Welcome to GISIG
IATEFL’s Global Issues Special Interest Group (GISIG) was created in 1995 and aims to provide a forum among ELT practitioners to stimulate awareness and understanding of global issues, and to encourage the development of global education within language teaching.
We are very happy to welcome you, would like to tell you a little about GISIG activities, and hope you will see opportunities for engagement.
GISIG Activities
We have joined hands with other SIGs to organise events and launch our online events. In this month itself GISIG was part of an International conference with LTSIG in India and a webinar with BESIG. We are planning more such events and will let you know soon.
GISIG has attempted to reach out to its members through its website, Ning, and Yahoogroups. Even though it is the smallest of IATEFL SIGs, it is equally committed to sensitise its members of global issues, engage in conversations with them and help in their professional development.
GISIG has now decided redesigned its website to fulfill its emerging needs. We need pictures that you have taken of GISIG events or pictures relating to global issues for our new website.
Our Ning has a registered 207 members. A Ning has more to offer than, in effect, discussion by email i.e. the classic Yahoogroups list. Images can be posted and commented on, likewise videos and blogs and synchronous chat can be made available, too. Events can be planned and advertised and, again, the option for making written comments is usually available. Groups can also be formed to discuss a specific topic or problem of especially concern to its members. We invite our members to make use of the affordances of our Ning site to share information about events, best practices, and lesson ideas with their colleagues. Certainly one of the great assets of Ning, the video displaying feature, is markedly under-used by GSIG members. In the coming months we invite you to use this feature. We have started adding new features to our website and Ning. So keep checking our website, and Ning we are going to add more stuff and functionalities to them soon.
Publications
A bi-annual GISIG newsletter, packed with discussion and practical ideas for teaching Global Issues and addressing possible constraints in low resource contexts together with the latest theories and book reviews.
Occasional other publications, for example proceedings of and papers from our events.
Reduced rates to GISIG events.
Networking
The opportunity to become involved in the running of the Global Issues SIG, learn about organizing conferences, help to edit newsletters and web sites, and enhance your professional development.
Social networking: global-issues.ning.com
GISIG website at gisig.iatefl.org