Inaugural APEC-RELC International Seminar

 

It has become a cliché to talk of the global village but it is a fact that people today find it easier than ever to travel, communicate and trade all around the globe. Technology has made long distance travel and communication much cheaper and faster. Getting on a plane is now as common as getting on a train once was. Television, computers, the Internet and cell phones have made communication with distant lands as easy as talking to our immediate neighbour. Trade agreements and multinational corporations have redefined trading parameters.

As the links between people across the world grow, there is an increasing need for us to learn to communicate in multilingual and multicultural situations. Knowing one or more of the world languages, such as English, becomes an increasingly important skill for an individual who wants to do well in today’s global market. Moreover, there is evidence that corporations that encourage staff to have multiple language skills are more likely to compete successfully. This is a two-way process. The global market encourages the development and spread of global languages. At the same time, the spread of such languages facilitates the development of a global market.

In this 2010 Seminar, APEC and SEAMEO RELC have come together to organize an event that will look at how language and economy are closely intertwined. The Seminar will look at the learning of languages and its relationship with the global economy.

Topic ^TOP

Language Education: An Essential for a Global Economy

Date & Venue ^TOP

19 - 21 April 2010

SEAMEO Regional Language Centre
30 Orange Grove Road
Singapore 258352

 Aims ^TOP

The Inaugural APEC-RELC International Seminar has the following aims:

v  To look at the relationship between language and the economy

v  To discuss how this relationship affects the use of languages in the general economy and in the workplace

v  To explore how the school should prepare learners for this new world

v  Language for international business or diplomatic conversations

v  Trade-specific language learning (Agriculture, Energy, Science, Health, etc.)

v  Integrating understanding and sensitivities concerning culture into trade-specific, business or diplomatic language learning

v  Creating special opportunities for women and girls in language learning to prepare them for the workplace

v  Pros and cons of multilingual/multicultural policies to strengthen language study for economic competitiveness

v  Working in partnership with other language teachers and programmes to ensure students improve their language skills without unnecessary repetition

v  Trends in teaching and learning at all levels of education (primary school through university) that help students acquire the 21st Century skills they need for the new workforce, including the use of technology

v  How to implement a lesson study programme for the development of language teachers

v  Special language materials and training modules for trade and business, including online resources

v  Standards and assessments in language acquisition for the 21st Century workforce

v  Linking lesson content to language use in the real world by bringing the world of work into the classroom or by taking students out to potential job sites

Invited Speakers ^TOP

APEC Focused Afternoon  ^TOP

As a further option, participants are invited to sign up for the full three-day seminar that also includes the afternoon of Wednesday, 21 April 2010, which will be devoted to looking at the relationships between the possession of language skills and the economy at the individual, corporate and national levels.

INVITED SPEAKER PAPERS

These are formal presentations by distinguished experts in the field lasting forty-five minutes plus fifteen minutes question time.

PARALLEL PAPERS

These are formal lecture presentations lasting thirty minutes plus ten minutes question time. The Seminar Planning Committee reserves the right to assign papers to either the Invited Speaker or the Parallel Sessions.

WORKSHOPS

In these ninety-minute sessions, there is little lecturing by the leaders. Instead, the participants are engaged in activities that have been carefully structured by the leaders.

PROCEDURE FOR SUBMISSION OF PAPER/WORKSHOP PROPOSALS

v  A 150-250 word abstract with a title not exceeding twelve words and a fifty-word biodata should be sent to the Seminar Secretariat no later than 30 November 2009. Abstracts outside the word limit will not be accepted. (Please go to the link above for the Proposal Form.)

v  The Seminar Planning Committee will inform proposers by 29 January 2010 whether their proposals have been accepted.

v  A soft copy of the completed text of the paper selected for the Seminar must be sent to the Seminar Secretariat no later than 12 March 2010. If these are not received by this date, the Committee reserves the right to withdraw the paper from presentation.

CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTANCE

All abstracts will be evaluated by the Seminar Planning Committee. Relevance to the theme of the Seminar and freshness and originality of approach are among the major considerations in the acceptance of papers. The Committee reserves the right to decline paper/workshop proposals without assigning reasons.

COPYRIGHT/PUBLICATION

SEAMEO RELC reserves the copyright over all papers presented at the Seminar. Selected papers will be published. The copyright of papers not published by SEAMEO RELC will be reassigned to the authors.

FUNDING

As a professional non-profit organization, SEAMEO RELC does not generally provide financial assistance to paper/workshop presenters. Thus the registration fee is payable by all participants and parallel paper and workshop presenters.

REGISTRATION

Please go to the link above for the Registration Form.