I attended the 2011 TESOL Convention as an affiliate leader representing BELTA (Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association). This was my second time at a TESOL convention. The first time was in 2003 in Baltimore where I felt rather lost in the mammoth convention that appeared more like a conglomerate than a teachers’ gathering. In addition, I felt marginalized as South Asia on the whole was rather poorly represented.

This time, however, I went as an affiliate leader and therefore had an identity I could latch onto. I met numerous other affiliate leaders and attended a rich variety of affiliate-related sessions on Affiliates’ Day. I also joined TESOL leaders and affiliate leaders from around the world at the Leadership Appreciation Luncheon hosted by TESOL President-Elect Christine Coombe. The academic papers/workshops/panels/discussions/posters with nearly a thousand sessions on a wide variety of interest areas and intersections were just mind-boggling. We all needed to be completely focused on our own specific interests in order not to be overwhelmed by this rich array on offer.

I had a busy 4 days and took part in the following events:

• March 16: Besides attending the regular sessions, I cofacilitated the Affiliate Leaders’ Breakaway Workshopon “Membership & Fund Raising”withRogsana Mammadova of AzETA (Azerbaijan). I was also invited to join the Global Professional Issues Committee for a 3-year term.
• March 17:I was among eight panelists from around the world on the 2011 Affiliate Colloquium on “English As an International Language: Implications for Policy and Pedagogy.” I focused on the current discourse of EIL in relation to South Asia and reflected on the changing role of English as an international variety in the context of a multilingual, multicultural, globalized society. I linked into English language education policy in the region with examples from Bangladesh.
• March 19: I presented my paper, based on research findings, on “Cell Phone English Language Teaching: How Effective Is It?”

The whole convention was a great experience. Sessions ran from early morning till evening and although there was a great buzz of individual activities in the late evenings, it might have been a little bit more pleasant for people like us from distant lands if TESOL could have arranged some entertaining evening programs like IATEFL does.

Post Script: I just cannot conclude without a few words about New Orleans. “Nawlins” is beautiful―its French colonial atmosphere, its jazz music, and its lively Mississippi flavor have given it a special heritage, character, and charm. Rising like the proverbial phoenix from the ravages of Katrina, New Orleans put on a splendid show for the TESOL convention. In spite of the convention sessions keeping us very busy, we were able to squeeze time to visit the famous French quarter and walk down the quaint streets with their colorful shops, art, antiques, and eateries. At the Cafe du Monde―the ultimate in-place for tourists―we had French doughnuts (called “beignets”) and steaming milky coffee. The place is just as it was built more than a hundred years ago beside the mighty Mississippi, wide-open with slender wrought-iron pillars supporting a massive iron roof. Hundreds of people were crammed around small tables, the floor dusty with the snowy-white caster sugar generously sprinkled over the piping hot donuts. It’s impossible to eat the donuts without spilling the powdery sugar all over and around you―I guess that was part of the ambience. They had just had Mardi Gras so there was a very festive mood all around and there were still colorful floats cruising the streets. And their ritual of flinging out multicolored beads on to the streets had us jumping around like delighted school kids trying to catch them. People of both sexes, young and old, walked around unabashedly in these rainbow beads. And so did many of us at TESOL, all through the convention! And the variety of seafood and local delicacies, the colorful street performers, and the human “statues” frozen in bizarre postures in period costumes and startling make-up were a treat not to be missed. We were also fortunate to have St Patrick’s Day during the convention, so out came the plastic green hats and leprechaun-type souvenirs. The convention lobby was abuzz with info booths and stalls and there was often lovely jazzy and calypso-type music playing. There was quite an atmosphere all around―something different from the serious business-like conventions/conferences that we usually attend. Even the conference logo had an ambience: a street lamp with lattice design very similar to all the patterns we saw in the French quarter in particular and throughout the city in general. Thank you TESOL for enabling us from far-away lands to get a taste of remarkable New Orleans!