Meet and Affiliate
Melanie Gobert, Past-president of TESOL Arabia
The TEIS Newsletter Team interviewed Melanie Gobert, past-president of TESOL Arabia, to find out a little more about the association and professional development opportunities within.
Tell us a little about TESOL Arabia. How did it come into being?
TESOL Arabia was founded in 1996 by a group of teachers at United Arab Emirates University. They talked together and thought it would be a good idea to set up a teachers association in the UAE to share best practices in TESOL. As we learn in teacher training programs, TESOL is highly contextualized.
What are some of the key initiatives and activities that TESOL Arabia undertakes to serve the teacher development needs of the local community and support English language educators in the region?
Each year, we hold an annual international conference where we decide on a theme which addresses major current issues in TESOL, especially in the region. At this event, we hold professional development certificate courses, where teachers can get a more in-depth understanding of current issues or teaching challenges in TESOL, such as artificial intelligence.
How does TESOL Arabia currently support teacher education in the region, and how could this be enhanced?
Although we have a lot of higher ed educators and K12 teachers attending our annual conference and PD courses, we do not have a lot of teacher education-oriented programs or teacher trainers who come and bring their students, so advertising our conference to attract more of these professionals would be an advantage. I'm not sure why many teacher educators in our region do not support the conference or bring their students, although there are, of course, exceptions to this. For example, a teacher educator at American University in Sharjah, submitted proposals with seven of her students and attended the conference and presented with each one of them.
Could you share some insights into the challenges and opportunities that English language educators face in the Middle East, and how TESOL Arabia addresses these issues?
The biggest challenge facing language educators in the region is the push for teachers in K12 schools. Many teachers have a qualification for teaching TESOL, but do not have a qualification or license for teaching K12 students. We do host an annual job fair where teachers with any qualification can apply for jobs and be interviewed onsite at our annual conference.
What is your role in TESOL Arabia? How does this help you grow as a TESOL professional?
I have been the conference co-chair the past three years for the annual conference and the program chair. I have also done the social media for the conference, so that has enabled me to grow a lot professionally technology-wise.
Looking ahead, what are TESOL Arabia's goals and aspirations for the future, particularly in light of the evolving landscape of English language teaching in the region?
We are branching out to host TESOL Arabia conferences in other countries partnered with a local venue hosting sponsor. We are currently in negotiations to co-host conferences in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, and expanding to host a conference specifically targeting K12 teachers in the UAE.
Melanie Gobert, EdD, is a past president of TESOL Arabia (2014-2015) and was the conference co-chair in 2015 and from 2019-2024. She was the editor of Perspectives, an English-Language Teaching peer-reviewed journal from 2009-2014. She is currently an English Language Fellow for the U.S. State Department at Pattimura University in Ambon, Indonesia.