I am just about midway through my rookie season as the ALIS chair-elect, and it has been a great pleasure to be part of such a distinguished group of professionals. Thanks to all of you who have given me guidance and input so far. I am really at home in the ALIS community!

As you may already know, one of the main duties of this position in preparation for the gathering in the City of Brotherly Love, also known as the TESOL 2012 Convention, is to coordinate the ALIS Academic Session. I am very excited to share that we have put together a very dynamic cross-section of professionals to address the topic of plagiarism. Our session, titled “Documentation Styles and Practices across Cultures and Language,” brings together panelists to approach this topic from various perspectives. Presenters will be addressing this topic from different dimensions so as to offer dialogue relevant to a variety of scholars, teachers, and other practitioners in the field of TESOL. Topics to be addressed during our session include instructional support for teachers engaged in the instruction of documentation practices, a look at empirical studies addressing plagiarism and pragmatic norms, the influence of the Internet on plagiarism, and the Western idea of ownership. Topics and speakers for the panel include the following:

Instructional Support (Documentation) for L2 Writers. Zuzana Thomas, Eastern Michigan University
Plagiarism and Pragmatic Norms: Some Empirical Evidence. Howard Williams, Columbia University
Western Idea of “Ownership” and the Influences of the Internet on Plagiarism. Barbara Birch, Department of Linguistics, California State University Fresno
Teaching Documentation Practices in the ESL/EFL setting. Jennifer Mott-Smith, Towson University
Teaching Documentation Practices in the ESL/EFL setting - Case Study (with the role of Turnitin detection software). Ilka Kostka, Doctoral Student, New York University
Moderator: Kara Hunter, California Polytechnic University at Pomona

Our session is scheduled for March 30, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. I do hope that all of you will plan to attend!

As many of you know, the theme of the TESOL 2012 convention is “A Declaration of Excellence.” I believe the session we have put together demonstrates excellence in the work being done in the arena of documentation practices and instruction in our field. I know that the TESOL conference can be a busy time, so mark your calendars now to attend this session!

See you in Philadelphia!