Shaping the Future of Learning: MELTA 2026 Brings Global Voices Together in Ipoh
By: Kavaldip Singh
A classroom can be a small room, but the dreams born inside it can travel far beyond its walls.
For some students, a teacher may be the person who explains a difficult lesson. For others, that same teacher may become the person who believes in them when they have stopped believing in themselves.
The 34th Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA) International Conference on English Language Education (ELE) 2026 is bringing educators, researchers, language practitioners and education leaders together at the Excelsior Hotel from 12 to 13 September.
Attendees include Quest International University Vice-Chancellor Professor Zita Mohd Fahmi, Head Assistant Director of Language, Learning Sector, Perak State Education Department (JPN) Md Faisal bin Md Yusuf and MELTA President, Prof. Dr. Sivabala Naidu.
With 250 participants from different sectors of English language education in Malaysia and abroad, the two-day conference is more than just a professional gathering, it is a conversation about what learning should look like in a rapidly changing world, and who will shape it.
MELTA recognizes that developments such as artificial intelligence and changing learning environments, require educators to receive the support they need to remain competent and relevant in the future.
Among the international voices at the conference is keynote speaker Professor Dr Robert Stroud from Hosei University, Japan, who will speak on “Shaping Tomorrow Together: ELT (English Language Teaching) Communities Connecting Cultures Online.”
The conference also features plenary speakers Dr Huseyin Uysal from the Education University of Hong Kong, who addresses the future of ELT leadership in Asia, and Dr Joanna Joseph Jeyaraj from Universiti Putra Malaysia, who discusses teacher leadership in critical pedagogy.
One of MELTA 2026’s highlights is the Hyacinth Gaudart Award, which honours the late Professor Hyacinth Gaudart, a pioneering educator and scholar in English language education in Malaysia.
