Page 11 - ELG1601 Apr Issue 435

ELIatefl special
April 2016 Page 11
presenters, exhibitors and sponsors to Iatefl lands in Birmingham

am delighted to welcome delegates,
I Iatefl’s fiftieth annual conference at
the ICC, a world-class venue in the heart
of Birmingham. This is the first time the President Marjorie Rosenberg gives Gazette readers a sneak preview of the
annual conference is being held in the
UK’s second-largest city and we are sure association’s fiftieth annual conference, held this year in the heart of England
that everyone will enjoy the lively area
around the ICC, where you can enjoy a
meal or have a cup of tea overlooking Kucha, the Iatefl quiz, the Extensive high-quality awards to teachers unable the recipients of the Tesol President’s
one of the many canals in ‘Brum’. Reading Foundation Awards, a Crea- to travel to the UK for their continuing Award, which is given annually by
We have an impressive list of ple- tivity Group event and offsite events professional development and are very Tesol’s executive committee in recogni-
nary speakers to help us celebrate. The offered by sponsors and other organi- grateful to both IH and St Giles for mak- tion of individuals or institutions which
conference will kick off on Wednesday sations. A new mobile app should help ing these possible. have supported English language teach-
morning with Iatelf patron Professor delegates keep track of all these events In addition, TAs can apply for an ing in line with Tesol’s values. It will be
David Crystal, followed by Silvana as well as exchange business cards with award through the A.S. Hornby Edu- awarded to Iatefl at the Tesol Annual
Richardson on Thursday. On Friday others on the spot. cational Trust in partnership with Iatefl Convention in Baltimore at the begin-
delegates will have the chance to hear Our conferences have been growing and the British Council. The winners of ning of April 2016.
Diane Larsen-Freeman and on Saturday and we hope that this year will prove this award receive funding for projects There are several important changes
we will begin with Scott Thornbury in no different. Last year in Manchester which support teachers and develop- taking place at Iatefl. Our chief execu-
the morning and close with renowned we had a total of 2,642 delegates from ment of the TAs in practical, sustainable tive Glenda Smart is leaving in order to
storyteller Jan Blake in the afternoon. 110 countries representing 119 nation- and relevant ways. take on new challenges. Since Glenda
Due to the high number of proposals, alities, ensuring that the ‘I’ in Iatefl has Making CPD available to both mem- joined Iatefl in 2002 she has helped it
delegates can choose from 22 parallel been truly earned. On top of that, we bers and non-members online has grow into the successful organisation it
sessions of talks given by delegates. were able to reach an additional 40,000 become a cornerstone of our wider is today. Under Glenda’s leadership we
We will start off the day before the educators online through the generos- mission. We held our first web confer- were able to purchase our own offices
official conference with fourteen pre- ity of the British Council, which will ence in October 2014 called ‘Hot topics and set up a number of the initiatives
conference events run by our special be providing a live stream of plenaries, across borders in ELT’, and in October mentioned in this article.
interest groups and a day for repre- selected talks and some evening events Courtesy Marjorie Rosenberg 2015 followed this with a second web Eryl Griffiths, who has been in the
sentatives from our 125 associates. The for the tenth year in a row. conference named ‘Making connections Scholarship Working Party since 2001,
main conference includes the Iatefl Continuing professional develop- across borders in ELT’. The events fea- is standing down as chair after achiev-
AGM, two interactive language fairs, ment (CPD) is an important part of our tured some ten presenters from around ing the incredible feat of securing fifty
forums, a variety of ‘how to’ sessions, mission, and we are pleased to be able the globe and included interactive ses- scholarships for the fiftieth conference,
six signature events, two ‘meet the to offer a variety of initiatives. Iatefl WARM WELCOME Iatelf sions. Between 700 and 800 participants handing the committee over to Maureen
patron’ events, the ELT Conversation, Projects, which began under the leader- president Marjorie Rosenberg logged in for these two-day events. McGarvey. We have also had the elec-
a raffle, a lucky dip and the Jobs Mar- ship of Carol Read and Eric Baber, has We are delighted that our next web tion for our new vice-president, which
ket. Express your thoughts about Iatelf since awarded grants to Eltai in India Two of our partners, the IH Trust and conference will be a joint event with was won by Margit Szesztay. Margit’s
on the Celebration Tree, take a special and Camelta in Cameroon. These pro- St Giles Trust, have also generously Tesol in November 2016, which will appointment will be ratified at the AGM
fiftieth conference photo, and support jects make use of fundraising activities created joint awards with Iatefl to pro- focus on fifty years of providing profes- in Birmingham, where she will offi-
Iatefl projects by taking home a teddy such as the Telc Cycle Ride, in which mote teacher training in local contexts. sional development in the field of ELT. cially begin as the new Iatefl VP.
bear or mug. Julian Sayarer and Thom Jones cycled Elta-Albania and Nelta (Nepal) have These web conferences are in addition Through our various initiatives, pro-
Evening events include a gathering from Frankfurt to Manchester. This year received twenty days of training with IH to the webinar series that we began in grammes, awards and online events we
for the fifty-plus scholarship winners, they will be joined by Iatefl trustee and trainers and UzTEA (Uzbekistan) was 2013 which have proved to be very are delighted to continue to contribute
three special Shakespeare events, a chair of membership committee Gary the recipient of training provided by the popular with both members and non- to our wider mission of linking, devel-
themed musical event, storytelling ses- Motteram, and will be making their way St Giles Educational Trust/Iatefl Award. members. oping and supporting educators around
sions, the UK Fair List Awards, a Pecha from Manchester to Birmingham. We are delighted to be able to offer such Iatefl is also honoured this year to be the globe. n