The Language Teacher
July 2004

Thailand TESOL: Looking Forward and Back

Juanita Heigham

Sugiyama Jogakuen University

Perspectives

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

Many language-teaching professionals regularly attend conferences. They do this for three main reasons: to rekindle enthusiasm for their work through exposure to recent research and teaching techniques, to make new contacts in their field, and to get out of town. Not every conference sends its attendees home feeling satisfied, but the ThaiTESOL conference succeeds every year. Unlike JALT, whose officers are mostly non-Japanese, ThaiTESOL is run almost exclusively by Thais, and their dedication to their profession is both inspiring and infectious. Additionally, the officers are predominantly women, and this might be one of the reasons why there was such a large number of female featured speakers at this year's conference; 8 of the 10 were women and included Suchada Nimmannit, Denise Murray, and Susan Barduhn, to name a few. In a field where women outnumber men, it was good to see the main speakers reflecting this reality.

The 24th Annual Thailand TESOL International Conference, "Prioritising Teacher Development," was held in Khon Kaen, a somewhat rural city on the eastern side of the country. There were over 1000 participants and 230 speakers that presented in 15 different content areas. The well-organized coffee breaks and lunches that were included in the conference registration fee provided a relaxed and comfortable environment for people to meet other participants. Surprisingly, a number of participants were from Japan. This conference is quite popular among Japanese educators, and this was demonstrated by the nearly 40 Japan-based presenters.

The focus of the conference was on teacher development and reflected the recent shift in the EFL/ESL community from teacher training to teacher development, focusing specifically on teachers' active pursuit of the ways and means to foster their own development. Since the Thai Ministry of Education has made demanding educational reforms and increased expectations of teachers, the conference theme was particularly relevant to those working in Thailand. However, it wasn't limited to a Thai audience since teacher development is a key issue among educators throughout the world. In fact, it will be the theme of TESOL's conference Teaching Learning, Learning Teaching in 2005, so the ThaiTESOL conference served as a stimulating introduction to what will continue to be discussed in professional circles elsewhere in the world.

The three plenary speakers each dealt with the theme in a different way. In brief, Neil Anderson, with his From Egg to Omelet: Prioritizing Teacher Development by Making Teaching Public, provided us with insights into the necessity of interacting with other teachers and suggested 13 tools, a teacher's dozen, to use to do this. Some of his suggestions included peer review of class syllabi, teacher journals, web-based bulletin board discussions among teachers, and videotaping for self-improvement. Jeremy Harmer, with Do We Really Know How to Teach?, demonstrated that while theories of language teaching can be useful tools to us as teachers, we should be careful not to be confined by them. Alan Maley, with Becoming a Resourceful Teacher, suggested that when teachers develop their use of resources—both internal and external—they gain greater freedom of choice, build their own repertoire, and increase their self-confidence. He also emphasized that the benefits of becoming a resourceful teacher are not limited to the teacher; students benefit as well. These three plenary presentations along with numerous others gave participants a wide variety of fresh ideas to take home and apply to their own contexts.

For those interested in taking advantage of the opportunities that ThaiTESOL offers, consider that it will be celebrating its silver anniversary when the conference takes place on January 20-22 in Bangkok under the theme Surfing the Waves of Change in ELT. The call for papers has been issued and will remain open until July 16, 2004. In addition, ThaiTESOL will be hosting the first TESOL symposium in Asia entitled Leadership: Initiating and Managing Change in ELT immediately following the conference on January 23. More information about the above can be found at www.thaitesol.org or at www.tesol.org.

Reported by Juanita Heigham
Sugiyama Jogakuen University

The Language TeacherJuly 2004

Thailand TESOL: Looking Forward and Back

Juanita Heigham

Sugiyama Jogakuen University

Perspectives

The Language Teacher
July 2004