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Dear ALIS Members,
I wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2016! It is my
pleasure to welcome you to the ALIS family and thank you for your
continued support. I just wanted to take this opportunity to describe
some of the upcoming ALIS activities and update you about a few exciting
changes that are going to occur in the new year.
First, our Chair-Elect David Olsher will be taking over as the
chair of ALIS at the convention in Maryland. Like many of you who have
read David’s
letter in our previous newsletter, I, too, look forward to
the many wonderful activities that ALIS will engage in under David’s
leadership.
Second, I am very pleased to report that our search for the
next leader has been successful. Please join me in congratulating Olga
Griswold as the ALIS chair-elect. Olga is not new to ALIS, and soon we
will learn more about her and her vision for ALIS in the upcoming
newsletters.
Third, our application for funds for a reception during the
convention was approved by TESOL. Thus, I am very happy to invite you
all to the ALIS reception on Wednesday, 6 April, between 8:30 pm and 10
pm in the Calloway room in the Hilton Baltimore.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not reiterate my invitation
for your participation in ALIS’s academic and InterSection sessions.
David will provide information about the academic session in his letter.
Here is some information about the InterSection. The ALIS InterSection,
with the Teacher Education Interest Section (TEIS), is going to tackle a
very interesting area of research, as evident in its title “Age Factor
in SLA: Current Research and Implications.” We have invited four
scholars who are on the forefront of cutting-edge research on this
topic: David
Singleton, David
Birdsong, Alene Moyer, and Emanuel
Bylund. I cannot wait to see you all at this wonderful
session!
I look forward to our annual convention, held this year on 5–8
April 2016 (Tuesday through Friday), in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I am
very excited about the ALIS academic and InterSection sessions, and the
many other fascinating talks, discussions, and meetings at TESOL 2016.
Last but not least, I would like to thank our newsletter
editors, Monika Ekiert and Ben White, for their wonderful contributions
to ALIS.
Please contact me or David if you have any questions or suggestions.
Best wishes!
Nihat Polat | 
