2012 TESOL ARABIA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

TESOL Arabia, in the United Arab Emirates, is one of the leading TESOL organizations in the Middle East. Every year, the largest activity for the organization is the International Conference and Exhibition. This year, the conference was held 8-10 March 2012 at Dubai Women’s College in Dubai. The 3-day conference, which was chaired by Christine Coombe and Beth Wiens, was opened by HE Mohammed Al Qutami, Minister of Education. Some of the conference speakers were Jeremy Harmer, Keith Folse, Jim Scrivener, Joe McVeigh, Christine Coombe, Andy Curtis, and others. The conference, which included a job fair and a publishers’ exhibit, was a great success. Attendees from different parts of the world who evaluated the conference were impressed with the quality of speakers and presentations.

2012 TESOL INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXPO

I was able to attend the 2012 TESOL International Convention and English Language Expo on 27-31 March, in the historic city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. At the conference, I had the pleasure of conducting two presentations. The first presentation was for the affiliate leaders who are part of the 105 representative affiliates with TESOL International. This workshop, which I conducted along with Gilda Martinez-Alba, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA, was about the challenges that affiliates such as TESOL Arabia and Maryland TESOL face. Some of the things talked about were Web site issues, retaining members, and keeping members involved. The attendees were also able to join in, discussing the issues they face with their affiliates. Working together with other affiliates brought us together in learning from others’ successes and failures

TESOL Arabia’s Sufian Abu-Rmaileh, Les Kirkham, and Rehab Rajab and members of TESOL International Affiliate Leadership Council

The second presentation I conducted was on the topic “Leadership Skills and Strategies in English Language Teaching.” In this presentation, I talked about the factors that affect the different styles of leadership, discussing when to use or not use each style. I was able to discuss some of the implications behind quality leadership English Language Teachers (ELTs) should consider in order to become successful leaders. Some of these implications are being visionaries, role models, trustworthy, good communicators, and others. Finally, the attendees were given a leadership instrument so that they themselves can check which style to which they belong.

At the conference, I was able to meet with many great people from different countries to network with and share helpful ideas and suggestions for better teaching. I was able to attend plenaries by Alberto Carvalho, William Labov, Kurt Kohn, Christine Coombe (president of TESOL International), and Jun Liu. I also attended other interesting presentations on different topics relevant to TESOL.

Sufian Abu-Rmaileh; Jun Liu, plenary speaker; and Mashael Al Hamli, conference chair

Finally, during the conference, I visited the English Language Expo where a great many publishers and exhibitors were selling, exhibiting, demonstrating publications, and giving workshops about their publication, either in book form or electronically. I was able to buy many books on testing, methodology, and best practices.

From the above presentations and plenaries, I was able to get information about how important it is to be professional in the way we deal with our students. I was also able to learn new innovative ways of teaching and leading an organization.

The whole conference was a time when colleagues from different parts of the world come together and share their ideas, experiences, and reflections on things they have done in their different roles in their organizations. The conference is also a place to network and connect with others in the field.

Sufian Abu-Rmaileh, Mashael Al Hamli, Christine Coombe, Jane Hoelker, Justin Shewel, and Rehab Rajab

The expo gave me a chance to look at innovative material and technology that we can take with us to help us in our different roles that we have in our organizations. The historic city of Philadelphia was also amazing; I was able to go on tours to the historic areas, including the Liberty Bell, and enjoy many other attractions.

Sufian Abu-Rmaileh, Feeling Philly

Sufian Abu-Rmaileh with the Liberty Bell

SPELLEVENT

After the conference was over, I had to rush back to continue preparations for the Franklin Global SpellEvent. On Saturday 21 April 2012, students from various public schools in the United Arab Emirates participated in the event, which took place at UAE University in Al Ain, UAE. This event was organized by TESOL International and Franklin Electronic Publishers and was the fourth annual event of its kind. Students from different schools practiced for months in preparation for this day. This competition is a global spelling competition for nonnative English-speaking students who are under the age of 15. The overall goal of the competition is to promote the learning of English as a foreign language.

The final four finishers (Aysha Al-Nuaimi, Mohammed Saeed Al Ghafli, Aya Abu-Nawas Hanan, and Alawi Al Hadad); the pronouncer and SpellEvent Chair, Sufian Abu-Rmaileh; Ibrahim Al Jawarneh, emcee; Deena Boriei, TESOL International judge; and Mohammed Abussabur, local judge

2013 TESOL ARABIA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

The 2013 TESOL Arabia International Conference and Exhibition will take place 14-16 March 2013 at the Hyatt Regency, Dubai. The theme of the conference will be “From KG to College to Career.” We are hoping that we will have a successful conference.

Dr. Sufian Abu-Rmaileh is an English lecturer at UAE University. He was the external projects coordinator for 4 years. For the past 28 years, he has been teaching English at various levels and skills at institutions in the United States, Jordan, Palestine, and the UAE. He has been an administrator and a team leader for over 8 years in the United States and the UAE. He has an MA in linguistics, and received both his TESL Certificate and his PhD in educational leadership from Brigham Young University, USA. Dr. Abu-Rmaileh has also won many awards for his work as a leader, researcher, and classroom teacher. He is a frequent presenter and invited speaker at local, national, and international conferences. Dr. Abu-Rmaileh has written on culture, classroom technology, motivation, burnout, critical and creative thinking, and leadership issues.