English UK ELT Conference
Friday 26 February 2027
Hilton London Canary Wharf
The event is our largest annual gathering of academic English language teaching staff. This conference is for English language teaching professionals looking for professional development, the latest tools and techniques in our sector, and a space to discuss best practice in ELT management and teaching.
> Register for the conference
Thank you to our gold event sponsor - Trinity College London
Thank you to our silver event sponsor - Pearson
Learn more about the 2027 ELT Conference
Overview
Taking place over one day and three stages, the ELT Conference will offer a programme for all teaching and academic roles.
Sessions will explore a range of key themes in ELT. These will include areas such as academic management, teaching and classroom practice, curriculum development, teacher training and staff development and the use of AI and digital tools. The programme will also touch on wider topics such as quality assurance, student engagement, well-being and sustainability.
Registration and prices
English UK member rate: £165
Standard rate: £265
If you are a member, use your member number as the 'promo code' in Eventbrite to unlock the member rate. Standard Eventbrite booking fee applies.
> Register for the conference
Exhibition space
If you want to exhibit at the ELT Conference, contact our Senior Events & Training Manager, Siobhan Baccas.
All exhibitors are allocated a 3x2m space with a trestle table and two chairs.
Exhibition prices
English UK member rate: £1,240 + VAT
Standard rate: £1,640 + VAT
Programme
Sessions are organised across three themes, giving you the flexibility to explore academic management, teaching practice and the wider issues shaping ELT today. See below the sessions confirmed so far. More coming soon.
Stage 1: Academic management
- Taking back time: how to do everything you want to — Sandy Millin. Tried-and-tested approaches to managing competing demands, making better use of your time and getting to the tasks that are important but too often pushed aside.
- The power of predictability: why 'boring' managers are great managers! — Holly Morgan. Explores how consistency and predictability can help managers build trust, strengthen relationships with teaching teams and create a more positive and productive working environment.
- Communication, confidence and culture: why learners still choose face-to-face English programmes — Alison Luke. Drawing on student motivation and feedback data, this session explores what learners value about face-to-face programmes, from communicative classroom practice and confidence-building to intercultural experiences and authentic language use.
- Intention v perception: what you said isn't always what they heard — Helen Lunney. A practical look at why misunderstandings happen in educational settings and how tone, timing, context, culture and individual experience can shape communication, with strategies for checking understanding and communicating more clearly.
- Beyond English: building a future-ready curriculum — Alex Warren. As learner needs and expectations evolve, this session explores the case for embedding future-ready skills into the curriculum and moving from teaching English alone to preparing learners for study, work and life.
Stage 2: Teaching practice
- 30 minutes, two worlds: from elementary English to advanced Business English — Jay Gohari. Practical techniques for switching effectively between very different learners and levels, adapting pace, language, interaction, expectations and lesson focus through a purposeful 'pedagogical reset'.
- How to help students avoid TAD (Translation-app Dependence) — Anna Lyons. An interactive session exploring students' reliance on translation apps and practical classroom activities that can help learners become more aware of their habits and develop alternative strategies.
- Facilitate iterative learning: a continuous cycle for growth and autonomy in any context — Andy Jeffery. Practical ideas for making learning an ongoing cycle of producing, receiving feedback, reflecting and refining, placing greater value on the process and helping learners develop greater autonomy.
- From meme to meaning: what memes teach us about how language is learned — Alevtina Popova. Explore how memes can help L2 learners connect meaning with language structure, develop fluency and communicate more spontaneously, with practical ideas for speaking, grammar, storytelling and cultural learning.
- Teaching one-to-one tips and techniques — Alexa Benson. Explores the key differences between teaching individuals and groups, with practical strategies for adapting lesson planning, classroom management and course design to meet the needs of individual learners.
Stage 3: ELT in context
- Beyond the invisible cage: reframing narratives — Aini Butt. Explore how fear, self-doubt, limiting beliefs and past experiences can influence communication and classroom relationships, and how greater self-awareness and reflection can help create learning environments built on trust, belonging and authentic connection.
- DEI fatigue: how to create meaningful change — Varinder Unlu. Moves the conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion beyond awareness and representation, exploring where DEI can become performative and how individuals and organisations can work towards practical action, accountability and sustainable change.
- From missed lessons to mental health: the one skill every teacher and DoS needs — Hannah Youell. A practical session on recognising early signs that a student may be struggling with their mental health, responding in a supportive way without trying to fix the problem, setting appropriate boundaries and connecting students with specialist support.
Venue
Hilton London Canary Wharf
South Quay Square
Marsh Wall
London E14 9SH
> View on Google maps
> How to get from Canary Wharf station to the venue
Past ELT Conference news
