Attending the 72nd TEFLIN International Conference and pre-conference workshops as a RELO scholar was an absolute game-changer for my teaching practice. It served as a timely reminder that our classrooms shouldn’t just be about prepping kids for exams or drilling grammar patterns—it has to be about authentic communication.
The pre-conference workshops gave me concrete ways to rethink my lessons, especially around flipping tasks and bringing in digital tools so students are actually creating and speaking rather than just sitting quietly. Presenting my own paper was an incredible milestone, and jumping into other EFL presentations gave me so many fresh perspectives and practical ideas from colleagues tackling the same daily classroom hurdles. Beyond the sessions, the conversations in the before and after sessions were just as valuable; I walked away with genuine connections and plans to team up on future teaching projects.
I’m heading straight back to my desk to overhaul an entire unit of my syllabus, replacing rote exercises with real-world tasks. Huge thanks to RELO for this opportunity—it’s given me the tools, energy, and community to make a lasting difference in my classroom.
