On October 26, 2019, SOCEM held its annual conference, Gathering XVI, at Trinity Church Streetsville once again. There were close to 110 attending, and participants came from all over Southern Ontario including Kingston, Oshawa, the Greater Toronto Area, Niagara Falls, Kitchener-Waterloo and more. After a brief opening worship and devotional, participants spread into different rooms to attend their first workshop. There were 13 workshops to choose from for the day, and the Getting Started in Teaching ESL module ran throughout the day. Workshops include topics that fit into the categories of Aspects of English, Teaching Tips, ESL Materials, ESL and the Neighbouring Communities, and Caring for the Student and the Teacher. (For a list of workshop titles, descriptions and presenters, click here.)
A coffee break with networking opportunities after the first workshop was followed by a second workshop, and after the second workshop the participants headed back to the sanctuary for a Plenary Panel session. This year the topic for the Panel was “Building Community in ESL Ministry”. Three panelists talked about the topic from the perspectives of student outings, utilizing student leaders, and reducing anxiety in the classroom. There were opportunities for Q&A at the end of the panel session.
Lively conversations around the tables happened while participants enjoyed their lunch in the fellowship hall. There was a lot of networking and fellowship where participants learnt about each other’s ESL programs and were mutually encouraged. Lunch time also provided opportunities to browse around the display tables. We had display tables from various publishers, mission organizations and other groups of interest. There was a third workshop after lunch and that concluded our day.
We received many good comments about the conference both verbally and on the evaluation forms. Comments include “well organized; good sessions; excellent lunch”; “a terrific day”; “such a wonderful array of workshops today”; and many others. The organizers at SOCEM were encouraged by the comments and hope to continue to offer conferences of good quality in the years to come.