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EmailAs part of its comprehensive review of governance processes and structures, TESOL International Association has been examining its relationship with affiliate professional teacher associations around the world. The association has more than 100 affiliates, creating a network of more than 45,000 English language teaching professionals. Our goal throughout has been to establish a clear vision for why we have these relationships and what we should be achieving through them.
In June 2015 a task force was appointed to examine our current affiliate structure and to make recommendations for ways it could be strengthened. Their report was shared in April 2016. Following discussions with leaders of our affiliate associations, the Affiliate Leadership Council, and our membership at large, the Board of Directors worked to draft a proposal that would build on the task force’s recommendations and achieve the vision of a stronger, more purposeful affiliate network.
The proposal comprises a draft vision for how TESOL could pursue its mission of promoting quality English language teaching by strengthening its relationships with its affiliates and a second document proposing a new body for TESOL International Association: the Affiliate Network Professional Council. The proposal was shared with affiliate leaders and members of the Affiliate Leadership Council in a Virtual Town Hall on 7 December.
We now invite feedback from all members of the TESOL International Association as well as our affiliate associations on these proposals. Comments may be posted publicly here or emailed directly to me. Please submit all comments no later than 12 February 2017. The Board of Directors will review these comments with the goal of drafting policies for the affiliate relations and the Affiliate Network Professional Council as well as a timeline for implementation. The Board will discuss these documents at the annual meeting in Seattle. The hope is that following the current online discussions and then the discussions in Seattle, we will be ready in April 2017 to adopt a new policy as well as a timeline for transitioning from the current to the new structure.
The proposal makes clear the relationship between TESOL International and each affiliate. I appreciate the efforts by the Affiliate task force to consider the findings of the Governance Review Task Force and to gather input from members of TESOL affiliates. In general, the proposal is doable and should provide service to both sides of the relationship. I have one main suggestion and two questions.
Suggestion: I think it is important that TESOL affiliates not only share TESOL’s mission but also TESOL’s values and so would amend the paragraph explaining 5.2.2.
Question 1: How and when will the Affiliate Network Professional Council be formed? Will there be a minimum # of members or any guidance on geographic distribution?
Question 2: Will there be any Affiliate-designated convention slots outside the adjudication process?
I am from a devloping country, Nepal and we have very little exposure to all these. Anyway, I feel delighted to get response and resources from TESOL .
I’m pleased to see that feedback given at last year’s convention around the priorities for the Intended Outcomes of the TESOL-Affiliate Relationship (Sec. 4) was incorporated into this proposal. The stated touchstones, goals, and outcomes resonate with me and my experience as a member of Mid-America TESOL (MIDTESOL).
My overall impression of the proposal is that it strengthens the relationship between TESOL and its Affiliates by clarifying the reasons such a relationship is important. Other than the change from the Affiliate Leadership Council to the Affiliate Network Professional Council, any changes I see are minor and an enhancement of past practice.
I think the increased support for affiliates, exposure to TESOL for affiliate members, exposure to affiliate members for TESOL, and an increased presence at the conference and networking opportunities for affiliates will serve to strengthen TESOL as a whole. I’m currently teaching English in the my 7th country and I have found, as with each country before this, that our contexts share more in common than we usually think. Teachers in X region frequently think that they alone deal with X challenges, yet most of these issues are shared across borders. More interconnectivity and exposure for the affiliates would work against this isolation.
“The association has more than 100 affiliates… ” I am a new member and I do not know many things. This is an impressive number of parnter association. Could you please advise where I could have a look at this list?
Hi, Nick: Welcome to TESOL! You will find a list of TESOL affiliates on the TESOL website.
Thank you for your question. If you need anything else, please contact members@tesol.org.