Conference Review
The 2011 KOTESOL National
Conference in Daejeon, South Korea
Douglas Meyer
Kwansei Gakuin University
On a sunny May weekend, on the beautiful Korea Advanced Institute ofScience and Technology (KIAST) campus, hundreds of English language
teachers spent their time in Daejeon, learning how to become better at theircraft. Over sixty presenters shared their wisdom on a number of topics in the(QJOLVKDVD)RUHLJQ/DQJXDJH ()/ ÀHOG
Jason Renshaw led off the plenary sessions with “Materials Developmentfor Language Learning: The Next Ten Years.” He reviewed general coursebook content and design over the past decade, and speculated about theincreasing amount of EFL material that will be found online in the not too
distant future.
The Korean TESOL (KOTESOL) National Conference also featured two
important EFL contributors from Japan, authors Barbara Hoskins Sakamotoand Dr. Rob Waring. They presented via live web-based seminars (webinars),
which were similar to an educational Skype discussion. Even though Korea is
one of the most wired nations on the planet, I expect this medium to really takeoff in the next few years as the online community of educational professionals
grows.
Sakamoto, author of the Let’s Go series, shared her experience using
Twitter and the Internet to join and build a global network of teacherscommitted to sharing materials, meeting new people, or working on joint
SURMHFWV 6KH LQIRUPHG XV WKDW KHU ÀUVW DWWHPSW DW XVLQJ VRFLDO PHGLD IRUSURIHVVLRQDOGHYHORSPHQWZDVVXFFHVVIXODQGYHU\IXOÀOOLQJ+HUSUHVHQWDWLRQ
69

Meyer“The Power of Connection: How Twitter (and the Internet) Can Make Youa Better Teacher” took the audience through all of the steps necessary tojoin the online educational community, the pros and cons of Twitter, and theLPPHGLDWHEHQHÀWVWKHUHDIWHU
Waring, a highly regarded researcher in the area of Extensive Reading(ER), presented on how reading should be an essential component of any
ODQJXDJH FXUULFXOXP DQG D NH\ HOHPHQWRI  EXLOGLQJ ÁXHQF\ +H SUHVHQWHG D
number of solutions for cases where the implementation of an ER program
faces an uphill battle against tightening budgets and unconvinced colleagues.
One of my own personal favorite presenters was Joshua Davies, a former
EFL educator who has moved into the private sector. He now trains on behalfof the Leadership and Advanced Management Training (LAM) Institute,training corporate clients in the art of public speaking and message development
throughout Asia. Davies’ presentation, “Persuasive Communications in the21st Century Classroom”, was a very informative three-hour talk aimed athelping teachers work on their classroom presence and engaging students fora lasting effect. Davies also interacted with the audience frequently.
This kind of professional development seminar is something I hope tosee more of in the future. Teachers, as well as presenters, occasionally fail todeliver their lesson or message to full effect, leaving a weak imprint in ourshort-term memory. For us to become better educators, we need to make adeep, memorable impact in the minds of our learners, Davies argues.
Another notable presenter included Dr. Namjoon Kang, director ofTESOL programs at Sookmyung University. In his presentation titled “SBLT Is
Better Suited than CLIL, CBLT, and Immersion for Korean EFL Students”, hecompared and contrasted these above approaches and then presented researchon over 150 Korean elementary school children. He discussed the differences
between SBLT, CLIL and CBLT approaches, and what he considers best interms of immersion for Korean EFL students. In addition, he discussed thetypes of syllabus and curriculum teachers and administrators should consider
when implementing a language program.
The conference atmosphere was one of hurried professionals, rushing70

The 2011 KOTESOL National Conference, OnCUE Journal, 6(1), pages 69-71

to attend the next eye-opening seminar or presentation. The organizers wereamong those dashing around and doing their best to make sure that everything
went smoothly. I’m sure that everyone appreciated all the hard work that went
into the planning of the 2011 national conference. The student interns also
did a fantastic job assisting the organizers and were always ready to guide a
wayward participant in the right direction.
However, like many conferences, some things do not go as entirely asplanned, and the KOTESOL National Conference was no exception. I foundpre-registration and payment from abroad to be utterly impractical, and thisseemed somewhat ironic given the high-tech emphasis of the conference.
Unfortunately, the start of the conference was delayed, and the scheduled time
VORWV QHHGHG WR EH SXVKHG EDFN ÀIWHHQ PLQXWHV $OWKRXJK WKLV SUHVHQWHG D
VFKHGXOLQJ SUREOHP , ZDV DEOH WR ÀQG WKH SUHVHQWDWLRQ , ZDQWHG WR DWWHQG
fairly easily.
This was the tenth annual KOTESOL National Conference. It was apleasure to see fellow EFL teachers in Korea dedicated to the principles ofprofessional growth, development, and fostering a sharing community between
teachers and learners. I expect that the popularity and quality of presentations
and workshops to improve with forthcoming conferences as the number ofexperienced educators expands. It would be well worth your time to expand
your network of fellow EFL teachers and see how English is taught in anothercountry. I believe that the organizers did meet their goals of the conference
theme, “Advancing Korean TESOL in the 21st Century”.
Received: May 26, 2011
Accepted: May 1, 2012
Douglas Meyer is a graduate of the Temple University Japan MScEd (TESOL)
program and has been an active ESL teacher for over 15 years. He is an active memberof JALT and has participated in various local, regional, and national conferences. He haspresented on second language acquisition in East Asia and studying abroad, and is currently
a PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington. dougmeyer32@hotmail.com.
71