Affiliate News - 01/14/2022 (Plain Text Version)
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LEADERSHIP UPDATES WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS Gabriela Kleckova, TESOL President 2021-2022; Joyce Kling, TESOL President-elect 2021-2022
“When life gives you lemons …” the old saying goes. When an association gets lemons, it can turn them into lemonade. Can there be a sweet outcome after COVID19? Looking back at the activities of the past year, we believe that TESOL International Association has “made lemonade” from the sour experience of a global pandemic. Before what has been an unfortunate, unifying experience, namely the COVID19 enforced lockdown, the focus of TESOL’s activities was what could be described as traditional and conventional. Over the past couple of decades, for many, both TESOL members and our affiliate members, TESOL has been defined by its large, face-to-face international convention. Unfortunately, for many affiliate members, especially those from outside the US, attendance at this convention has often been out of reach – scheduling, time, money. Suddenly, however, TESOL has faced a new challenge. How could it meet the needs of its members when the in-person convention was no longer an option - at least not for the foreseeable future. The cancellation of the TESOL 2020 Convention, scheduled to be held in Denver just as the world shut down, forced the Board of Directors at the time to take a fresh look at the association and what a professional association could offer the English language teaching community in a more globalized, digitally connected world. Similar to all the affiliate associations, TESOL has expanded activities and opportunities for its members. This expansion has been aptly named “TESOL 365”. Moving from a capstone event that takes place over a few days each spring, TESOL 365 aims to provide opportunities for engagement all year round. In addition to the multiple virtual seminars, webinars held every week under the auspices of TESOL’s communities of practice, i.e., the Interest Sections and Professional Learning Networks, TESOL kicked off four virtual events this year. In March, TESOL hosted its second virtual TESOL 2021 Convention & English Language Expo. The online platform allowed the world to come together for four days to learn, interact, network, and gather new ideas about English language teaching. More than 9,000 educators from over 135 countries attended our annual convention. In June, TESOL continued with its annual advocacy summit – virtually this time. Attendees shared information about issues and policies that impact the daily work of ELT professionals, both in the United States and around the world. In addition to interactive sessions, US-based attendees received resources to help guide them on how to reach out to lawmakers and request congressional meetings. Then in July, TESOL offered an online event for new TESOL professionals with a range of opportunities to support their professional development at the early stage of their career. And just recently, in early November, TESOL opened its doors during a free week-long event to celebrate and showcase the association and membership benefits – Celebrate TESOL. In terms of continuing education, TESOL recently kicked off a new flexible program of continuing education options, the TESOL Modular Education (ME). ME offers multiple, online, self-study modules designed to meet the needs and schedules of busy educators. And while we have been focused on the “new”, TESOL continues to provide a range of online self-study courses. Something for everyone. As we look ahead, there is more to come to in 2022. We are proud to have opened registration for the Hybrid TESOL 2022 Convention & English Language Expo. There is much more than the association has done since the spring of 2020 to deal with the lemons it has received. We have turned them into lemonade that we believe is sweet and flowing, even though it all tasted very sour in the spring of 2020. How about your association? Have you made your lemonade or are you still picking fruit? Regardless, know that the Affiliate Network Professional Council at TESOL is there to provide a platform for exchanges of recipes and tips to make the best lemonade in these turbulent times. |
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