Aida Rodomanchenko at the TESOL Convention

On April 5, 2016, Andy Curtis, the 50th president of TESOL International Association, opened the Convention. His welcoming talk was followed by an opening keynote presentation by Aziz Abu Sarah, the executive director at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution. His talk inspired the audience and made every person in the room believe that everything is possible if we step out of our comfort zone, learn about other cultures, overcome stereotypes, introduce experiential education and challenge our students to learn outside the classroom and gain experience as well as knowledge.

TESOL Convention is an absolutely splendid place to visit. There are so many things going around and there are so many openings for professional development and education that everyone can find something appealing. We’re thrilled to be here with thousands of other teachers of English from all over the world.

Родоманченко Аида Сергеевна
Заведующая учебно-методическим кабинетом Департамента иностранных языков

It’s better to give your blood to someone who needs it [even to an enemy] than to spill it on the ground for nothing. (c) Aziz Abu Sarah.

TESOL 2016 convention closed on Friday, April 8, with a celebration of TESOL 50th anniversary. Members of the TESOl board, leaders of TESOL affiliates from all over the world, teachers of English from different countries and continents and, definitely, Russian VOLVIS team took part in this historic event.

Trying dips and crab cakes typical of Baltimore, TESOL members were deeply engaged into the conversations. Some discussed educational strategies, others - abnormally freezing weather conditions. I was discussing the perception of big cities with Chris Hastings, English Language Fellow at the University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, Saint Petersburg. Having different cultural backgrounds we turned out to have opposite views on the issue. For me, metropolises like New York or Toronto where immigrants compound most of the population, are cities of everyone and of no one.  People living there tend to stick to their own cultural communities, follow their traditional way of life, speak their mother tongue, eat national food, communicate with those belonging to their community, etc. They do not share their sole with metropolises. Chris, on the contrary, believes that because of all of the above, large cities are rewarded with a unique sole which is, like a stitch  blanket, incorporates features of all the nationalities and cultures.