Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello everyone,

I recently attended the AsiaTEFL conference in Japan. I was very impressed to see so many people coming from so many different countries in the Asian region, all gathering together and using the English language to communicate with one another.

I wanted to start a discussion thread where English educators in Asia, and from other areas, could gather together to talk about current trends in education, important issues and the future of role of the English language in our region.

Please share your views!!

~Christopher

Dear Chris:

It's taken me some time to respond, as I'm based in Khor Fakkan - on a new outreach programme of the University of Sharjah where Internet is still to be installed in the next 2 months. I'm back in Sharjah for the weekend. Hence, I'm online.

It was great meeting you and the others on 19 August night and chatting and joking as if we'd all been friendsfor much longer. (BTW, I've lost Yuki's email address. If you meet her, please tell her to email me.

It's a great idea to meet online and exchange views. Especially between W Asia (the UAE) and the Far East. There's a great international conference of TESOL Arabia in Dubai in March and we welcome proposals on "Best Practice in ELT". Look up the deetails on www.tesolarabia.org The deadline is 15 November. Hurry!
Mabel

Hi Mabel!

Thanks for coming by. Yes, it was great meeting you in F-kuoka. That conference sounds excellent. I will have to think about this. Have you been in contact with anyone else who belongs to AsiaTEFL? I don't know if people are shy talking online or just too busy.

Have you seen this website before? I'll be sending one of my classes to the student forum area this semester: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/student/

Gotta head to sleep now, but I will try to stop by again tomorrow.

Take care!


~Chris

Possibly, people feel they have to post something remarkable, Chris! That's what I felt, until I remembered it was a month since we'd all met in *beep*, and I do have something to recommend: a taste of the best of the Middle East at the International Conference of TESOL Arabia in Dubai next March. If you can presennt, it's always more exciting, I think. Your proposal is more likely to be accepted, we were told at the TESOL Arabia Retreat last weekend, if it has a strong practical content. Remember: the deadline is 15 November!

I did get an email from Eiko (Nagoya), which I must reply today. She's been on a horse-riding trip with her son, she told me. So, may be it's also a matter of holidays not being over.

Hello again Mabel,

I am planning to go to the AsiaTEFL in Kula Lumpar, if possible. So I don't know if I have the "funds" for two long distance trips next year. The conference in Dubai sounds great, though.

I'm glad to hear that you heard from Eiko. Hope she is enjoying her time, although she must be getting back to work by now, right?

Would be a shame if it's just the two of us communicating, Robert. Why don't you re-email the inviitation to the nice people we were with in Canal City? Give it one more try. They might have been unsettled just after the holidays fiinished. Besides, I want to ttalk to Yuko again, and I have lost her email address. You probabvly have it?

Mabel