The 57th IATEFL  International Conference & Exhibition 2024 was held in Brighton, UK. The conference was a four-day program (April 16-19) with an array of talks, forums, workshops, and exhibitions related to English language learning and teaching (ELT). Many practicing teachers, material developers, and language educators from all over the world had a unique opportunity to come together and share their insights and experiences. Participants explored ways to develop resilience in various aspects of language education such as teaching, assessment, professional development, and material development, utilizing AI tools, and sustainability. Plenary speakers Vicky Saumel, Zarina Subhan,Letizia Cinganotto and Rose Aylett gave inspirational talks on different subjects including the AI factor, Effective Communication, Teaching English and teaching other languages, embdding critical literacy within language education. There were also great speakers like Penny Ur, Jeremy Harmer, Alex Warren, Scott Thornburry.

This year Selda Gümüş from ScOLa presented at IATEFL 2024.

My talk, entitled “The Effect of Chat GPT-supported Feedback on Written Student Assignments” was a part of the forum on the use of Chat GPT in writing. I delivered my session with two other educators working on similar areas. Peter Davidson from Zayed University gave a talk on “Leveraging AI to Teach and Assess Writing” and Joseph Roberts from Education Centre of Australia gave his talk on “Adapting AI writing Assessments.”

During my session, I discussed the differences between traditional feedback and Chat GPT-supported feedback. Then I explained the details of my study on using Chat GPT- supported feedback with extra writing practices we hold at B2 level.  In my presentation, I also showed the effect of this feedback on formative and summative exam results of the students who took part in the research. Besides quantitative data, I shared the qalitative data results including the reflections of both the students and instructors with the audience.

I was grateful for the positive feedback and engaging questions from the participants, which affirmed that my topic resonated with their interests and needs. At the end of the sessions, we were able to talk about the possible implications of using Chat GPT in writing and the ethical considerations of it.

Overall, I can say that presenting at the IATEFL conference was a unique opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with fellow ELT professionals and hear about their practices in their institutions on the use of AI writing tools. It pushed me to refine my ideas, conduct further research, and polish my presentation skills, while deepening my understanding of the latest developments in the field of teacher development and providing me with new ideas and inspiration for my own teaching practice.