The 33rd Ventesol National Convention took place on May 30th and 31st, 2015, in Barcelona, Venezuela, focusing on breaking paradigms and borders in English Language Teaching (ELT). The event featured various sessions, plenary talks by notable speakers, and opportunities for networking and professional development among educators and practitioners. Participants engaged in discussions on topics such as technology integration, critical thinking, and collaboration in the classroom.

1. Schedule at a Glance
33rd VenTESOL National Convention
Breaking Paradigms and Borders in ELT
UGMA, Barcelona, Anzoategui, Vzla
May 30th and 31st, 2015
http://www.ventesol.org | http://ventesol.ning.com

2. TIME SATURDAY May 30th
, 2015
08:00-05:00 Registration
09:00- 10:00 Welcoming Session to the Annual Convention
10:00 – 11:00 Opening Plenary: Keys to Success: Prosocial Education, Mindfulness and Empathy by Mary Scholl (US Embassy)
Sessions Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5 Room 6 Room 7 Room 8 Language Lab
11:15 – 12:00
Ready? Set…Go!
Fun and Effective
Class Planning
Mary Álvarez
ALL-TE-TECH
Planning for
Serious Laughter
Mónica Bello &
Francis Bellorín
PE-TE
Student Peer
Review Revisited
Audy Castañeda
HE-AE-TE
The Distinctive
Characteristics of
Foreign Language
Teachers
Freddy Vanegas &
Evelyn Urbina
HE-RS
Collaboration?
YES! A Team-
teaching
Approach
Elizabeth Ortiz
ALL-TE
Theatricality in the
EFL Classroom
Adriana Lovera
PE-EE-SE-ALL-TE
Light Your Own Fire!
Marcela Raffo
ALL
Social Media and
ELT: A Case for
Pinterest
Andrés Ramos
ALL-TEST-TE-PA-
RS-TECH
Shifting My
Perception from
Teacher to
Freelancer
Marina Majonica
ONLINE
SESSION
ALL
Appraisal Markers
and Critical
Reading in ESP
Ingrid Castell
HE-RS-AL
Why Do Not My
Students Like to
Research?
Yohimar Sivira
HE-RS
12:15 – 01:00
Highlighting
Holidays and
Culture in the EFL
Classroom
Jesús Amado
SE–ALL-TE-AL
In-house
Materials for
ESP Students at
UMC
Freddy Carreño &
Lisbeth Belisario
All-RS
Learning
Strategies in the
Foreign Language
Classroom
Daniel Castillo &
Álvaro Jordán
ALL-RS
A Digital Era is
Unstoppable
Rossaynes
Solórzano
HE-ALL-TECH
Best Practices:
Teachers Making
Things Work
Helena Guerrero
RECORDED
SESSION
PE-EE-SE-TE
Poetry for
Meaningful English
Lessons. Let’s Try?
Diego Navarro
ALL-TE
Education
Opportunities in the
US
Marta García &
Ángel García
ALL
VenTESOL
Special Interest
Groups (SIGs) –
Creating
Successful
Communities of
Practice
Evelyn Izquierdo
ALL
01:00 – 02:00 Lunch Break (Lunch provided to participants)
02:00 – 03:00 Plenary Session: A Road from Binary to Complex Thinking by Marina González (Universal Text / Cengage Learning & National Geographic)
03:15 – 04:00
Mind Shakers: A
Different
Perspective in
Teaching
Paradigms
Adrian Rondón
ALL-TE
Enhancing
Critical
Thinking
Through the
Reading of
Literature
Adriana González
ALL-TE
The Teacher’s
Smartphone -
Door to
Technology
Integration
Alirio González
EE-SE-HE-TECH
The ABC’s of EFL
Program Design
Marisela Ferrer &
Cynthia Moleiro
ALL-TE
Music and
English: English
Program for
Young Musicians
Diorling Medina &
Yeidi Parra
ALL
Developing
Teaching Resources
Through Reusable
Materials
Zoigrace Sánchez &
Mijail Contreras
ALL-MW
Applying Case Study
Method in Language
Teacher Education
Víctor Hugo Rojas
HE-TE
Reading + Sight
Words. Have You
Tried it Yet?
Yusisu Fuenmayor
ALL-TECH
English Students’
Oral Corpus: A
Multicultural
Project
Chinger Zapata
ONLINE
SESSION
HE-TECH
04:15 – 05:00
Critical
Thinking
Activities:
Ready to Break
the Paradigms?
Jerry Guerrero
SE-HE-ALL-
TEST-TE-TECH
Pushing Your
Classroom to the
Limit
Damian Laurayne
SE-HE-AE-TE-
TECH
The Perfect
Update:
Technology to
Teach English
Alejandra Lovera
EE-SE-HE-AE-
ALL-TE-TECH
Corpus-based
Digital Dictionary
Construction for
ESP
Julio César Palma
HE-MW-TECH
Mine and Craft
Your EFL
Experience with
Minecraft
Andy Cuevas
EE-SE-HE-ALL-
MW-RS-TECH
Spelling Bee
Competitions: A
Powerful Tool
María Susana
Hernández, Mónica
León and Luis Villar
ALL-TE
Gamifying the
ELT course book
Graham Stanley
ONLINE
SESSION
ALL-TECH
05:00– 05:30 Coffee Break
05:30 – 06:30 Plenary Session: Enhancing Language Learning Through Technology by Pete Sharma (British Council)
06:30 – 08:30
Annual Assembly: Board of Directors Elections 2015-2016
SOCIAL GATHERING AND VENTESOL ANNUAL TOAST

3. TIME SUNDAY - May 31st, 2015
08:00 – 08:30 Breakfast
08:30 – 09:30 Plenary Session: Unleash Your Experience: Being a 21st Century Reflective Practitioner by Micah Risher (RELO Andes)
Sessions Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5 Room 6 Room 7 Room 8 Language Lab
9:45 – 10:30 Project-Based
Learning (PBL) in
the EFL Class
Audy Castañeda &
Paola Betancourt
ALL-TE
CoPs: 00-
Teachers, Non-
Secret Agents of
Change
Andrés Ramos
ALL-TE-RS
Designing Didactic
Units for
Interactive EFL
Courses
Evelyn Urbina,
Daniel Castillo &
Freddy Vanegas
ALL-MW-TE
English Moment: A
Paradigm Breaker
in ELT
Miriannys Velásquez
PE-EE-SE-ALL-TE
What
@USEmbassyVE
and @reloandes
have for ELT in
Venezuela
Sandra Botero &
Marcela Raffo
ALL
Applications:
Exploring
Prosocial
Education,
Mindfulness and
Empathy
Mary Scholl
ALL-MW-TE
Flashcards: One Tool,
Multiple Uses
María Gabriela Aguirre
PE-EE-SE-ALL
Breaking ELT
Paradigms through
Critical Thinking
SE-HE-AE-ALL
Clevia Perez
40 Practical Ideas
for Using
Technology in
ELT
Pete Sharma
ALL-TECH
10:45–11:30
Did You Say,
Create a PSA?
Cynthia Moleiro
SE-TE-TECH
Teaching Speaking:
Stress, Rhythm, and
Intonation
Jorge Viloria &
Gabriel Carrillo
ALL-AL
Developing New
Habits
Virginia Velásquez
HE-AE-TE-TECH
Sociocultural Factors
in Language Learning
María Elena Silva
ALL
Project & Task-
based Learning: An
Assessment
Approach
Thais Villa, Miguel
Frontado & Jessyca
Villarroel
EE-SE-HE-TEST-RS-
AL
11:45: – 12:45 Plenary Session: I’m a Teacher! What’s your Superpower? By Marina Majonica, Miguel Pérez, Milagros Quijada, Johannes Rojas and José Zapata
12:45 - 01:45 Lunch Break (Lunch provided for all participants)
01:45 – 02:45 Colloquium: Breaking Paradigms and Borders in ELT in the Andean Region: VenTESOL – ASOCOPI- Ecuador TESOL- RELO Perú
03:00 - 03:45
Adapting CiSELT
Methodology to the
Speaking
Classroom
Mahly Martinez
HE-TE
Are You
Teaching? Use
Techno-tools!
Henry Ramos
ALL-TECH
Corpus-based
Digital Dictionary
Construction for
ESP
Julio César Palma
HE-MW-TECH
Have fun with
Preschool Kids
Victoria Romero &
Freyja Reyes
PE-TE
Humor as a
Motivational
Factor in EFL
Teaching
Desirée Rondón &
Carmen Tonya
Linares
SE-AE-TE
Giving the
Classroom a
Purpose:
Interaction
Laura Escalante &
William Chacón
ALL-TE-AL
Promoting Research
on Literature for
English Language
Learning
Vanessa Ruiz
HE-RS
Photography as an
Extra Tool In Class
Marta Sojo
SE-HE-AE-AL
What the Flipped
Classroom Means
to Language
Teachers
Russell Stannard
ONLINE
SESSION
ALL-TECH
Boosting EFL
Proficiency
Through TV Series
Olga Galarraga
SE-HE-AE-RS-TE
03:45 – 04:15 Coffee Break
04:15 – 05:15 Closing Plenary Session: ELT for Peace by Doris Molero (URBE)
05:15 – 06:15 CLOSING CEREMONY AND RAFFLES
Announcement of elected members for new board of directors 2015-2016
06:15 – 06:45 Certificates pick-up