8:30 am–11:30 am, Morning session

11:30 am–1:00 pm, Lunch on your own

1:00 pm–4:00 pm, Parallel small group focus sessions 

4:00 pm–5:00 pm, Closing panel discussion 

Description

The theme of the workshop is Advocacy. Advocacy in all its forms seeks to ensure that people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in society, are able to be heard, defend their rights, and have their views and wishes genuinely heard. The workshop will consist of large group discussions and interactions, small group discussion and hands-on training activities from best practices to supportive ideas and ways for collaboration and funding. This workshop will focus on learning about and discussing ways and solutions to support, sustain, encourage, enable and raise awareness for educators, students and their communities to:

• Express their views and concerns at all levels (personal, professional, individual, associative, institutional and/or international)
• Discover and access information and services available.
• Defend and promote the rights and responsibilities of self and others.
• Explore choices and options for oneself and for passing it on to others and options to support oneself, support students and turnkey options to empower others.

Objectives

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Define and understand advocacy in various forms and contexts for educators, students and programs
• Articulate in one sentence the idea, cause, people or group for whom they wish to support
• Identify the key concerns or needs as related to the cause or person/group of people
• Develop a plan to educate oneself and key stakeholders about the cause
• Identify SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to their plan
• Create a tentative, feasible timeline for implementing the plan 

Facilitators

Mary Wong: Azusa Pacific University

Judith O'Loughlin: CATESOL, Language Matters Education Consultants, LLC 

Nopporn Sarobol: Thailand TESOL, Thammasat University in Bangkok

Paneeta Nitayaphorn: Thailand TESOL, Thai Airways International (Plc.) Co. Ltd. 

Varinder Unlu: IATEFL Inclusive Practises (IP) and Special Educational Needs (SEN) special interest group (SIG)

Affiliate Communications Workshop

Description

"Communication with Members through Social Media” searches to demonstrate through experience how communication among affiliate membership has moved beyond emails and newsletters. TESOL Affiliates are now exploring new and creative ways to engage members. This proves especially important in the ever-shifting demographic in membership as people move towards on-line styles of communication within their organizations. Building off TESOL 2018’s theme, “Sustaining Dialogues Across the TESOL Community,” Grazzia Maria Mendoza will share her experience connecting with membership through Facebook Pages and Groups. Nathan Hall will talk about the ways he has used Twitter and Video to move the conversation beyond the walls of the annual conference.

 

Using an interactive, experiential workshop format, attendees will move through a series of stations that will allow them time to learn, share and experiment in a safe and fun environment. Participants are encouraged to bring their mobile devices, but it is not a requirement. Presenters will demonstrate how live streaming can connect members in more remote communities. Examples of Twitter chats and Facebook pages and groups will illustrate the importance of social media in developing a rich, diverse community.

Facilitators
Grazzia Maria Mendoza: HELTA Honduras TESOL

Nathan Hall: The Association of British Columbia Teachers of English as an Additional Language (BC TEAL)

Affiliate Assembly

 

The official business meeting for affiliates of TESOL International Association. Affiliates are required to send a delegate to the meeting every two years. The assembly focuses on the relationship between TESOL and the affiliates.

Affiliate Colloquium

Description

The purpose of the 2018 TESOL Affiliate Colloquium is to share advocacy plans and practices successfully implemented in culturally diverse TESOL communities and world regions. Presenters will share their experiences and views on how different types of advocacy programs have impacted the vision and mission of the affiliates they represent.

Presenters

Misty Adoniou: Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA)

Natalia Komissarova: National Association of Teachers of English (NATE), Russia 

Tatyana Margaryan: National Association of Teachers of English (NATE), Russia

Richard Niyibigira: Association of Teachers of English in Rwanda (ATER)