Dear Convention Goers,

With the Convention approaching, here are a few tips and hints we have garnered over the years to get the most out of the TESOL Convention.

Preconvention

• The further in advance you make your flight reservations, the cheaper they are. Porter Air flies into downtown Toronto.
• Get some Canadian dollars and notify your credit card company you are going out of the country so they do not think your card is stolen and suspend activity.
• U.S. citizens need a valid passport to enter Canada. Allow 5 weeks for processing. The cost is US$110, plus US$25 processing fee.
• Toronto is a world-class city: translation is “pricey”—be prepared.
• Pack a few energy bars for the middle of the day.
• Check the Toronto weather. It tends to be cold in March.
• Preregister to save money. The advance registration deadline has been extended to 27 February.
  
  

Conference Thoughts

• Pack extra space in your suitcase.
• Bring: business cards, address labels, a highlighter, Post-Its, a notebook.
• Plan your route, by strand, by presenter. Often sessions in small rooms fill up early.
• Check the addendum for session cancellations.
• Volunteer at the HEIS booth for an hour to meet and greet. There will be signs on tables in the main exhibitor hall indicating the interest sections. The tables are usually very prominently found in the center of the hall. We will do ONE HOUR blocks of time for volunteering if anyone is interested (contact Kevin). Volunteers would only need bring themselves (nothing extra is required). Familiarity with the interest section is helpful and you can refresh your knowledge of the HEIS by visiting our interest section page. This is a good time to recruit new members and share what HEIS is all about. Members are encouraged to stop by even if they are not able to staff the booth!
• THURSDAY: 2:30-5:30
  FRIDAY: 11:30-5:30
• Plan to spend time perusing the exhibit hall, catching your breath between activities.
• Plan on attending the HEIS business meeting on Thursday, March 26, at 6:45 pm--8:15 pm in Room 203B. It’s a good place to learn what takes place “behind the scenes,” and meet the interest section leaders.
• Check out the Dine Around and Hospitality Booth, a fun way to get to know the city and meet other convention attendees.
  
  

We hope that you will be able to join us in Toronto for the exciting TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo. Registration and housing information are available on the convention website.

Looking forward to meeting you in Toronto.

With best wishes,

Debbie East

Ruth Weinstein

Co-Chairs of the Higher Education Interest Section

Debbie East is an adjunct lecturer for the Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics Department at Indiana State University. She also teaches online and face-to-face courses in the Teacher Education Department at Indiana University Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC), Columbus, Indiana.

Ruth Ann Weinstein is an instructor at Showa/Boston, the study abroad program for Showa Women’s Institute, Tokyo, Japan. She is interested in community service learning for the English language learner as well as children's literature.