As the trusted global authority on English language teaching, TESOL International Association strives to make sure that global and international are not merely words that we include in our mission statement and our full name, but rather actual descriptions of our work and our association.

In July, I addressed the challenges that travel bans and visa restrictions create for our association as we seek to be the place where the world comes together. And while the world cannot always come to TESOL, we are always committed bringing TESOL to the world. I would like to highlight, then, three instances in just the last month, when TESOL staff and board members brought the association to English language teachers in Asia, Africa, and South America.

From 25–28 July, TESOL partnered with China Daily 21st Century Education, Shanghai International Studies University, the Chinese National Association of Foreign Language Education, Beijing Normal University’s School of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and the city of Hangzhou to convene nearly 3,000 English teaching professionals at our second annual Global English Education China Assembly to explore the theme of “English Education in China: A New Era, A Shared Vision.” Keynote presenters from the United States, China, Great Britain, and New Zealand addressed themes such as content- and tasked-based learning, assessment literacy, The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners®, and the application of the Chinese concept of Xu—which means complete, extend, create—to English language teaching.

TESOL Executive Director Christopher Powers addresses Global English Education China Assembly

Attendees at the Second Annual China Assembly

As TESOL President-Elect Deborah Short noted,

China is a country that is very interested in learning English. That distinguishes it from some other countries where a variety of foreign languages have been learned. It is important for us to spread the message that TESOL is promoting exemplary teaching and understanding good research, and using modern and up-to-date activities in the classroom. In this way we hope we can help all of the teachers and learners in China to become stronger English speakers, readers, and writers.

TESOL President-Elect Deborah Short speaks with English language teachers in Huichang, China

In addition to convening our largest event outside of the TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo, our partnership allowed us to welcome 2,000 new global members and conduct focus groups, which we intend to use to help develop new professional learning programs to meet the rising demand of English language teachers in China.

A continent away, TESOL President Deborah Healey joined colleagues in Abuja, Nigeria for the annual Africa TESOL conference. Deborah participated fully, presenting a session on gamification and meeting with dozens of English language teachers from across the continent, including members of TESOL affiliates in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, and Tunisia.

TESOL President Deborah Healey meets with English language teachers in Abuja, Nigeria

Deborah reflected on the wonderful teachers in Africa, their interest in connecting with the broader TESOL community, and their hunger to learn and share best practices that will improve their teaching. Deborah said,

I was highly impressed with the energy and interest in classroom-based research among teachers and researchers at the conference. It was a great opportunity for all of us to share ideas and extend our networks. Many thanks to all who were there!

At almost the same time, TESOL Past President Luciana de Oliveira represented the association in Curitiba, Brazil at Southern Cone TESOL, a biannual conference organized by TESOL affiliates in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Through TESOL’s unique partnership with the U.S. Department of State and Braz-TESOL, the conference host, we were able to send our first Brazilian president to a TESOL event in Brazil (indeed, our first Latina president to Latin America). Lu engaged with teachers, partners, and other stakeholders, including English Language Fellows, working to support English language teaching across the region. Lu’s plenary focused on transforming the classroom into a multilingual space through plurilingualism and translanguaging.

TESOL Past President Luciana de Oliveira presenting at Southern Cone TESOL in Brazil

The kinds of partnerships we forged to engage with English teachers in Asia, Africa, and South America are critically important as we all work to bring the world together in an increasingly fractured time. With TESOL events coming up in Nepal in November of this year and Japan in 2020, not to mention Tennessee, California, and Colorado in the United States, TESOL is not shrinking from the world. But it is equally important for us to look strategically and engage in areas where we can best meet our strategic outcomes, where we can strengthen, build on, and share our Global Presence and Connectivity, our Knowledge and Expertise, and our Voice and Advocacy to support English language teachers around the world.

TESOL’s Affiliate Network, and specifically our Affiliate Network Speaker Grant Program, is one way we are doing this, but we welcome connections and partnerships with any individual or organization that shares our values and commitment to advancing the expertise of professionals who teach English to speakers of other languages in multilingual contexts worldwide. Please join us in these efforts.

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