TESOL Spain is best known for its fantastic regional and national
conferences, which gather in the best English teachers and authors
from around the world and Spain to give conferences on a variety
of TEFL related subjects.
 TESOL-Spain 2009 Convention seeks speakers and volunteers:
Would you like to be a speaker at next year's TESOL-Spain conference at the University of Seville (see previous TESOL Seville photos) from Friday 13th March to Sunday 15th March, 2009? How about becoming a volunteer to help us put on the best TESOL-Spain Convention ever? Please contact Jennifer Murray at speakers@tesol-spain.org to become a speaker at next year's conference. To become a volunteer contact the regional coordinator Olga Fernández Vicente at: regional@tesol-spain.org and ask her to put you to work in something worthwhile. See Conference pdf and TESOL-Spain.org for more information.
TESOL Spain conventions
TESOL Spain is an organisation which is dedicated
to dealing with relevant issues for English teachers in Spain.
It provides a forum for teachers to meet and share ideas and
techniques as well as research and discuss professional issues.
Their aim is to improve 
the quality and effectiveness of English
teaching at the regional and national level in Spain. Membership
is available on an individual, institutional or student basis.
Membership forms can be found on their website and in their
Newsletters.
Over 100 presentations plus social activities
TESOL Spain has a national convention every
year. There are usually over 100 presentations over
two and a half days on a wide range of topics. In addition,
there are publisher exhibitions from the main publishing houses
as well as smaller, more specialized houses, poster displays
and idea exchanges, a jobs’ board and social events to end each
day.
100's of Professionals from every TEFL area
The convention is attended by teachers from
a wide variety of ELT areas. There are teachers from the infant,
primary, and secondary education areas and there are also Escuela
Oficial de Idiomas, university, technical school, academy, and
freelance teachers as well as teacher trainers, materials writers
and course planners. Publishers, ELT researchers, members of
testing boards and institutions and national and international
authors also take part in the convention. Thus, participants
have the opportunity to look over an extensive range of materials
available for teacher development and classroom use.
The convention offers participants a wide variety of presentations
by national and international speakers including plenary presentations,
papers, workshops, demonstrations, discussions, round-tables
and product presentations. As a result, members are provided
with the opportunity to hear about the latest theory and developments
in ELT, both nationally and internationally, and to exchange
knowledge and experience. They are also able to make contacts
with other colleagues who share the same interests and to return
home with some practical ideas and teaching materials for their
classrooms.
 TESOL
Spain 2008 Conference in Madrid
The 2008 TESOL Spain conference
has come and gone in Madrid. Download the pdf document and mini-programme
at right if you'd like to see what you missed. Below you can
see some photo collages of the conference speakers, particiapants,
sponsors, reception, etc.
TESOL Spain 2006 Conference in Madrid
March 24-26, 2006. Microsoft Word Document Mini
Pre-Programme. More information on what happens
at a conference on MadridTeacher.com at: TESOL
Spain Conference.
TESOL-Spain 2006: Conference Photos.
TESOL Spain 2005 Conference in Seville
One of the speakers at last year's conference
was English teaching superstar "Jeremy Harmer" (What
TEFL course teacher doesn't know who this is? And does it really
matter what the title of his presentations were? You know they
were worthwhile whatever they were about.) A few other renowned
speakers were "Paul Seligson," "Hugh Dellar,"
"Herbert Puchta," all of whom are really dynamic speakers
and textbook authors. More on TESOL Seville
What is a “TESOL-Spain” Conference
and why should it matter to you?
A TESOL conference
in Spain is a reaffirmation of what it means to be a “professional
English teacher;” whatever that is. And this means quite a lot
to a lot of people, but not to everybody and not even to most.
Ask around and you’ll find that most so-called “professionals”
may not have even been to one, yet they’ll have heard of them
and may vaguely recall something or other and may remark while
squinting their eyes, “Oh, yea… that…” and mumble something totally
incoherent and incomprehensible, which is probably a good general
indication of just how much they comprehend of and partake in
this, their “profession.” (By Steven Starry. This article was
written after TESOL Spain 2004.)
Whatever this profession is, if you’re teaching in just any academy in Madrid, you’re probably not getting it. The reality of the situation is that even as a beginning teacher you may well get to be the most experienced teacher on your second-rate academy’s staff by your second or third year there because of their MIA career prospects and consequent high turnover rate.
Even so, your academy’s director and/or director of studies, if it has one, may constantly sell you on just how good and professional the academy really is. The truth is that youthful enthusiasm counts for a lot, but let’s not get carried away, OK? It can replace a 55 year-old burn-out, but it can’t ever stack up against an enthusiastic 55 year-old English teacher who combines that with both experience and a boundless desire to improve: a “professional,” in other words.
Ok, so they’re not all 55 at a TESOL Conference and so what? Whatever else they may be or do, the good teachers at a TESOL-Spain Conference are probably 10 times better teachers than most anybody else you’ve come across in your short career. Attend, observe and learn “grasshopper!” You’ll eat your “Cornflakes” if you know what’s good for you.
Want to find out more about TESOL-Spain?
Well, go straight to the source. (Here's the source for much of the
text I used in the intro above)
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