“Let me hear the real you!”
A spotlight on voice and persona
Part of the MET Spotlight Webinar Series from Modern English Teacher
The MET Spotlight Series shines a light on key topics we’ve explored in MET. In these webinars, our fantastic MET contributors explore their chosen topic in more detail, and share their expertise alongside practical tips, useful ideas and more.
In this webinar, David Byrne and Mark Heffernan will explore the importance of discussing voice and persona with learners. With the development of AI, it’s become even more important for learners to know their voice, to know how they want to come across, and to stand out from AI generated content.
Date: Wednesday 14th May 2025
Time: 4–5 pm (London time)
Price: FREE
This webinar is open to anyone, whether you are a subscriber to MET or not! By signing up, you can join us for the live webinar and watch the recording for the following two weeks. After that, the recording will be available for MET subscribers only.
Presenter(s): David Byrne & Mark Heffernan
Description:
David knows who he is in English, he’s pretty clear on that. But when he speaks Spanish suddenly he’s more direct. Is this because of a lack of hedging structures or is it his Spanish voice?
In this interactive webinar, David Byrne and Mark Heffernan will explore the importance of discussing voice and persona with learners. Do our students know who they are when speaking in English? Do they come across how they expect? With the development of AI, it’s become even more important for learners to know their voice, to know how they want to come across, and to stand out from AI generated content.
Join us as we share practical ideas and activities you can implement into your lessons to explore these concepts with your learner, and to find out more about Mark’s voice and persona in German!
Mark and David are the authors of the MET On Reflection feature, that reflects on the topic of each issue, as well as a number of other articles.
About the Speakers
David Byrne
David Byrne has worked in EFL for over a decade and in that time has taught all the ages, levels and exams he could find. He’s worked in Ireland, England, Spain and South Korea, but the majority of his career has been spent in the U.K. where he currently works for EC English as Curriculum Manager. Mark and David are the co-authors of Textploitation and Overt Teaching. They run the https://textploitationtefl.com/ site.
Mark Heffernan
Mark Heffernan has taught English for over 21 years. From the very beginning, he shared lesson ideas and started to run CPD sessions. He spent many years focusing on exam teaching before moving to Queen Mary University of London in 2016, where he teaches EAP, ESAP and is a module convenor and materials developer. Mark and David are the co-authors of Textploitation and Overt Teaching. They run the https://textploitationtefl.com/ site.
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