From September 23 to 24, 2023, the 3rd SCRELE Biennial Conference on Development, Using and Evaluating ELT Materials for Young Learners hosted by Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education was successfully held at Shanghai International Studies University (Hongkou Campus). The conference featured keynote speeches by Professor Rod Ellis from Curtin University, Australia; Professor Masatoshi Sato from Andrés Bello University, Chile; Associate Professor Renata Geld from the University of Zagreb, Croatia; Professor Wen Qiufang from Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Professor Mei Deming from Shanghai International Studies University. The event also included eight parallel forums for discussion, with over two hundred researchers, educators, and middle and high school English teachers participating from both domestic and international backgrounds.
Professor Rod Ellis delivered a keynote address on Consciousness-raising Tasks for Grammar Teaching. Professor Rod Ellis first introduced the distinction between implicit knowledge and explicit knowledge, and then introduced three theoretical orientations of the role of implicit and explicit knowledge in language learning in academia, focusing on grammar teaching from various theoretical perspectives.
Professor Masatoshi Sato presented on Where are researchers? The missing stakeholder in the equitable research-practice relationship.Professor Masatoshi Sato, based on his own experience, emphasized the importance of research and practice community research, and pointed out that there is a common problem of disconnection between research and practice in the current foreign language education community.
Associate Professor Renata Geld's presentation, titled Cognitive Science of (Early) Language Learning and Teaching: Under the Sea, Broccoli, and Pebbles & Sand, Based on his analysis of the essence of language meaning construction, the creativity of adolescent learners, and grammatical complexity, he emphasized the interaction between general cognitive processes, learner experiences, and language use, believing that these three are core issues that need to be addressed in textbook design.
Professor Wen Qiufang's keynote address, titled A Comprehensive System for English Textbook Compilation in China, introduced a comprehensive theoretical system for compiling foreign language textbooks tailored to Chinese learners.The system is based on the teaching experience collected by Professor Wen Qiufang during his years of research and practice, and includes five interrelated elements that contribute to the development of high-quality English textbooks.
On the morning of September 24, Professor Mei Deming from Shanghai International Studies University delivered a keynote speech on English Textbook Development and the Standpoint of Chinese Culture, emphasizing the need to integrate Chinese culture effectively into English textbook development while maintaining historical and cultural confidence.
The conference also featured eight specialized parallel workshops on the afternoons of September 23 and the morning of September 24, where over 50 scholars, teachers, and educational researchers discussed topics such as the compilation of foreign language textbooks for primary and secondary schools, the development of supplementary resources, research on textbook content and usage, trial teaching and research supporting textbook development, and research on textbook development and teacher education from the perspective of educational ecology.
At the end of the conference, Professor Shu Dingfang, the chief expert of the National Foreign Language Teaching Material Construction Key Research Base and chief expert of the Shanghai English Education Teaching Research Base, provided a summary of the conference.
