VicTESOL 2023 Symposium: Sustaining EAL Expertise

The 2023 VicTESOL Symposium was held at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership in North Melbourne. With the theme of “Sustaining EAL expertise: Voices from research, leadership, and the classroom”, the day began with Prof Karen Johnson‘s (Penn State) keynote, Responsive Mediation and Shifting Novice L2 Teacher Instructional Stance — building on a Vygotskian approach to teacher learning to demonstrate how pedagogical concepts can enable responsive models of language teacher education that facilitate and sustain teachers’ growth.

The keynote was followed by a panel chaired by our Lab’s Russell Cross, featuring four distinguished EAL leaders from different sectors and contexts: Evangelia Kontos and Amelia Gedye (Blackburn English Language School), Assoc. Prof. Janet Scull (Monash), and Michelle Andrews (Victorian Department of Education & Training). They shared their insights and challenges on EAL teacher education and development, as well as their strategies and initiatives to support EAL teachers throughout their careers. The discussion concluded with a response from Prof Johnson, and highlighted the importance of sustaining EAL expertise through research and collaboration.