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?"

Marc Helgesen

Added October 2004: Well, first of all, we hope you'll stop by Think Tank Live on the Saturday evening of next month's JALT Conference in Nara. Stephen Krashen, Mike McCarthy, Peter Viney, Susan Barduhn and I will be sharing and discussing some of the key things we've learned about teaching over the years. And Think Tank Live leads into the JALT party. Should be a great evening.

Beyond that...

It depends a lot on who "you" are. Years ago, when I was new to teaching, I went to a lot of "tricks and techniques" sessions (20 ideas for video. What is pairwork? etc.). As a new teacher, I needed to build a repertoire as quickly as possible.

Later I found myself going to more theoretical sessions. I felt I understood part of the "how" - I wanted to find out "why". And I'm always interested in sessions that seem a bit unusual or on the edge. After all, it always feels good to stretch.

My best advice for people new to conferences:

- Choose one or two areas you are interested and go to several sessions related to the topic. You'll get more out of it going deep than broad. If possible, get the conference schedule beforehand so you can look it over and see which sessions you want to attend. For JALT, for example, you can look at the schedule on-line. You can even look it over by subject. (Hint: Deciding on some of what you want to see beforehand also means that if there are huge registration lines when you arrive, you can just go straight to the session and register later when the lines are shorter.)

- A conference is more than the sessions. Make use of the social events. You'll make friends, meet colleagues and contacts: It's networking. If you meet people who have been going to the conference for a few years, you can show them the list of sessions you plan to go and find out if any presenters are particularly good (or particularly bad - that's something you really want to know.). (Re: over-socializing, do note Peter's last bit of advice. Pocari Sweat will also work in a pinch.).

- I have to agree with Peter on smaller sessions vs. plenaries. Sometimes those huge sessions are useful and the only way you'll hear "hot shots." But often the speaker (if they have any sense of audience at all - and that is a BIG if) is trying to talk everyone, whether or not they have any background on the particular topic. So a lot of plenaries aim for the lowest common denominator. They are to conferences what white bread is to food: Yeah, it keeps you alive but you're not sure it is worth it.

- Do stop by the book fair. You can get examination copies of books you are thinking of using (Don't try to decide there. You don't have time to really look at the books carefully). You can also talk to authors, editors and reps - people who actually know something about the books. You'll never get that in a bookstore. I also agree with Peter about author sessions. A lot of authors spend a lot of time talking to teachers. They can share very useful ideas. (Then again, you wouldn't expect Peter and I to come out against author sessions, would you?)

In short, plan what you want to do and see. But stay flexible. You never know what will happen. A while back, I was at a conference held at a university in Korea. I was doing an exercise called, "Positive voices in your mind." It is a rather unusual activity where one person is sitting in the middle of a small group with her eyes closed. Three or four people walk around her saying great things (I'm really good at __________. I can __________ very well.). Anyway, I had already set up the task when a latecomer arrived. I just put him in one of the existing groups and off we went. It was only later that I found out he wasn't a teacher there for the conference. He was a student whose class usually meets in that room at that time. He didn't know his class was cancelled that day. Here's the good part: He enjoyed it so much he stayed for the rest of the session. 8-)>.

Panelists: Marc | Peter | Chuck | Curtis

Marc Helgesen, Miyagi Gakuin Women's College

Co-author of English Firsthand and Active Listening

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