The 2004 IATEFL Conference offered a wealth of opportunities to become better informed on the latest developments, research and resources in the ELT profession internationally, to gain wider perspectives on the multi-faceted dimensions of our roles as language facilitators and social transformers, to meet renowned leaders and authors in the field, to relate to colleagues who have very different challenges and aspirations in a diversity of work environments, and of course, to make new friends from the global community of language educators. For me personally, in addition to taking in all of these opportunities, attending and presenting at the IATEFL conference in Liverpool in April 2004 also led to some other very interesting and rewarding professional development experiences beyond the conference.

Being a first-time participant and presenter at an IATEFL conference, it was truly fascinating, and at times moving, to hear about the speakers’ experiences, projects, and research findings. On the first day, I attended a Pre-Conference Event on the topic of “Integrating Global Issues into Teacher Education,” and was struck wordless after listening to Dr. Kari Smith share her experience of dealing with a class of teenaged Israelis and Palestinian students in the aftermath of a suicidal bombing. All her words spoke to me deeply, particularly when she expressed her belief that teacher education is about educating teachers who will not only teach, but also educate with soul, tolerance, acceptance, empathy, and respect, to contribute support for the development of peaceful co-existence. Other lasting impressions were Dr. Arifa Rahman’s “The 3 C’s in Teacher Education: Cognition, Context, and Culture,’ in which she spoke of regarding the classroom as a coral garden, where everyone is an individual, and on how to prepare a teacher to treat each as such. Alan Maley’s session on “Becoming a Resourceful Teacher” also offered stimulating thought, on the teacher as a “Transformative Intellectual” who is committed to democratic self-directed education and concerned with the affective dimension. Dr. Rama Matthew’s plenary session on “How do teachers continue to learn and grow? Understanding Teacher Development,” in which she proposed that teachers develop and cannot be developed, also resonated with me as I found myself reflecting on my own emergent vision as an educator simultaneously as she spoke. Her findings that teachers’ prior beliefs and values, their value of teaching, and how they chose the profession were the most relevant inputs to becoming ongoing learners also corroborated my personal experience.