The ACAMIS (something to do with Chinese and Mongolian international schools) conference that I went to in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday was so full of acronyms and academic jargon, my mind is still reeling. BICS, CALPS, EFL, ESL, ELL, WAB, BISS, SISS, TCK, EAL, scripted language, declarative knowledge, language acquisition vs language learning. The list went on. I found myself asking lots of questions over the two days and now feel that I have a clearer idea on the direction we should be moving with the ESL program here at EtonHouse. But, I still have a lot to learn and while it will be a challenge and steep learning curve, I think I'm really going to enjoy it.
A huge benefit of these smaller conferences (there were only about 35 participants) is the networking opportunities that present themselves. I met so many interesting people from all over the world, all who were so willing to share their experience and their ideas. Many people offered their email addresses and said I could contact them if I needed any advice at all. There really are some generous people in the teaching community. I left the conference feeling really inspired and ready to try lots of new things in my teaching.
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