Affiliate News - 06/09/2023 (Plain Text Version)

Introduction

Northern New England TESOL (NNETESOL) is an affiliate serving Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine in the northeastern region of the United States. Each year, during the first week of November, NNETESOL hosts a one-day conference. The conference moves annually to each of the three states on a rotating basis to make it accessible to all members. In the fall of 2020, our conference was shifted to an entirely online format due to COVID-19 pandemic. In fall 2020 and 2021, the conference remained online to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In 2022, when restrictions were relaxed, NNETESOL’s Executive Board had a choice to make: to continue online or move back to an in-person event. In this article, we describe the factors that helped us make this decision in 2022 and in 2023 for the annual conference.

Factors Impacting our Decisions

In fall 2021, our Executive Board decided to poll NNETESOL members about their preferences for the 2022 conference to be held in New Hampshire. The Board sent NNETESOL’s membership a Google form, which included closed and open-ended questions asking which modality attendees would prefer and what factors would influence their decision to attend either virtually or in person. As Figure 1 shows, we found that only 22.9% of the respondents wanted to return to an in-person event in 2022.

Figure 1

Poll of NNETESOL members in Spring 2022

It was clear that our members were hesitant to return to an in-person conference. However, only 43% expressed a desire to have a fully online conference. Several members suggested that a hybrid conference would allow those who felt comfortable to meet in person, and those who were hesitant to participate online. At first glance, this option seemed simple enough. But as we looked into it, we found several challenges associated with hosting a hybrid conference. For instance, hosting a hybrid conference would mean that members could choose the modality in which they would experience the conference. Many members had expressed a desire to purchase tickets closer to the conference date so that they could evaluate the safety of attending an in-person conference. While this choice is convenient for attendees, the Board has to select and reserve a location and plan for catering months before knowing how many people would be physically attending.

Pricing was another factor to consider. For instance, online attendees would not need on-site amenities, which makes online attendance more cost-effective. We considered several questions: If the cost of the in-person and attendance were greater than the online attendance, would that push people towards online attendance? What if we invested funds into a location, food, and other fees only to host 20-30 in-person attendees? Our members wanted a hybrid conference, but there were just too many variables for us to feel comfortable organizing this type of event. Thus, we eliminated a hybrid conference as an option for 2022 and for the third year in a row, we hosted an online conference for just under 140 members.

The online format has served NNETESOL well by allowing us to invite speakers and attendees from diverse geographic regions. It has also been helpful to us as a small affiliate because the cost to host an online conference is much lower than an in-person conference. However, like many others, we found that our members experience Zoom fatigue and miss making connections in person. To plan the 2023 conference, we sent a similar survey to members. In contrast to the 22.9%% of respondents who indicated they preferred an in-person conference in our 2022 poll, the January 2023 poll showed nearly 70% of members expressed a preference for returning to in-person events. As one respondent noted, one potential benefit of attending in-person is “to see people, meet new people and not sit in front of a computer all day long.” Another indicated that “networking and learning opportunities are richer in person.” By and large, most respondents expressed a desire to meet in person in order to increase networking opportunities and community connections. Only two respondents indicated in the 2023 poll that they would likely not attend an in-person conference due to distance or the risk of contracting communicable diseases. Taking all this into consideration, the NNETESOL Executive Board voted to return to the in-person conference format in 2023.

Looking Ahead to Fall 2023

Although we are moving towards a world where in-person gatherings are becoming more normal, we still must be mindful that not all attendees feel safe attending a large in-person event, particularly as the weather will be cold in November in northern New England and illnesses spread more easily during the cold season. Keeping these concerns in mind, we plan to remind all attendees that masks are optional. We also plan to provide hand sanitizer in each room at the conference. Finally, we will continue offering webinars and virtual social events throughout the year to support our members’ professional development and provide opportunities for networking. Making critical decisions is never an easy task, but as a Board, we have conducted a full analysis of the costs, benefits, and risks associated with moving back to an in-person conference, and included input from our NNETESOL membership as we made our decision. Going forward, we look forward to re-establishing face-to-face opportunities in Northern New England for the Board and members of NNETESOL.

Dr. Nicole Decoteau is Past-President of Northern New England TESOL and has served on the board since 2016. She is an associate professor and director of the ESOL program at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire.

Dr. Ilka Kostka is Secretary of Northern New England TESOL. She is an associate teaching professor at Northeastern University, where she teaches English language courses to graduate and undergraduate international students.

Dr. Kathleen McGovern is an Assistant Professor of TESOL at the University of Southern Mane and President of Northern New England TESOL. Her book, “Enlivening Instruction with Drama & Improv: A Guide for Second Language and World Language Teachers,” was published by Routledge in 2021.