Active ESL teacher associations in Taiwan

[BigJohn]

I noticed recently that there is an English Teacher's Association for the ROC. http://www.eta.org.tw/en/index.html

Has anyone out there ever worked with them?

Are there other groups doing conferences / seminars / workshops on ESL? I rarely seem to here about anything organized and professional about ESL here in Taiwan.

How about the British Council / IELTS crowd? Do they do open training and workshops, or is it all just related to their businesses?

[tatterdemalion]

A few years ago, a friendly Canadian guy started a teacher's group that would meet on the weekend in Taipei to discuss English teaching (games, activities, methods, techniques). You can read about it here:

http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi ... ei+meeting

I attended a few times and found it quite enjoyable. However, I think they stopped the group after a few months.

Maybe someone here at Forumosa would like to start something similar????

[Feiren]

I think it would be a much better idea to join an existing Taiwanese group in a low key way.

Foreigners are always trying to reinvent the wheel.

[BigJohn]

I think it would be a much better idea to join an existing Taiwanese group in a low key way.

Foreigners are always trying to reinvent the wheel.

Well, I think most ESL teacher in Taiwan outside of the k-12 school system are foreigners, and it is difficult to be in the k-12 system if one is a foreigner.

Also, are the local teachers really into what most of us would consider modern progressive methods of education, or mainly focused on test prep?

[tatterdemalion]

Personally, I'd be open to attending something a bit less formal than your average ELT conference, with an emphasis on the practical side of teaching (activities, classroom management tips, etc.). It might be fun to try it with a Pecha Kuchaapproach (where presenters are limited to 20 Powerpoint slides and 20 seconds per slide) or Open Space approach (where participants set the topics for discussion when they arrive). Any other ideas?