The success of KOTESOL's International Conferences has been the product of a lot of work by a lot of people — all of whom are volunteers. Here are just a few of them, speaking about their jobs and perhaps telling you a bit about themselves. Take a few minutes and read about this amazing group!
Michael Free, Conference Chair
Hi there! Michael Free here. If we run into each other either online or offline, please feel free to call me Michael. I've been working and living in South Korea for about 15 years now, all in the beautiful province of Gangwon. I've taught public school here, from kindergarten through high school, been a substitute at a private institute, trained pre- and in-service English teachers, and taught volunteers and hotel staff who were preparing for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Currently, I'm on the faculty at at Kangwon National University in Chuncheon, teaching mainly freshman English alongside some courses in the Department of English Language and Literature. My TESL/TEFL qualifications include a few certifcates (young learners and leadership, among others), an M.A. TESL/TEFL from University of Birmingham, and a lot of hours with KOTESOL.
Those 'hours' began with a membership, which I got shortly after arriving here in 2006. Over the years the level of my involvement increased: from attendee to presenter, and from regular to executive member. I've occupied several positions in my local chapter, as well as KOTESOL's national council. In terms of conferences, I've organised numerous local events, been a conference chair (for our National Conference), a program chair, and the International Conference Co-chair. This experience, and my love of conferences, prepared me for the position of International Conference Chair. I figured there would be a lot of work, but I'd end up with more memories like these, from the 2014 International Conference, where I met some fabulous people - one of whom even made me dance!
I did not, however, figure on COVID-19. This pandemic has meant a new date and a new theme. It has also necessitated the quick development of a new skill set that is geared toward facilitating a large-scale online event. I would be lying if I told you this was not a source of considerable stress. But, I've had a chance to watch what others have been doing online, adapt exisiting skills and add some new ones, and — most of all — I still have access to a group of like-minded professionals who can get things done. Many of those people you will see on this very page.
Lindsay Herron, Conference Co-chair
Conference co-chair Lindsay Herron has been teaching at Gwangju National University of Education since 2008. She has an MA in cinema studies (New York University, USA), an MSEd in literacy, culture, and language education (LCLE; Indiana University, USA), and is currently working on a doctorate in LCLE (Indiana University, USA). Besides serving on the conference registration team for nearly a decade, she is chair of the KOTESOL Membership Committee and the immediate past president of the organization.
Bilal Qureshi, Program Director
Bilal Qureshi has earned his Doctorate degree in TESOL at Queen’s University Belfast and currently teaches at Seokyeong University Seoul. For the past 10 years, he has been researching how to incorporate digital literacy into second language acquisition, and how L2 learners’ motivation can be improved through online resources. Dr. Qureshi is the author of Progressive Debate series from Active 1-3. He has previously presented at a number of distinguished platforms including KOTESOL National and International Conferences, JALTCALL, and ICLICE Bangkok. He has got more than 15 research articles published in local and international esteemed journals highlighting the issues in second language acquisition.
David Shaffer, Financial and Invited Speaker Director
David Shaffer has spent his career at Chosun University in Gwangju, teaching in the undergraduate and post-graduate programs. He received his graduate degrees in linguistics when Chomskyism was in its heyday but has since done most of his research in SLA and ELT, and he is a past director of Chosun University's TESOL program. This year, Dr. Shaffer is serving on his 20th international conference committee for KOTESOL. In addition to work on the conference, he apportions his time to KOTESOL publications, as Publications Committee chair; the "Gwangju News," as editor-in-chief; and the Gwangju International Center, as board chair. He is also a past president of KOTESOL.
Rhea Metituk, Chapter Liaison and 1st Vice-President
Rhea Metituk has an MA in English (focus: rhetorical writing and digital media) and a BA in psychology, and she is currently stationed at the University of Ulsan. Academic interests include communicative language theory, flipped learning, and performance in education. In 2021, she is the KOTESOL 1st vice-president and co-coordinator of the Environmental Justice SIG and the Women and Gender Equality SIG, as well as on the Busan-Gyeongnam Chapter council.
Lucinda Estrada, SIG Liaison and 2nd Vice-President
The 2nd Vice President Lucinda Estrada teaches middle school students in Seoul. She has an MA in TESOL from New School, New York, a Bachelor's in English and Multicultural Education from Evergreen State, Washington, USA and various TEFL/TESOL certificates. Lucinda has contributed to this year's International Conference by organizing KOTESOL Connections sessions meant to facilitate an environment of transparency within KOTESOL as well as creating networking opportunities open to all members.
Wayne Finley, Publicity Director
Wayne Finley chairs the Korea TESOL Publicity Committee and coordinates KTT: KOTESOL Teacher Training. Since 2010, he has taught students of all ages and levels across the Korean peninsula. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at Korea Polytechnic University, where he teaches English conversation, Business English, critical thinking and creative thinking. In his spare time, Wayne also develops on-demand video courses for platforms like Udemy.
Mike Peacock, Guest Services Director
Mike Peacock has been teaching English in South Korea for the past 18 years. He is currently in his 14th year at Woosong College in Daejeon. Mike has been involved with Korea TESOL for the past 11 years, during which time he has served as 2nd VP, International Outreach Chair, and Nominations and Elections Chair. He is currently the president of the Daejeon-Chungcheong Chapter. He has been involved with Korea TESOL’s International Conference for the past 10 years. During that time, he has served as Student Volunteer Coordinator, Support Services Coordinator, and Guest Services Director. He has held the position of Guest Services Director for the past three years.
Amy Choe, Organizational Partners Liaison
Amy is an English instructor with an MA in applied linguistics and a BA in English Literature, from the University of South Florida. She has experience with teaching university level students in Florida and middle school students in South Korea. Currently, she works with Qingdao Daewon International School in Qingdao, China. Amy’s interests include cross-cultural perspectives and the effects bilingual pedagogy.
Andrew Lerner, Graduate Student Showcase
Andrew is an ESL educator with close to a decade of experience working in South Korea. As a teacher for South Korea’s EPIK program, he taught English to elementary school students in Gyeonggi province for 7 years. He completed his master’s in applied linguistics through the University of Birmingham and is currently an assistant professor of English at Kyungnam University.
Daniel G. Dusza, Program Manager
Daniel Dusza is a Teacher/Researcher, specializing in psycholinguistics and second language writing in Japan. Daniel is currently working at Kanda Foreign Language Institute in Tokyo, and online with Fujian University of Technology in China. He has been working with teachers and instructors around the globe and developed pedagogical frameworks that have been studied, implemented in universities in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, UAE, and the USA. Daniel has been invited to present on various topics including reading and writing fluency, imageability, critical thinking and problem solving, task based language teaching and task based repetition, integrating Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge, Content and Project Based Language Learning/Teaching, academic integrity and deemphasizing plagiarism, and the ethical use of Big-Data and AI in Education.
Neill Porteous, Program Manager
Neill Porteous is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Sangji University in Wonju, Gangwondo. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Aston University in the UK. Neill has experience teaching a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. His particular areas of focus are sociolinguistics and language attitudes. Neill is a long time KoTESOL member and has been part of the KoTESOL international conference committee in previous years.
