The first TESOL Womentorship in English Language Teaching (ELT) Symposium took place on July 10, 2021! It brought together 550 registrants, about 100 live participants (including 2 men), from 63 countries. Womentorship in ELT is a newly-formed professional learning network that provides mentorship and supports the professional and personal advancement of women in the field of English language teaching (ELT).
Inspired by the vision of Laura Baecher, Professor at the Hunter College School of Education, City University of New York, a small team of amazing women in the field of ELT were able to organize this inaugural symposium in a couple of months. Sessions were 30 minutes in length with 10 minutes for presenters to introduce topics and 20 minutes for attendees to discuss and provide insights. Participants engaged in a broad range of topics including expanding social media presence, taking the mystery out of writing proposals and publishing, growing professional learning networks, supporting career pathways, addressing career/life balance, defeating “imposter syndrome,” coping with gender inequity, managing effectively when getting little support, and many more topics of interest to women in the field of English Language Teaching.
For more information about this year’s symposium and future opportunities to network and participate, please visit the following sites:
- Womentorship in ELT Website
- TESOL Professional Learning Network “Womentorship in English Language Teaching”
Following the event, Laura Baecher shared she was “so fulfilled, inspired, and amazed by the women who shared their time, reflections, and experiences … in our first ever Symposium on Womentorship in ELT. [I] can’t wait to plan our next event for women in our profession to connect and to push all of our levels of understanding and capacity to uplift each other further. We are so grateful to each of you—Womentors, Womentees, Friends, Colleagues. Thank you all!”
As members of TESOL/MIDTESOL, please consider participating in future Womentorship in ELT Symposia or joining the TESOL Professional Learning Network Womentorship in English Language Teaching.
Janet Hiatt, MIDTESOL Secretary, 2019-2021
Janet Hiatt is a longtime ESL professional who currently serves as an ESL/Diversity Consultant at Heartland Area Education Agency in central Iowa. She earned her M.S. in elementary education with a specialization in teaching reading to English learners (ELs) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and her Ph.D. at Drake University with a focus on K-12 teachers’ EL-specific professional learning needs. Janet is a former K-12 ESL Teacher and has also served as an EL teacher leader and professional development provider for several years during her K-12 teaching tenure. In addition, she is currently an Adjunct Instructor for the Drake University ESL Endorsement Program. Her current interests are in advocating for and providing EL-focused professional learning for Pre-K-12 educators of ELs.
