‘This is my opportunity to be a global citizen’

Continuing Education instructor Sherry Blok is having quite a year.

In January, she was awarded the 2015 Teacher of the Year from the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Association. And now she’s been invited to speak at the 31st international conference of the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT), taking place from November 7 to 22 in Pakistan.

Her topic? Nurturing global citizenship and equity in the context of language learning and teaching.

“It’s my opportunity to embody what I teach — to be a global citizen in a global community,” says Blok, who has been a staff member for more than 18 years at Concordia's Continuing Education Language Institute (CELI).

“SPELT is connecting me to other educators from very different learning and teaching contexts and allowing me to develop new perspectives that I wouldn’t have otherwise. This invitation also shines a bright light on the Intensive English Language program at Concordia — a perfect laboratory for global citizenship.”

Since its inception in 1984, SPELT has been engaged in improving standards of teaching and learning in Pakistan and creating opportunities for professional development.

The annual conference is one of its prime initiatives. Due to social conditions in Pakistan, the panel travels to women in various locations, visiting Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Abbottabad. More than 3,000 international educators, scholars and administrators from schools and government attend the conference.

“In Pakistan, a lot of teachers will gain from Blok’s wide expertise as both an educator and team leader and coordinator,” says Lubna Mohyuddin, SPELT conference coordinator. 

Find out more about the Centre for Continuing Education’s Language Institute.

Follow Sherry on Twitter, @sherryblok, to read her tweets from the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) International conference.