1. MEMBERSHIP IN TESOL …
What’s in it for You?

2. What is TESOL?
• A professional association
• A profession
• A specialized field of study

3. History and Mission
• Founded in 1966, TESOL is a global
education association with nearly 14,000
members worldwide.
• TESOL's mission is to develop and
maintain professional expertise in English
language teaching and learning for speakers
of other languages worldwide.

4. TESOL Values
• professionalism in language education
• individual language rights
• accessible, high-quality education
• collaboration in a global community
• interaction of research and reflective
practice for educational improvement
• respect for diversity and multiculturalism

5. Why Did You Join TESOL? Was
it for any of these reasons?
• Keep up with the field?
• TESOL publications?
• Networking?
• Professional
development?
• What other reasons?
Here is how TESOL helps members do that…

6. Your TESOL Membership Benefits
• Annual Convention and Exposition
• Serial Publications
• TESOL Publications
• Education Programs & Professional Development
• TESOL Resource Center
• Leadership Training and Opportunities
• Free Access to all Interest Sections
• Affiliates
• Career Services
• Awards and Grants
• Advocacy and Standards
• Full-Time Professional Staff
• Member Discounts
• Web Site

7. Annual Convention
The largest of its kind, the TESOL
convention provides you with several days
of educational experiences, access to the
latest publications and software, and the
opportunity to meet and become part of
the global TESOL community.

8. Annual Convention
• Expect an abundance of choices
• Expect to meet many new friends
• Expect to have questions
• Expect to be tired but happy at the end of
each day
• Expect to take home many experiences to
share with colleagues

9. Serial Publications
Essential Teacher
Essential Teacher offers a full
array of thoughts on which
English language teachers may
reflect and instructional
strategies that enable English
language learners to make
gains in learning through
reading, technology, and
classroom interaction.

10. Serial Publications
TESOL Quarterly
TESOL Quarterly, an optional
member benefit available through
subscription, provides a forum for
TESOL professionals to share their
research findings and explore ideas in
English language teaching and
learning.

11. TESOL Publications
TESOL currently offers nearly 90 books for ESL and EFL
educators. Written by experts in the field (including many
TESOL members), these books provide current information on
standards, technology, research, classroom practice, pedagogy,
teacher education, assessment and professional development.
Member discounts average 30% per title.

12. Education Programs &
Professional Development
You can participate in
• Online Education Programs
 Virtual Seminars
 Webcasts
 Principles and Practices of Online Teaching Certificate
Program
• Academies
Intensive workshops that cover the latest trends in
teaching and technology

13. Education Programs &
Professional Development
• Symposia
One day regional programs focused on a single
topic offering forums for sharing insights about
work and research on a given topic
• Pre- and Postconvention Institutes
 in-depth, hands-on professional development

14. TESOL Resource Center
• Free online resource available to all
members, that means YOU!
• An online platform to find and share a
variety of resources with peers in the
profession
• Contribute resources through a review
process

15. Leadership Training and Opportunities
TESOL offers many opportunities for you to
develop your leadership skills, including the
Leadership Development Certificate Program.
Leadership opportunities serve a dual purpose
of involving members in the association and
securing recognition in the field as a whole.

16. TESOL Member Communities
Interest Sections and Affiliates
TESOL’s member communities are
the perfect venues for you to network
and share information and ideas with
your colleagues.

17. Interest Sections
• Applied Linguistics • International Teaching
• Computer-Assisted Language Assistants
Learning • Materials Writers
• English as a Foreign Language • Nonnative English Speakers
• English for Specific Purposes in TESOL
• ESL in Bilingual Education • Program Administration
• ESL in Higher Education • Refugee Concerns
• ESL in Secondary Schools • Social Responsibility
• ESOL in Adult Education • Speech, Pronunciation, and
• ESOL in Elementary Education Listening
• Intensive English Programs • Second Language Writing
• Intercultural Communications • Teacher Education
• Video and Digital Media

18. Interest Sections
Why Should You Participate in an Interest
Section (IS)?
• Connect with members who do what you do
• Learn from your peers through active participation in e-
lists
• Share your knowledge and experiences with others
• Write for your interest section’s newsletter
• Help provide content to the IS’s web site
• Take a leadership role

19. STUDENTS…TESOL’s Future!
• Why should students
belong to a professional
association?
• So you are not alone
• So you don’t have to reinvent
the wheel
• For leadership and professional
development opportunities
• For validation as professionals
• For a voice to advocate for you
and the field as a whole

20. Visit the Students area on the
Web Site
Find information on
presentation
opportunities at
the convention,
like the Graduate
Student Forum and
Doctoral Forum .

21. TESOL Affiliates
TESOL has approximately 100 affiliates
worldwide.

22. What are Affiliates?
Affiliates are geographically based,
autonomous organizations that support the
mission of TESOL.
TESOL and its affiliates enjoy a partnership
that encourages members of one to join the
other. But membership in one does not confer
membership in the other, a point often
confused by many.

23. Career Services
TESOL Career Services assists
you in seeking employment
opportunities around the world via
the online JobFinder job board,
the Placement E-Bulletin
newsletter, and the annual Job
MarketPlace career fair.

24. Career Services
• Post your resume, search for jobs, or just keep
track of what is happening in the profession
• Sign up for the Placement E-Bulletin which comes
directly to your e-mail twice a month
• The Job MarketPlace is an online job bank held in
conjunction with the TESOL convention.
• Free with your membership

25. Awards and Grants Program
TESOL’s Awards and Grants program
promotes the high standards vital to the
development of the profession by providing
financial support to graduate students,
ESL/EFL professionals, materials writers,
researchers, and others.

26. Awards and Grants Program
TYPES OF AWARDS
• Travel Grants
• Research
• Professional Development Scholarships
FOR
• Graduate Students
• Researchers
• Teachers and Trainers
• EFL Professionals
• All TESOL members

27. Advocacy and Standards
TESOL’s advocacy efforts include the
development of position statements on issues
from the field, U.S. government relations, a
standing committee on global issues and
trends, the creation of content and program
standards, and an online U.S. Advocacy
Action Center.

28. Advocacy and Standards
How does TESOL’s advocacy efforts help you?
• Provides input into education policies and initiatives that
impact ESL teaching at all levels
• Represents the needs and concerns of the TESOL field to
policy and decision makers
• Issues position papers on hot topics like changes to student
visa rules, language policy, professional equity and
employment issues, and global issues like immigration
reform

29. A Full-Time Professional Staff
is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA
and is available to answer your questions as
well as assist you in accessing additional
resources and information.

30. Discount$!
As a member of TESOL, you are entitled to
substantial discounts on a variety of services
and products. For example, members paid
$295 for early registration while a non
member had to pay $510; a $215 savings!
Do the math…the member discount on the
convention registration fee alone more than
paid for your TESOL membership.

31. TESOL’s Web Site
http://www.tesol.org/
TESOL’s Web site contains
up-to-date information on
the association’s products,
services, and activities.
TESOL members have
access to a searchable
Member Directory
and manage their own
membership profile online.

32. THANK YOU FOR JOINING
TESOL!
For more information, please contact:
TESOL Member Services
1925 Ballenger Ave., Suite 550
Alexandria, VA 22314-6820 USA
Tel. +1 703-836-0774, 888-547-3369
Fax +1 703-836-6447 or -7864
E-mail members@tesol.org
Web site http://www.tesol.org/