English Department Hosts Sixth Annual
TALGS Conference

On February 21, 2009, the ECU English department hosted the 6th annual TESOL/Applied Linguistic Graduate Students (TALGS) Conference.  Fifteen paper presentations were accepted for the conference, a significant increase from the 2008 total; also during the event were two workshops, one discussion session, two invited discussion sessions, and the plenary session with Dr. Jodi Crandall.  New to the 2009 conference were poster presentations, which allowed attendees and presenters to talk freely about specific topics. Six poster presenters shared their ideas with the audience during a single hour-long poster presentation session, successfully integrating many additional abstracts to this year’s schedule than had previously been possible.

Lida Cope and Slobodanka Dimova headed the TALGS organizational team, and this year their student organizers came from a variety of backgrounds.  Zuzana Elliott (Linguistics), a first-year graduate student at ECU, performed as lead student organizer; Yi Sun (Linguistics/TESOL) and Lamont Cannon (English Language & Literature) also assisted as student organizers; Chad Elliott (English Literature) acted as a volunteer student organizer. Other student volunteers assisting during the TALGS Conference Day included Titus Boucher, Elena Shilova Guy, Ronny Henriquez, Stephen Kintz, Jennie Whitehead, and Melissa Yow.  In addition to preparing for the 106 pre-registered attendees – which is a year-long process in itself – student and faculty organizers ensured that the structure of the conference accommodated extra at-the-door attendees and varying personal and academic tastes in a comfortable and open academic environment.

The presenters at the conference were of a varied population, as advertisement for TALGS attracted a very diverse clientele. Presenters came from California, New York, and Pennsylvania, as well as from all corners of NC.  The conference even attracted international attention, with a poster presentation by Shaheefa Jaleel from the University of Wolverhampton, UK.  The topics for presentation were as diverse as the presenters’ hometowns: thirteen total abstracts focused on TESOL (including the plenary session), seven on applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, four on technical and professional communication, two on L2 writing methods, and one on literature.  Presenters also included fourtenn graduate students from ECU; Kristiane Evans, of Greenville Technical College; and Leona Mason, from the Pitt County Schools ESL Department.  Although the original goal of the conference was to entice university graduate students to present, the high percentage of TESOL abstracts encouraged many teachers from Pitt County to attend.

Dr. Jodi Crandall of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) was invited for the 2009 TALGS Plenary Session.