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The Language Teacher
April 2004

PAC5: Sharing Challenges, Sharing Solutions

Galina Lovtsevich and Stephen Ryan

Far Eastern English Language Teachers' Association (FEELTA)



Perspectives

. . . with Joyce Cunningham & Mariko Miyao perspectives@jalt-publications.org

This June many JALT members will be travelling to the PAC5 conference, hosted by FEELTA, one of JALT's international partners, in Vladivostok, Russia. Read about this fascinating teachers' association and the PAC5 conference. The co-editors warmly encourage 750-word reports of interest to JALT members in English, Japanese, or both.

Every 2 years or so, language teachers from throughout the East Asian region are invited to gather and share the challenges faced and solutions encountered in their professional lives, as well as knowledge of the educational, social, and cultural contexts in which these solutions are applied. This year (June 24-27) the invitation comes from JALT's partner in the Russian Far East, the Far Eastern English Language Teachers' Association (FEELTA).

The Pan Asian conferences (PAC), which began in Bangkok in 1997, and have since been held in Seoul, Kita-Kyushu, and Taipei, will convene for the fifth time in Vladivostok, Russia. A consortium of language teaching associations from across the region supports the conferences: Thailand TESOL, Korea TESOL, JALT, the English Teachers' Association of the Republic of China, and FEELTA.

Vladivostok, in the southeastern corner of Russia, has long been Russia's window on the Pacific Rim. Since the end of the Soviet Union and the removal of its status as a closed city (even Soviet citizens needed a visa to visit), the window has become a door--a vital trade link and a melting pot for peoples from Europe and Asia. Many people are surprised to learn that it is only 2 hours flying time from Tokyo and 90 minutes from Seoul, yet 7 hours and seven time zones from Moscow.

This relative isolation from European Russia has made FEELTA's work in bringing together language teachers vital. Founded in 1995, this professional association seeks to strengthen the teaching and learning of English in the Russian Far East, promote the professional development of EFL teachers, support networking with colleagues all over the world, and give access to the latest FL/ESL resources. With over 500 members, it covers a diverse but sparsely populated region from Blagoveshchensk in the west to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the east.

To support these teachers, FEELTA publishes a newsletter, holds seminars and workshops, organises talent shows to showcase learners' prowess in English, and once every 2 years hosts an international conference. The conference is a rare chance for language teachers from all six FEELTA posts (chapters) to meet each other, talk about their teaching, and learn from one another. It is always a time of great excitement, renewed friendships, professional collaborations, learning, teaching, sharing, presentations, parties, professional stimulation, and contact with teachers from outside the Russian Far East. Last time the conference was held in Vladivostok, it attracted over 500 participants, including presenters from eight different countries.

The 2004 conference promises to be bigger and more international than ever before. The participation of the PAC partners will bring a wealth of language teaching expertise from all over Eastern Asia. Conference organisers have received proposals from over 450 different people in 23 different countries, including almost 100 from Japan alone. The number of proposals from Russian teachers is also greater than for any previous FEELTA conference. Featured speakers include Stephen Krashen and Larry Smith from the US; Simon Greenall and Gwyneth Fox from the UK; Denise Murray from Australia; and Rostislav Milrud, Maria Verbitskaya, and Svetlana Terminasova from Russia.

As well as academic sessions, workshops, and poster sessions, there will be a display of educational materials and a Teaching Activity Fair, in which participants will demonstrate their brightest teaching ideas. A number of social and educational visits are also planned. Participants new to the Russian Far East should find the city tour, school visits, and a chance to get out on the waters of Golden Horn Bay particularly interesting.

PAC5, though, is not just a gathering of teachers. The fourth Asian Youth Forum (AYF4), to be held in Vladivostok at the same time as the conference, will give students a chance to interact with each other as well. AYF organisers are hoping to welcome students of English from all the PAC countries and other parts of the region to a programme of educational and social events designed to help them get to know and learn from each other. On the final day of the conference, AYF participants will make presentations to their teachers in specially arranged conference sessions, a rare and valuable chance for students' voices to be heard at a professional gathering of language teachers.

The conference theme is "Sharing Challenges, Sharing Solutions: Teaching Languages in Diverse Contexts" and sharing is exactly what we intend to do! For more information on PAC5, FEELTA, and AYF, please browse the following websites:

Galina Lovtsevich and Stephen Ryan


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