Tuesday, August 22, 2023 – The highly anticipated 3^rd International Conference on English Teaching and Learning Issues 2023 was organized by lecturers and was themed “Current Issues of ELT in Religious Settings: Pedagogy, Policy, Innovation, Technology, and Its Implementations”. Selected papers will be published at ICETLI Proceeding or Journal of English Teaching and Learning Issues (JETLI ) (ranked 2 accredited national academic journal / SINTA 2)). The event was held online via Zoom meeting so people worldwide could participate in the deep conversations.

The international conference, which was organized by the English Education or Tadris Bahasa Inggris (TBI) Study Program of IAIN Kudus, aimed to share experiences between the invited speakers, presenters, and participants. The distinguished invited speakers were Prof. Alizedney M. Ditucalan, JD, LLM, the Chancellor of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), Philippines, and Mr. Yuta Otake, MA in TESOL as a TESOL Coach for American Councils. Both speakers have extensive knowledge and experience in their respective fields, making them valuable conference contributors.

   

The inaugural ceremony was led by Miss Arinal Haq, a student from the TBI Department, who served as the master of ceremonies. Initially, the meeting was addressed by Mrs. Taranindya Zulhi Amalia, M.Pd., who serves as the Head of the English Education Study Program. The opening ceremony was graciously initiated by Professor Dr. M. Nur Ghufron, S.Ag., M.Si., the Dean of the Faculty of Education IAIN Kudus.

There are two distinct sessions at this event. The first session had two invited speakers, one of whom, Prof. Alizedney, spoke on the state of English education in the Philippines. He also paid particular attention to the ways in which English and Tagalog sound different when spoken. Mr. Yuta, the following speaker, addressed the challenges that educators have when attempting to engage their pupils in the English language learning process. Categories, he added, have great influence and are often put to use in language classrooms. It made for some interesting and thought-provoking scenarios.

In the second session, everyone shared the findings from their own studies. The speakers came from all around the world and represented a wide range of disciplines and organizations. The TBI Study program at IAIN Kudus hosted an ICETLI event where speakers shared techniques for improving English language instruction and attendees exchanged ideas and opinions. The academic community, including students and teachers, as well as professionals working in the field of English are prime targets for the positive effects of this endeavor.