has a PhD in Foreign/Second Language Education from The Ohio State University. She is currently on the English faculty of Dubai Men’s College. She is the former Testing and Measurements Supervisor at UAE University and Assessment Coordinator of Zayed University. Christine is co-editor of Assessment Practices (2003, TESOL Publications); co-author of A Practical Guide to Assessing English Language Learners (2007, University of Michigan Press); co-editor of Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness in EF/SL Contexts (2007, UMP), Language Teacher Research in the Middle East (2007, TESOL Publications), Leadership in English Language Teaching and Learning (2008, UMP), Applications of Task-based Learning in TESOL (2010, TESOL Publications), The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment (2012, Cambridge University Press) and Reigniting, Retooling and Retiring in English Language Teaching (2012, University of Michigan Press). Christine’s forthcoming books are on research methods in EF/SL and life skills education.
Christine has lived and worked in the Arabian Gulf for the past 21 years. During this time she has served as the President and past President of TESOL Arabia and as the Founder and Co-chair of the TESOL Arabia Testing Special Interest Group who organise the Current Trends in English Language Testing (CTELT) Conference. Christine is also the Founder and Chair of the TESOL Arabia Leadership & Management SIG.
During her tenure in the Middle East she has won many awards, including: 2002 Spaan Fellowship for Research in Second/Foreign Language Assessment; 2002-03 TOEFL Outstanding Young Scholar Award; TOEFL Board Grant for 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2009-10 for her work in delivering assessment training assessment in developing countries. Most recently she served on the TESOL Board of Directors as Convention Chair for Tampa 2006 and was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Teacher of the Year for 2003-04. She served as TESOL President (2011-12) and was a member of the TESOL Board of Directors (2010-13). Christine received the British Council’s International Assessment Award for 2013.
Dr Phil Quirke is Executive Dean of Education at Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE. He has been in ELT Leadership positions for fifteen years and has published on areas as diverse as face, action research, appraisal and journaling. His books, Managing the Language Classroom and An Exploration of Teacher Knowledge, are widely available, and his publication on Reflective Writing is available online.
Featured Presentation: How the Most Productive TESOLers ‘Fit it all in’
Ever feel like you’re just not getting enough done? If so, you’re like many TESOLers around the world. Research shows that on average people are only productive three days a week. The purpose of this session is to share the results of a research project investigating how the most productive TESOLers ‘fit it all in’ and attain the ever elusive work-life balance. It doesn’t matter what you do or where you work, everyone is looking for ways to be more productive on the job and in life. In this session, the presenters will share some recent research on how productive TESOLers seem to fit it all in. For the purposes of this research we define a productive TESOLer as one who holds down a job, engages in teaching, does research, presents at and organises conferences and events, and publishes and does so with what we consider good work-life balance. This presentation will have two parts. In the first part, the presenters will first define "productivity" and elicit what characterises a productive day for most teachers. They will then present certain issues that cause teacher productivity to decline. In a general review of the literature, the characteristics of highly-productive people will be discussed and the presenters will share strategies for improving personal and professional productivity and attaining better work-life balance. The second part of the presentation will report on a research project that investigated the beliefs and practices of extremely productive English language teachers.
See the full list of speakers for this event.
