Australian Council of TESOL Associations

Australian Council of TESOL Associations

News about ACTA activities and advocacy

plus other TESOL related news and
events in Australia

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  • ACTA Council Meetings
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ACTA International Conference Announcement: Save the date!

Sydney, Australia

1 - 3 October 2026 The next International ACTA conference will be hosted by ATESOL NSW and will be held in Sydney. Updates will be posted at the web link below as they become available. In the meantime, mark your calendars!

Theme: The theme: Sharing our Future

TESOL International Professional Learning Opportunity: Digital literacy (schools)

Online

2 December 2024 *Not free

Theme: Our friends at TESOL International are offering some professional learning on 'Amplifying Digital Literacy and Equity', between December 2024 and March 2025. They have joined forces with T-Mobile to create an online community of pre-K-12 professionals to boost digital literacy skills for multilingual learners of English (MLEs) in classrooms and at home! Times work well with Australian time zones.

CHASS/ALAA/Curtin Symposium: Calling HDR and early career researchers!

Perth and online

29 November 2024 Funded by the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS), BEPerth, and Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA), this one-day symposium will be hosted by the Discipline of Applied Linguistics, TESOL, and Languages at the School of Education, Curtin University.

Theme: This event caters exclusively to Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students and early career researchers, who are keen to network with like-minded colleagues and know more about how to publish and advance career development in academia and beyond.

Please encourage Postgraduate students you know to present their research studies. Scholarships and registration fee waivers are also available for interstate travelers and non-ALAA members.

The Applied Linguistics ALAA/ALANZ/ALTAANZ Conference 2024

University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania

25 - 27 November 2024

Theme: The conference theme is: Applied linguistics for a just society: Advancing equity, access, and opportunity.

TasTESOL Conference

Launceston, Tasmania

23 November 2024

Theme: TasTESOL are pleased to announce that they will be hosting a face-to-face conference on Saturday the 23rd November 2024 in Launceston, Tasmania. The theme this year will be: Shaping the Future: English Language Teaching in Tomorrow’s World. They are now inviting expressions of interest to offer a workshop at the conference.

November ACTA Council Meeting

Online

21 November 2024 7 - 9pm AEST

Webinar: Wait, Don’t just translate!

Online

8 November 2024 10am Sydney time

Theme: Molloy University is holding an online webinar that is open to all! The webinar is about supporting English language learners/ multilingual learners at the earliest stages of language development who may present special challenges for all educators. This workshop is designed to take an asset-based approach to working with newcomers and to guide participants in unpack multiple scaffolding approaches to address the unique needs of these students. The ultimate goal is to ensure that translation does not become the "go-to" or only strategy utilized with this population.

“Reciprocal Multilingual Learning with EAL/D students” presented by Mei French

Online

2 - 2 November 2024 2-4pm. ATESOL ACT invites you to join this exciting webinar.

Theme: Principles for multilingual pedagogies, developed through research and practice, that bring engaging, effective and empowering learning into EALD and mainstream classrooms for students of all ages (primary to adult)

Introduction to NT Indigenous Languages

Online

17 October 2024 3:30-4:30 ACST

Zoom forum on The SEE Program and the Empowering Afghan Women Project

Online

26 - 26 August 2024 Starts at 5pm AEST

Theme: TasTESOL invites you to attend a forum conducted by Mat Hines. The topic: The SEE Program and the Empowering Afghan Women Project.
The forum is free for TESOL association members, $10 for students, and $15 for non-members. Please RSVP and pay by August 23 to contact.

August ACTA Council Meeting

Online

15 August 2024 7 - 9pm AEST

Webinar with Misty Adoniou

Online

1 August 2024 3.30-4.30 ACST

Theme: In this webinar (which is free for members of state and territory TESOL associations), Dr Misty Adoniou presents EAL/D reading strategies and activities which support students to:
• Build on their oral language – learners' reading skills progress when they learn how to decode words in their existing vocabulary.
• Learn new vocabulary – understanding the meaning of words helps students to comprehend and decode what they read.
• Understand English grammar – through listening, reading and responding to rich engaging texts EAL/D learners develop their understanding of English grammar.
• Make connections to self – students are motivated to read texts which reflect their life experiences and identities.
Register for this wonderful webinar at the link below.

2024 Foundation for Learning and Literacy Literature Symposium

Online

3 July 2024

Theme: In the coming months, the Foundation for Learning and Literacy will present a series of video presentations and podcasts produced by representatives of organisations whose primary work is with children and young people, literacy and drama. ACTA is proud to be a partner. Click on the link below to read more about the exciting presentations and our very own video! You can also register to be informed about these videos, via this link.

Teaching Oral Language Through Drama

Online

28 May 2024 3:30-4:30 ACST

TasTESOL forum with Rosalie Martin

Zoom

28 May 2024 RSVP by Friday 24th May.

Theme: TasTESOL invites you to their first forum for the year with Rosalie Martin presenting her work on “the impact of trauma on learning language, especially in the context of our students – what we see but may not recognise in our classrooms; and identifying how and when trauma impacts learning and what strategies may be helpful to deliver learning effectively.” More at the TasTESOL web site.

May ACTA Council Meeting

Online

16 May 2024 7 - 9pm AEST

Social and Citizenship Education Association of Australia (SCEAA) CEAA 2024 Conference

Canberra, ACT

19 - 20 April 2024

Theme: Curriculum, Community and Beyond: Future directions in citizenship education.Academics, researchers, teachers and other educators will gather together to explore the theme of Curriculum, Community, and Beyond: Future Directions in Citizenship Education.

2024 April- Refugee Youth AMEP Consultation

Online

16 April 2024 2pm AEST

Theme: Join us to share your thoughts on how young people from refugee backgrounds experience learning English in the Adult Migrant English Program.

March ACTA Council Meeting

Online

21 March 2024 7 - 9pm AEST

February ACTA Council meeting

Online

8 February 2024 7 - 9pm AEST

SA TESOL End of Year and Networking Event 2023

Duke of Brunswick Hotel, 207 Gilbert Street Adelaide

23 November 2023 From 6pm

ACTA Councillors’ Meeting

Online

16 November 2023 Zoom link to be provided to councillors

‘Engaging Learners’ for teachers working in the SEE program

Virtual

15 November 2023 4:30 - 5:30pm AEST

2023 VicTESOL Symposium

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership

13 October 2023 8:00am - 4:00pm AEST

Theme: Sustaining EAL Expertise: Voices and Viewpoints from the Field

Adding the EAL/D extra to Mainstream Classroom Approaches. Presented by Dr Denise Angelo

Online

20 September 2023 3:30 - 5:00pm (CST)

ACTA Councillors’ Meeting

Online

14 September 2023 Zoom link to be provided to councillors

Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary Through Meaning. Presented by Dr Misty Adoniou.

Online

14 September 2023 3:30 - 5:00pm (CST)

Online LMERC Resourcing Event

Virtual

6 September 2023 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

The role of schools in supporting settlement: Focusing on wellbeing in migrant and refugee education.

Virtual

30 August 2023 3:30 - 5:00pm AEST

Digital Literacies in EAL Special Interest Group (SIG)

Virtual

23 August 2023 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Reciprocal Multilingual Learning in Secondary Classrooms – with Dr. Mei French

Online

2 August 2023 3:30 - 5:00pm (ACST)

Theme: In this session Dr French will introduce teachers to Reciprocal Multilingual Learning, a model of teaching developed from research into how multilingual students use their linguistic repertoires in their lives and learning.

ACTA Councillors’ Meeting

Online

13 July 2023 Zoom link to be provided to councillors

SATESOL 2023 mini-conference and AGM

Living Choice Fullarton; 123 FisherStreet, Fullarton SA

10 June 2023 9:15 - 1:30pm ACST

LMERC Resourcing Event

Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) library, Level 1, 189 Faraday Street, Carlton

13 April 2023 4:30 - 6:00pm

Digital Literacies in EAL Special Interest Group (SIG)

Online

22 March 2023 4-5pm AEST

Teaching EAL/D through the Arts

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV International), 180 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda, Victoria

17 March 2023 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Digital literacy skills for adult EAL migrant and refugee learners within the community-based education setting

Online

16 March 2023 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Effective implementation of translanguaging pedagogy in TESOL classrooms

Online

9 March 2023 4:00pm – 5:00pm AEST

Joint Construction and Guided Instruction: Benefits for Tertiary English Language Learners

Online

6 March 2023 5 - 5:45pm AET

Meet the Assessors Online

Online

2 March 2023 4:30 - 6:00pm AEST

EAL Writing Strategies in a Primary Setting

Online

22 February 2023 4:00pm – 5:00pm AEST

The new VCE English and EAL study design

Online

6 December 2022 4:00pm - 5:00pm AEST

SA TESOL, with Judith Tomas, Presents: Cultural Awareness for Educators

Education Development Corporation (EDC), Milner Street, Hindmarsh SA 5007

24 - 24 November 2022 5:15 - 7:30pm (ACST)

Developing English through an understanding of how languages work

Online

17 November 2022 4:00pm - 5:00pm AEST

ACTA Council Meeting – November

Online

15 November 2022 7:00 - 9:00pm AEST

2022 VicTESOL Symposium: Professional Identity in TESOL-Finding the Common Ground

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, 603-615 Queensberry St, North Melbourne, Victoria

11 November 2022 8:30 - 4:00pm AEST

Challenges and possibilities in using The Victorian Curriculum F-10: EAL in a Year 7 science unit: A focus on word knowledge.

Online

10 November 2022 4:30 - 5:30pm AEST

EAL Writing Strategies in a Primary Setting

Online

27 October 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

AMEP Virtual Roadshow – Showcasing 3 New Resources

Online

26 - 26 October 2022 3 - 4pm AEST

***Rescheduled Date***Educator’s Tour of the Immigration Museum

On site - Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders St, Melbourne, Victoria 3000

18 October 2022 4:30 - 6:00pm AEST

AMEP Virtual Roadshow – Resources for the EAL Framework

Online

12 October 2022 4:30 - 5:30pm AEST

ACTA International Conference 2022

Brisbane, Queensland

26 - 28 September 2022

Theme: Pushing the Boundaries

ACTA Council Meeting – September

ACTA Conference

25 September 2022 Time TBA

EAL Meet & Teach with NGV (NGV Resourcing Event 2)

Online

15 September 2022 4:00pm - 5:00pm AEST

EAL Framework 101 Session 3: Teaching a Unit (Adult sector)

Online

14 September 2022 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm AEST

Colony to Nation for EAL teaching and learning (NGV Resourcing Event 1)

Online

8 September 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

LMERC Resourcing Event

Languages and Multicultural Educational Resource Centre (LMERC), Level 1, CO.AS.IT Building, 189 Faraday St Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria 3053

1 September 2022 4:30 - 6:00pm

Natasha Koroi: ‘Belonging’ and ‘connectedness’ in Kakadu

Online

11 August 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Theme: International Day of the World’s Indigenous peoples

ACTA Council Meeting – August

Online

11 August 2022 7:00 - 9:00pm AEST

Australian Institute of Family Studies: Working with children who are experiencing or engaging in bullying behaviour

Online

10 August 2022 1:00 - 2:00pm (AEST)

Theme: Childhood bullying is a complex social issue and our understanding of bullying dynamics has evolved over time. It is important for practitioners to understand children’s knowledge and perspectives on childhood bullying so that they can better support them.

Moving Forward with the ACTA National Roadmap for English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) Education in Schools – Interest Groups

Online

18 July 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Dr Helen Harper: Talking with intent: Scaffolding academic language with EAL/D learners

Online

22 June 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

Cindy Valdez-Adams: Designing learning for vocabulary development

Online

21 June 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

Dr Gill Pennington & Margaret Turnbull: The Power of talk

Online

20 June 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

ACTA Council Meeting – June

Online

9 June 2022 7:00 - 9:00pm AEST

Incorporating EAL/D students’ home languages and cultures into mainstream curriculum teaching and learning at school: Findings from a design-based Queensland study

Online

9 June 2022 4:30 - 6:00pm AEST

EAL Frameworks 101 (2): How to approach delivery and assessment of a group of units

Online

8 June 2022 4:30 - 6:00pm

Immigration Museum and VicTESOL: Integrating culture and language for EAL learners

Online

19 May 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Looking ahead: an overview of the new VCE English and EAL study design and planning for Units 1 & 2 in 2023

Online

10 May 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm AEST

Languages in Early Childhood Education – Launch of special Early Childhood Education edition ‘TESOL in Context’

Online

5 May 2022 7:00 - 8:00pm AEST

Foundation Skills Frameworks Review Project: Forum 2

Online

31 March 2022 4 to 5pm AEDT

Theme: This forum gives you an opportunity to expand on your responses to the online survey and provide more specific feedback relating to the frameworks.

Associate Professor Jacqueline D’warte: Building on and enhancing Harmony Day: Classroom strategies and activities for learning about languages and literacies with young people.

Online

24 March 2022 4:00 - 5:00 pm (AEDT)

Theme: Harmony Day

Robyn Johnson; Caitlin Espinoza; Bess Wassman: How we support children to learn to read with both high challenge and high support

Online

22 March 2022 4:00 - 5:00 pm (AEDT)

Theme: Harmony Day

Dr Gill Pennington & Margaret Turnbull: Effective EAL/D teaching is characterised by features of high challenge and high support: a response to the Research Report ‘English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) effective school practices’

Online

21 March 2022 4:00 - 5:00pm (AEDT)

Theme: Harmony Day

Foundation Skills Frameworks Review Project: Forum 1

Online

17 March 2022 4 to 5pm AEDT

Theme: An information session on the project and its discovery phase findings. An opportunity to ask questions about the project (live or via chat).

Foundation Skills Frameworks Review Project Survey

Online

11 - 1 April 2022

Theme: The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and Digital Literacy Skills Framework (DLSF) are descriptive frameworks that give us a common language and a set of reference points for discussing, learning, reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy and digital literacy skills. They are used in diverse programs and in a range of product and policy development and workforce capability contexts.
Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF)
Digital Literacy Skills Framework (DLSF)
The Department has commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to review the ACSF and DLSF.
Phase 2 of the project is consultation- which includes a survey of stakeholders.

Adult TESOL Event – EAL Framework 101: A Beginner’s Guide to the Victorian EAL Framework Curriculum

Online

9 March 2022 4:30 - 6:00pm (AEDT)

VCE EAL Exam Webinar – Meet the Assessors Online

Online

3 March 2022 4 - 5:30pm (AEDT)

Teaching, Learning and Belonging in the Multilingual Classroom – Exploring the Resources of the National Museum of Australia in Canberra

Online

24 February 2022 5:00pm - 6:30pm AEST

ALTAANZ 2020 – Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand

Melbourne, Vic

November 2021 (date to be announced)

Theme: Intersections, Crossings and Barriers

Panel Discussion – Assessment and Reporting for EAL students in primary and secondary schools

Online

18 November 2021 4 - 5pm (AEDT)

TESOL in Context- Growing TESOL in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander contexts

Online

8 November 2021 4:30pm - 6:00pm AEST

Towards a model for a hybrid delivery of EAL (Edwin Creely, Katrina Tour, Peter Waterhouse & Elizabeth Keenan)

Online

4 November 2021 4:00 - 5:30pm AEST

The Way Forward: How COVID has changed adult EAL delivery

Online

19 October 2021 4:00 - 5:30pm AEST

CLESOL Conference – Community Languages and English for Speakers of Other Languages

Auckland, NZ

8 - 10 October 2021

Theme: Weave the language, weave the people -
Whiria the reo, whiria the tangata

“Your story: Write it with me” (3) / Joanne Rossbridge & Kathy Rushton

Online

15 September 2021 5:30-7:30 pm AEST

Theme: International Day of the World’s Indigenous peoples

VicTESOL – Designing culturally responsive and culturally sustaining pedagogy for struggling adolescent and adult EAL learners (Dr Andrea DeCapua)

Online

14 September 2021 9 - 10:30am AEST

VicTESOL Symposium 2021 – TESOL in a time of COVID: implications and possibilities

Online

31 August 2021 4 - 5:30pm AEST

Immigration Museum and VicTESOL: Integrating culture and language for EAL learners

Online

25 August 2021 4 - 5pm AEST

QATESOL – Talk for Learning: Integrating dialogic teaching principles in the beginner-level English language classroom (presented by Skye Playsted)

Online

24 August 2021 4:30-5:30pm AEST

SATESOL – Issues of identity and multiculturalism in the National Portrait Gallery

Online

19 August 2021 4:30pm - 5:30pm (ACST)

Revitalisation and maintenance of Aboriginal languages / Aboriginal teachers from Central Australia and NSW with Susan Poetsch

Online

12 August 2021 5:30-6:30 pm AEST

Theme: International Day of the World’s Indigenous peoples

“Your story: read it to me” (2) / Joanne Rossbridge & Kathy Rushton

Online

11 August 2021 5:30-7:30 pm AEST

Theme: International Day of the World’s Indigenous peoples

Multilingual Storyboxes in the EAL/D Classroom / Dr Gill Pennington

Online

10 August 2021 5:30-6:30 pm (AEST)

Theme: International Day of the World’s Indigenous peoples

Colony to Nation – Bridging the Gap for EAL Learners – Presented by NGV Learn (National Gallery of Victoria) and VicTESOL

Online

22 July 2021 4:00-5:30 pm AEST

Shared experiences in teaching and supporting refugee students / Kim Cootes, Dr Gill Pennington & Cindy Valdez-Adams

Online

17 June 2021 5:30-6:30 pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

Teaching Refugees – The Way Forward / Dorothy Hoddinott AO

Online

16 June 2021 5:30-6:30 pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

“Your story: Show it to me” A 3-part online course (1) / Joanne Rossbridge & Kathy Rushton

Online

15 June 2021 5:30-7:30 pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

Developing Language Through the Arts / Cindy Valdez-Adams

Online

14 June 2021 5:30-6:30 pm AEST

Theme: World Refugee Day

ATESOL ACT Briefing Meeting to Discuss Changes to the AMEP

Online

9 June 2021 8:00-9:00 pm AEST

QATESOL hosted ACTA AMEP Forum

Online

9 June 2021 4:00-5:50 pm

VicTESOL Discussion Forum for teachers located in Tas, Vic & SA: Reform of the AMEP

Online

7 June 2021 4:00-5:00 pm AEST

The Role of Home Languages in Mainstream Schooling

Canberra, ACT

3 June 2021 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Theme: Lecture

Motivating Learners in the Language Classroom

Online

19 May 2021 4:00 - 5:30 pm AEST

Supporting EAL students in Inquiry-based Learning

Online

5 May 2021 3:45 - 4:45 pm AEST

Teaching genre using Functional Grammar

Online

28 April 2021 4:00 - 5:30 pm AEST

Early Childhood and Education Series – Families and Communities as Resources for Children’s Writing and Cultural Learning

Online

17 April 2021 10:00 - 11:00 am AEST

Theme: Early Childhood and Education Series

Using Multimedia in the Adult TESOL Classroom – Adult TESOL Sharing Session

Online

30 March 2021 4:30-6:00 pm AEDT

Innovative sustainable online language teaching – social media and the adult EAL/D classroom

Online

24 March 2021 4:00–5:00 pm AEST Qld time

Theme: Adult learners, online learning

Teaching English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) During COVID-19 School Closure: Teacher Perspectives

Milpera SHS, Brisbane (face-to-face)

20 March 2021 9:00-10.30 am AEST Qld time

Theme: EAL/adult/school; covid-19

What Works in Effective EAL/D Schools: CESE research report

Online

18 March 2021 4:00-5:00 pm AEDT

Early Childhood and Education Series – Building ECEC across the Nordic Countries

Online

17 March 2021 6:00-7:00 pm AEDT

Theme: Early Childhood and Education Series

Planning for teaching EAL/D students in K-2 mainstream classrooms

Online

17 March 2021 4:00-5:30 pm AEDT

“Your story: Show it to me” Three-part online course (Part 1)

Online

17 March 2021 5:30-7:30 pm AEDT

Exploring, thinking, and learning about languages and literacies with young people in Australian classrooms

Online

15 March 2021 5:30-6:30 pm AEDT

Spelling strategies that can work!

Online

4 March 2021 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm AEDT

Early Childhood and Education Series – Leveraging Languages for Learning

Online

17 February 2021 6:00-7:00 pm AEDT

Theme: Early Childhood and Education Series

English for Adult Migrants – Future Directions

11 November 2020

Theme: Learn about the Commonwealth Government’s vision for English language provision for adult migrants

The Refugee Experience – Resources for Teachers

28 October 2020

Theme: A collaboration between the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA), the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA), ATESOL ACT and VicTESOL

AALL Conference 2019 – Association for Academic Language and Learning

University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Western Australia

27 - 29 November 2019

Theme: AALL around the world: international perspectives, research and practice in academic language and learning

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