The first Scottish ESOL Conference was held at Stirling Management Centre on 24 November 2009.
Over 150 delegates attended the event to listen to speeches from Keith Brown, Minister for Schools and Skills, Euan Reid, Chair of the National ESOL Panel and Professor Joe Lo Bianco, an international language expert from Australia.
The Minister highlighted the achievements of the last 2 years which have been made possible with the additional funding for ESOL provided by Scottish Government, the commitment of ESOL providers and the development of new professional development qualifications. He also thanked the National Panel for their part in taking forward the ESOL Strategy for Scotland.
Euan Reid concentrated on the progress of three working parties appointed by the National Panel to look at a curriculum framework for ESOL, professional development and funding principles. Each of the working parties gave and update on their recommendations.
Professor Lo Bianco gave a very interesting and thought provoking presentation on the Australian system. This showed how ESOL provision in Australia has evolved from the 1950s through to the present day.
The delegates also had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops relating to ESOL.
Feedback from the event has been very positive. Those who attended said that it was a useful networking opportunity and allowed them to see ESOL provision from a national perspective. Documents and presentations from the conference are available to download below.
