International Education Week (IEW), marked this year on November 15-19, is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. Today, IEW is celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide. 

The American Center in Moscow invites you to celebrate IEW by joining virtual talks by American experts in the field of teaching English as a second language.

***

Our guest speaker on November 19 at 6:00-7:00 PM MSK is Kelly Metz-Matthews, Virtual English Language Fellow working at NUST MISiS in Moscow, with a talk "Integrating Intercultural Communication in the English-Language Classroom: Considering the Now and Envisioning the Future".

We’ve likely all heard the term intercultural communication, but what does intercultural communication look like in the English-language classroom where focus has traditionally been placed on issues of linguistic accuracy? Of even more importance, how does intercultural communication impact us (as educators) and our students (as learners and emerging leaders)?

In this talk, Kelly Metz-Matthews—a longtime TESOL professional and Virtual English Language Fellow in Moscow—will discuss how we might thoughtfully engage with issues of intercultural communication to the long-term benefits of our students. As a springboard for discussion, Metz-Matthews will examine some of her experiences teaching intercultural communication to pre-service TESOL professionals in the U.S./Mexican borderlands. From that lens, she’ll cover: 1) the topic itself, including common misperceptions and miscommunications, 2) challenges and successes to implementation, and, finally, 3) its critical role in our classrooms and the future of the field.

About the guest speaker:

Kelly Metz-Matthews has spent a decade teaching across the disciplines of English rhetoric and writing, (T)ESOL, and teacher education. In addition to serving as a Virtual English Language Fellow in Moscow, Kelly coordinates an academic writing program at the University of San Diego and coordinates faculty learning at San Diego City College. Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in liberal studies (emphasis: narrative nonfiction writing), a master’s degree in English as a second language curriculum and instruction, and a TESL/TEFL certificate. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation on the ways English functions as a form of gendered symbolic power. Prior to teaching, Kelly worked as a professional writer and editor. She has most recently published in the area of teacher coherence, but also has publications forthcoming on participatory writing in the remote second-language classroom and on preparing teachers to work with emerging bilinguals in the U.S./Mexican borderlands.

How to watch the talk:

Watch Kelly Metz-Matthews’s talk live on AMC’s Facebook page or on YouTube channel on Friday, November 19 at 6:00 PM Moscow time. The virtual talk will be hosted with Russian subtitles.

If you want to receive a reminder about the talk and a link to the broadcast 30 minutes before the event begins, you can register below and leave your valid email address. 

***

To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center’s TimePad calendar.

#IEW #ELT #teaching #intercultural