The 8th Annual International Conference on TESOL – ELT IN THE 21ST CENTURY: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

On August 10-11, 2017, the 8th Annual International Conference on Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) on “ELT in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities” was held at the Center’s premises by SEAMEO RETRAC in cooperation with Curtin University, Australia.

More than 200 participants attended 25 presentations and 5 workshops presented at the conference by eminent researchers, lecturers and scholars surrounding the five sub-themes: Fostering learner autonomy in ELT; Redefining the roles of teacher and learner in ELT; Creating an engaging environment in ELT; and Linking English learning in the classroom to the real world. An additional feature in the conference was the 20 poster sessions being displayed during the two days of the conference.

The conference was a forum for professionals in the field of English language education to share and discuss research findings, experiences, and practical and theoretical issues related to the teaching of English to learners of different backgrounds, levels, interests and motives. This was a valuable opportunity for English teachers to take part in their continuing professional development, networking and cooperation activities with their colleagues coming from different part of the world. Organizing international conferences, seminars and workshops for foreign language teachers is one of the strengths of SEAMEO RETRAC, contributing to the professional development for English teachers in order to successfully implement the goals of the National Foreign Languages Project 2020, and expanding the cooperative links with regional and international countries in the field of language teaching. On this occasion, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and the Regional English Language Office – U.S Embassy, Hanoi, Vietnam sponsored the registration fees for 75 participants who are English teachers from different provinces in Vietnam to attend the conference.