14/08/2025
“The Hidden Life of The Language Classroom”
Jack C Richards
The University of Sydney
Type: Lecture/Seminar
Date: Friday, 12 September 2025
Time: 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm (Sydney Time)
Venue: Charles Perkins Centre. CPC Auditorium (D17.B1.B1900) (see https://maps.sydney.edu.au/ )
Cost: Free
Registration: https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5A6Qqx5ovD2Dp1s
Abstract
Despite the potential for out-of-class learning provided by the internet, technology, mobile devices and the media, teachers and students spend a great deal of instructional time in classrooms. A full-time teacher might spend 30,000 to 40,000 hours in front of a classroom over their careers. Children who are in school from the time they are 5 to 18 typically spend an average of 900 hours a year and a total of 11,700 total instructional hours in classroom instruction. Classroom language teaching and learning involve cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural social dimensions, and classroom life is shaped by aspects of teachers' and learners’ sense of themselves. The focus in this presentation is on aspects of how these are understood and the influence they have on teachers' and learners’ engagement in classroom teaching.
Biography
Professor Jack C. Richards has had an active career in the Asia Pacific region and has held chair professorial positions at the University of Hawaii, the City University of Hong Kong, and the University of Auckland. He is currently an honorary professor in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney. He has also had a long association with the Regional Language Centre in Singapore. He has written over 150 books and articles on language teaching as well as many widely used classroom texts. He has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by Victoria University, Wellington, for his services to education and the arts and received the Award for Patronage from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. The International TESOL organisation honoured Jack Richards as one of the 50 TESOL specialists worldwide to have made a significant impact on language teaching in the last 50 years. Website: www.professorjackrichards.com
Enquiries: Aek Phakiti ([email protected]).
***************************
“Planning an Integrated Skills Language Course for Tertiary Students”
Jack C Richards
The University of Sydney
Type: Workshop
Date: Friday, 19 September 2025
Time: 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm (Sydney Time)
Venue: Education Secondary Maths Room 418 (A35.04.418, Education Building) (see https://maps.sydney.edu.au/ )
Cost: Free
Expression of Interest: https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Z70fd6ao8UE2Ca
Abstract
This workshop will focus on designing a 42-hour credit-bearing course titled "English Through Films and Short Stories," based on a case study of a course designed for undergraduate non-English majors in a university in an East-Asian context.
The workshop will include an overview of options in course design and involve group-based activities in which participants will:
• examine the aims of the course as developed by the institution
• discuss issues that the course should address
• propose content for the course
• suggest the course methodology and learning activities
• develop objectives and learning outcomes for the course
• suggest assessment methods
Participants should bring their personal computers or tablets and are encouraged to use Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) such as ChatGPT and Copilot to assist with their planning and deliberations. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will compare their plans with the course proposal developed by the institution.
Biography
Professor Jack C. Richards has had an active career in the Asia Pacific region and has held chair professorial positions at the University of Hawaii, the City University of Hong Kong, and the University of Auckland. He is currently an honorary professor in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney. He has also had a long association with the Regional Language Centre in Singapore. He has written over 150 books and articles on language teaching as well as many widely used classroom texts. He has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by Victoria University, Wellington, for his services to education and the arts and received the Award for Patronage from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. The International TESOL organisation honoured Jack Richards as one of the 50 TESOL specialists worldwide to have made a significant impact on language teaching in the last 50 years. Website: www.professorjackrichards.com
Enquiries: Aek Phakiti ([email protected]).
The official website of educator Jack C Richards
