Jorge Torres Almazán, MEXTESOL-TESOL Liaison, Tampico, Mexico

Based on MEXTESOL'S objective 1.1, "Assist teachers in updating their teaching methodology and in expanding their repertoire of teaching techniques in all areas of ELT." Local chapters have developed several webinars, video conferences & virtual gatherings. Local chapters have made a major effort to switch their events to online To adapt to current needs caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Many members are aware of digital tools but have not mastered them yet. Therefore, chapters have dedicated these sessions to train and inform teachers about how we can explore, learn, and implement such tools to our teaching.

Nuevo Leon

On April 23-25, Nuevo Leon Chapter offered a "Local Webinars Series" event that gathered dozens of teachers from different Mexico regions.

Home is what presenter Jorge Saldivar sees as the new classroom. In his talk "Board Games in a New Virtual Classroom: Home," he presented how well-known, easily available board games can be played from home using digital tools and how these activities can be included in our class.

 Board Games in a New Virtual Classroom: Home

The other two webinars were "Keeping the Heart: The Heart of Teachers in 2020" by Rafael Cervantes and "Using Mobile Apps to Enhance Students' Oral Production" by Laura Gonzalez. Participants were really engaged by these attractive and interesting presentations.

These webinars are available on https://www.facebook.com/mextesol.nuevoleon/

Puebla Tlaxcala

Another great event was held by Puebla Tlaxcala Chapter on April 25; the "All-Terrain Teacher" virtual educational event registered more than 100 virtual attendees.

RELO Mexico & Central America, Ruth Petzold presented, "An Old Friend in a New World: Resources from the Regional English Language Office." RELO & The American Embassy have been MEXTESOL & teachers' friends for many years. In this talk, Ruth tells & reminds teachers of the many resources they have for the ELT community.

A session to highlight is the one by Gloria Montiel, "Keep Calm: Teaching in The Time of Corona." Gloria's session explores the skills and strategies that may help teachers take care of ourselves to keep calm and teach at this time. She provides tools for meeting the needs of learners, parents, institutions, and more while balancing home life. And hopefully, she says, maintaining sanity.

 Participant from Veracruz

Oaxaca

The Oaxaca Chapter organized the event "Virtual Academic Saturday" on May 2. The Chapter explores a not common format for our context, a series of 10-15 minute presentations. During this time, presenters talk about diverse topics such as "Ten Tips for Teaching English Online" by Sarah Conway, "Creating Change: Global Issues in ELT" by Linda Ruas, "Fostering Intercultural Communication in the Classroom" by Gabriela Ladrón De Guevara De León. Attendees had a great learning time experiencing this session format.

 Virtual Academic Saturday

Atlacomulco

Atlacomulco Chapter has offered a series of webinars hosted by experienced colleagues. All of the webinars aimed to enhance colleagues' awareness regarding the digital world.

Chapters Meeting

And continuing with the online fashion, MEXTESOL National President J. Jesús Felipe & Vice President Oscar Cruz held a virtual meeting with local chapters' representatives from Tampico, Chiapas, Jalisco, Mexico City, Atlacomulco, Morelia, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Nuevo León, & Guanajuato. This meeting's objectives was to exchange ideas and strategies on how MEXTESOL can better serve and reach members and nonmembers using digital platforms. They also discussed the effects of COVID-19 in their contexts and their plans to cope with it. National President commended all chapters on the great events they have had during this semester.

 CAN Virtual Meeting

Bio

Jorge Torres Almazán is MEXTESOL-TESOL Liaison. He has taught EFL for more than 15 years, holds an MA in Education Administration and a BA in Pedagogy. He is a teacher at the American School of Tampico. He has been a speaker at TESOL, MEXTESOL, & BBELT conferences. He is a member of the U. S. Alumni Global Community.