The 36th International Conference on English Language Teaching and Learning will be held from May 17th to May 18th, 2019 at Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan. This conference aims to bring together researchers, teacher educators, and English teachers from different parts of the world to reposition themselves on the ever-changing World Stage of English teaching and learning.
In the midst of rapid technological innovation and continuous globalization, English language learning and teaching has undergone phenomenal changes. English learning and teaching is no longer bound to classroom setting. Virtual classroom has become a viable alternative to many English language learners around the world. Convenient accesses to the authentic English language input via the Internet have strengthened the continuity between in-class and outside class language practices. Nevertheless, the digital divide also further complicated the gap in English proficiency between the students living in the cities and those in the rural areas. Some English learners are trying to sustain and keep up with English whereas other are thriving with easy accesses to the Web 2.0 resources, and after-school online tutoring.
At the juncture of ample possibilities and yet immense uncertainties, many ELT practitioners are met with the challenge of sustaining the established practices and at the same time blending in innovative ones with an attempt to reach every student. With these ongoing changes, how the English language teachers are trained to meet the needs of generation Z remains dubious. In research, we have seen burgeoning intercultural, interdisciplinary, transnational collaborations in an array of topics, and yet there are still so many unanswered questions. Can CALL help the students struggling with English learn better? What are the strategies that English teachers can utilize when teaching students with varying English abilities in the same classroom? How can the EFL teacher training reflect the needs of 21st Century leaners?
