M. Beard, H. Nam, C. Woelk, M. Rabbidge
Compassion in ELT
Panelists will share from their experiences, interact with one another, and engage with the audience as they discuss how compassion is expressed in ELT. Discussion will be framed within the perspectives of "teaching with compassion" and "teaching for compassion" (Mercer, 2025). Teaching with compassion values student identity, responds to students’ needs, and cultivates a learning community. Recognizing students’ full linguistic repertoires as legitimate forms of expression is itself an act of compassion, as it affirms multilingual identities and enables learners to participate more confidently and authentically in the classroom. Teaching for compassion equips students with compassionate communication skills – practiced in the classroom – that transfer to engaging needs outside the classroom and contribute to justice in their communities. Panelists will offer attendees practical resources (lesson plans, activities, classroom practices) that teachers can implement when compassionately teaching learners at various proficiency levels.
The Panelists
Megan Beard (Moderator, Panelist)
Megan Beard, PhD, has lived and worked in Northeast Asia since 2008, focusing much of her time on university teaching. She currently teaches TESOL courses at Taylor University and Handong Global University. Megan’s superpower is a high tolerance for boring, and she loves having the freedom to do the same thing every day, starting with robust cups of coffee and Jeju green tea.
Heidi Vande Voort Nam (Panelist)
Heidi Vande Voort Nam teaches general English and pre-service English teacher-training courses at Chongshin University in Seoul. She conducts a teacher-training course for global elementary school teachers at Gyeongin National University of Education in Gyeonggi Province. Heidi facilitates KOTESOL’s Christian Teachers SIG, and her interests include reflective practice, classroom management, and classroom English.
Cheryl Woelk (Panelist)
Cheryl Woelk is co-founder of Collective Joy Consulting, offering communication and conflict resolution training in Northeast Asia. She is a doctoral student in the Global Education Cooperation Program at Seoul National University. Cheryl works with integrating peace linguistics and peace education into language teaching and teacher training, and coaches professionals in South Korea to use English conflict resolution skills in international contexts.
Michael Rabbidge (Panelist)
Michael Rabbidge, PhD, is a senior lecturer in applied linguistics at the University of Waikato, NZ. His work explores translanguaging, language ideology, and language teacher identity, with a strong focus on compassionate, inclusive, and socially just approaches to TESOL and multilingual education.
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