CATESOL members include classroom teachers at all levels, instructors in teacher training programs, university students, aides, and administrators in California and Nevada.
CATESOL works to insure that all of its members will be equally represented. Each level of instruction – elementary, secondary, adult, community college, intensive English programs (IEP) and college/university – is represented by a member on the board of directors. Local chapters serve members living outside the three areas providing annual conferences. There are nine chapters: Bay Area, Capital Area, Los Padres, Northern Nevada, Orange, Saroyan, Southern Nevada. Steinbeck and Yosemite.
CATESOL’s board of directors has 30 members, 12 of which are voting members. The board of directors meets six times a year. All CATESOL members are welcome to attend the board meetings.
CATESOL is the largest U.S. affiliate of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages), which has over 75 affiliates in the United States and abroad. CATESOL has partnerships with JALT (Japan Association of Language Teachers), NSW (New South Wales), and URUTESOL (Uruguay TESOL). CATESOL participates in a bilingual coalition with other professional organizations.
CATESOL promotes professional competence and professional standards in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, monitors educational policy, and represents the needs of ESL teachers and students to decision-making bodies such as school districts and state legislatures. Strategic Education Services provides CATESOL with legislative advocacy in Sacramento.
CATESOL holds an annual state conference in the spring featuring three days of noted speakers, workshops and presentations on teaching techniques and current research, and publishers’ exhibits. Three large regional conferences are held each year in the fall – in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Additionally, smaller chapter conferences are held throughout the year in California and Nevada.
CATESOL publishes a newsletter and a scholarly journal. The 20-page newsletter is published five times a year. Refereed articles on practical teaching ideas and recent developments in research are published annually in The CATESOL Journal. Special theme issues of The CATESOL Journal are published on an occasional basis. In addition, CATESOL publishes position statements on instructional issues and sociopolitical concerns as well as directories on ESL programs and professional programs in TESOL in California and Nevada. A membership directory is published every two years.
Current Membership Rates (2008)
| 1 year: $50 |
| 2 years: $85 |
| student (1 year): $35 |
| teacher's aide (1 year): $35 |
| retired (1 year): $35 |
| joint (2 people living at the same address/1 year): $80 |
CATESOL accepts credit card payment for membership, including VISA, Mastercard, and Discover.
You can submit your membership application online. If you prefer to use US Mail, the CATESOL Membership Application is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. To view and print the application form, you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader Plug-in for your web browser.
Address questions about membership to Linda Patten or call (925) 253-8683.