Chris Roland is known for his practical sessions on the nuts and bolts of task design, classroom management, the exploration of teacher/learner mindset and dialogue. His latest methodology book 'Taking Your Teaching of Teenagers to the Next Level' is available through Pavilion and, with Katy Kelly, he is co-author of Trinity College London Press’ new series 'Your Way to GESE'.

Chris Roland

How Free Can They Be?

As much as providing English language instruction, it sometimes feels like we are dealing in roomfuls of trapped, restless, bodies and minds. We shall cover a range of strategies and mind shifts to improve this state of affairs. We shall also explore freedom itself: what it is, and why we want it - if we want it at all. We shall also consider how traditional face-to-face lessons need to evolve to survive. No politics nor AI mentioned.

Dr. Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel

A Brief Journey into the Science of Learning and How It Applies to Foreign Language Learning

In this session, Carolina will take the audience on a journey that explores how our memory works and how we can use this knowledge to tweak foreign language teaching. She will share research insights on human learning that can directly inform activities in the classroom and provide hands-on practical tips. There will be demonstrations to experience the learning strategies, and the audience will leave the session inspired and ready to apply new ideas.

Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel (CPsychol, SFHEA) is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow, an expert in applying Cognitive Psychology to education, and an enthusiastic science communicator. She leads the TILE Network and is part of the Learning Scientists. She obtained her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Mannheim, Germany, and pursued postdoc positions at York University in Toronto, Canada, and the Center for Integrative Research in Cognition, Learning, and Education at Washington University in St. Louis, USA. Before joining the University of Glasgow, she was a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Dundee, UK. She has delivered workshops and talks on research-informed teaching worldwide. Carolina is convinced that psychological research should serve the public and engages in scholarly outreach activities.

She is passionate about research-informed teaching and aims to provide her students with the best learning experience possible. She is on the advisory boards for Evidence-Based Education, for National Institute of Teaching research projects, and for the ‘OpRaise: Opportunities and Potential Risks of AI in Supporting Evaluation’ project at University of Cambridge. See her linktree with links to papers, open educational resources, and outreach projects. In her free time, Carolina enjoys books, vinyl records, yoga, running, and movies/series.

Stefania is a teacher, trainer and trainer of trainers. She has worked in China, Turkey, Africa, and in numerous countries in Europe. She has been a Pilgrims Teacher Trainer for over two decades and is a lecturer at the University of Udine Italy. Stefania is a South-African born Italian and her main interests are languages and multiculturism.

Stefania Balloto

The Human Palette; Painting ELT with Warmth, Colour, and Wonder.

The very best English classrooms, no matter where they are, have three essential things, warmth, colour, and wonder.

I can see a teacher standing in front of an easel, holding a palette of colours, the human connection that makes students feel safe, the vibrancy of culture, creativity and play that brings language to life, wondering how to reignite curiosity in language learning, talking about awe in the classroom when language becomes discovery,

The Art of Teaching, from the heart, which is dancing with the brain, what a masterpiece by adding some warm colours and light, what sensations from today’s sharing with my learners, what feelings have I after using my tools to see the big picture…?

“Warmth. Colour and Wonder”, are not extras -they are the essential conditions for language learning to flourish.

We shall see how we can celebrate the profession we are in as a lifelong gift of connection, colour and kindness. We can also consider the metaphor of a mosaic to symbolise our journey and our global ELT community.

I hope to share this time together with my journey in colour, the human element, and my lifelong commitment to ELT.

Universidad Pablo de Olavide

Sevilla

13th-15th March 2026