Planning a “Christians in English Language Teaching Conference”

Kitty Purgason, Biola University, 5/27/04 and revised 5/22/06.  Revised 3/30/09.

Procedures:

1. Check with Christians in English Language Education Association (currently at www.cetesol.org; also on Facebook). Coordinating with others can ensure that efforts are not duplicated, speakers are not overburdened, and topics are chosen wisely.

2. Consider location and time. Possibilities are

(a) The day before the TESOL convention. A majority of survey respondents attending CELT 04 and TESOL said that the day before is preferable to the day after. They enjoyed attending CELT while still fresh and appreciated going into TESOL with a Christian perspective. However, there are people who have Grad Student Forum, Pre-Convention Institute, committee, or other leadership responsibilities on the day before TESOL. Furthermore, there are people who told me they couldn’t attend CELT because of teaching responsibilities and who would have preferred a weekend.

(b) In an international context, e.g., Thailand in conjunction with Spring Festival breaks and other agency functions. Considerations should include whether teachers will be too tired due to their agency conference and/or classes they may be taking, as well as visas, costs, etc.

(c) So the timing benefits attendees of another conference, for example state affiliates of TESOL, IATEFL, regional conferences such as ThaiTESOL or KoTESOL.

3.  Consider the length.  We have had CELT conferences that are one evening, one day, or three days.

Scope

At the least, a CELT conference should have some sessions of interest to both ESL (U.S.) and EFL (international)  teachers.  Depending on the length of the conference, it may have sessions for specific audiences such as K-12 teachers, teachers of refugees and immigrants, university students, teacher trainers, etc.  If the committee wants to invite local teachers who may not be familiar with TESOL (but who may be volunteering in a church, for example), make sure there is a "novice" strand for sessions.

Responsibilities

Ideally, people would be recruited for the following positions:

1. Chair: be a good administrator who can make sure everyone does their job

2. Local chair: live near the location so as to be responsible for renting space, getting AV equipment, and setting up on the day of the conference (Could recruit additional people for the following: AV, Evening Event, Map & Local Eating Places, Signs, Set-up, Speakers’ Lounge, Conference Refreshments, Lunch Discussion Groups)

3. Program planner: have a broad understanding of TESOL and Christians in TESOL, and know a variety of people in the field, so as to plan a quality program with breadth and depth. Program could include poster sessions, and another person could be in charge of this aspect.

4. Publicity: coordinate notices for website, newsletter, e-mail notices, and word-of-mouth.

5. Registrar: handle registration forms, lists, receipts, information, and name-tags. Be good with details and money; be able to recruit help (from volunteers or student labor). One person could do mail or on-line registration up to a certain deadline; another could finish up on-site. Questions: how to channel the money? Credit cards OK? Online or mail only?

6. Exhibits: recruit agencies and publishers to publicize their opportunities (some also wanted a job board)

7. Sponsors: recruit agencies to sponsor the conference by providing such things as bags, pencils, notepads, or coffee.

8. Follow-up: tallying results of conference evaluations; writing thank-yous to speakers and other helpers

Exhibitors

• Agencies which use TESOL as a major missions strategy: e.g., ELI, ESI

• Institutions or agencies which are recruiting ESL/EFL teachers: International Messengers, Lithuania Christian College, SEND, OMS, Interserve, Frontiers, Greater Europe Mission, OMF, Pioneers, etc.

• Publishers of Christian materials: Open Door Books, Beacon Hill Press, A Window to the World (Jesus Film), Adventures in English (EV Free), Common Ground, English In Action (Navigators), etc.

• Training institutions: Biola, Azusa Pacific, Wheaton, Columbia, Trinity Western, etc.

• Local churches?

If they are unable to send a rep and set up an exhibit, perhaps they would be willing to pay a fee to have their publicity distributed to all conference attendees (in the bags?).

Costs

• Basic expenses: renting the facility, printing programs, covering costs of supplies such as name tags and signs.

• Other potential expenses: Paid help if there are not enough volunteers; refreshments; honoraria, registration, and/or travel costs for speaker(s)

• Registration fees: for a whole day CELT $15 for early-bird pre-reg, $20 for pre-reg, and $25 for on-site reg seemed reasonable. Some on-site people asked for a discount, however. Half-day rates could be implemented for people who teach in the morning or afternoon. Try to keep things as low as possible and still cover costs.

A mini-CELT

Putting on an evening CELT on Wednesday before TESOL starts is not too much work.  A site coordinator and a program coordinator were all the volunteers we used.  We started with dinner at 5 pm and then had 6 pm, 7 pm, and 8 pm sessions, in two tracks (ESL and EFL).  The most popular sessions were panel discussions with two or three people talking about a topic.  We found a church within walking distance of the TESOL conference and rented two rooms for $200.  We catered dinner from Baja Fresh for about $7.50 per person.  

International CELT: Brad Baurain is the contact person for more information on planning an international CELT conference.