The Alignment of English Language Teacher Association Conference Themes to Research Agendas: An Investigation of TESOL International Association and IATEFL

Abstract

This chapter presents an analysis of the themes English Language Teacher Associations (ELTAs) have used for their annual conferences in the past 5 years (2013–2017) and their alignment with research findings and recommendations in the areas where these themes are focused. For this analysis, two big ELTAs were chosen: TESOL International Association and IATEFL. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first part discusses these themes and the research areas they covered. The second part looks at the research basis for these themes and their relevance to both TAs’ research agendas. It also explores the progress and the development in the selections of themes over the last five years. The last part presents a comparative analysis of the two ELTAs’ conference themes.