A colleague in Iran recently posted a blog with the provocative title “TESOL 2020: Where the World *Cannot* Come Together!” She raised serious concerns about how well we can connect the world at a time when travel, visa, and other restrictions too often keep people apart. I have responded directly to the author, but given TESOL International Association’s mission to advance the expertise of English language teaching worldwide and a strategic outcome focused on increasing our global presence and connectivity, it is important to address publicly all that TESOL does and can continue to do to bring our members and other professionals together across political, geographical, and cultural divides. I have therefore encouraged her to post my message on her blog and have adapted my original response into this message that I can share with all TESOL members.

Can TESOL Bring the World Together?

Despite the efforts of those who would drive people apart, we do believe that TESOL International Association, and our affiliate associations, do and can continue to bring people together throughout the world. In March, as most of you know, we brought attendees from more than 100 countries together for our convention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. As a result of visa policies, travel restrictions, and other challenges, however, we know that not everyone who wanted to attend the convention could do so. That is why it is so important that we are able to provide additional opportunities in other countries.

In the past 5 years, for example, we have hosted events in Canada, China, Egypt, Greece, Honduras, India, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. This July, we will be holding our second annual TESOL China Assembly. With 2,000–3,000 participants expected, it is the largest event that we convene outside of the TESOL International Convention. We welcome participants from around the world and invite anyone interested in attending to visit the website to register. In November, we will also be partnering with our affiliate, the Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association, to hold a symposium prior to their conference. Again, we welcome a broad and global attendance. We will hold additional events outside the United States in coming years as well, and we encourage all TESOL educators, especially those who cannot attend the TESOL International Convention, to attend one of the many conferences that our affiliated associations will host and that are listed on our Worldwide Calendar of Events.

Virtual Communities and Connectivity

We recognize, too, that beyond visa issues, it is often difficult to bring everyone together face to face. Therefore, we greatly value the virtual community that TESOL provides. We make recordings of convention sessions available in our Live Learning Center, and most of our professional learning opportunities are delivered online. Another way that we bring English language teachers around the globe together is through virtual seminars, which we offer free to members each month. If you do not tune in each month, you are missing out on a great resource. Don’t worry, though. We record the virtual seminars and make them available to members, and nonmembers can always purchase access.

Advocating to Bring the World Together

Raising the voice of TESOL educators and advocating on their behalf is another of our key strategic goals. And our advocacy certainly includes efforts to oppose visa and travel restrictions that keep us apart. We have consistently opposed the current U.S. administration’s executive orders that restrict travel for citizens of certain countries. We support comprehensive and common-sense immigration reform in the United States.

With 10,000 members, 19 interest sections, and 12 professional learning networks, we believe that TESOL has a place for everyone in the English language teaching profession. We invite those who are not members to join us and to connect through our myTESOL communities, or to simply engage with us through the myTESOL lounge, which is open to members and nonmembers alike.

TESOL believes in a world where all English language professionals can come together—virtually and in-person—to teach, to learn, and to support each other and our students. To make that world a reality, we will continue to host events around the globe, strengthen our virtual connections, and continue to advocate for our teachers and our students. We encourage all of you to join us in these efforts.

Christopher Powers
TESOL Executive Director
Email: cpowers@tesol.org
Twitter: @TESOL_Powers