ELT News Think Tank

This Month's Think Tank Panel

Marc Helgesen

Peter Viney

Chuck Sandy

Curtis Kelly

Panelists: Marc | Peter | Chuck | Curtis
Date: November 2001

Topic: "How do I get the most out of teaching conferences?"

Chuck Sandy

I remember my first JALT and TESOL conferences as whirlwind days in which vast hoards of people swirled around me while I tried desperately to figure out what to do and where to go while being afraid that I'd miss something by going anywhere at all. Of course, I missed almost everything while sitting and thumbing through my conference guidebook choosing one thing over the other and then even discarding that choice as an old friend walked by and suggested coffee, which of course led to other friends walking by with other invitations or merely the urge to talk. Someone would suggest we go to the plenary. Someone else would suggest we visit the book exhibition. I'd follow along, conference guidebook in hand. The end of the conference would come and I'd be exhausted yet without too very much to show for it: an armload of books and pamphlets from various publishers, a handout or two from some presentation I managed to attend, the business cards and phone numbers of friends old and new, and the sense that I could have approached the whole experience in a much more organized way.

Slowly I learned that it's essential to come to any conference with clear expectations of what you hope to achieve and at least a tentative plan in your pocket. Perhaps you hope to learn more about the techniques of teaching a particular skill or the theories behind a given methodology or research area. In either case, you'll want to look through the conference guidebook (which can often be found online months before a particular conference) well before you board that plane or train in order to look for whatever strand it is that interests you. Let's say your area of interest is reading, like mine. You'll want to look for all the presentations dealing with this area, then choose three or four per day which seem interesting. If you're like me, you'll want a balance of big names and local practitioners. You'll want a good mix of theory and practice so that you leave the conference both with something new to try in class on Monday and something new to think about, read, or research on your own.

Perhaps your main interest in attending the conference is to make connections in areas of interest. Again, look through the conference guide book before you go in order to identify those presentations given by people whose work you admire and who you would like to talk in more depth with. It's been my experience that most presenters, both unknown and well-known, are very willing to talk more informally about their work after sessions or during breaks in the conference. Do be polite of course, but don't be afraid to approach even the most famous presenters at a conference. Everyone is there to learn from each other.

If your main interest is in locating a new book for a particular course, go with the aim to spend some considerable time in the publishing exhibit hall. Usually, these exhibits are huge and can be overwhelming. As always, go with a plan in mind. Again, if you're looking for a new reading book, examine all reading book offerings from the various publishers. Take time to look at the syllabus and contents of each book. Talk with the publishing representatives or even the authors if they happen to be at a conference. Avoid the glossy handouts and the lure of books outside your area of interest. As hard as it may be, stay focused on your mission.

Perhaps you're at the conference in order to look for a new teaching position. In that case, arrive with more than a handful of business cards and resumes and be ready to both spend time at the employment fair (if there is one at the conference you're attending) and to keep your ears open. As you know, some of the most interesting jobs don't ever get fully advertised. This is a shame, of course, but being the way it is, it's useful to attend conference social events in order to talk with others about their positions and learn what they might know of any openings.

Finally, and getting back to the social events, don't try to jam too many academic and goal-driven tasks into your conference days. Do leave time open to socialize both formally and informally with other conference attendees. Some of my best friends in the world now are people I've met at conferences over the past twenty years. Those are the people who now drift by and suggest coffee. When they do, as happy as I am to see them, I pull out my tentative schedule from my pocket and say, "sounds great, but how about after the next session?"

Panelists: Marc | Peter | Chuck | Curtis

Chuck Sandy, Chubu University

Co-author of two series from CUP, Passages and Connect

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