UH Hilo hosts 2009 Hawaiʻi TESOL Spring Conference

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
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Posted: Jan 12, 2009

"Ideas that Work for the ESOL Student, Teacher, and Program" is the theme of the 2009 Hawaiʻi TESOL Spring Conference, to be held on Saturday, February 14 on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 pm. The conference is sponsored by the UH Hilo English Language Institute and features guest speaker Joy Reid, who will give a plenary speech entitled, "Who are the L2 Students in our Classes?"

Reid, a retired professor of the English department at the University of Wyoming and currently a part-time research writing instructor at Maui Community College, has written numerous ESL textbooks, including her most recent work, Writing Myths: Applying ESL Research to Classroom Teaching. She is currently co-editing a series of teacher resource books for the University of Michigan Press. In addition to her many publications, she has done teacher training within and outside the U.S., including seminars in Hungary, Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Lebanon, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Her research interests include student learning styles, the change process, discourse analysis, and the need for curriculum change in MATESL/TEFL programs.

"Throughout the day, attendees can attend the two dozen or so conference presentations by ESL professionals throughout the state and from abroad," said Laura Kimoto, Hawaiʻi TESOL conference chair. "They can talk to publisher representatives and peruse exhibits of current ESL teaching materials on display, and may also get free examination copies of materials they are interested in. After a catered lunch by Sodexho, attendees can stay back for a practical workshop conducted by Joy Reid entitled, ʻWrite to Learn,‘ in which attendees learn how to successfully teach: sense of audience, research skills, and the use of specific detail." A raffle will close the conference.

The conference registration fee ranges from $15 to $40 depending on the status of registrants. The deadline for early registration (which includes lunch) is Friday, January 30. Onsite registration (with no guarantee of lunch) will also be available. Conference hotel rooms are provided at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. Post-conference activities have also been arranged.

Hawaiʻi TESOL is a volunteer-based professional organization for teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and has traditionally held its annual conference on O'ahu.

"In an effort to spread its membership base and to become a truly statewide professional organization, the board members of Hawaiʻi TESOL decided to hold its annual conference on the Big Island to serve a population that would usually not be able to fly to O'ahu to attend the annual event," explained Kimoto.

For more information, view http://www.HawaiiTESOL.org/AnnualConference, email laura.kimoto@hawaii.edu, or call (808) 756-6186.