English Association Annual General Meeting

Join us to mark our move to Senate House as we explore the future of English, coming together across primary, secondary, further, and higher education.

The day includes two conference-style panels, tackling two hot topics: AI, and oracy. You'll also have chance to network over lunch. We'll hear from our keynote speaker, author Ben Markovits, and we'll celebrate our prize- and award-winners. We'll close the day with a reception with drinks and nibbles.

10:00 - 10:30 Registration and coffee (non-members can register until 11:15)

10:30 - 11:00 Business meeting and Chair's Address (members only)

11:00 - 11:15 Welcome the new Fellows

11:15 - 11:30 Break

11:30 - 13:00 Teaching tomorrow: the brave new world of AI in the English classroom

Artificial intelligence: useful time-saving tools and prompts to kick-start creativity, or the end of writing and learning as we know it? Our panel of expert speakers will set the scene by demystifying AI, and exploring the opportunities in education for using AI effectively. There will be plenty of time for open discussion and questions.

• Chair: Jo Heathcote, Principal Examiner, English teacher, and author
• Darren Coxon, Chief Operating Officer of Britus Education and founder of CoxonAI
• Dr Harry Dyer, Lecturer in Education at University of East Anglia
• Dr Tiago Sousa Garcia, Research Software Engineer at Newcastle University
• Dr Freddie Baveystock, Head of English at Harris Westminster Sixth Form

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch and networking

14:00 - 15:30 The Uses of Oracy

Conversation and the spoken word are as vital to English studies as writing, and oracy and literacy go hand in hand. Join us as we tell the story of talk in English education, from primary and early years education through secondary and further education to degree-level study and beyond. We’ll be hearing from a panel of experts as they share their research and practical experience on the importance of talk in English teaching, in the context of the challenges posed by the aftermath of Covid and the competition for attention from digital and visual media (not to mention the lack of spoken language assessment at GCSE, something which the EA is campaigning to change). You will have the opportunity to submit your questions in advance to our expert panel, and we’ll also have plenty of time for open discussion.

• Chair: Tracey Maloney, ITT Director at e-Qualitas
• Charlotte Hacking, Learning and Programme Director at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education
• Dr Khawla Badwan, Reader in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University
• Sejal Payne, Independent Education Consultant

15:30 - 15:50 Break and coffee Registration for those attending Awards Ceremony only

15:50 - 16:30 Keynote: 'Can You Teach Creative Writing?', by Professor Ben Markovits, Royal Holloway, University of London

Benjamin Markovits grew up mostly in Texas and London. After an unpromising career as a professional basketball player, he began writing essays, stories and reviews for, among other publications, The New York Times, Esquire, Granta, The Guardian, The London Review of Books and The Paris Review. He has published eleven novels, including You Don’t Have To Live Like This, which won the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction in 2015, and a trilogy on the life of Lord Byron. His most recent novel is The Sidekick. Granta selected him as one of the Best of Young British Novelists in 2013. Markovits lives in London and is married, with a daughter and a son. He teaches Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.

16:30 - 17:00 Awards Ceremony

Join us to celebrate the achievements of the winners of this year's prizes:

• The Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize - with a reading from this year's winner, Jay Gao
• The Betty Haigh Shakespeare Essay Prize
• The Beatrice White Prize
• The English 4-11 Picture Book Awards and Margaret Mallett Award for Children's Non-Fiction

17:00 - 18:00 Reception with drinks and nibbles

Woburn Suite, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

Non-members are welcome to join us from 11:15; the business meeting, Chair's Address, and welcome of the new Fellows is for members only. Attendees wishing to view the Awards Ceremony should join us from 15:30.

All refreshments, lunch, and the drinks reception are included in the price.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Senate House, University of London, London, United Kingdom