Upcoming CPD Opportunities - Autumn 2026
Upcoming CPD Opportunities: Autumn 2026
Image credit: British Council
In this corner of the globe, the nights are drawing in and it’s starting to cool (thank goodness). Teachers are preparing for the start of the new academic year, which is usually accompanied by a wealth of free CPD content provided by publishers and teachers’ associations.
I started keeping track of these learning opportunities in September 2023, initially for my own benefit (call it an age thing!) and then to share with other teachers who might be interested. It turned out to be quite popular so – three years on – here’s the latest edition. Thank you to all of you who have followed (and encouraged) me in that time. For those of you new to this blog, it’s a simple list of events coming up in date order, with links and a little info on each.
I update the posts as new events are published, but – as ever - if I’ve missed anything you think might be useful, please let me know in the comments.
Jessica
TITLE: IATEFL YLTSIG Web Conference -Teaching today's learners for tomorrow's world
PRESENTERS: Various – see conference website
DATES & TIMES: Friday, 30th October – Sunday, 1st November 2026 – 11:30-18:30 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: IATEFL YLT (Young Learners and Teens) SIG
TYPE OF EVENT: Free online conference
SUMMARY
Children and teenagers are growing up in a world that is changing faster than ever before. Their experiences, identities, expectations and ways of learning continue to evolve, presenting exciting opportunities and new challenges for language educators.
We invite proposals that explore how English language teaching can respond to these changes while keeping learners at the heart of our practice. Whether your focus is classroom methodology, multilingualism, inclusion, AI and digital learning, assessment, wellbeing, creativity, global citizenship or another aspect of young learner and teenager education, we would love to hear from you.
About the conference
This free, online conference brings together teachers, teacher trainers, materials writers and educators from around the world for three days of practical ideas, research-informed practice and inspiring conversations about teaching the learners of today and preparing them for tomorrow.
Call for Papers open until 4th September, 2026.
TITLE: From Tool to Topic: A Practical Framework for Assessing AI Literacy in EAP
PRESENTER: Agnieszka Konturek Turkan
DATES & TIMES: Tuesday, 3rd November 2026, 11am - 11:40am (CEST)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: EAQUALS
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
How can EAP educators move beyond the “ban or permit” debate and meaningfully integrate AI into assessment? This webinar presents a proven, scaffolded assessment framework from MEF University’s EAP program that integrates AI literacy as an academic skill.
We will showcase a progression of “human-centric” assessments from our ENG 101 and ENG 102 courses. Attendees will see how our pen-and-paper midterms first ask students to perform traditional textual analysis, and then to critically evaluate AI-generated prompts and outputs against course-specific academic standards.
The model progresses in our ENG 102 course, where students critique AI-generated research questions and answers, comparing them to their own human-derived work. Finally, we will share our final presentation rubrics, which include a 10% grade for “Critical Engagement with AI,” assessing the student’s reflective process.
Join this session to acquire concrete assessment designs, rubrics, and a pedagogical model that effectively measures critical engagement, shifting the focus from AI-as-tool to AI-as-topic.
TITLE: IATEFL Themes Online Conference
PRESENTERS: Programme coming soon
DATES & TIMES: Friday, 6th November, 2026 14:00 – Sunday, 8th November, 2026 17:00 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: IATEFL
TYPE OF EVENT: Online conference. Free for IATEFL members: Non-members: £15 standard price (£10 for members of 'IATEFL Associate' teaching associations)
SUMMARY
Join us from Friday 6 November 2026 to Sunday 8 November 2026 for a busy programme drawn from some of the most thought-provoking and popular sessions from the IATEFL International Conference in Brighton earlier this year.
If you weren't able to join us in Brighton, or attended sessions which clashed with these ones, then this is the perfect opportunity to join us and enjoy a great professional development event!
Friday and Saturday will see some of the most talked-about and popular sessions from the conference, whilst Sunday sees our Special Interest Groups present sessions from the conference focused on their areas of focus within the profession.
Look out for the programme for this 3-day event coming soon.
PRESENTER: CUPA
DATES & TIMES: Tuesday, November 10th 2026 – 17:00 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: Cambridge University Press & Assessment
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
🎤 What if you became a Cambridge Speaking Examiner?
Would you like to take your teaching practice further and contribute to the assessment of learners?
In this session, you will:
✔️ Understand the role and responsibilities of a Speaking Examiner
✔️ Discover Cambridge standards and expectations
✔️ Explore the Speaking assessment process
✔️ Learn more about examiner training and working with authorised centres and candidates
An ideal opportunity to gain insights into the assessment process and enhance your expertise as a teacher.
TITLE: The Pragmatics of Digital Communication
PRESENTERS: Dr Nicola Brocca, (University of Innsbruck, Austria) Dr María Elena Placencia (Birkbeck, University of London, UK) & Dr. Bethany Aull (University of Oviedo, Spain)
DATES & TIMES: Friday, 13th November 15:00-18:00 (CET)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: ITAP (International Association of Pragmatics in Language Teaching)
TYPE OF EVENT: Free online seminar
SUMMARY
We are pleased to send you the information about the ITAP Fall Seminar 2026: The pragmatics of digital communication.
It will be an online event that will take place on November 13th 2026 from 15:00 to 18:00 hours (GMT+2 time, or CET) hosted by the LAELA research group at Universitat Jaume I (Castellón, Spain).
If you are interested in attending the seminar, please register here before November 6th (link below) A Google Meet link will be sent to all registered members.
The ITAP Board warmly looks forward to seeing you online at this event.
Programme:
15:00–16:00 CET (Plenary 1) Dr. Nicola Brocca (University of Innsbruck, Austria): LLMs and Pragmatics: Implications for Research and L2 Teaching and Learning
16:00–17:00 CET (Plenary 2) Dr. María Elena Placencia (Birkbeck, University of London, UK): Metapragmatic Awareness and (Im)politeness in Interactions in Digital Contexts
[17:00–17:15 CET – BREAK]
17:15–18:00 CET (Workshop)Dr. Bethany Aull (University of Oviedo, Spain): 5 Ways to use WhatsApp in L2 Pragmatics Teaching
TITLE: BESIG: Continuous Needs Analysis in the Age of AI: Designing Learning Journeys That Evolve with the Learner
PRESENTER: Ricardo Bruns
DATES & TIMES: Saturday, 14th November, 2026 15:00 PM & 17:00 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: IATEFL BESIG
TYPE OF EVENT: Webinar free for IATEFL members, £15 for non-members
SUMMARY
Needs analysis has long been recognised as one of the cornerstones of Business English and ESP practice. We also know that learners' communication needs are a moving target, continually shaped by new projects, changing responsibilities, evolving stakeholders and unexpected professional demands. Yet, in practice, needs analysis is often concentrated at the beginning of a programme, while subsequent decisions rely largely on the teacher's intuition and occasional learner feedback.
This workshop explores how AI can help us bridge that gap. Rather than focusing on AI as a tool for generating lesson plans or classroom materials, we will examine how it can support a continuous needs analysis process throughout the entire learning journey. From initial discovery meetings and proposal writing to session planning, reflective practice and ongoing course redesign, participants will explore practical workflows that enable learning programmes to evolve alongside their learners' professional contexts.
Through discussion, authentic examples and collaborative activities, the workshop invites Business English practitioners to rethink needs analysis not as the starting point of a course, but as the thread that connects every stage of it.
TITLE: On the shoulders of giants: Ideas from the past to shape the future of ELT
PRESENTER: Teresa Bestwick
DATES & TIMES: Tuesday, 17th November 2026, 11am - 11:40am (CEST)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: EAQUALS
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
The ELT classroom has developed and evolved over the years and it’s exciting to see where the future will take us. However, progress doesn’t mean abandoning the past so in this hands-on workshop, we’ll try out some time-tested activities which helped to shape what ELT has become so far. These ideas bring together more than just language: motivation, learner autonomy, reflection – a humanistic approach that will still be key in the classrooms of the future.
TITLE: Canva for the ELT Classroom: Techniques for Better Slides and Activities
PRESENTER: Clare Hayward
DATES & TIMES: Wednesday, 18th November – 16:00 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: Trinity College London
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
Canva is more than a tool for making attractive slides.
In this practical webinar, we’ll explore Canva techniques that can help English language teachers create clearer presentations, increase learner interaction and design purposeful classroom activities.
We will look at simple ways to use layouts, visuals, polls, video, links, whiteboards and other Canva features without making design complicated or time-consuming.
Crucially, the session will demonstrate just how much we can achieve with a free Canva account without a design background, focusing on techniques that are easy to learn and adaptable.
TITLE: Reading for life: Integrating readers into the English language classroom
PRESENTER: Karen Waterston
DATES & TIMES: Thursday, 19th November 2026, 17:00 (CET) 16:00 UK time.
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: Helbling English
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
In a world of fast content and short attention spans, reading remains one of the most powerful tools for developing thinking, focus and learning. In this session we will look at how teachers can build successful learners through the integration of Helbling's graded readers into daily teaching. It explores reading as a life skill, a cognitive tool, and a foundation for critical thinking, while trying out practical classroom strategies to create a lasting reading culture.
TITLE: Verstehen, handeln, bestehen: Aufgabenorientierung und Operatoren in der Vorbereitung auf die Goethe-Prüfungen
PRESENTER: Andrea Thierfelder
DATES & TIMES: Do., 19.11.2026 - 17:00–19:00 Uhr
LANGUAGE: Deutsch
ORGANISED BY: Goethe Institut
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
Beschreibung
Wie können Sie den Deutschunterricht so gestalten, dass Lernende nicht nur Sprache üben, sondern auch sprachlich handeln, sicher verstehen und prüfungsrelevant kommunizieren? In diesem zweistündigen Webinar zeigen wir Ihnen, wie Sie Aufgabenorientierung, den bewussten Einsatz von Operatoren und die Vorbereitung auf Goethe-Prüfungen sinnvoll miteinander verbinden können.
Im Zentrum stehen drei Argumente:
Erstens fördert die Aufgabenorientierung kommunikatives Handeln an realen, lebensnahen Aufgaben und passt somit zum kompetenzorientierten Fremdsprachenunterricht. Zweitens machen Operatoren Aufgaben transparent, da sie Erwartungen präzisieren und Missdeutungen vermeiden. Drittens helfen beide Ansätze, Lernende gezielt auf Prüfungsformate der Goethe-Prüfungen vorzubereiten, in denen sprachliche Handlungssicherheit, eine klare Aufgabenbearbeitung und eine dem Niveau angemessene Leistung gefragt sind.
Das Webinar vermittelt vor allem zwei zentrale Impulse:
Entlastung, da Sie konkrete Formulierungen, Beispiele und Routinen für den Unterricht mitnehmen, und Sicherheit, da Sie lernen, Aufgaben so zu stellen, dass Lernende wissen, was zu tun ist und wie sie in Prüfungssituationen vorgehen können. Anhand von Praxisbeispielen wird gezeigt, wie aus einer offenen Aufgabe eine klar strukturierte Lern- und Prüfungsaufgabe wird – etwa durch passende Operatoren, Scaffolding und eine bewusste Progression von der Unterrichtsaufgabe zur Prüfungsaufgabe.
TITLE: BESIG 39th Annual Conference in Vienna- Bridging the Gap: Preparing Learners for Global Business
PRESENTERS: Various. See programme
DATES & TIMES: Friday, 20th November - 12:00 – Sunday 22nd November, 2026 - 13:00
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: IATEFL BESIG
TYPE OF EVENT: Face-to-face Conference, Vienna, Austria. Fees: Early-bird IATEFL member: £230 - until 30th September; Early-bird non-members: £280 - until 30th September, Standard member: £310, Standard non-member: £360
SUMMARY
Join us from Friday, 20 November to Sunday, 22 November 2026 at Hotel Flemings Wien Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria for the 39th IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference for engaging talks, workshops, and plenaries as well as many networking possibilities.
This year’s theme, “Bridging the Gap: Preparing Learners for Global Business,” invites us to reflect on how business English can more effectively connect education with the realities of today’s global workplace. It encourages us to explore how we equip learners with the communicative competence, intercultural awareness, professional identity, and confidence they need to move successfully between the classroom, training room, and international business environments.
Whether you work in-company, freelance, or in higher education, this is an opportunity to connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and help shape the future of global Business English.
We welcome contributions that examine how Business English education can respond to current challenges and foster meaningful intercultural understanding. We are particularly interested in proposals that combine practical experience, innovative teaching approaches, and reflective insights drawn from educational and professional practice.
TITLE: ESOLSIG- Interactive and Learner-Centred Classrooms
PRESENTER: Dr. Nurlana Imanova
DATES & TIMES: Saturday, 21st November, 2026 12:00 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: IATEFL ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) SIG
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
This practical and engaging session explores effective classroom approaches that help teachers create more interactive, learner-centred, and motivating lessons for young learners and teenagers. The webinar will focus on simple but powerful strategies that encourage active participation, collaboration, creativity, and meaningful communication in the language classroom.
Participants will discover a variety of adaptable activities that promote student engagement while also supporting language development, critical thinking, and learner confidence. The session will demonstrate how teachers can transform traditional classroom routines into dynamic learning experiences through pair and group work, gamified tasks, communicative activities, movement-based learning, and student-led interaction.
In addition, the webinar will address how teachers can create supportive learning environments that increase motivation and help learners become more independent and responsible for their own progress. The ideas shared during the session are designed to be practical, flexible, and easy to implement in both face-to-face and online teaching contexts.
By the end of the session, participants will leave with ready-to-use techniques and fresh ideas that can immediately make their lessons more effective, engaging, and memorable for young learners and teenagers.
TITLE: Creating a Custom GPT: Designing AI Assistant for Language Classrooms
PRESENTER: İlayda Engin Uysal
DATES & TIMES: Tuesday, 24th November 2026, 11am - 11:40am (CEST)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: EAQUALS
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
Artificial intelligence transforms how we design, deliver, and personalize language learning. This interactive webinar will explore how teachers can create their own Custom GPTs—personalized AI assistants that support students’ language development. Participants will learn step-by-step how to design GPTs that provide instant feedback and context-sensitive prompts aligned with CEFR levels.
The session combines theory with hands-on practice: attendees will design and test their own mini GPTs during the workshop, experimenting with tone, persona, and pedagogical focus.
By the end of the session, participants will understand the design logic behind Custom GPTs and leave equipped to build AI-powered teaching assistants tailored to their learners’ needs.
TITLE: ESPSIG: Let’s ESP!
PRESENTERS: N/A
DATES & TIMES: Tuesday, 24th November, 2026 12:30 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: IATEFL ESP (English for Specific Purposes) SIG
TYPE OF EVENT: Free online networking event
SUMMARY
In order to facilitate casual, informal interactions between professionals working in ESP and its allied fields, ESPSIG is organizing virtual sessions where members of this community can get to know each other or talk about their work. Contexts vary and so do needs and challenges. Solutions applied in one context may or may not be applicable to another, but it’s always interesting to know what’s going on in different parts of the world. It’s even more enriching to get to know the people behind that work.
TITLE: “Please Mind the Neurodiversity Gap”
PRESENTER: Gemma Williams
DATES & TIMES: Wednesday, 25th November 16:00 (UK time)
LANGUAGE: English
ORGANISED BY: Modern English Teacher
TYPE OF EVENT: Free Webinar
SUMMARY
Neurodiversity is increasingly part of educational conversation, but what does it actually mean for ELT teachers? With roughly one in five people thought to be neurodivergent, teachers are likely to encounter neurodivergent learners in their classrooms whether or not those learners have a diagnosis or disclose their needs. This webinar introduces key neurodiversity concepts and explores some of the ways everyday classroom routines can inadvertently create barriers to learning.
We’ll consider practical examples relating to sensory environments, instructions, task design, pacing, attention and interaction, drawing on principles from Universal Design for Learning. Rather than asking teachers to identify or diagnose individual learners, we’ll focus on how small changes to the learning environment can make teaching more accessible from the outset.
You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of neurodiversity and neurodivergent learners, a framework for thinking about potential barriers in your own teaching, and practical examples of how you can improve access without lowering expectations, reducing challenge or creating a whole load of extra work.
Thanks for this excellent list, Jessica. Perhaps the next one to add is the 6th Online Conference TESOL Associates: 'Shared Visions, Singular Voices', on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th November (speakers, programmes and registration to be announced October). Organised by TESOL-SPAIN. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Maureen. If you can send me the link, I'll add it here
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