MidTESOL Matters Spring 2001

By LuAnn Sorenson 

Attending a national convention of over 6,000 participants can be a daunting and exhausting, though professionally invigorating experience. The MidTESOL and TESOL members involved in the convention planning have put great effort into emphasizing the professional invigoration and de-emphasizing the exhausting in the following list of “firsts” for the TESOL 2001 convention in St. Louis: 

• The entire convention is located under one roof. There will be no need to walk run, or shuttle to nearby venues for presentations.
• The arrangement of sessions and meetings has been improved so that interest sections are in the same area as much as possible (e.g. all K-12-related sessions and meetings will take place in the same area, thus making getting to different rooms easier).
• The Employment Clearinghouse is open to all conference attendees at no additional charge.
• The Exhibit Hall officially opens following the Opening Plenary on Tuesday evening, giving you an early look at the exhibits while enjoying jazz and light refreshments.
• The Exhibit Hall, rather than being located next to the Employment Clearinghouse, is now located behind registration in order to reduce noise for job interviewing.
• The first ever TESOL Cyber Café has been created, separate from the CALL Electronic Village, so that you have a place to check your e-mail and get a cup of coffee.
• Another separate area, called the Market Area, has been created for the sale of non-professional materials (e.g. international goods) and for the affiliate information tables.
• Energy Breaks in the afternoon replace Breakfast Seminars as a way to eat, relax, and discuss issues of interest to you in small groups with leaders in the field.
• Graduate colloquia for master’s and doctoral students provide opportunities for those in training to share their knowledge and expertise.
• A new strand debuts this year for the Speech Pronunciation interest section.
• The day will end an hour earlier than previous conferences to allow more time for digesting the days events.
• MidTESOL members as of December 1, 2000 pay the TESOL member fee for registration. This is a savings of $50 if you are not already a member of TESOL.
• MidTESOL will be sponsoring a breakfast event for all members on Saturday, March 3 from 7:00-8:30 a.m. at the Wyndham Mayfair Hotel.
  

Whether you are an experienced TESOL conference attendee or attending for the first time, you should find the conference to be a pleasant event. Many thanks to the primary conference organizers (i.e. core planners, team leaders, and TESOL Central Office staff) for their extensive efforts at setting new standards for organization and making the 2001 convention a better experience for all.  
 

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