Capitalizing on the Affordances of Virtual Professional Development: The Case of a Paraguayan English Teachers’ Association During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Conference: The European Conference on Language Learning (ECLL2021)
Title: Capitalizing on the Affordances of Virtual Professional Development: The Case of a Paraguayan English Teachers’ Association During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Stream: Professional development
Presentation Type: Live-Stream Presentation
Authors:
Valentina Canese, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay
Rocio Mazzoleni, Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay
Elena Nuñez, Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay

Abstract:

Since 2018, PARATESOL (TESOL International Affiliate in Paraguay) has been steadily increasing the number of professional development opportunities in the Paraguayan English teaching community. Between the years 2018-2019 over ten workshops and two international conferences were organized by the board, all of which were held face to face exclusively. Due to lockdowns in Paraguay caused by the COVID-19, during 2020 all forms of professional development activities organized by the association at first were put on hold. In May, the Paratesol board decided to take the challenge offering weekly free online workshops for teachers in Paraguay and the region through the Zoom platform which would allow them to reach more people. Through a case study approach, this presentation will focus on describing how this organization capitalized on the affordances of the virtual environment to offer an unprecedented number of professional development activities for their members as well as non-member English teachers in Paraguay and around the world. The number of weekly workshops more than quintupled from previous years, reaching over 600 teachers in Paraguay and around the world. Likewise, the annual conference more than doubled the number of participants as well as countries represented with presenters from 14 different countries sharing their expertise. Even though changing the way workshops were held was challenging and unknown, the association has grown in confidence with time and has transcended the frontiers. The board has also strengthened relationships with different TESOL associations in the region which could be seen in the diverse attendance in the workshops.

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