Leadership Retreat Scheduled for Nov. 25

LEADERSHIP RETREAT ㅡ KOTESOL's annual meeting to chart the course for our association's future is taking place on Sunday, November 25. This confab will introduce and discuss numerous areas of KOTESOL activity, search for ways to make operational improvements, and recruit individuals where needed to make programs happen.

A wide area of activity will be discussed in a format resembling a conference schedule: volunteerism, international conference, membership, publications, chapters, special interest groups (SIGs), website, publicity, and more. (See schedule HERE, PDF print-out available at bottom of this page; and see session summaries HERE.)

KOTESOL members eager to contribute to this discussion and the support of KOTESOL are most welcome to attend (to the extent that space and budget permit). Lunch and travel reimbursement will be provided for those invited. (Register your interest in attending HERE by November 21.)

The venue is the second floor of Sookmyung Women's University's Injae-gwan, the off-campus home of SMU TESOL. (See map HERE.)

The Leadership Retreat events page is HERE.

Leadership Retreat 2018 Schedule

Session Summaries

ㅡ Opening Session ㅡ

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10:45ㅡ11:15
Leadership Through Volunteerism ㅡ David Shaffer  (Room 207)

This session will focus on (a) encouraging volunteerism within KOTESOL, making information on volunteering opportunities readily available, and (c) making the volunteering process easy and efficient. After a short introduction on past progress, the group will divide into small groups to propose  methods of improving volunteering and then detailing the one/s that each group determines to be most viable. These will then be presented to the whole group to conclude the session.

Pre-event Prep
Before coming to the Retreat, those attending this session are strongly encouraged to take some time to think about and formulate possible methods that could be applied to increase volunteerism and the dissemination of information on volunteer tasks available. Consider our Volunteer page that has been up on the website since spring at https://koreatesol.org/content/members-we-need-you. Make a list of options and/or a chronological set of steps to take. Be prepared to present your ideas to your small group.
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ㅡ Parallel Sessions ㅡ

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11:30ㅡ12:15
International Conference ㅡ Michael Free (Room 207)

The international conference is KOTESOL’s flagship event. It has a well-earned reputation for being one of the best ELT conferences in Asia. This session will begin with a brief overview of the organizational structure that has been used quite successfully for many years, alongside other basic information. The main focus, however, will be on the significant challenges we face moving towards 2019 and beyond. That is to say, we need more bodies, new and refined ideas on content and delivery, traditional revenue sources have dried up, and ㅡ to make life even more fun! — we’re considering moving the annual position of the conference from the fall to the spring. Chapters, SIGs, and indeed everyone in KOTESOL needs to get on board if the IC’s tradition of excellence is to continue.

Pre-event Prep
Take a moment to reflect on two, or more, of these questions:
ㅡHeadliners: Who do you want to see as a speaker? Who have we seen enough of?
ㅡTopics: What topics are essential? What topics have we missed?
ㅡSession types: (How) can we make our sessions better?
ㅡVetting: How can we ensure that every session is of sufficient quality?
ㅡVenue: How can we make better use of the venue?
ㅡWhat’s gone wrong in the past that we can fix?
ㅡ(How) can we involve our international membership?
ㅡHow can we connect more academy (hagwon) teachers? EPIK teachers? Korean teachers?
Your question's not on the list? Bring it with you! You can also get in touch with the facilitator directly (Email).
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Chapters ㅡ James Kimball (Room 201)

There are nine active KOTESOL chapters located around Korea. Each chapter meets monthly (in most cases). Chapters are managed by officers volunteering their expertise and time.
In this session, we will briefly get acquainted. In short, we should begin to develop a support network. This is crucial at this time of year as many chapters conduct elections.

Pre-event Prep
(1) Go to https://koreatesol.org/chapters and review each chapter’s webpage. (a) Familiarize yourself with each chapter’s officers and when and how often chapters meet, and (b) get a feel for what happens at each chapter’s monthly meetings. The all-chapters event calendar can be found HERE.
(2) Think about your own chapter. What are its strengths and weaknesses? How can any difficulties or concerns be overcome?
(3) Consider mentoring new chapter officers who are learning the ropes.
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1:15ㅡ2:00
Membership ㅡ Lindsay Herron (Room 207)

The Membership Committee's goals are (a) to develop strategies to support the chapters in recruiting and retaining members and (b) to provide value-added service to make sure current members get the most out of their memberships. What Membership Committee initiatives are working well, what can we improve, what would you like to see in the coming year, and what long-term projects might we wish to consider? If you have ideas, want to share your skills, or are interested in becoming an active participant on the Membership Committee, this is the session to attend!

Pre-event Prep
Please take a few minutes to browse through the Membership Committee's webpage and Facebook group to familiarize yourself with the benefits of membership and the Membership Committee's various current initiatives. These might provide inspiration for changes or improvements you'd like to see ㅡ or projects you might be interested in undertaking yourself!
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Website ㅡ Rob Dickey & John Phillips (Room 201)

This session is about improving, maintaining, and changing the KOTESOL website. KOTESOL has had a website for over 20 years. We use Drupal for our content management system, which makes lots of things easy, but a few things difficult or impossible. The website admins manage some pages, adjust others when needed, and advise the key players on the website -- the 20+ webeditors. Every chapter, almost every committee, and a few SIGs should have one. Still, not enough gets done, and more is often requested. We will introduce things briefly (this is not a "training session") and then seek input.

Pre-event Prep
Prepare for the session with specific ideas on what should be done, what could be done, and how you might be able to help. (If you can put italics in your emails, you know enough to work on the website!) Don't think only "website" but "internet activity" which can include numerous forms of social media and others.
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2:15ㅡ3:00
Publications ㅡ James Kimball (Room 207)

(a) In this session, we will review some these publications and collect opinions and commentary concerning how well we are meeting memberships’ needs and interests. KOTESOL’s publications include The English Connection (TEC), a quarterly magazine; Korea TESOL Journal, our refereed journal; KOTESOL Proceedings, a compilation of the content presented at KOTESOL's annual international conference.
(b) Next, we will elicit suggestions/feedback and consider ways and means to improve our publications and while staying within our budget.
(c) KOTESOL publications rely on dedicated, talented volunteers who work tirelessly soliciting, writing, and editing articles. KOTESOL Publications is recruiting talented members to join our team. Consider giving a hand where your talents are best suited.

Pre-event Prep
Go to https://koreatesol.org/publications and review these publications.
(1)    Are KOTESOL publications meeting your needs as a writer or reader?
(2)    What can each publication do to improve?
(3)    What kind of content would you like to see in each?
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Publicity & Social Media ㅡ Kathleen Kelley (Room 201)

This workshop will cover the publicity team’s current activity. Attendees will get an overview of KOTESOL’s social media accounts, the website, and other online activities. We will brainstorm ideas for increasing awareness of KOTESOL and attracting new attendees/members to KOTESOL events. The publicity team is also looking to recruit new members to assist with creating content and monitoring our social media accounts.

Pre-event Prep  
Before the session, please look at the "Korea TESOL News" Facebook page, the "KOTESOL" Facebook group, and Korea TESOL @officialKOTESOL on Twitter, look at what’s on the account, and think about how we could make them more interactive. Also, please put together a list (mental or physical) of any ELT-related or expat-in-Korea-related websites, blogs, or social media accounts that you follow and on which it may be beneficial for KOTESOL to advertise.
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3:15ㅡ4:00
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) ㅡ Mike Peacock (Room 207)

Special Interest Groups, or SIGs, allow KOTESOL members to connect with others in like-minded educational areas.  Our active SIGs include Christian Teachers, Environmental Justice, Multimedia & CALL, Reflective Practice, Research, and Social Justice. During this workshop we will discuss different ways in which SIGs may become more visible in the KOTESOL community and be more effective.

Pre-event Prep
Before the session, please take a look at the SIG information at https://koreatesol.org/2nd-vice-president. As this is a brainstorming workshop, please be prepared to discuss your ideas on how SIGs can be more visible in the KOTESOL community and more effective in attaining there aims.
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Revenue Sources ㅡ Rob Dickey (Room 201)

New Revenue Streams: The traditional funding model for KOTESOL no longer works (not just for KOTESOL but across the TESOL community). We can no longer expect 2/3 of conference revenues to come from publishers and profits from conferences to cover most of KOTESOL’s annual expenses. So where do we go from here? Working groups will consider alternative revenue streams, and how to tap them. We’re not looking for theory, but ideas that teacher-members of KOTESOL can put into effect.

Pre-event Prep
Before coming to the Retreat, we’d like you to consider ways KOTESOL could generate revenues from other sources. These should be things you would honestly consider participating in yourself – not merely “someone should ask ABC Corp. for support.” We will do brainstorming together, but anything you have seen work elsewhere is something we should consider.
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International Conference in the Spring ㅡ Sean O'Connor (Room 202)

The international conference is competing for venues and resources in the busy fall conference season.  So, this year, we are formally considering a move to the spring.  In the first part of this session, the facilitator will present the advantages and disadvantages of moving the international conference from the fall to the spring.  The second part will involve a group brainstorming session to discuss the advantages and disadvantages presented and to add the perspectives of the participants.  The goal will be to compile as much information as possible in order to prepare a report for the National Council.

Pre-event Prep
Prior to attending this session, it may be helpful to have some knowledge of other events which that in October and in the spring such as other ELT and non-ELT events both domestic and international, exams, public festivals, university festivals, and public holidays.
 

Venue MAP ㅡ Injaegwan, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul