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Grants and Awards

The Meral Güçeri TESOL/TEFL Travel Grant

Purpose

To provide resources for English language professionals to attend the annual TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo.

This award was established in the memory of long-time TESOL member Dr. Meral Güçeri. Dr. Güçeri was a strong supporter of the professional development of early career academics. This travel grant is funded by the generous contribution of the Güçeri Family.

Application Deadline

Applications are due 15 September 2023.

How to Apply

TESOL members in good standing who are currently practicing English language teachers, teacher trainers, or supervisors with at least 5 years of experience working in a setting where English is taught as a foreign or additional language (EFL/EAL). 

Professionals working in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, are not eligible for this award.

Preference is given to applicants who have never attended a TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo.   

IMPORTANT: On the basis of the best information currently available to the United States Department of the Treasury, the following countries require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott (within the meaning of section 999(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). The boycotted countries are Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen. As a result, TESOL International Association cannot send funds or issue awards to recipients of these countries. Award applications received from residents of these countries will be removed from consideration. We apologize to those individuals affected.

Travel and basic expenses not to exceed U.S.$2,500 for one recipient.

Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Your reasons for wishing to attend the TESOL convention.
  • Evidence of your commitment to teaching in an EFL/EAL setting.
  • The benefit that attending the TESOL convention will bring to you and other teachers in your professional community.
  • Financial need.

For more details, please see the Evaluation Rubric.

To complete the online application process, you will need the following information. You are strongly encouraged to gather this information before you begin the application. That way, you can fill out the application completely, and you will not have to go back and fill in items later.

Please provide a list of all the TESOL International Conventions that you have attended. Please do not include conventions held by TESOL affiliates

Please prepare a professional biographical statement written in the third person.

This essay should:

  • Explain your reasons for wishing to attend the TESOL convention.
  • Describe your EFL/EAL teaching experience, including the years, locations, and your responsibilities.
  • Describe in detail the ways that you and others will benefit from your experience at the convention.
  • Describe your current financial situation.

You will be asked to provide contact email addresses for the people writing letters of recommendation for you. They will receive an email message from awards@tesol.org at the address you provide, inviting them to upload their letters of recommendation directly to the application system. The email request will not be sent until you "complete and finalize" your application. Letters submitted by the applicant will not be accepted.

Please ask your letter writers to watch for a message from awards@tesol.org. To ensure that they receive the message, please ask them to add awards@tesol.org to their contacts or to their spam whitelist. If they do not receive the message, please send a message to awards@tesol.org. Letters of recommendation should:

  • Be written in English.
  • Describe and evaluate your work in EFL/EAL.
  • Attest to your commitment to teaching in an EFL/EAL setting.
  • Describe how you and others will benefit from your attending the TESOL convention.

Apply Now

Submit Your Online Application

The application deadline is 15 September 2023.

Questions?

Please contact TESOL Awards

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