Hi, all.
The Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Conference will be held in Toronto, Canada, from March 25-28. In the past I have invited community/list participants to share with others the names and times of workshops they plan to present, be part of, or even attend. We generally get limited response to that- maybe because few people can attend the conference and others don't want to appear to be bragging? I anticipate that there would be even fewer than usual this year, if I were to put out the invitation, as the conference is outside the US this year, and even those who usually can attend TESOL might not be able to go outside the country. What I will do instead is, after it is over, share something I learn from the conference. And I hope others who attend will do the same.
Speaking of TESOL, I wanted to also mention the death of a founding father of the organization, James. E. Alatis, who died February 28 at home in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. Alatis was one of a small ad hoc group that met in Chicago in 1966 to form a professional organization. He was its first Executive Director and served until 1987. Five professional organizations helped support the founding of TESOL: the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA), the Speech Association of America (SAA), the Modern Language Association (MLA), and the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL).
On the TESOL website, Dr. Alatis is quoted as saying; "Teacher education is the heart of the matter. The goal of teachers is to provide their students with the highest quality instruction possible. This can be done only if the teachers are themselves well educated and continue to develop professionally throughout their lives. ‘And gladly will he learn and gladly teach,’ Chaucer told us about a good teacher. This involves learning and teaching in perpetuity." Highest quality instruction is a goal worth striving for.
When it began in 1966, TESOL had 337 members and only five affiliates. Any TESOL members in this community who happen to know how large TESOL is today?
Miriam Burt
SME, Adult ELL CoP
Comments
Hi, everyone:
I said I would post on takeaways from Toronto and so here's one. It's not about any conference presentation, but about a discovery I made while navigating the signage and room numbers in the Toronto Convention Centre.
Last week I was a native English speaker in an international city where the English that is is spoken and written is only slightly different from the English I used growing up in Minnesota. Still I struggled at times to understand and to be understood.
The conference was held at a Convention Centre that had two major sections - a north and a south. That is fairly common for convention centers. What was perplexing about the center was two things:
1. The rooms in the north and south wings were not marked with an S or an N for quick reference-- to help you know which side you needed to head for.
2. The rooms in one wing were not labeled in a particularly linear way. For example, down one hall, 202D was next to 203B and 202C was between 202A and 203A. I was late for a couple of sessions because, in the absence of a map (my fault), I wandered down the 200 halls sort of aimlessly trying to find 202A or 206D. I even missed one session as I roamed.
I remember trying to read a subway map in Tokyo decades ago and figuring it out - somewhat - by comparing the characters on my map with those printed on the subway map. Now I try to imagine the difficulty of finding rooms at Toronto Convention Center for someone for whom the letters and numbers were not a known quantity. Or maybe it would be easier for them because they weren't expecting 202A to be next to 202B? Did my expectations of a certain order make it harder for me to find what I was looking for?
I was struck by the complexity of literacy for me here in Toronto.
I welcome any comments or references people can give me about expectations affecting ability to read signs and numbers.
I'll talk about my oracy adventures in another post. And I will post as promised - as I hope others might -- about some themes that were prevalent at the conference.
Miriam
Thanks for sharing, Miriam. I feel so much better. I was confused as to why the 700 level was ABOVE the 800 level, and the non-linear room numbering got me, too. At least I know I was not alone! I will say, though, that the subway was one of the easiest to maneuver I've ever been on - until you get off of it, that is. Signage was seriously lacking for tourists / visitors. The upside? I got to meet a lot of people there as I asked directions. :)
TexTESOL is in October in San Antonio. No subway. On the Riverwalk. Nice weather. Think about it. (Maybe we can con them into sending you for a ToT the same week.)
Peace,
Glenda