KARACHI: The 41st Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) International Conference 2025, under the theme ‘Future-Ready ELT: Innovation, Diversity and Sustainability’, opened simultaneously at various venues in the metropolis on Saturday morning.

This year’s theme invites teachers to reflect deeply on the transformative potential of English Language Teaching (ELT) practices that embrace innovation, honour diversity while committing to sustainable growth.

Now in its 41st year, SPELT has navigated over a focused vision of empowering teachers, students, educators and academics with the tools of training, learning and professional development, particularly in the field of ELT.

There will be discussions and presentations about integrating multilingual learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in teacher training.

Tribute paid to educationist Arfa Zehra and journalist Zubeida Mustafa at teaching conference

The opening ceremony of the conference at DHA Suffa University saw a befitting tribute to the renowned scholar and educationist Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra, who passed away a few days ago, by Prof Abbas Husain.

A professor, public speaker and advocate of Urdu language and ethics in education, Dr Zehra believed that true learning must nurture both the mind and the soul.

Meanwhile, at another venue, the late senior journalist Zubeida Mustafa was remembered for her lifelong advocacy for education, literacy, women’s rights, social equity, health and environment.

Earlier, while providing an overview of the conference, SPELT’s President Mohsin Tejani said that the conference has been spread over multiple venues this year with a kaleidoscope of topics. While they will be looking at the ‘Innovation of ELT: Navigating Digital and Technological Shifts at the DHA Suffa University, the Happy Home School System in PECHS will be concentrating on the ‘Future of Language Learning and Assessment: Path Forward’.

Meanwhile, the IU School System will be delving into ‘Teacher Development and Professional Learning in a Changing ELT Landscape’ and at Government Elementary College of Education (GECE), Hussainabad they will be looking at ‘Inclusive and Equitable ELT in Multilingual Pakistan’.

“As technology reshapes the educational landscape, our work, too, increases as we also move with the times,” said Mr Tejani, while looking forward to inspiring, intellectual sessions over the two days of the conference.

The first plenary address at DHA Suffa University by Conan Kmiecik, who is the course lead for business English and an English lecturer at Qatar University in Doha, was about ‘Innovating ELT with Everyday Tools: Google Keep, Canva and FlowCV’.

The talk was based on how digital tools can transform the way teachers and students learn, teach and prepare for the future.

The session explored the potential of these tools to enhance English language teaching in three dimensions such as student learning, classroom practice and teacher development.

The morning plenary address by Associate Professor at Universitas Tanjungpura, Indonesia, Dr Iksanudin at HHS School System was about ‘Evaluating ELT Materials Effectively: A Teacher’s Guide to Volley Time’.

The first plenary at the IU School System by teacher trainer Sylvie Dolakova from the Czech Republic was about ‘The Power of Movement in Language Teaching’.

At GECE, the morning plenary address was about ‘Specific Learning Difficulties and Inclusive Teaching in the AI Era’ by Prof Bimali Indrarathne, a professor in English Language at the Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka.

The entire first day of the conference included interesting workshops, talks and discussions and sessions about teaching and learning.

The SPELT Conference concludes on Sunday with all the sessions to be held at Habib University.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2025