CA&CB Meeting Portland, Oregon, 2014

The Central American and Caribbean Basin (CA&CB) TESOL Regional Group will hold its 12th Conference in Panama City, Panama from 19–21 September 2014.This conference, every 2 years, brings together representatives and teachers of the participating TESOL affiliates and other interested teacher associations and individuals in the region.

This year, we are welcoming two new TESOL affiliates: Nicaragua TESOL (NicaTESOL) and Cuba TESOL (GELI). The other participating national affiliates are Colombia (ASOCOPI), Costa Rica TESOL (ACPI-TESOL), Haiti (MATE-TESOL), Panama TESOL, Puerto Rico TESOL, Mexico TESOL, and Venezuela TESOL. In addition, representatives from Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras will also be present.

The CA&CB group held its first conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1990 and the second conference in Acapulco, Mexico in 1992. The group formalized its relationship with TESOL in Baltimore, Maryland in 1994. And the biannual conference has been held ever since. The most recent conferences took place in Caracas, Venezuela in 2008; in Cancun, Mexico in 2010; and in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2012.

The objectives of the group are to foster cooperation and an exchange of information and best practices regarding common challenges and opportunities, and problems and solutions among the participating affiliates. The common geographical denominator for the group is the Caribbean Sea (exception: El Salvador) and the national language of most of the countries so far is Spanish (exception: Belize).

The theme of this year’s conference in Panama is "Renewing and Exploring New Practical Trends in ELT"and the conference will be held at the Universidad Latina de Panama in Panama City. There will be workshops, demonstrations, publishers’ presentations, panel discussions, and poster sessions. Representatives from the different countries will give individual presentations as well as participate in panels which will address regional issues. There will also be an exhibit booth at which participating affiliates and associations can promote their organizations as well as their countries in order to foster a better understanding of member affiliates’ national cultures.

For information regarding the conference and registration please visit Panama TESOL’s website.

In addition to the CA&CB business meeting at the conference itself, there is an annual meeting of CA&CB representatives and teachers from the region at the TESOL annual convention. The next meeting will be held in Toronto, Canada. At that meeting, plans will be made for the 2016 CA&CB conference as well as other collaborative work projects during the coming 2 years.

If you are from the CA&CB region and you would like to learn more about the group and its activities, please contact Joel Alvarez, president of Panama TESOL or Ulrich (Uli) Schrader, MEXTESOL.

Ulrich Schrader is the Senior Advisor to the CA&CB group and the MEXTESOL-TESOL Liaison.