Being an ELT Professional in the 21st Century

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Being an ELT Professional in the 21st
Century MEXTESOL Convention 2007 Sandra J.
Briggs TESOL President 2007 - 2008
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I. Introduction
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• Greetings from the TESOL Board of Directors and
  Staff
• I love Mexico.
• My background as an ELT professional

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II. Where to from here?
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The Power Point slides for my talk are available
on www.mextesol.org.mx.
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The connection between the title of my talk
Being an ELT Professional in the 21st Century
and the theme of this convention Where to from
here?
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Thank you to Connie Rae Johnson, Academic and
Program Chair of this MEXTESOL Convention
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The theme of the Convention is the title of
Robert Kaplans last chapter in his handbook for
applied linguistics, Where to from here? I had
just finished using that chapter in my class and
submitted it as a theme because I think that
Mextesol has reached a special place in its
history. . .
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The points that Kaplan touched on in his chapter
are relevant now for the Mexican audience that
has reached a high level of professional
development and is capable of looking more into
the future than just teaching EFL classes for the
remainder of their careers and
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Mextesol has played a large part in their
development.
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• Explore why the title includes 21st century
• Look at the development of ELT professionals as
  an ongoing process
• Talk about what makes us ELT professionals and
  how we continue to develop

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• III. Where are we in November 2007?

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• The concepts of native and nonnative speakers of
  English have changed.
• Kahmi-Stein, Lía D. (Ed.) (2004). Learning and
  Teaching from Experience. Ann Arbor, Michigan
  University of Michigan Press.

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• Increasingly, English is a global language and
  used as a lingua franca around the world.

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• Technology is not new in our profession, but it
  continues to change rapidly.

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IV. What Makes an ELT Professional?
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• The Individual Educator

It is you or me or the educator sitting next to
you.
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B. Initial Training
This can be another educator in your institution
explaining to you what you will do or your
obtaining a university degree.
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C. Teaching Experience
We hope that the initial training comes before
the teaching experience, but sometimes it is the
other way around.
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D. Professional Development
This is everything that you do after you start
teaching in order to continue to grow and develop
as an ELT professional.
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• Earning graduate degrees
• Attending workshops, conferences, and conventions
• Participating in professional associations
• Using the Internet
• Working with colleagues

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V. So when do you become an ELT professional?
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VI. What Do ELT Professionals Do to Remain
Professional?
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This list of activities and resources is a place
to begin. I hope that you will think about the
ELT professionals you interact with and your own
professional situation and then modify this list
to meet your needs.
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Belong to a professional association, such as
MEXTESOL or TESOL or both
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Keep a teaching journal
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Interact with your colleagues
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Interact with educators all over the world
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Mentor new educators
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Attend workshops, professional meetings,
conferences, and conventions
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Read professional material
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Write for or edit newsletters or journals
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Folse, Keith S. (2004). Vocabulary Myths. Ann
Arbor, Michigan University of Michigan Press.
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Give presentations
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Develop materials
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Interact with publishing companies
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Continue taking courses
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Use the Internet
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VII. Example of an Association Web Site Teachers
of English to Speakers of Other Languages
(TESOL), Inc.

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Web site www.tesol.org
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Sections for everyone and some sections for
members only
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• TESOL Position Papers from 1996 to the present
• Go to www.tesol.org
• Click on NEWS.
• Click on Postion Statements.

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Position Statement on the Status and Rights of
Teachers March 2007
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According to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the
right to an education.
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Teachers play an essential role in educational
advancement, and teaching should be regarded and
respected as a profession.
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It is a form of public service which requires
expert knowledge and specialized skills, acquired
and maintained through rigorous and continuing
study.
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Moreover, it calls for a sense of personal and
collective responsibility on the part of teachers
for the education and welfare of the pupils in
their charge.
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Rights TESOL supports the following rights of all
members of the teaching profession
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• Working conditions that will best promote
  effective learning and enable teachers to
  concentrate on their professional tasks,
  including resources necessary for their teaching
  as well as protection in terms of occupational
  health and safety.

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• Reasonable remuneration and benefits equivalent
  to professional qualifications, comparable to
  employees of similar skills and educational
  levels in other areas of enterprise, with
  compensation paid in a complete and timely manner.

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• Continual professional development opportunities
  in order to learn of new findings, develop
  additional expertise in their subject, and obtain
  continuous support for the improvement of their
  teaching methods.

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• The right to be consulted and to participate in
  the process of formulating educational policies
  at the institutional, local, regional, and
  national levels.

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The TESOL Resource Center The TESOL Resource
Center (TRC) is an online platform for members to
find and share a variety of practical resources
with peers in the profession.
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• The TRC opened on February 9, 2007.
• It includes lessons, teacher resources, papers
  from TESOL symposia, TESOL virtual seminar videos
  and more.

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• Consider sharing some of your ideas on The TESOL
  Resource Center.
• Go to www.tesol.org.
• Click on Education.
• Then click on The Resource Center.

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Interest Sections and Caucuses Open Access TESOL
members can now belong to as many interest
sections and caucuses as they wish without an
additional charge, including electronic
newsletters and online discussion groups.
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Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
Interest Section in TESOL
CALL www.call-is.org/moodle Electronic Village
evo07sessions.pbwiki.com
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VIII. Conclusion
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Whether your professional activities are local or
global, your participation will help you stay
current as an ELT professional and you will
continue looking for answers to the question,
Where to from here?