It’s MIDTESOL conference time! This year’s theme, “Innovation and Improvisation” was selected to highlight Kansas City’s role as a “cradle of jazz.” To spotlight how this conference promotes the innovation and improvisation of ideas in the field of English language teaching, we are introducing the #MIDTESOL16jazz hashtag. Please share on social media like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook when you encounter a dynamic, stimulating, or unexpectedly brilliant idea at this year’s conference.
To get you started, here are a few reasons people are excited about coming to #MIDTESOL16:
- Always provides wonderful learning opportunities for new best practices and techniques
- To present, network, socialize, and develop
- To collaborate with other ELL educators and discuss best practices
- Always feel energized afterwards!
- Because I want to see MIDTESOL grow
- For professional development
- To get innovative, jazzy ideas from my colleagues
People also shared what they like best about MIDTESOL conferences:
- Variety of backgrounds and experiences that the speakers and presenters bring to the conference
- Networking with colleagues and learning about what’s happening in the field
- Walking out of the conference wanting to teach or implement those great ideas the very next day!
- Hearing new ideas and gaining new perspectives on “old” topics in ESL
- Hobnobbing with colleagues who work with a variety of ELL students – different ages, different needs, different goals
- Seeing people I know from other institutions
One goal of #MIDTESOL16 is that you get jazzed up about your work with English learners! We hope you share out the ideas that excite you and lead to new innovations in your classroom.
Editor’s Note: A special thanks to the following people who responded on short notice to an informal survey about the conference: Crystal Bock Thiessen, Tatiana A. Sanchez, Terry Barakat, Zachary Smith, Arla Jones, Kim Kreicker, Tom Riedmiller, Vicki Anderson, Dung (Davy) Tran, Roberta Morgan, Lindsay Simanowitz, Liz Holloway, Phil Bridges, and Cali Pettijohn.
