Strengthen and Improve Instruction

About Ohio TESOL

Ohio TESOL (Ohio Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) is an affiliate of TESOL, an international professional organization. The specific purposes of this nonprofit organization are to promote scholarship, disseminate information, strengthen and improve instruction of English to speakers of other languages and dialects and cooperate with other groups within the state having similar purposes.

Ohio TESOL advocates and promotes professional development, interaction and leadership in the field of ESL and bilingual education within the state of Ohio and in so doing, promotes respect for the native cultures and languages of all citizens and students. Finally, Ohio TESOL encourages standards for professional preparation, language instruction and employment. Ohio TESOL has traditionally offered one conference each year, centrally located in Columbus.

In 2020, when the conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Ohio TESOL put on a weekly webinar series, 'Tuesdays with Ohio TESOL' in the fall in order to support our members who were largely teaching online. In the 2021/2022 school year, this series has been extended to a full-year of programming.

We invite nationally recognized TESOL experts to these conferences and also have members give presentations which share their research, their practical teaching tips, or their ideas on curriculum or material design. We also invite a number of publishers to our conferences to display the best and most recent publications in our field.

As a member of Ohio TESOL you will receive the latest issues of our nationally recognized Ohio TESOL journal every year. Areas include Adult Education Concerns, Book Reviews, Calendar of Events, Conference Information, Profiles of Programs, Regional News, Socio-Political Concerns, Teaching Tips, Theory in the Classroom, and more.

The reasons for forming Ohio TESOL in 1977 were quite simple. By forming a professional association of like-minded individuals, we gain strength and knowledge. Each individual is limited in terms of ideas, expertise, and strength. But when we join

together, we all benefit from the union.

We can share ideas at our professional gatherings and through our publications. We can listen to each other’s professional

issues and join together to solve them.

We also have the collective strength to attract others to talk to us at our professional meetings, and we can form an entity to advocate for professional issues such as teacher certification.

We have the power to address other professional groups and governmental organizations.

- Elliot Judd
Forward for Ohio TESOL 30 year history, 2008
Compiled by Wally Pretzer

Our Mission Statement

The mission of Ohio TESOL, an affiliate of TESOL, is to develop the professional expertise of its members and other involved in educating those learners for whom English is a non-native language by:

Advocating for the TESOL profession at the local, state and federal level

Promoting Professional Development

Acting as a resource for the dissemination of information

Improving standards for high-quality instruction

Promoting better employment conditions

Encouraging opportunities for networking, interaction, leadership and research

Promoting respect for the language rights and culture of all people

Our Vision Statement

Ohio TESOL, an association of teachers of English to speakers of other languages, provides professional representation, resources, and expertise in support of institutions and individuals dedicated to the education of learners for whom English is a non-native language.

--Adopted October, 1999