Refunds

Will I get a full refund? When? How? Instructions on how to request a registration refund were sent via email.

Generally, you will receive your refund in 4-6 weeks given processing time and individual credit card company policies for credits appearing on statements. Registrants will have the option to donate part, donate all, refund all, apply all to next the 2021 Convention.

• Can I donate part of my refund? Yes, registrants can donate all or part of their registration fee. Watch for the email going out 20 March and refer back to this site for instructions.

• Can my fee for a PCI be applied to next year?  Yes, registrants can choose to have the registration fee they paid for the 2020 Convention applied to the 2021 Convention in Houston, TX, USA. Watch for the email going out 20 March and refer back to this site for instructions.

• Can my registration be applied to next year’s convention? Yes, registrants can choose to have the registration fee they paid for the 2020 Convention applied to the 2021 Convention in Houston, TX, USA. Watch for the email going out 20 March and refer back to this site for instructions.

• Can my fee for a PCI be applied to next year?  Yes, registrants can choose to have the registration fee they paid for the 2020 Convention applied to the 2021 Convention in Houston, TX, USA. Watch for the email going out 20 March and refer back to this site for instructions.

• Can my fee for a ticketed event be credited to some online courses that TESOL offers? Please contact conventions@tesol.org to request this.

• If I purchased a 2020 T-shirt, will it be sent to me? Yes, shirts will be shipped to registrants who purchased them in advance. Individuals who didn’t purchase in advance, should visit the bookstore to purchase a shirt.

• Did TESOL cancel all the hotel reservations made through the convention site? Yes, hotel reservations made through the Convention site were canceled by TESOL. Individuals who made a reservation elsewhere, will need to cancel those themselves.

• Will TESOL cover fees for travel cancellations? Unfortunately, individuals will need to work with their individual airline and insurance companies regarding airline cancellation fees. Most airlines are being accommodating, but it is an airline by airline policy.

• I joined TESOL to keep the registration cost low. Can I get a refund for my membership? TESOL membership is more than just a Convention, we encourage you to experience all that TESOL has to offer. In addition, all these events and professional development we are talking about hosting in place of the Convention will have a lower member price.

Convention

• Will there be a virtual convention? We are currently working with the Conferences Professional Council and TESOL leadership to plan a virtual conference. Watch the Convention website and your email for further information.

• When will there be a schedule for online presentations? At this time there is not a schedule available, please watch the Convention website and your email for further information.

• What will be presented online? We are working with presenters and the Conferences Professional Council to determine that now. Watch the Convention website and your email for further information.

• Will the presentations be live or recorded? While we don’t have any details finalized yet, it will probably be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions.

• Which will be live? The Conferences Professional Council is still working with presenters to make these determinations.

• Will live sessions be recorded and archived? Yes, unless the presenters do not give permission for us to recorded.

• How will recorded sessions be recorded? The Conferences Professional Council is still working with presenters to make these determinations.

• If recorded sessions are put up during a specific time frame, can we have live chats during the presentation? We expect that the virtual event will be interactive and allow for questions and networking.

• What online platform will we use? TESOL staff and the Conferences Professional Council are reviewing a number of platforms to determine the best fit for TESOL.

• How will we present workshops online? We can do papers and panels but what about the workshop sessions that planned for significant participant to participant interaction? The Conferences Professional Council are still reviewing the options and working through these details to ensure we are delivering the quality product you deserve.

• Can we get a certificate for our presentation if we present? Anyone who presents virtually will receive a certificate for their presentation.

• Will there be a cost to view the convention sessions? We aren’t sure at this time of the details, but it will probably be a combination of offerings and price points.

• How much will it cost? We aren’t sure at this time of the details, but it will probably be a combination of offerings and price points.

• Can anyone view archived sessions? Members only? Registrants only? We aren’t sure at this time, watch this site and your email for updates.

• I can’t present online. Can my session be included in next year’s convention? The Conferences Professional Council is looking at all options and considering the best way to accommodate presenters accepted for the 2020 Convention.

• I can’t present online. Can my session be recorded and put online? We intend to have a mix of pre-recorded and live sessions. The Conferences Professional Council will be working with presenters regarding these details and options over the next few weeks. Will I get a presentation certificate? Yes, regardless of if your presentation is live or recorded, TESOL will issue a presentation certificate.

• When and how will we have the Annual Business Meeting? We haven’t scheduled this meeting yet, watch this site and your email for further details.

• What will happen to the PCIs, other workshops, and poster sessions? The Conferences Professional Council are still reviewing the options and working through these details to ensure we are delivering the quality product you deserve.

• Can the Electronic Village sessions go forward as planned for Convention Week? We expect Electronic Village sessions to be included in the broader virtual event we are planning.

• Can recordings go into the Teacher Resource Center? Yes, please visit https://www.tesol.org/connect/tesol-resource-center/submit-a-resource to submit your resource to the Teacher Resource Center.

• How do we facilitate participation among people using different social media platforms? (i.e. Weibo in China, VK in Russia, Instagram among younger TESOLers, Facebook among others, etc.) This is always difficult, but TESOL is planning to offer sessions in a variety of formats to allow for use on multiple platforms.

• Should we add sessions to our Convention about teaching during the time of COVID-19? The Conferences Professional Council is reviewing this, but yes, we will more than likely add some new sessions about teaching virtually, adjusting to COVID-19 in our classrooms, etc.

• Can alternative events be held by COPs, affiliates related to those who were presenting at TESOL or does everything need to be within TESOL’s online program? If alternative events can be held, can this be done in collaboration with TESOL staff or should they be planned independently? TESOL would prefer that educational sessions be conducted within the virtual conference. COPs wishing to hold networking sessions, business meetings, open forum, etc. can work with TESOL staff to schedule those.

CoP Meetings

• When/how will we have the Leadership Forum? We haven’t scheduled this meeting yet, watch this site and your email for further details.

• When/how will we have our business meetings? IS leaders were emailed on Friday, 13 March a link to complete an online form indicating when they would like to scheduling their business meetings virtually. We are trying to schedule them the same week as the Convention would have been 31 March – 3 April. All requests will be responded to on a first-come-first served basis.

• When/how will we have our networking meetings? Some of the virtual meeting tools we are looking at include virtual networking features. In the meantime, we encourage you to be active within your myTESOL community and move the networking and sharing from the Convention virtually. We are all staying home and need connections.

• If we had planned workshop sessions outside the regular convention schedule, when/how will we have them? We are still working on when these sessions will occur, please watch your email for updates.

Other Meetings

• When/how will Professional Councils have our open meetings? We are asking leaders to work with their staff partner and Board liaison to identify appropriate times.

• What about the leadership management certificate training? We aren’t sure at this time. Watch this site and your email for updates.

• What about the CAEP training? We aren’t sure at this time. Watch this site and your email for updates.

• Can the advocacy sessions be presented at the Advocacy Summit in June? We aren’t sure at this time. Watch this site and your email for updates.

• K-12 Day was cancelled before the convention. Can it be held online? We aren’t sure at this time. Watch this site and your email for updates.

Awards

• What happens to the travel funds and professional funds awardees received for the convention? We will be communicating with individual awardees. If you have questions, please contact awards@tesol.org.  How will we honor the awardees? We will honor awardees in many different ways, including on our website and through social media.

Exhibitors

• Some exhibitors are doing their exhibitor sessions online. Will all of them do that?  Does TESOL have a list and schedule of the exhibitors that are doing it? Exhibitors will have an opportunity to present as part of our virtual conference.

• How can we contact exhibitors if we want to look at their materials? You can reach out to all exhibitors through the mobile app.

Job Fair

• Will TESOL facilitate this virtually? We are exploring options for a virtual job fair in conjunction with the virtual event.  

TESOL Press

• TESOL gives discounts during the Convention. Will there be discounts and/or free shipping now? We have launched a virtual TESOL Press Convention Bookstore with discounts. Discounts are valid through 17 April.

Other Topics

• I have to teach online now; can TESOL help me do it well? We published a special edition of English Language Bulletin with COVID-19 and online teaching resources. We’ve also launched a COVID-19 Resources Group within myTESOL. Anyone with a TESOL login (member and non-member) can access this group. 

• Should affiliates cancel their upcoming conferences? How did TESOL decide to cancel? The decision to cancel was a very difficult decision made over many days and with lots of input. TESOL was in constant communication with city officials and industry leaders and stayed up-to-date on the latest WHO and CDC guidance and travel restrictions leading up to the decision. In the end, the Board decided that the health and safety of our attendees was paramount and that if TESOL couldn’t guarantee that, then we had a duty to not ask people to attend.  We encourage affiliates to take the same approach regarding their upcoming conferences.

• I’m willing to offer my time and volunteer to help TESOL with the online event or anything else needed. What can I do, who should I contact? To volunteer to assist TESOL with the virtual conference, please email conventions@tesol.org.