In the lead up to the ISTEK Schools 3rd International ELT Conference, we’ll be introducing some of the presenters on the blog. Next up is Daniel Xerri…
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a teacher and perpetual student. I’m passionate about educational research, literature, and travel. Besides regularly attending conferences all over the world I also enjoy writing research articles. I’ve published a few of these over the past few years and I’m currently working on a number of other publications. I relax by going to the beach.
What is your teaching background?
In my early 20s I started working as an EFL teacher and after doing a PGCE at university I worked as a secondary school English teacher for two years. Seven years ago I began teaching English in a post-16 college owned by the University of Malta and over the past few years I’ve also run courses in English proficiency for postgraduate students.
Tell us a bit about your session.
In my session we shall explore ways of using poetry for the purpose of teaching language. Poetry is one of those genres that is sometimes dismissed as being difficult for students or inappropriate for language teaching. By means of this session I hope to debunk such myths.
Why are you interested in the area you’ll be presenting on?
Poetry is the subject of much of my research. In one of my projects I am currently exploring the beliefs of teachers and students and how these influence the approach to poetry in class. Given that I’m interested in how the use of poetic texts can lead to engagement on the part of language learners I am also constantly in search of innovative techniques that fellow educators use in order to stimulate language learning by means of poetry.
What should your audience expect to learn?
Participants will be given an opportunity of trying out a variety of techniques by means of which poems can be exploited for their linguistic richness and versatility. Hopefully, by the end of the session they won’t just learn some of these techniques but they will also appreciate that poetry can be a great ally to them as teachers.
What are three words that sum up your session?
Poetry, Creativity, Engagement
Which other presenters are you looking forward to seeing?
Sugata Mitra, Jan Blake and Jamie Keddie
Do you blog? Tell us about it?
Unfortunately, I don’t blog. However, I do have a website where I post information about my talks and publications:
Can we find you on Twitter or Facebook?
My Twitter handle is @danielxerri while my Facebook profile can be found here:
Have you been to Turkey before or is this your first time?
This is my first visit to Turkey and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m trying to prepare for it by reading Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul.
What other aspects of the conference are you looking forward to?
The opportunity to network with other speakers and delegates.
ISTEK Schools Third International ELT Conference 
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Want to know more about Daniel Xerri, one of our June presenters? Here’s an interview he gave for the ISTEK ELT conference in Turkey next week…