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NileTESOL is the TESOL affiliate and IATEFL associate in Egypt. There are many words I could use to describe my experience since I first joined NileTESOL as a Board member. That was a time when I was a novice, enthusiastic teacher who had the passion and ambition to become a better teacher. As I took that Board position, I had a firm belief that teaching should not be confined to the walls of the classroom. Teaching should go beyond the classroom and teachers should have a continuous source of empowerment and engagement to stay inspired and avoid burnout. From the day I first volunteered to take that seat on the Board, I never thought I would grow professionally as much as I did. I learned how to lead, encourage, plan, and believe in the impact of the difference I could make. During my years of service at NileTESOL, I learned that volunteering, stepping into the breach, and seeing or anticipating a need and filling it are all words I would use to describe my journey from being a novice teacher and Board member to becoming an EFL professional and the NileTESOL President. These words describe the qualities each teacher needs to become a professional.
Towards helping more teachers become better EFL professionals, the NileTESOL board started this year with reviewing and defining the vision and goals of NileTESOL. We were successful to compile the NileTESOL handbook, which has become a document of reference of the Board policies and duties for current and future board members. One of NileTESOL fundamental goals is enabling members to take ownership and get more involved. Towards that end, the Board has worked hard to create initiatives that are led and undertaken by members. We launched a NileTESOL call for volunteers in March 2016 for members to serve on the NileTESOL Board committees. More than 60 members applied and a number of applicants were chosen to serve on the Board committees in this first round of activities. Still, we are glad to extend this opportunity to more members to serve the organization and contribute their great ideas and efforts to the success of NileTESOL. Working towards providing more opportunities for membership empowerment and involvement, the call for the new SIGs has just been launched. This will promote the idea of sharing and networking that every TESOL organization encourages among members.
On the international level, during the first few months of 2016, we worked strategically to ensure effective communication with other sister TESOL organizations. As a result, we officially signed an agreement with NY TESOL and Africa TESOL. Thanks to TESOL, we also had the great chance to offer seven TESOL complimentary memberships to qualified NileTESOL members this year. We look forward to building more bridges with other TESOL and English language teaching (ELT) organizations locally and internationally. These NileTESOL international endeavors aim at promoting the organization internationally and maximizing the professional opportunities offered to our members through joining the wider international TESOL community.
As a result of these active endeavors, more teachers are joining the organization. The number of teachers who signed up to join NileTESOL from January to June 2016 was more than 1,500. The NileTESOL family has expanded to exceed 4,000 members!
NileTESOL has given me a window to the bigger world of ELT professionals. It has ignited my passion for teaching as it gives me the chance to attend conferences and ELT events. At the conferences and events, I meet dedicated and committed teachers who seek professional development and to cross the barriers beyond the walls of their classrooms, to network and share their innovative ideas and diverse experiences with others. My service as the President has been crystallized so far by the power to involve more members and inspire more teachers to seize the professional opportunities that we offer. Serving NileTESOL has been both inspiring and empowering, especially as I work with a fully dedicated Board of Directors who volunteer their time and efforts to make other teachers’ lives easier and richer, and strive to make that window of opportunities always open for a bigger audience.
We, as NileTESOL Board, will continue working hard to achieve NileTESOL goals locally and internationally, and keep that window of professional development opportunities wide open to more teachers in Egypt. NileTESOL will provide more reach-out activities that empower teachers and help them make a difference wherever they are, because every teacher can leave an impact that affects eternity.
In conclusion, I would like to invite you to our annual big event: the NileTESOL conference that will be held January 23–24, 2017, at the American University in Cairo, New Cairo Campus. I am sure your participation will add a variety of experience and expertise to the conference. You can read more about the conference, and NileTESOL as an organization, on our website: www.niletesol.org.
Amira Salama is currently the NileTESOL President. She has presented at international, regional, and local TESOL conferences, as well as various professional development events in Egypt. She has taught both skill-focused and integrated-skills courses at the university level and for adults. Her interests include teacher training and language materials development in academic settings. |
