Greetings ALISers!

Now that we have all had a chance to absorb everything we took in at TESOL 2012, it’s not too early to be thinking about TESOL 2013! First, I wanted to thank everyone who has served as a proposal reviewer for TESOL 2013, particularly given the changes to the reviewing process. I appreciate the patience and persistence of everyone who is on board to help. The review took place between June 16 and July 31, and we are looking forward to impressive papers and poster sessions at TESOL 2013. Thank you!

Eli Hinkel, chair-elect for ALIS, has worked to put together our 2013 Academic Session. This session will be titled “Practicalities of Teaching Academic Reading and Writing” and will be in conjunction with the Second Language Writing Interest Section. We are certainly looking forward to that session―thank you, Eli!

We were very pleased with the discussion and turnout for the 2012 InterSession on “Documentation Styles and Practices across Cultures and Languages.” The session, as the title suggests, addressed the practices of documentation in L2 writing across languages and cultures. Presenters also discussed plagiarism and gave suggestions for teachers as they prepare to teach documentation in their L2 classrooms. I want to thank Barbara Birch, Howard Williams, Jennifer Mott-Smith, Ilka Kostka, and Zuzana Tomas once again for their participation. Their insight and expertise made for a very dynamic panel!

I would like to encourage all ALIS members to let me know if there are any topics that you would like to discuss at the 2013 ALIS business meeting. I know this is still a ways away, but certainly we want to make this interest section something that you find useful, relevant, and engaging. Please look out for periodic emails from me (I promise not to overload your inbox!) throughout the next several months to keep you connected with all ALIS activities and opportunities!