Affiliate News - 01/14/2022 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
•  WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS
•  THE AFFILIATE NETWORK PROFESSIONAL COUNCIL: A GLOBAL CONNECTION
•  LETTER FROM THE PAST CHAIR
•  THE POWER OF EVENTS IN CONNECTING PEOPLE: AFFILIATE NETWORK WEBINARS IN 2021
•  USING ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO STAY CONNECTED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE
ARTICLES
•  THE COSTA RICAN ASSOCIATION OF ENGLISH TEACHERS (ACPI) TESOL
•  EDUCATING GLOBAL CITIZENS IN LOUISIANA
•  NILETESOL: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT AND BEYOND
•  PELLTA NEW DOORS: LEARNING TO ADAPT TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE NEW NORM HAS PROVEN TO BE A BLESSING TO AN ELT ASSOCIATION
•  ELTAI AND ITS RECENT INITIATIVES
•  CREATING PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND CHANGES
•  TESL ONTARIO - BUILDING CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY IN A VIRTUAL WORLD
•  CAMELTA IS ON THE MOVE
•  NEPAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION (NELTA): NETWORKING, RESEARCHING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
•  THE TEXELT JOURNAL: A SERVICE TO MEMBERS AND THE PROFESSION

TESL ONTARIO - BUILDING CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

Allison Keown, Executive Director, TESL Ontario, Canada

In this pandemic reality, a virtual world like no other has been born. Pre-pandemic, our members enjoyed a combination of online and in-person events that fulfilled both professional development needs, as well as authentic peer connections. Since 2014, TESL Ontario had been focusing its efforts on providing accessible online professional development to our members. Our successful webinar series has always allowed members to gain new skills and expand their knowledge from the comfort of their own homes. However, at that time they had other options available to them if they were looking for something more. If they were seeking tangible connections, organic conversations with other ESL practitioners, or a basic sense of community, they often turned to in-person events, such as our annual conference, or local affiliate chapter conferences, and other professional development events.

With the onset of the global pandemic, the activities in the virtual world skyrocketed. Like many organizations, TESL Ontario pivoted to a virtual conference format and began offering an expanded webinar program to include much-needed professional development in online teaching, virtual classroom management, online engagement tools, and more. But as the pandemic dragged on, our members were missing those connections and their sense of community.

TESL Ontario recognized a need to start looking for ways to build connections and community for our members in this new virtual world. We transformed the format and delivery of traditional online events to improve the connection among our members and the greater TESL community. Three exciting initiatives have come from this:

1. TESL Dialogue Sessions - an open forum where participants are free to turn on their microphones and cameras to fully immerse in a discussion about a relevant topic in English Language education. A subject-matter expert guides the session with thought-provoking questions to encourage conversation and offers helpful insight when needed. The goal of these sessions is to develop a community of practice that allows for as many narratives to be heard and shared as possible.
2. TESL Mentoring Events - a series of moderated virtual events, with a group of seasoned TESL professionals from a variety of sectors within the field who provide guidance, advice, and best practices to newer educators in search of mentorship. The goal of these sessions is to provide novice teachers with the opportunity to connect and learn from a mentor’s experience.
3. Affiliate Chapter Resource Sharing Events – a series of casual events offered by TESL Ontario Affiliate Chapters designed to enable participants to catch up with peers and gather new ideas for teaching practices in a relaxed virtual setting. The goal of these events is to encourage networking, share ideas, and engage in some “shop-talk”.

In an unprecedented time of isolation and change, our members were searching for social interactions with colleagues and peers, opportunities to have organic conversations, and ways to build personal learning networks and occasions to laugh and exchange anecdotal experiences. TESL Ontario has strived to meet those needs through these new initiatives and provide our membership with connection and community in this new virtual world. These new initiatives initially introduced to bridge the gap during the pandemic, will continue and will provide a wider range of professional development opportunities for the TESL community.

Bio

Allison has focused her career in not-for-profit management for the past 19 years, building diverse, member-centric, supportive professional communities. She has spent 10 years in the position of Manager, Member Services and Communications for TESL Ontario, and stepped into the Executive Director role for the organization in January 2021.