TESL Nova Scotia is a small professional association of ESL teachers in the province of Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. We are an independent nonprofit organization, subject to our own by-laws. As a charity, we follow the requirements of the Canadian government; as a provincial society, we follow rules for a Nova Scotia society. We now also respect our role as a TESOL affiliate. We are the official TESL association in Nova Scotia that sits on the TESL Canada Board, and, by agreement, all our members are also members of TESL Canada.

Two of our board members have been presidents of TESL Canada: Maureen Sargent and Ellen Pilon. We have also taken our turn hosting the TESL Canada national conference: in May 1993, in September 2000, in May 2008 (cohosting with our neighboring province New Brunswick), and in April 2011. The 2011 national conference attracted 430 delegates from across the country, of which 100 were workshop presenters. Our keynote speakers were Michael Swan and Dr. Roy Lyster. Despite budget cuts among schools and a cool foggy spring, the conference was a resounding success.

TESL Nova Scotia is run by a group of 12 volunteers who are voted into office at every annual general meeting. We have a Web site, an e-mail address, and a post office box but no physical location and no paid staff person to run our business.

During the past 10 years we have been busy, with a membership of around 100. About one third of the membership remains committed and renews every year; the remainder are recruited for the fall conference or throughout the year when they apply for TESL Canada teacher certification, or are newly arrived in Nova Scotia and are looking for networking opportunities.

Our fiscal and membership year begins November 1. Early in November on a Saturday we hold our fall conference, which attracts between 60 and 80 new/renewing members, depending on the generosity of the schools and universities paying registration and membership for their teachers. Venues change from year to year, but usually we contract with a local hotel and include lunch for delegates. Over the years we’ve invited speakers such as Rebecca Oxford to talk about learning strategies, Patsy Lightbown to talk about how languages are learned, and Julia Williams to talk about current changes in teaching EAP. Sometimes we bring in different kinds of trainers, such as Carol Lesbirel. She helped us learn coping strategies for dealing with workplace stress. She customized her workshop to help ESL teachers in our unique situation: stuck in the middle, trying to satisfy managers and trying to satisfy our students when in fact the managers and students don’t have the same goals or expectations.

We also organize a spring mini-conference on a smaller scale and focus on one topic such as teaching writing. Sometimes we try something different; one spring we offered three different dates for a daylong intercultural skills workshop. All three were full. All our events either are free for members or require a small fee for members, depending on our venue and financial health at the time.

Much of the ESL teaching takes place in Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia. This is where TESL NS started in 1982. With the new century, ESL/EAP teaching has spread outside of the city, especially at Acadia University in the Annapolis Valley. The majority of our approximately 100 members teach English for academic purposes and academic bridging programs. A few teach ESL in immigrant-serving organizations.

We are delighted to have become an affiliate of TESOL and we look forward to participating and networking with others.