This academic workshop explores visual literacy as an effective tool for increasing motivation and engagement in educational settings. Through practical and interactive activities, participants will examine how images, videos, infographics, and other visual resources can support comprehension and make learning more meaningful. The workshop emphasizes strategies that educators can apply to encourage active participation, critical thinking, creativity, and communication among students. It also highlights the importance of interpreting and creating visual content in today’s digital learning environment. By integrating visual literacy into teaching practices, educators can create more dynamic, accessible, and motivating learning experiences that respond to diverse student needs.

When were you last a beginner in anything? Can you remember what it was like to be completely out of your comfort zone and unable to communicate?

In this session you will have a chance to reflect on the learning experience for low-level learners, consider tips and strategies for creating a more accessible learning environment and make your teaching much more effective and impactful.

Crossing the line of basic grammar drills, this hands-on workshop proposes to share a new methodology combined with new trends in education. Generative AI can breathe new life into Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). Foreign-language educators often struggle to design authentic, context-rich tasks that engage heterogeneous learners while managing heavy preparation workloads. In this interactive session, our fellow conference participants will develop practical strategies for incorporating AI tools to build scaffolded real-world communicative tasks and design formative assessment rubrics in minutes. Rather than replacing teacher pedagogy, AI is framed as a contributor that enhances meaningful interaction. Attendees will be part of successful classroom case studies and directly engage in a guided "prompt-engineering for TBLT" micro-session. Participants will enhance their knowledge by using this customizable toolkit of ready-to-implement task frameworks, prompt templates, and evidence-based strategies to raise communicative competence in their local ESL environment.

Providing enough time to practice speaking in class and providing individualised feedback are challenging when teaching speaking to large groups of students. In this context, the topic of teaching English vowel sounds to Spanish-speaking EFL learners gets even more difficult since the number of vowel sounds in English is more than double that of Spanish. To help with this issue, I propose some tips and tools. Some of the tips would include the use of pairs and groups to increase the speaking time in the classroom, the recommendation of a specific number of students per group for activities, a specific order for the teaching of minimal pairs to Spanish speakers, as well as the use of group activities listed in Kagan Cooperative Learning. I will also point the teachers to various freemium tools for the use of the IPA in the classroom (e.g., SpeechAce, a platform that provides immediate feedback for the pronunciation of individual sounds and approximate IELTS fluency scores; Sounds American, a webpage that shows the use of IPA sounds and symbols both in isolation and in word context).

Scaffolding is often understood as the provision of support; however, effective scaffolding requires intentional decisions about what support learners need, why they need it, when it should be provided, and how it will eventually be withdrawn. This interactive workshop invites English language teachers to examine scaffolding as an intentional instructional design process aimed at developing increasingly independent writers. Through guided reflection, a brief scaffolding debate, analysis of an instructional design case, and a collaborative planning activity, participants will identify learning bottlenecks, evaluate the relationship between learner needs and instructional support, and consider how scaffolds can be sequenced and gradually removed. The workshop also explores the potential role of artificial intelligence as a tool for extending learning without replacing productive thinking. Participants will leave with a practical framework for designing, justifying, and evaluating temporary support in writing instruction, as well as a renewed focus on the relationship between scaffolding, professional judgment, and learner independence.

This one-hour research showcase, moderated by MSc. Alexis Contreras-Falcones, features two classroom-based studies from the Master’s Program in TEFL at Universidad Espíritu Santo (UEES). The session examines how structured pedagogical interventions foster learner autonomy, oral fluency, and reflective technology use.

In the first study, Magister Mario Alvarado explores a one-week Project-Based Learning intervention with Ecuadorian A2 university learners. He investigates how collaborative projects and structured writing stages encourage responsible ChatGPT use without compromising independent writing autonomy.

In the second study, Tiffany Dávila-Bajaña, Lizeth Salas-Vaca, and Penélope Sánchez-Valdiviezo examine Spaced Retrieval Practice among A1 adult EFL learners. Following 24 instructional hours, participants showed significant improvements in oral fluency metrics (Mean Length of Run and Articulation Rate), alongside non-significant increases in target vocabulary use.

The presentation critically addresses both interventions' possibilities, contextual limits, and research implications, concluding with an audience Q&A.

This academic workshop explores visual literacy as an effective tool for increasing motivation and engagement in educational settings. Through practical and interactive activities, participants will examine how images, videos, infographics, and other visual resources can support comprehension and make learning more meaningful. The workshop emphasizes strategies that educators can apply to encourage active participation, critical thinking, creativity, and communication among students. It also highlights the importance of interpreting and creating visual content in today’s digital learning environment. By integrating visual literacy into teaching practices, educators can create more dynamic, accessible, and motivating learning experiences that respond to diverse student needs.

When were you last a beginner in anything? Can you remember what it was like to be completely out of your comfort zone and unable to communicate?

In this session you will have a chance to reflect on the learning experience for low-level learners, consider tips and strategies for creating a more accessible learning environment and make your teaching much more effective and impactful.

Crossing the line of basic grammar drills, this hands-on workshop proposes to share a new methodology combined with new trends in education. Generative AI can breathe new life into Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). Foreign-language educators often struggle to design authentic, context-rich tasks that engage heterogeneous learners while managing heavy preparation workloads. In this interactive session, our fellow conference participants will develop practical strategies for incorporating AI tools to build scaffolded real-world communicative tasks and design formative assessment rubrics in minutes. Rather than replacing teacher pedagogy, AI is framed as a contributor that enhances meaningful interaction. Attendees will be part of successful classroom case studies and directly engage in a guided "prompt-engineering for TBLT" micro-session. Participants will enhance their knowledge by using this customizable toolkit of ready-to-implement task frameworks, prompt templates, and evidence-based strategies to raise communicative competence in their local ESL environment.

Generative AI is rapidly changing how English teachers design classroom activities, but simply asking students to “talk to AI” does not necessarily lead to meaningful communication. This hands-on workshop explores how EFL teachers can move beyond generic AI-generated speaking prompts and use AI to design tasks that require genuine interaction and spontaneous language use.

Recent empirical research demonstrates that AI-mediated speaking activities—when paired with dynamic task structures—can significantly reduce foreign language speaking anxiety and boost learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) by building core self-efficacy (Fathi et al., 2024; Zhou et al., 2025). Furthermore, systematic reviews of generative AI in language education emphasise that while GenAI excels as a collaborative partner and materials provider, its instructional success hinges heavily on deliberate, human-led task design to prevent superficial engagement (Jeon et al., 2025; Wang et al., 2023).

During the workshop, participants will evaluate AI-generated speaking activities and redesign them using a practical 5 Cs framework: Choice, Challenge, Contrast, Communication Gap, and Change. Participants will also examine how task design can make speaking activities less predictable and more resistant to superficial or scripted responses. By the end of the session, teachers will have transformed a conventional speaking prompt into an interactive, differentiated, classroom-ready lesson that uses AI as a design partner rather than a replacement for meaningful human communication.

Providing enough time to practice speaking in class and providing individualised feedback are challenging when teaching speaking to large groups of students. In this context, the topic of teaching English vowel sounds to Spanish-speaking EFL learners gets even more difficult since the number of vowel sounds in English is more than double that of Spanish. To help with this issue, I propose some tips and tools. Some of the tips would include the use of pairs and groups to increase the speaking time in the classroom, the recommendation of a specific number of students per group for activities, a specific order for the teaching of minimal pairs to Spanish speakers, as well as the use of group activities listed in Kagan Cooperative Learning. I will also point the teachers to various freemium tools for the use of the IPA in the classroom (e.g., SpeechAce, a platform that provides immediate feedback for the pronunciation of individual sounds and approximate IELTS fluency scores; Sounds American, a webpage that shows the use of IPA sounds and symbols both in isolation and in word context).

Scaffolding is often understood as the provision of support; however, effective scaffolding requires intentional decisions about what support learners need, why they need it, when it should be provided, and how it will eventually be withdrawn. This interactive workshop invites English language teachers to examine scaffolding as an intentional instructional design process aimed at developing increasingly independent writers. Through guided reflection, a brief scaffolding debate, analysis of an instructional design case, and a collaborative planning activity, participants will identify learning bottlenecks, evaluate the relationship between learner needs and instructional support, and consider how scaffolds can be sequenced and gradually removed. The workshop also explores the potential role of artificial intelligence as a tool for extending learning without replacing productive thinking. Participants will leave with a practical framework for designing, justifying, and evaluating temporary support in writing instruction, as well as a renewed focus on the relationship between scaffolding, professional judgment, and learner independence.

This one-hour research showcase, moderated by MSc. Alexis Contreras-Falcones, features two classroom-based studies from the Master’s Program in TEFL at Universidad Espíritu Santo (UEES). The session examines how structured pedagogical interventions foster learner autonomy, oral fluency, and reflective technology use.

In the first study, Magister Mario Alvarado explores a one-week Project-Based Learning intervention with Ecuadorian A2 university learners. He investigates how collaborative projects and structured writing stages encourage responsible ChatGPT use without compromising independent writing autonomy.

In the second study, Tiffany Dávila-Bajaña, Lizeth Salas-Vaca, and Penélope Sánchez-Valdiviezo examine Spaced Retrieval Practice among A1 adult EFL learners. Following 24 instructional hours, participants showed significant improvements in oral fluency metrics (Mean Length of Run and Articulation Rate), alongside non-significant increases in target vocabulary use.

The presentation critically addresses both interventions' possibilities, contextual limits, and research implications, concluding with an audience Q&A.

Generative AI is rapidly changing how English teachers design classroom activities, but simply asking students to “talk to AI” does not necessarily lead to meaningful communication. This hands-on workshop explores how EFL teachers can move beyond generic AI-generated speaking prompts and use AI to design tasks that require genuine interaction and spontaneous language use.

Recent empirical research demonstrates that AI-mediated speaking activities—when paired with dynamic task structures—can significantly reduce foreign language speaking anxiety and boost learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) by building core self-efficacy (Fathi et al., 2024; Zhou et al., 2025). Furthermore, systematic reviews of generative AI in language education emphasise that while GenAI excels as a collaborative partner and materials provider, its instructional success hinges heavily on deliberate, human-led task design to prevent superficial engagement (Jeon et al., 2025; Wang et al., 2023).

During the workshop, participants will evaluate AI-generated speaking activities and redesign them using a practical 5 Cs framework: Choice, Challenge, Contrast, Communication Gap, and Change. Participants will also examine how task design can make speaking activities less predictable and more resistant to superficial or scripted responses. By the end of the session, teachers will have transformed a conventional speaking prompt into an interactive, differentiated, classroom-ready lesson that uses AI as a design partner rather than a replacement for meaningful human communication.