by Lindsey Jackson
It’s been a few weeks now since the annual International TESOL Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and I’ve had some time to process and reflect on all that I experienced. As a first-time attendee (and a really young one at that), I learned a lot, not only about what’s happening in my field but also about how to make the most of all that the conference had to offer.
There are a few things I’d do again…
- Pick an area of focus. I was advised before I went to pick one or two topics I was really interested in and go mostly to sessions focused on those. I chose my two great passions, Second Language Writing and community in the classroom, and didn’t regret it for a second. Having a focus allowed me to learn as much as possible as well as not get overwhelmed by the sheer mass of information available to me each day.
- Set up job interviews ahead of time for the Job MarketPlace. What a great way to be able to meet with schools from all over the world! I was thankful for the opportunity to meet with potential employers face-to-face, and I appreciated the interview experience I received.
- Attend a variety of sessions. Short, long, lecture-based, workshops, round-table, poster sessions…TESOL has it all. I prefer some variety in my everyday life, and it was nice to experience that variety at the convention as well.
…And a few things I’d do differently:
- Go with others in the field. I love people, but I am an introvert at heart. I was certainly not lonely in my time at the conference as I do very much enjoy traveling solo, but I found myself wishing at times I had someone next to me in sessions that I could debrief with afterward—someone who had heard the same information but may have had a different perception.
- Meet more attendees. Like I said, I was flying solo for most of the conference. Typically, I have no trouble striking up conversations with strangers, but for some reason that week I didn’t. I wish I had met more people from around the world and discussed life and language and TESOL with them.
- Go see the opening keynote multiple times. Of course, this one is not possible, but I just loved Aziz Abu Sarah’s presentation so much that I would have listened to it several times if I could have. His passion for using language and learning to overcome cultural barriers and promote the joys of diversity is my passion, too, and I could listen to other people talk about it all day.
To be honest, I went to the convention with pretty low expectations. I had no idea what to expect, so I didn’t really expect much at all. I was pleasantly surprised to love it so much. Next year we’ll be in Seattle for #TESOL17—I hope to meet you there!
Lindsey Jackson will be graduating with a Master’s in English-TESOL from Missouri State University in May. She has an undergraduate degree in English Education from Evangel University and currently teaches English composition for non-native English speakers at Missouri State.
