Bridge and Happy Teachers Jamaica Present at the TESOL 2021 International Convention & Expo

The TESOL 2021 International Convention & English Language Expo is an opportunity for English language professionals to share expertise, build relationships with the global ELT community, learn about professional development, and network. This year’s event is virtual, taking place March 24th through 27th, and Bridge will be partnering with Happy Teachers in Jamaica to present a session about the perception of global English teachers.

What to Expect at This Year’s Virtual Convention

There will be over 8,000 global attendees and 100 exhibitors at the four-day, virtual conference, which offers keynote and plenary speakers presenting more than 600 thought-provoking sessions on a range of topics related to English language teaching.

Keynote speakers include Clint Smith, staff writer at The Atlantic; Cindy Mi, founder and CEO of VIPKid; Dr. Janet Zadina, neuroscientist and internationally renowned speaker and author, and many others.

The virtual convention will offer a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, in which teachers can learn new classroom strategies and instructional best practices, and get a glimpse of the newest ELT products and services. Keynote and invited speaker sessions will mostly be live, but most other sessions will be pre-recorded, followed by a live Q&A session with the presenters. Hundreds of educational sessions will also be available for on-demand viewing. Additionally, the conference will feature virtual networking events, allowing attendees the opportunity to connect and share, similar to past, in-person TESOL conferences.

Who Should Attend the 2021 TESOL Convention?

Both new and tenured English language educators are welcome at the TESOL 2021 Convention and will find opportunities to learn and grow. The international reach of the event, combined with the accessibility of the virtual setting, means attendees will include English language educators and stakeholders from around the world.

Bridge and Happy Teachers, Jamaica to Present

Bridge regularly attends national and international TESOL conventions to stay abreast of the latest innovations and to build relationships within the English language teaching community. This year, Bridge is pleased to be participating in the conference, presenting a joint session with Venice Irving, Bridge partner and CEO of Happy Teachers, Jamaica, a cross-cultural communications firm specializing in language and global skills acquisition.

About the Bridge Session Presenters

An expert in the ELT field, Venice Irving has more than 17 years of experience in teaching English to speakers of other languages, having taught in primary, high school, and post-secondary levels before founding Happy Teachers. She has also created several online courses for teachers and is a sought-after speaker for local and global ELT events. Venice is currently a facilitator at the University of the West Indies Open Campus.

Anna Hearrell, product manager at Bridge, has an ear to the ground when it comes to new course development for English language teachers. She continually connects with educators, schools, and organizations in order to design online TEFL/TESOL and professional development programs that meet the needs of global English teachers, contributing to Bridge’s mission of innovation in education.

About the Bridge/Happy Teachers Session: Perceptions of the Caribbean English Language Teacher

In the Bridge TESOL session, entitled “Perceptions of the Caribbean English Language Teacher,” Venice and Anna will discuss how English language teachers from the Caribbean region are viewed around the world and how cultural perspectives have influenced teachers’ approach to education.

The session will be interactive, intended to spark audience participation through discussion of TESOL topics such as “world English” and accents vs. pronunciation. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

• Reflect on their own cultural perceptions and how they influence their language teaching.
• Incorporate language exploration in the language classroom to foster communication and understanding.
• Examine their teacher identity and how their students’ perceptions of them shape it.

This year’s virtual TESOL Convention & English Language Expo, March 24th through 27th, invites English language professionals to “come Inspired, emerge empowered.” Bridge, in partnership with Happy Teachers, hopes that fostering ongoing discussions on the perceptions of English teachers around the world will further the organization’s mission of empowering a global community of English language teachers.

Founded in 1986, Bridge is a world leader in language and education abroad. An international company with headquarters in Denver, Colorado, Bridge offers a wide spectrum of language-related products and services, including language training and immersion programs, teacher training and development courses, language testing, translation and interpretation services, and cross-cultural education abroad programs.