Students and faculty members from five universities on Oahu came to BYU—Hawaii to present for the Hawai’i TESOL 2023 Annual Conference on Feb. 18. This conference was the first time being held in-person after the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme of this annual event was “Universal Design for Language Learners.” Representatives from universities such as Kapi’olani Community College, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Hawai’i Pacific University presented the teaching innovations they have been researching.
After the conference, Alexandra Lee, a master's student at the University of Hawai’i Mānoa studying second language studies, shared her excitement to start new research and write new things in the future. Even though it was the first TESOL conference she had ever attended, Lee said she gathered information that inspired her to create new teaching ideas on her own. “There is always an endless possibility of learning,” said Lee.
Mayuho Kunogi, a University of Hawai’i at Mānoa master's student from Japan, said she came to the conference wondering what she could change to improve her country’s English education. Kunogi said she wanted to see the professional area of teaching at the conference. “Most of the things that I learned from this conference were just rewarding,” she said. “I tend to be very subjective about [things] that I learn. [But from this conference], I realized I want to learn from different perspectives.”
The conference chair, Juan Escalante, who is also an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education & Social Work said Hawai’i TESOL received a lot of support from BYUH’s TESOL faculty members and students to host the program. He said those who participated in the conference gained many advantages. Students got an opportunity to enhance their professional development by being inspired in various ways, Escalante shared.
Escalante said when people go to a conference, everyone’s underlying expectation is for people to connect with others. It shouldn’t be awkward to network with people, make introductions and share about accomplishments or personal interests, he said. “You could walk out of there [with] new contacts that could turn into research or school opportunities,” said Escalante.