Table of Contents: Message From the President Dear All 1 Message from the President 1 2 9th BELTA International (Virtual) 2 Warm greetings to the readers of the BELTA Conference Newsletter! We are pleased to share with you 3 Conference Panel Discussions 2 the June 2021 issue of the newsletter. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has 4 DU Research Team Presents at BELTA 3 International Conference disrupted the flow of education, it is heartening to know that we have been able to 5 “Stories About Ourselves” Project 3 Update keep education going and the activities of the association moving amidst the crises. The 6 BELTA Webinar Series 8 4 crises triggered by COVID-19 have also 8 Webinar Arranged by BELTA Chittagong 4 created opportunities and despite the setbacks South Chapter we have moved forward and achieved goals. 9 Research on Online Education in 5 The pandemic has created new ways of Bangladesh during COVID-19 interaction amongst teachers and students and 10 Recent publication on Language Testing 6 colleagues! We have also moved beyond borders and connected, attended and presented at various International forums and 11 Research on Equity and Social Justice 6 published conferences. We are proud to announce that the regular activities of our association did not 12 Recent Article on "Grassroots English 6 and Bangladeshi Economic Migration to come to a standstill and we held virtual the Middle East” conferences, teacher development webinars, our flagship THT teacher educator 13 Publication of On Language in Leapyear 7 programme, panel discussions and AGM. Since face to face interactions were not 14 Publication of Challenges in Academic 7 allowed we moved our professional Writing: A Pragmatic Study development programmes online! 15 South Asian Regional Online Conference 7 Our E-newsletter, does a great job by keeping the association members updated on relevant 16 Rubina Khan @ ELTAi, KOTESOL 8 news, events and at the same time provides &TESOL them a platform to share their views and 17 BELTA Learning Technology SIG 9 showcase their achievements. In times of social distancing, our newsletter keeps the 18 BELTA Research SIG 10 BELTA community informed and engaged. I 20 Report on the Fieldwork of Hornby Trust 10 would also like to take this opportunity to TA Project thank the contributors of the newsletter and 21 Nominations from BELTA for TESOL 11 the Publications Secretary and her team for Convention 2021 their constant support in making this E- 22 Teaching Essential Word Structures 11 newsletter a success. Happy Reading! 22 Critical Thinking in ESL Teaching 12 23 BELTA Chittagong South Chapter Report 12 23 BELTA in Pictures 13 Dr. Rubina Khan President, BELTA 1 Page Issue 30 BELTA NEWSLETTER 9th BELTA International (Virtual) Conference 2021 The 9th BELTA International (Virtual) Conference on “Education during the pandemic: Learning amid crisis and emerging opportunities”, was held on 6th March, 2021 utilizing the virtual platform BdREN Zoom. The conference started with BELTA President addressing the audience a warm welcome speech by Dr Rubina Khan, President, BELTA. It was inaugurated by Professor Dr Kazi Shahidullah, Conference Panel Discussions Chairman, UGC, Bangladesh. There were 11 In keeping with the Conference theme sessions in which the research experiences "Education during the Pandemic: Learning during the time of COVID-19 pandemic of amid crisis and emerging opportunities", 22 nationally and internationally recognized two panel discussions were organized. The ELT professionals were presented. The first reflected on the current situation amidst themes of the presentations encompass the the disruption caused to education in a emergence of teacher agency in the number of Asian countries and how different paradigm shift to ERT (Emergency Remote contexts coped with the crises by adopting Teaching), usage of different technological remote online learning. The second panel tools like Google Forms in facilitating looked at the post-covid days ahead and online teaching and learning, impact of deliberated on how to move forward in a Corona pandemic in different education changed global environment in order to levels of Bangladesh and Nepal, challenges provide effective and sustainable English and opportunities created by the pandemic language education for all. situation and so on. The presenters were Dr M Obaidul Hamid, Dr Fauzia Shamim, Dr Mian Md. Naushaad Kabir, Dr Joshua John Jodoin, Dr Muhammed Shahriar Haque, Dr Shahidullah, Elizabeth J. Erling, Ram A.Giri, Saraswati Dawadi, Sagun Shrestha, Saifa Haque, Curtis M.Chan, Ahmed Bashir, Dr Bijoy Lal Basu, Md Mohib Ullah and Muhammad Emdadul Haque. The conference was attended by 165 Closing remark from BELTA Advisor participants. Dr Rubina Khan, President, BELTA ended the conference with a Vote of The invited Panelists came from a number Thanks after an insightful closing remarks of partner Asian International Language by Dr Arifa Rahman, Advisor, BELTA and Teaching Associations (LTAs) with whom the recorded performance of Mr Naveed BELTA has agreements of understanding. Mahbub, a notable stand-up comedian of The tone of the discussion was encouraging, Bangladesh. supportive and very meaningful as all the 2 Page Issue 30 BELTA NEWSLETTER countries were facing similar challenges Elias Uddin gave a talk at the 9th BELTA during the Covid-19 pandemic and were International (Virtual) Conference 2021 held making both local and global attempts to on 6 March 2021. The talk was delivered by mitigate this education crisis. They agreed Mr. Ahmed Bashir and Dr. Bijoy Lal Basu that cooperation, partnership and networking on behalf of the team. The theme of the are essential for the LTAs to move forward conference was “Education during the in the future. Pandemic: Learning amid crisis and Panel Discussion 1 emerging opportunities”. The title of the talk Country perspectives of the pandemic was ‘Innocence to Experience: Teacher situation on education and alternative attitudes to online instruction’. The team modalities of learning and teaching shared some preliminary findings from their Moderator: Dr Shaila Sultana collaborative research that explored tertiary Panelists: level English teachers’ attitudes towards Dr Vivek Joshi (AINET, India) online teaching during the COVID-19 Dr Nasreen Hussain (SPELT, Pakistan) pandemic, and any changes in their attitudes Mr Hemanta Raj Dahal (NELTA, Nepal) over time. The presenters discussed the Datin Dr. Cynthia Yolanda Doss(MELTA, major findings of the longitudinal study Malaysia) which include teachers’ attitudinal change in Dr Tazin Aziz Chaudhury (BELTA, affective, cognitive and psychomotor Bangladesh) domains. “Stories About Ourselves” Project Panel Discussion 2 Update Looking Ahead: Post-Covid strategies for “Slow and steady wins the race” describes education and ELT the progress of the “Stories About Moderator: Dr Arifa Rahman Ourselves” materials development project Panelists: since its arrival on the world wide web last Prof Dawn Lucovich (JALT, Japan) year. The project, which is a collaboration Dr Kumar Shravan (ELTAI, India) between BELTA and THT (“Teachers Dr Ikhsanuddin (TEFLIN, Indonesia) Helping Teachers”) Japan, provides free Prof Michael Free (KOTESOL, South graded reading materials with a Bangladeshi Korea) focus for English learners at all ability Dr Md. Zulfeqar Haider (BELTA, levels. Bangladesh) After the initial writer training workshop in DU Research Team Presents at the 2018, the BELTA sponsored site was born in th 9 BELTA International (Virtual) 2020, and now provides over forty stories, Conference 2021 non-fiction texts and poems, all written by A research team, from the Department of Bangladeshi writers. Each is carefully edited English, University of Dhaka, comprising for accuracy, high frequency vocabulary use, BELTA president Prof. Rubina Khan, EC and learner interest. Illustrations and member Mr. Ahmed Bashir and life photographs are then added, along with members Dr. Bijoy Lal Basu and Mr. Md. stimulating learning activities based on 3 Page Issue 30 BELTA NEWSLETTER Bloom’s revised taxonomy of cognitive BELTA Webinar Series-8 entitled, “New skills. This approach enables learners to Spaces in Language Education: challenges develop critical thinking skills while for theory and practice”, was organized by simultaneously building comprehension. the BELTA Professional Development New reading texts are being added regularly, Committee on March 27, 2021. It was as writers contribute these, and the quantity facilitated by Dr. Cecilia Silva, Associate of materials is growing steadily. Professor, Tohoku University, Japan. Dr. Silva shared her experience as a language educator during COVID-19 pandemic with an emphasis to her discovery of online teaching as a unique methodology. She claimed that success of such methodology not only depends on the content dissemination and the technological expertise of the teacher but the power positive attitude on the part of the teacher and independent learning on the part of the students are also required. She found the “Mediation tools and Students’ IT Learning Paradigms” (Kemmis et al, 1977) very helpful in her mediating teaching. She talked about four paradigms that she applied in her online language classroom: i) Instructional paradigm, ii) Revelatory paradigm, iii) Fig: One sample story lesson of the project Conjectural paradigm, and iv) Emancipatory If you are looking for free and interesting paradigm. She also shared the experience of English language reading materials that have her students’