This year's Illinois Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages - Bilingual Education (ITBE) Annual Convention was attended by at least 16 faculty members and graduate students (the majority of whom are instructors in the Illinois ESL Program) from our department!

The ITBE Annual Convention is hosted by Illinois TESOL-BE, a non-profit organization that connects educators, researchers, students, and other individuals who are involved or interested in the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages and bilingual education. ITBE 2023 featured plenary speakers Senyung Lee (Assistant Professor, Northeastern Illinois University) and Michael Pasquale (Professor of Linguistics and Director of the MA TESOL Program, Cornerstone University). This year's theme "TESOL MATTERS" highlighted the importance of sharing research-based innovations that can help educators create a more immersive and engaging classroom experience for English learners.

ITBE 2023 featured several presentation talks by our current (and former) students and ESL faculty:

Muhammet Mucahit Gumus (Graduate student), “European EFL Teachers' Pronunciation Teaching Challenges & Their Teacher Training”

Ulugbek Nurmukhamedov (Alumnus), “A Father Reading to a Daughter: A Case Study”

Jill Huang (ESL faculty), “Can APA be Fun? Games in Academic Writing”

Amber Dunse (ESL faculty), “Multiple Modes of Reflection in Academic Writing Processes”

Special thanks to Susan Faivre (Assistant Director of ESL Programs) and Eva Miszoglad (ESL faculty), who obtained special licenses and arranged a group bus for the trip to the Convention!