Last Fall, in the September 2014 issue of the TESOL Affiliate Newsletter, I wrote an article titled ‘A Brief History of the TESOL Affiliates’ [Link 1] in which I looked back at how the number and the internationality of the TESOL affiliates have grown over the last more-than 45 years, since 1969. As it says on the TESOL website today:

“Affiliates have been a part of the organizational structure of TESOL since 1969, when nine associations applied for and were granted affiliate status. TESOL is affiliated with more than 100 independent associations with total membership of more than 47,000 professionals” [Link 2]

Because of the importance of the relationships between the TESOL Association and its affiliates, and to help build and strengthen those ties, I have committed to writing at least one piece for the TESOL Affiliate Newsletter each year, during each of my three years in TESOL’s presidential line (and more pieces, if possible).

In terms of presenting our affiliate readers with an update, there’s so much going on within the TESOL International Association these days that it’s hard to know where to start! So, this will be a brief and highly selective update on those issues that may be of particular interest to our affiliate members, starting with one of the most extensive governance-level re-organizations of the Association since it was founded in 1966.

“Governance” is not a word, an idea or a task that most TESOL members get terribly excited about. But creating a new governance model for the Association has been one of our biggest tasks this year, completing a major undertaking that was started in 2011, when the Governance Review Task Force was struck [Link 3]. After three years of thorough and detailed data-gathering and study, the GRTF report was released in March 2014 [Link 4]. Since then, the Association has engaged in several rounds of gathering feedback from members about the changes to the governance of the Association.

Based on all of that feedback, members will soon be receiving details of the new model, which represents many years of work by many people. Our goal is to flatten the organization, by removing the multiple layers of administration that build up over the years in any organization that has been growing for 50 years, so the Association can be in good shape to go for at least another five decades!

The new TESOL Affiliate Task Force
An important part of the new governance model – and one of the main items I wanted to update affiliate readers on – is the new Affiliate Task Force (ATF), which was started its work on June 1. As some readers will know, in April, a Call for Volunteers to join the ATF went out, in which all members of the Association were invited to apply. As a result of that call, a TF was put together, with Richmond Stroupe, from JALT, as its Chair, and TESOL Past President Brock Brady as one its members, as well as Misty Adoniou as the TESOL Board Liaison and Valerie Borchelt as the TESOL Staff Liaison. (Please see here [Link 5] for a full list of members.)

The charge of the ATF is as follows:

“The task force is charged with conducting research on forms and functions of affiliation programs in contemporary associations, and presenting options to the Board of Directors. As part of their work, the task force should include input from TESOL affiliates, and identify strategies to foster strong communication and knowledge-sharing between TESOL and its affiliates.” [Link 5]

The TESOL website also explains what we’re hoping to achieve as a result of the work of the ATF:

“The Board of Directors seeks to create an affiliation program that:

• supports a mutually beneficial and collaborative relationship between TESOL International Association and its affiliates
• advances TESOL International Association’s goals, strategic direction, and growth
• assists TESOL International Association in cultivating knowledge and information about the field and the profession around the world
• provides for forms and activities relevant to the needs of different groups (i.e. not a “one-size-fits-all” model).
• aligns with, and advances, the association’s strategic plan” [Link 5]

In terms of the ‘deliverables’ at the end of the process, the ATF will present to TESOL’s Board of Directors:

• “a summary of their research into different models and structures for similar types of programs in contemporary associations, including a list of pros and cons for each
• a summary of input collected from affiliates about the relationship with TESOL International Association
• alternative models and structures that might be applied to TESOL’s affiliation program
• processes for communication and knowledge-sharing between affiliates and TESOL, including any possible roles or functions as they might relate to TESOL governance” [Link 5]

Please do consult the TESOL webpages linked here if you would like more details of the ATF, and, with the help of Brock Brady, I can also present a brief summary of some of the work of the ATF so far, who have been extremely busy during their first three months (June, July and August).

Update on the work of the new TESOL Affiliate Task Force
After extensive reading and discussion of articles, including the Executive Summary of the book The Will to Govern Well [Link 6], the ATF members got together in online discussion boards and in webinars to discuss key themes that could be of use in their research. They found that there is a wide variety of “component structures” in different associations, and some key topics in the readings so far include: the different forms of governance; the need for clear, two-way communication; and the need to define roles and responsibilities, as well as expectations and assumptions, between entities carefully and consistently.

The ATF has also found that the TESOL International Association model is unique because of the independence of its affiliates, the diverse groups it serves, and the way it serves both US and international affiliates, new and developing affiliates as well as established affiliates. This creates a unique set of challenges for the Association, which include identifying the commonalities and strengths of the different component models, and ways in which the Association and the affiliates can define their relationship, and clarify opportunities for exchange and collaboration.

The ATF then worked in sub-groups to carry out research on the essential characteristics of 19 different education associations, inputting their results into a spreadsheet, and again discussing both in online discussion boards and in a webinar the salient points and common ground that they found. Future work may include a survey to be sent to other educational associations, including, for example, the National Council of Teachers of English [Link 7], the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [Link 8], and the International Society for Technology in Education [Link 9]. The ATF also decided that it might be a good idea to look at some non-education focused associations as well.

I wanted to conclude by thanking Richmond and all the members of the ATF for all the work they have already done, and all the work they will do, to help the TESOL International Association go beyond quantity, in terms of the number of affiliates, to quality, in which we can develop meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships. We look forward to hearing from you, our affiliate members, with your ideas for how we can continue to do that.

Andy Curtis
50^th President, TESOL International Association

LINKS

Link 1

http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolalc/issues/2014-09-08/2.html

Link 2:

http://www.tesol.org/connect/affiliates-regional-organizations

Link 3:

http://www.tesol.org/about-tesol/association-governance/governance-review

Link 4:

http://www.tesol.org/docs/default-source/governance/grtfboardreportmarch2014-final-public.pdf?sfvrsn=4

Link 5:

http://www.tesol.org/support-tesol/volunteer/leadership-opportunities/affiliate-task-force

Link 6:

https://mystuff.asaecenter.org/ebusiness/publications/publicationproduct?id=105940

Link 7: http://www.ncte.org

Link 8: http://www.nctm.org

Link 9: http://www.iste.org