Background, Part One

In March, 2007, I attended the annual national convention for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. I know the acronym should actually be TOETSOOL, but that looks and sounds too much like a chocolate taffy-candy, so the leaders opted for the professional-sounding TESOL. It refers to the association, the actual profession and the field itself. However, there is some discrepancy as to the pronuniciation of the noun. One would think that those in the business of pronunciation would be in agreement about how to pronounce their mothership organization. But you'll hear it both ways: using the International Pronunciation Association

(IPA) /i/(or "long e"), and /E/(or "short e").

Approximately 5000 of us TESOLers meandered in the rain (yes, it did rain every day) through the streets of downtown Seattle carrying our oversized neon-turquoise bags, wearing matching nametags advertising some of the major sponsors: Hampton-Brown, ETS, Rigby, Amideast, Scholastic, U of Michigan, and Santillana.

Several presentations during the five-day conference were given by the U.S. State Department regarding English Language Fellow Program (ELFP). I sat in on one and was mildly intrigued by the idea of not only being able to travel, but also to be compensated for travel, housing and teaching. The more I learned, the more interested I became. During a break, I strolled through the exhibitors hall to see what booth #638, Department of State (DOS) had to offer. A middle-aged gentleman greeted me. We chatted a bit about the program and I surprised myself by saying that I was considering applying for the program. He didn't sound surprised at all and in fact, encouraged me to do so. Would I like to attend a little reception the DOS was hosting in the "Sound Room" of the Hilton later in the week? I told him thank you, took the photocopied invitation and his card.
To be continued. I've got to get packing!

Photograph: The original Starbuck's Cafe, Pike Street Market, Seattle, Washington