I cannot believe it has been almost a year since I was installed as TESOL president in March 2018. This has been a very busy but wonderful year of great accomplishments for TESOL! In this short article, I describe some of these accomplishments—joint efforts of fellow TESOL board members, TESOL Executive Director Christopher Powers, the TESOL staff, and many leaders around the globe. I focus on three of the outcomes of TESOL’s new Strategic Plan (2018–2021), approved by the board of directors in March 2018, which went into effect on 1 November 2018.

Outcome 1: Global Presence and Connectivity

TESOL has increased its global presence and its connectivity among members, partners, and other stakeholders.

We have expanded our global presence and connectivity by bringing together more than 6,000 TESOL professionals from 110 countries for the annual TESOL Convention & English Language Expo in Chicago, Illinois, USA; hosting our first annual TESOL China Assembly in Shanghai, China, for 1,800 participants; partnering with TESOL affiliates to deliver symposia and academies to 300 TESOL professionals in Canada and Honduras; and supporting our TESOL affiliates through the TESOL Affiliate Speaker Program.

I participated in several conferences and TESOL symposia and academies in my role as president. In early May, I attended the TESOL Symposium “The Global Citizen and New Technologies” in Vancouver, Canada, and participated in the BC TEAL (The Association of British Columbia Teachers of English as an Additional Language) conference, which were both great events. I also had the incredible opportunity to attend the Asia TEFL conference in Macau, SAR, China, in June. It was my first time in Asia, and I definitely would love to return. Though Asia TEFL is not a TESOL affiliate, many TESOL affiliates are members of Asia TEFL, so I was able to see and connect with many TESOL affiliate leaders and members, such as those in KOTESOL (Korea TESOL), Thailand TESOL, JALT (The Japan Association for Language Teaching), and others. Soon after my trip to Macau, I went to Honduras for the TESOL Academy “Empowering TESOL Communities Through Collaboration” and HELTA (Honduran English Language Teachers Association) convention. I connected with many Latin-American TESOL affiliates there and presented both at the academy and the convention. Lastly, in January 2019, I went to the BETA (The Bolivian English Teachers’ Association) annual convention in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where I was able to connect with many other Latin American members and leaders.

The TESOL Affiliate Speaker Program took me to various places. My first stop was beautiful Croatia for the HUPE (Croatian Association of Teachers of English) conference in April 2018. It was in an amazing area in Croatia, called Poreč, on the coast. In Fall 2018, I went to several U.S. affiliate conferences: WATESOL (Washington TESOL) in October, NYS TESOL (New York State TESOL) in November, and finally to my home state affiliate CATESOL (California TESOL) in December. For my last affiliate speaker commitment as president, I am going to participate in TESOL Greece’s 40th anniversary conference and will present a plenary which has been selected as “the James E. Alatis Honorary Plenary” by the TESOL Greece Board. I am also scheduled to attend the TESOL Southern Cone conference in Curitiba, Brazil, in July 2019. I was happy to participate in all of these events and connect to affiliates through this amazing program. Please check out a blog post I wrote when I rotated off the board of directors when I first served as a member (2013–2016) on the benefits of the Affiliate Speaker Program for both the affiliate and the board member.

All of the experiences participating in these events have helped me to understand the needs and contexts of different affiliates. I am so thankful for the opportunities to meet new people and to see people I already knew, for the contributions I was able to make, and for the knowledge I developed. These opportunities helped expand our global presence and connectivity.

Outcome 2: Knowledge and Expertise

TESOL has led the development and delivery of English language teaching expertise, research, and information that address current and emerging trends in the profession.

We have strengthened the knowledge and expertise of TESOL professionals in many ways. More than 2,000 TESOL professionals participated in professional learning opportunities in 2018. We launched the initiative The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners ®, “targets for teaching excellence” designed to support any English language instruction program. At the TESOL Convention in Atlanta, we are launching new resources: a book focused on adult education and workforce development entitled The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners: Adult Education and Workforce Development and a quick guide for paraeducators entitled The 6 Principles Quick Guide for Paraeducators. Two other resources are scheduled to launch in July 2019: a book focused on English for academic and specific purposes entitled The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners: Academic and Specific Purposes and a quick guide based on the adult education and workforce development book, The 6 Principles Quick Guide for Adult Education and Workforce Development. Various professional learning programs focused on The 6 Principles ®, including a training of trainers preconvention event, several 6 Principles–focused sessions, and a special 6 Principles session during PreK–12 Day, are scheduled for the Convention in Atlanta.

Outcome 3: Voice and Advocacy

TESOL has become the leading advocate for English language teaching professionals and learners worldwide.

We have advocated for the TESOL profession, professionals, and students around the world; initiated our Public Policy Professional Council; issued several letters and public statements in support of English language teachers and students; and hosted our annual Advocacy and Policy Summit.

I had the chance to participate for the first time in the TESOL Advocacy and Policy Summit. Advocacy has always been a topic of interest and research for me, but this was my first time attending the Summit. It was an incredible opportunity to learn more about advocacy and policies affecting bi/multilingual students and their teachers. Along with two Florida colleagues, I went to Capitol Hill to advocate for my state with state representatives.

How Can TESOL Members Help Implement the Strategic Plan?

As we have emphasized many times, the Strategic Plan is OUR plan! On 17 January 2019, we held two TESOL Leaders Town Hall meetings. We briefly discussed each outcome of the Strategic Plan and went on to ask leaders to consider some questions:

• Where do I see myself in this Strategic Plan?
• What can I do personally to help achieve these outcomes?
• What has my group been doing—and what can we do in the future—to help achieve these outcomes?

We also shared that the Affiliate Network Professional Council is rolling out its new Affiliate Peer Advisory Program. The program, focused initially on increasing one-on-one communication with members of the Affiliate Network and the Affiliate Network Professional Council, supports the first two Strategic Plan outcomes by strengthening our Global Presence and Connectivity and increasing our Knowledge and Expertise. Through increased communication, the Affiliate Peer Advisory Program strives to promote cooperation, support, and the sharing of best practices among the affiliates and with TESOL in order to strengthen the affiliate-TESOL relationship. We believe this is a great example of how specific groups can engage the Strategic Plan. We hope that you will consider different ways that you can engage and help implement the Strategic Plan, both as a TESOL member and as part of your respective groups within the association.

In the past year, I have been able to witness the embodiment of TESOL’s Strategic Plan Outcomes 1, 2, and 3 in practice in all of the events in which I participated and in all of the new resources—which have demonstrated the commitment and passion that TESOL educators have for their association, their fellow teachers, and their students. I am so honored to have served as TESOL president this past year. It is wonderful to be part of such an amazing community of teachers, leaders, and scholars.

I hope to see you in Atlanta for the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo, 13–16 March 2019! It is the place where “the world comes together,” and it is “THE meeting for ELT professionals.”

Warm regards,
Luciana C. de Oliveira

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