This is MEXTESOL weekthe 41st Annual Convention. Do the math. Yes, MEXTESOL was founded in 1973. Some of today’s English teachers weren’t even born, others were struggling at their first jobs and, still others were sitting in classrooms wondering if there was any point to learning English.
In the 70s English teachers came from different places and were trained in different professions, but once in the classroom they had (and still do have) one main collective goalto help their students master the English language. When you think about it, this is no small task.
Coming to MEXTESOL is one more step we take to achieve our goal. We come to share, to learn, to become the best we can be at what we do.
English teachers, we’re special people. There’s no one quite like us. Our personal and professional success can only be measured in the success of our students.
We know no greater pleasure than to hear our students speak to us in English. We always listen closely to what they have to say. Helping a language learner achieve his or her goal is a very personal experience, so we are genuinely interested in them. We also listen closely for those well-placed words that we immediately identify as the ones we taught them or as the ones they must have picked up right after our class set the groundwork.
So what’s on the schedule for this week? What do we want to get out of the plenaries, the workshops, the lectures, and the materials exhibit? What do will we talk about when we catch up with colleagues from across Mexico who we see just once a year?
• What techniques and approaches make a difference?
• Will we ever cut down on lesson planning time?
• Is there an easier, faster way to grade papers?
• What are we going to do with all those cell phones in our classes?
• Can we stop our students from texting in class?
• Do we really need to be using more technology in our class?
• How can we upgrade our language skills?
• How can we upgrade our teaching to meet the needs of today’s students?
Are these the questions you’re asking yourself?
What’s troubling you?