Wiwik Andreani and Irfan Rifai presented their research papers at the 3rd UTIC – UAD TEFL Conference 2014 that took the theme on “ELT Materials Development in Asia and beyond: Directions, Issues, and Challenges”.

Prof. Brian, J. Tolinson : A prominent figure in ELT material Development
Prof. Brian, J. Tomlinson : A prominent figure in ELT material Development

The Keynote speaker of the conference was the President of MATSDA, The materials Development Association, Prof. Brian , J. Tomlinson. Brian, in his key note speech, stressed on the importance of considering the 5 principles of Second Language Acquisition (SLA)  in developing materials and for the students to use, enjoy, and experience the target language in the real contexts by themselves.

Brian, Masuhara and Wiwik
Prof. Brian, Dr. Masuhara and Wiwik Andreani

The 5 principles, namely, exposure, affective and cognitive engagement engagement, contextual use of the language and the opportunities to use them were also elaborated by Dr. Hitomi Masuhara, the Committee Secretary of MATSDA in her speech that focused on Task Based materials development.

Wiwik's round table discussion
Wiwik’s round table discussion

In the conference, Wiwik Andreani and Irfan Rifai had their papers presented in intensive round-table discussion sessions. Wiwik shared her research -based paper on “Emotionally intelligent teachers motivating students in EFL classrooms”. Wiwik received a warm response from the participants visiting her table and had  wonderful – mutual discussion. On a separate table, Irfan presented his ideas on “Designing content for a web-based application used in blended Composition Classes: Things to consider in the EFL/ESL context” where he received similar response.

Irfan's round table discussion
Irfan’s round table discussion

Wiwik and Irfan said that they  thoroughly enjoyed the conference and  hope that they would  be able to maintain good relationships with fellow academics they  met during the conference. One of the reasons why lecturers attend conferences.