0. Purpose and Scope

This document sets out the official policy of the International Conference of TESOL & Education (ICTE), organized by the International Association of TESOL & Education, governing the terms of participation, fees, and membership for all editions of the conference. It applies to all individuals who register, present, attend, or otherwise engage with ICTE in any capacity, including presenters, general participants, keynote speakers, plenary speakers, featured speakers, workshop facilitators, reviewers, and members of the Association.

This policy is intended to ensure transparency and fairness for all participants, provide clarity to local host institutions and organizing committees regarding financial commitments, and align ICTE’s practices with widely accepted standards among international academic conferences and professional associations (including practices benchmarked against associations such as IEEE, the TESOL International Association, and AsiaCALL).

This policy should be read together with the conference’s Abstract Submission Guidelines, Full Paper Submission Guidelines, Peer Review Process, and Editorial Policies published on i-cte.org. In the event of any conflict between this document and edition-specific announcements (e.g., the ICTE 2026 website), the more specific and more recently published terms shall govern, provided they do not contradict the non-refund principles established here.

1. Categories of Conference Participation

ICTE recognizes the following categories of participation. Each category carries distinct responsibilities, entitlements, and, where applicable, fee obligations.

1.1 Presenters

A Presenter is any individual whose abstract or full paper has been accepted by the ICTE Scientific/Program Committee for oral presentation or workshop delivery at the conference.

• Presenters must complete conference registration and payment by the published registration deadline in order to have their paper included in the final program.
• Only papers actually presented at the conference (in person or virtually, per the conference’s hybrid format) are eligible for consideration in any ICTE publication pathway (ICTE Proceedings, IJTE, IJLI, or affiliated Scopus-indexed outlets).
• Each accepted paper must be presented by at least one registered author. Co-authors who do not attend are not required to register, but the presenting author’s registration must be completed in full.
• Presenters are responsible for ensuring their presentation adheres to the time allocation and format (oral or workshop) assigned by the Program Committee.

1.2 Modes of Presentation

ICTE offers several presentation modes to accommodate different types of research, professional practice, and levels of completion. The mode assigned to an accepted submission is determined by the Program Committee based on the nature of the work and the author’s preference indicated at submission.

• Oral Paper Presentation — a timed platform presentation (typically 15–20 minutes including Q&A) delivered to a parallel session audience, suited to completed empirical studies and substantive theoretical contributions.
• Workshop — an extended, interactive session (typically 45–60 minutes) led by a presenter or facilitator, focused on hands-on skills, teaching techniques, or practical tools rather than a single research study.
• Virtual Presentation — delivery of an oral presentation through the conference’s virtual platform, available to international presenters as part of the conference’s hybrid format; local (host-country) presenters are expected to present in person.
• Panel Discussion / Symposium — a themed session in which multiple presenters address a common topic, organized either by the Program Committee or proposed by presenters as a group submission.

Presenters will be notified of their assigned presentation mode in the notification of acceptance. Requests to change presentation mode may be submitted to the Program Committee but are accommodated only where session capacity allows.

1.3 Types of Research Papers Accepted

ICTE welcomes submissions across the full range of research traditions and professional-practice writing relevant to TESOL and education. Accepted paper types include:

• Empirical (Quantitative) Research — studies employing statistical analysis of numerical data (e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental, or survey-based designs).
• Empirical (Qualitative) Research — studies employing interviews, classroom observation, discourse analysis, case study, or other qualitative methods.
• Mixed-Methods Research — studies that integrate quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis within a single design.
• Conceptual / Theoretical Papers — papers that advance new frameworks, models, or theoretical arguments without new empirical data collection.
• Literature Reviews and Meta-Analyses — systematic or narrative syntheses of existing research on a defined topic.
• Case Studies — in-depth analysis of a single classroom, institution, program, or learner/teacher context.
• Work-in-Progress / Pilot Studies — preliminary findings from ongoing research, typically presented in a shorter oral slot to gather feedback prior to completion.
• Practice-Oriented / Pedagogical Papers — papers reporting on classroom innovations, teaching techniques, or curriculum design, with an emphasis on practical application rather than original data collection.
• Book Chapter Proposals — extended works submitted through the separate Book Chapter Submission (Scopus) pathway, subject to the requirements of the affiliated book series.

All submissions, regardless of type, undergo the same double-blind peer review process described in the Peer Review Process policy and must comply with the citation and referencing standards (APA 7th edition) set out in the Full Paper Submission Guidelines.

1.4 General Participants (Non-Presenting Attendees)

A General Participant is any individual who registers to attend the conference sessions, workshops, and networking activities without presenting a paper.

• General Participants pay the standard (or applicable discounted) registration fee and receive a Certificate of Attendance upon completion of the conference.
• General Participants may attend all plenary, keynote, and parallel sessions, subject to venue capacity and virtual platform access limits.

1.5 Keynote Speakers

Keynote Speakers are internationally recognized scholars invited by the Organizing Committee and ICTE Advisory Board to deliver a major address setting out significant developments, directions, or challenges in the conference theme.

• Keynote Speakers are invited directly by the Organizing Committee and are not required to submit an abstract through the standard call for papers.
• Reasonable travel support, accommodation, and/or honoraria for Keynote Speakers are determined on a case-by-case basis by the Organizing Committee and the local host institution, subject to available conference funds, and are governed by a separate invitation agreement rather than this policy’s fee provisions.
• Keynote Speakers are, as a matter of courtesy and consistent with international conference practice, generally exempted from the conference registration fee for the edition in which they are speaking.

1.6 Plenary Speakers

Plenary Speakers deliver addresses to the full assembly of conference attendees, typically on a specific theme, strand, or emerging area within TESOL and education, complementing the keynote addresses.

• Plenary Speakers are invited or nominated by the Organizing Committee based on their scholarly standing and relevance to the conference theme.
• Registration fee waivers or reductions for Plenary Speakers, if any, will be confirmed in the speaker’s invitation letter and are at the discretion of the Organizing Committee.

1.7 Featured Speakers

Featured Speakers are scholars and practitioners invited to deliver shorter, specialized talks highlighting particular research areas, professional practices, or technological innovations relevant to the conference theme.

• Featured Speakers are invited by the Organizing Committee and are not required to go through the standard abstract review process.
• Unless otherwise specified in their invitation, Featured Speakers are expected to register for the conference; any applicable fee waiver or discount will be stated explicitly in the invitation.

1.8 Workshop Facilitators and Reviewers

• Workshop Facilitators leading standalone professional-development workshops (outside standard paper sessions) are subject to the terms of their specific invitation or agreement with the Organizing Committee.
• Members of the Scientific/Review Committee who serve as peer reviewers are acknowledged in the conference program and proceedings but are not, by virtue of reviewing, exempted from registration fees if they also attend as presenters or participants.

2. Conference Registration Fee Policy

2.1 Fee Structure

The conference registration fee is published on the official registration page (i-cte.org/registration) for each conference edition and typically varies according to participant category (presenter vs. general participant), delegate origin (local vs. international), and registration period (early-bird vs. regular).

2.2 Non-Refundable Policy

All conference registration fees are non-refundable once payment has been made and confirmed. This applies uniformly to all categories of participants, including presenters, co-authors, and general participants, and regardless of the mode of attendance (in-person or virtual).

Rationale

Upon receipt of payment, the Organizing Committee and local host institution immediately commit funds toward the fixed costs of preparing and running the conference. These costs are incurred in advance of the conference dates and are non-recoverable once committed. They include, but are not limited to:

• Catering and tea breaks for all conference days
• Preparation and issuance of Certificates of Participation/Presentation (PDF)
• Honoraria, travel support, and hospitality for keynote, plenary, and featured speakers
• Venue rental, audiovisual equipment, and technical/virtual-platform support
• Preparation and digital distribution of the conference program, proceedings, and other materials (PDF)
• Administrative and secretariat support

Because local organizers rely on registration income to secure these commitments, and because these arrangements cannot generally be unwound after the fact, the Organizing Committee is unable to offer refunds once registration payment has been received.

2.3 Non-Attendance (“No-Show”) Policy

Registered participants who are unable to attend the conference, in person or virtually, for any reason, including but not limited to visa denial, illness, travel restrictions, or personal circumstances, remain subject to the non-refund policy in Section 2.2. Registration fees already paid will not be refunded, prorated, or partially reimbursed.

2.4 Substitution Option

While registration fees are non-refundable, a registered participant who is unable to attend may, as an alternative to forfeiting their registration entirely:

1. Transfer their registration to a co-author already listed on the accepted abstract or paper; or
2. Request that their paper be presented on their behalf by a listed co-author, where feasible, subject to Program Committee approval.

Substitution requests must be submitted in writing to the conference secretariat (conference.icte@gmail.com) prior to the conference dates, and are subject to the Organizing Committee’s confirmation.

2.5 Late Registration and Deadline Enforcement

• Presenters must register by the published registration deadline for their paper to be included in the program and considered for any publication pathway.
• Registrations received after the published deadline may be accepted at the Organizing Committee’s discretion, subject to program capacity, and may be charged the regular (non-early-bird) rate regardless of when the paper was originally accepted.

2.6 Cancellation or Postponement by the Organizing Committee

In the rare event that a conference edition is postponed or cancelled by the Organizing Committee itself (for example, due to force majeure such as natural disaster, government restriction, or public health emergency), registered participants will be notified promptly and offered either transfer of their registration to the rescheduled event or an alternative arrangement determined by the Organizing Committee. This clause addresses cancellation of the event itself and does not apply to an individual participant’s own non-attendance, which remains governed by Sections 2.2–2.3.

2.7 Currency and Payment

• Registration fees are payable in the currency and via the payment channel(s) specified on the official registration page for each conference edition (e.g., bank transfer, PayPal).
• Bank transfer fees, currency conversion charges, or payment-platform fees are the responsibility of the payer and are not deducted from the amount due to ICTE.
• A confirmation receipt will be issued upon successful verification of payment. Participants should retain this receipt for their institutional reimbursement purposes.

3. Conference Certificates

3.1 Digital (PDF) Format Only

All certificates issued by ICTE — including the Certificate of Presentation, Certificate of Participation/Attendance, Certificate of Appreciation for invited speakers, Certificate of Reviewing, and Membership Certificates — are issued exclusively in digital PDF format. Consistent with ICTE’s paperless-materials practice, physical/printed certificates are not produced or mailed for any conference edition.

3.2 Certificate Categories and Eligibility

• Certificate of Presentation — issued to presenters who completed registration and delivered their accepted paper (oral or workshop) at the conference, in person or virtually.
• Certificate of Participation/Attendance — issued to General Participants who registered and attended the conference sessions.
• Certificate of Appreciation — issued to keynote, plenary, and featured speakers in recognition of their invited contribution.
• Certificate of Reviewing — issued to members of the Scientific/Review Committee who complete their assigned peer reviews for a given conference edition.
• Membership Certificates — issued to Associate, Regular, and Full Members upon successful registration or renewal, as described in Section 5.

3.3 Issuance and Delivery

Certificates are prepared electronically and sent by email to the address used at registration, generally within a few weeks after the conference concludes. Presentation and attendance records are verified against the conference sign-in sheets (for in-person delegates) or the virtual platform’s session logs (for online delegates) before certificates are issued.

3.4 Accuracy of Participant Details

Participants are responsible for ensuring that their full name, institutional affiliation, and other relevant details are entered correctly and consistently at the time of registration, since certificates are generated directly from this information. Requests to correct a certificate after issuance (e.g., due to a misspelled name) should be submitted promptly to the Secretariat, along with the correct details; corrected certificates will be reissued in PDF format only.

3.5 Verification and Reissuance

ICTE retains a digital record of issued certificates to support verification requests from institutions, employers, or funding bodies. Participants who lose access to their original certificate may request a reissued PDF copy by contacting the Secretariat with their registration details. Reissuance is provided free of charge; the Organizing Committee reserves the right to apply a modest administrative fee for repeated or bulk reissuance requests.

3.6 Non-Issuance

Certificates will not be issued to registrants who did not attend or present, consistent with the non-refund policy in Section 2. Presenters whose paper was accepted but who failed to attend or present at the conference are not entitled to a Certificate of Presentation for that submission.

4. Publication Fee Policy

4.1 Separation from Conference Registration Fee

Publication fees are entirely separate from, and additional to, the conference registration fee. Payment of the registration fee entitles a presenter to present at the conference and be considered for publication; it does not include or guarantee any publication fee, nor does it guarantee acceptance of the paper for publication.

4.2 Publication Is Not Mandatory

Presenting a paper at ICTE does not obligate the author to pursue publication in any ICTE-affiliated journal, proceedings, or book series. Presentation and publication are independent decisions: an author who registers, presents, and completes the conference is fully in good standing and will receive a Certificate of Presentation (Section 3) regardless of whether they choose to submit their full paper for publication afterward.

• Authors who prefer to submit their completed paper to a journal or outlet outside the ICTE Press ecosystem remain free to do so, subject to that outlet’s own policies on prior conference presentation.
• Declining to pursue publication carries no penalty and does not affect an author’s standing, membership benefits, or eligibility to present at future ICTE editions.
• Authors who do wish to publish should note that only papers actually presented at the conference are eligible for ICTE’s publication pathways (Section 4.1), and that the applicable publication fee (Section 4.4) is charged only if and when the paper is accepted.

4.3 When Publication Fees Apply

Publication (Article Processing / Processing) fees are charged only after a submitted paper has been accepted for publication following double-blind peer review. No publication fee is charged merely for submitting a paper, and all reviewing processes are free of charge.

4.4 Current Fee Schedule

4.5 Article Processing Charge (APC) — Purpose and Allocation

The 189 USD Article Processing Charge listed in Section 4.4 is, by default, collected and retained by ICTE/the Organizing Committee to help fund the overall costs of organizing the conference and preparing accepted manuscripts for submission to Scopus-indexed partner journals and book series, rather than being a fee charged by the publisher itself.

• Where a partner publisher (e.g., the journal or Springer Nature series) separately levies its own Article Processing Charge as a condition of publication, this will be clearly noted for that specific outlet, and authors will be informed of the applicable publisher-charged amount at the time they are invited to submit.
• Unless such a publisher-specific note is provided for a given outlet, authors should assume the 189 USD APC is the full and only amount payable, and that it supports ICTE’s conference operations rather than a separate publisher charge.
• Any publisher-specific APC, where it applies, is set independently by that publisher and is outside ICTE’s control; ICTE will communicate the amount and payment process as instructed by the publisher.

4.6 Selection for Scopus-Indexed Outlets

• Only papers actually presented at the conference are eligible for consideration by Scopus-indexed partner journals (CALL-EJ, rEFLections) or Springer Nature book chapters.
• Selection is at the discretion of the relevant journal/series editorial team following the conference; authors of selected papers will be contacted with specific submission instructions.
• The applicable Article Processing Charge for these outlets (Section 4.4–4.5) applies only if the paper is accepted for publication after its own separate peer-review process.

4.7 Publication Fee Refund Policy

Because publication fees are charged only after formal acceptance, they are non-refundable once the author confirms acceptance of the fee and proceeds with publication, except in the case of a documented editorial or production error attributable to ICTE Press. Withdrawal of an accepted paper by the author after payment does not entitle the author to a refund.

4.8 Membership Discounts on Publication Fees

ICTE members are entitled to reduced publication fees in ICTE Press outlets (IJTE, IJLI, ICTEP) as set out in Section 5. These discounts apply only to fees charged directly by ICTE Press and do not extend to third-party Scopus-indexed journals or Springer Nature APCs, whose fee schedules are set independently by those publishers.

5. ICTE Membership Policy

5.1 Membership Categories

5.2 Membership Term and Renewal

• Associate Membership is granted for life and does not require renewal.
• Regular and Full Membership are valid for twelve (12) months from the date payment is confirmed. Members will receive a renewal reminder approximately 30 days before expiry.
• Benefits such as fee waivers and discounts apply only to submissions or registrations made while the membership is active. A lapsed membership does not retroactively restore benefits already forfeited during the lapse.

5.3 Membership Fees Are Non-Refundable

Consistent with the conference registration fee policy in Section 2, membership fees are non-refundable once payment is confirmed, regardless of whether the member subsequently uses the associated benefits (e.g., publication waivers, conference discounts). Membership dues support ICTE’s ongoing operations, including its website, journals, and secretariat services, rather than a single deliverable that can be returned.

5.4 Non-Transferability

Membership is granted to a named individual based on the information submitted in the membership application and is non-transferable to another person or institution. Institutional block memberships, where offered, are governed by a separate written agreement with the Organizing Committee.

5.5 Application, Payment, and Verification

• Regular and Full Membership require payment via the designated channel (currently PayPal) followed by submission of the online application form, including proof of transaction, full name, institutional affiliation, and research interests.
• Applications are reviewed by the ICTE Secretariat; membership is activated upon verification of payment, typically within 3–5 business days of a complete application.
• Incomplete applications (e.g., missing proof of payment, mismatched applicant name) may delay activation until the discrepancy is resolved.
• Submission of falsified proof of payment or misrepresentation of academic affiliation is grounds for immediate revocation of membership without refund.

5.6 Using Membership Benefits

• Fee waivers and discounts apply to one paper or submission per benefit tier per membership year, unless otherwise announced by the Organizing Committee, and cannot be combined with other discount codes or promotional rates (e.g., early-bird registration) unless expressly permitted.
• Members must reference their active membership certificate or ID at the time of submission or registration in order to claim a benefit. Retroactive discount claims after payment has already been processed at the full rate will not be honored.

5.7 Changes to Membership Tiers

ICTE reserves the right to modify membership tiers, fees, or benefits for future membership cycles. Any such changes will not affect the benefits of a membership year that has already been paid for and is currently in effect.

5.8 Code of Conduct

Members are expected to uphold standards of academic integrity, professional conduct, and respectful engagement across all ICTE-affiliated activities, including conferences, journals, and official communications. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to suspend or revoke membership, without refund, in cases of proven plagiarism, harassment, or other serious misconduct, following review by the Organizing Committee.

5.9 Communications and Data

By joining, members consent to receive conference announcements, publication calls, and newsletters from ICTE. Members may opt out of non-essential communications at any time by contacting the Secretariat while retaining access to their core membership benefits. ICTE will not share members’ personal data with third parties for commercial purposes.

6. General Provisions

6.1 Hybrid Participation

Consistent with published conference announcements, ICTE conferences are generally conducted in hybrid format: international delegates may attend in person or virtually, while local delegates (i.e., those based in the host country) are expected to attend in person. Specific arrangements for each edition will be published on the conference registration page.

6.2 Code of Conduct at the Conference

All participants, presenters, and speakers are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully during conference sessions, workshops, and social events. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to remove any participant from the conference, without refund, for conduct that is disruptive, discriminatory, or otherwise inconsistent with the academic and professional standards of ICTE.

6.3 Intellectual Property

Authors retain ownership of their own work. By submitting and presenting a paper, authors grant ICTE and its publication partners a license to include the work in conference proceedings, journals, or promotional materials as applicable, consistent with the specific publication’s editorial policies and copyright agreements.

6.4 Force Majeure

ICTE and its Organizing Committee shall not be held liable for failure to perform any obligation under this policy where such failure results from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, government action, epidemic or pandemic, war, or other events of force majeure. In such cases, Section 2.6 (Cancellation or Postponement by the Organizing Committee) governs the treatment of registration fees.

6.5 Amendments to This Policy

The Organizing Committee reserves the right to amend this policy from time to time. Amendments will be published on the official ICTE website (i-cte.org) and, where they materially affect participants who have already registered or paid membership dues, will not be applied retroactively to reduce benefits already secured.

6.6 Governing Authority and Disputes

Questions or disputes regarding registration, publication fees, membership status, or any other matter covered by this policy should be directed in writing to the ICTE Secretariat. The Organizing Committee’s decision on such matters is final.

6.7 Contact Information