English education association KOTESOL has opened registration for its 24th international conference this year, focusing on “Shaping the Future with 21st Century Skills.”

The two-day Korea TESOL International Conference at Seoul’s Sookmyung Women’s University from Oct. 15-16 will explore the challenges that both teachers and English language learners face in the 21st century, particularly from advances in technology and the growth of global media.

KOTESOL -- Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages -- is a professional association of English teachers in Korea, with hundreds of Korean and expat members.

The international conference is the largest event on the KOTESOL calendar, bringing together educators from around the world, including some world leaders in their field.

Professor Thomas S.C. Farrell, of Brock University in Canada, a leading researcher in the area of reflective practice, will open the International Conference with a plenary session.

Farrell argues that professional development for teachers in the 21st century should involve reflective practice to maintain curiosity and passion for teaching, as well as to encourage collaboration.

Farrell will discuss five stages of teacher reflection that teachers can immediately start using.

Another plenary speaker, Harvard University professor Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, will continue the theme with a session on the five major changes to hit education in the 21st century.

Professor Tokuhama-Espinosa suggests reflective practice for teachers to identify gaps in their skill sets.

She will give attendees a guiding hand by providing a survey to help them identify their own areas for improvement.

The conference will feature more than 200 sessions including lectures, practical workshops and discussions.

Attendees can focus on sessions for teachers of young learners, adults, university students or 101 workshops for new teachers.

One notable session will be led by Dr. Lee Bo-young, associate dean of the English language graduate school at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Lee will discuss how best to implement communicative language teaching in Korea.

For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.koreatesol.org/ic2016.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)