TESLNB expands professional learning and partnerships for its members

by Colleen Meagher

TESOL 2018 International Convention and Expo was held in Chicago IL from March 27-30, with the slogan, "The World Comes Together at TESOL 2018."

TESL NB, an affiliate member of the TESOL, had two of its executive members (Colleen Meagher, Director of the English Language Program [ELP] at UNB and Kathy Whynot, Learning Specialist at the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) in attendance. TESL NB member, Jack Watson, was behind the scenes planning as an events coordinator for the Electronic Village and as the outgoing past chair of the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Interest Section. He chaired and organized voting of the new steering committee in the CALL open meeting held during the convention.

The convention’s theme: Sustaining Dialogues across the TESOL Community was addressed by hundreds of presentations and was well attended with approximately 7000 participants from around the world. The Presidential Keynote delivered by Ester de Jong was titled, TESOL as Nexus: Strategies for the Future. She focused on the profession of English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) teaching and the necessity of recognizing expertise of teachers who work in this specialized field. The word Nexus was unpacked as a key concept of bringing people together for a common purpose. There was a large focus on connection throughout the convention, as well as on the political nature of what we do as teachers working with language learners. Ester de Jong's address set the stage for attendees from all areas of the English language teaching world to network, have thoughtful discussions reinforcing the great work of ESOL professionals from around the globe, and discuss how to best serve the whole learner. 

The English Language Programme (ELP) at UNB has had a long history of attending and presenting at TESOL, stretching back to 1976. With the emergence of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), ELP has played a pivotal role in leadership in this area of language learning at TESOL. ELP’s Jack Watson recently completed his term as Immediate Past Chair of the TESOL International Association CALL Interest Section.

A perennial presenter in the Electronic Village at TESOL annual conventions since 2011, Jack has also served on several committees and coordinated Web cast development. As Chair, he coordinated and moderated the Technology Showcase Academic Session and InterSections from Baltimore MD while simultaneously coordinating Technology Showcase web casting. During Jack’s tenure, the number of webcasts and volunteer participants increased significantly.

As a result, ELP has designed several online courses to complement their other 40 formats to meet the demand of the ever changing world of language learning. To date, ELP’s online formats have been delivered on four continents.

More recently, members of the TESLNB board traveled to Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to attend the 2018 TESL Nova Scotia Spring Conference. Supported by bursaries provided by TESLNB for the professional development of its members, four active members were able to make the trip to Wolfville. This afforded the opportunity for valuable networking and collegiality, as well as the chance to contribute to the professional learning of the weekend by presenting some work and research from New Brunswick. TESLNB is excited about the continued development of this relationship with our sister organization in Nova Scotia, and look forward to planning a fall 2018 conference together, for the benefit of all our members.