Seoul, South Korea — Organizers behind KOTESOL2023, also known as the 30th Korea TESOL International Conference & PAC 2023, are celebrating a successful return to in-person international events. Held on April 29 and 30 at Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul and online, KOTESOL2023 brought together around 560 language teachers, applied linguists, graduate students, and language education professionals from around the world. The conference was organized by Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (KOTESOL) in association with PAC (the Pan-Asian Consortium of Language Teaching Societies).
The conference was a milestone event for KOTESOL as the organization’s thirtieth international conference and the first in-person one since the outbreak of COVID-19. Although attendance numbers were lower than in pre-pandemic years, registration exceeded expectations, and organizers feel confident about the future. KOTESOL national president (and KOTESOL2023 registration director) Lindsay Herron said, “KOTESOL is known for hosting the largest ELT conference in Korea, and I’m fully confident we’ll build back up to pre-pandemic levels! In the meantime, the slightly smaller number of in-person attendees this year combined with everyone’s delight at seeing each other in person to create an energized, intimate, friendly atmosphere. The online-only sessions, meanwhile, provided a wonderful level of access resulting in an impressive variety of knowledge shared from participants around the globe. I’m already looking forward to next year!”
Over 200 presenters from over 25 countries explored the conference theme of “Advancing Collaboration: Exchanges Among Scholars, Instructors, & Students,” with plenary sessions from renowned experts Thomas S.C. Farrell from Brock University in Canada, Jack C. Richards from the University of Sydney in Australia, and Gabriel Diaz Maggioli from Universidad ORT Uruguay, who presented via live-streaming.
Conference Chair Garth Elzerman expressed his gratitude towards everyone involved in making the conference a success. He said, "The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I am beyond thrilled! I am extremely grateful to everyone involved for making this conference a success. Thank you to the conference team for their hard work and dedication, Sookmyung University and Sookmyung TESOL for their continued support, our supportive partners, our generous sponsors, the hardworking volunteers, the engaging presenters, and the enraptured attendees."
KOTESOL aims to promote excellence in English language teaching in Korea. As well as its annual international conference, KOTESOL holds professional development events throughout the year, and has nine chapters across Korea. Keep track of upcoming KOTESOL events here.
