Our affiliate, MIDTESOL, is composed of members from Iowa and Missouri, and we are very excited to be in the process of merging with Kansas this year. We have approximately 250 members and our last conference, which was held at Dubuque, Iowa―a wonderful city, by the way―in October 2010 had approximately 140 members in attendance. This year we cross states to St. Louis, Missouri, on October 21 and 22. Our primary goals this year and through 2012 will be to identify and satisfy the needs of all our interest sections and to begin an online journal reflecting conference proceedings. Now more than ever, as belts tighten and fewer of us can travel to conferences, especially out-of-state, we feel strongly that our duty is to develop ways to stay connected despite location challenges. We are also very interested in having a presence at other types of international education conferences and workshops in order to promote the benefits of joining MIDTESOL.

TESOL 2011

Nick David, Vice President MIDTESOL

My experience at TESOL 2011 was one filled with the sounds, sights, and scents of the great city of New Orleans mixed with the educating experiences of TESOL. This experience included attending presentations that reminded me of the international outreach of TESOL, my responsibilities and opportunities as a representative of my affiliate, MIDTESOL, and real-world challenges facing ESL students.

On Thursday I attended the Affiliate Editors’ Workshop, which highlighted some of the ways to inform affiliate members of news as well as provide an outlet for publication for these same members. One highlight of this meeting was learning from the president of Brazil TESOL how he was able to strengthen his affiliate academically and financially through the effective use of a journal.

Another highlight of the trip was attending a session designated for affiliate leadership on ESL teaching in international context. This session included TESOL practitioners and language planners from all parts of the globe. This experience allowed me to expand my horizons of the influence of English in the world, and to see that what I was doing in rural Iowa was reflected in the world at large.

This influence of the greater world on TESOL was also reflected by the presentation entitled “ELLs, Immigrants Students, and the Law,” which informed me of legal issues I should make my students aware of. Normal ESL student language compensating behavior (nodding or agreeing when they don’t understand) could in certain situations lead to legal problems. I also learned how important it was to make sure that students were aware of how the legal system and their Miranda rights worked. I found that my responsibility for my students extended beyond simply teaching them vocabulary and correct grammar: I needed to help them learn how to function in the real world.

At the end of Saturday, just as at the end of every afternoon at the conference, I was able to take the five- or six-block stroll from the conference center back to my hotel on historic Canal Street. On such evening walks I would see couples hand in hand or pushing children in strollers while I was able to hear music emanating from the stores and side streets. As I look back at New Orleans, all of these experiences coalesce, and like the spicy gumbo sold throughout the city, I enjoyed the savor and richness of TESOL 2011 in New Orleans.