Thank you for your generous offer to help sponsor a Colloquium speaker.

While the pandemic has been exhausting and trying in countless ways, and we’re all a little zoomed out, it has made it easier for contributors from all over the planet to consider proposals for faraway conferences. This year TESOL France has accepted proposals from speakers from Nepal, Argentina, Peru, Vietnam, Georgia, the UAE, Armenia, Croatia, and the Ukraine, as well as from the USA and our British and Eurozone neighbors.

It has come to our attention that the speaker fee may be an obstacle for some. Bank transfers and currency exchanges incur additional fees, raising the cost for our non-eurozone speakers. This can be a significant charge in countries with (comparatively) struggling economies, devalued currencies, and comparatively low salaries.

For our 40th Anniversary, and in keeping with our commitment to inclusivity, TESOL France is setting up a Speaker Sponsorship Grant. The initial impetus for this initiative came from discussion and awareness of global financial differences and challenges. Knowing how these challenges affect our global partners, coupled with a desire to give back to our community in this commemorative anniversary year, finalized this initiative. There are a number of circumstances, however, beyond geography and global economy that can affect individual stability or ability to pay. For this reason, applications for the Speaker Sponsorship Grant will be available for anyone who may be struggling financially, no matter where they are located in the world.

Where you, friends and members of TESOL France, come in.

TESOL France is 100% volunteer-run and the colloquium is our only major event, which also serves to raise the funds needed to provide TESOL France member benefits. Membership is down in teaching organizations around the world, and this, to our dedicated volunteers, presents an important challenge to continue fostering community within our ELT family. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of our colloquium we’re calling out to our friends and community members to help us foster growth and global conversation via the Speaker Sponsorship Grant.