Cartoon Creations: Facilitating Creative Language in the English Classroom.

In this interactive workshop, participants engaged in activities where they used cartoons to create short scenarios. Participants were guided through the process, which developed in four stages and supported creative language use and expression through speech and movement. Participants performed their final scenarios for the group. Creativity and a good sense of humor were encouraged.

Presenter: Dr. Erin Mikulec, the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University, USA

About the Speaker:

Dr. Erin Mikulec is an Associate Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University in Normal, IL, USA. Dr. Mikulec received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in second language acquisition, foreign language education, and TESOL from Purdue University. Her research interests include teacher education, international education, and second language studies. Dr. Mikulec has taught foreign language at the secondary and university levels. While completing her master’s degree with Middlebury College in Spain, she taught English at a local elementary school. She has also given workshops in English language and English language teaching to groups on campus from Germany, Thailand, and Panama. Dr. Mikulec served as the Interim Director of the English Language Institute at Illinois State University in 2016. In spring 2014, Dr. Mikulec was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Helsinki in Finland, where she studied teacher education and taught English at schools throughout the area. She serves as director-at-large for the International Society for Language Studies, where she also serves as conference co-chair and co-editor for the Readings in Language Studies book series. Dr. Mikulec is currently serving as a Visiting Professor at Akita International University.