​​Rashad Ahmed, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, USA

Dear ALIS Members,

Greetings to all of you and best wishes for 2023! First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our past and current chairs (Dr. Anna Dina L. Joaquin and Dr. Sun-Young Shin) for all they have done for the ALIS community. Also, I would like to thank all ALIS members for their contributions and continuous support. I hope that many ALIS members are planning to attend the TESOL convention in Portland. Attending the TESOL Convention is one of the best opportunities for professional development, cultural immersion, and connecting with old colleagues and getting to know new ones. If you attend the convention just one time, I guarantee you will get hooked, and you will make plans to attend it every year. My first convention was in 2016, and I have not missed a year since then.

As the tradition for ALIS incoming chairs is to introduce themselves, let me talk briefly about myself. I am an applied linguist with a multidisciplinary background in TESOL and Composition Studies. I am currently working as an assistant professor in the Department of English at Jacksonville State University. I have a wide range of research interests that involve Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Language Assessment, Digital Literacy, TESOL Methods, Sociolinguistics, and First-Year Composition. My recent publications include an edited volume titled “Enhancements and Limitations to ICT-Based Informal Language Learning: Emerging Research and Opportunities” and an article published by TESOL Journal with the title “Peer Review in Academic Writing: Different Perspectives from Instructors and Students.”

Now to the exciting stuff. With technological advancements, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, we, as educators, have been trying to adapt and find the best options for more effective teaching and learning. Since this is a timely topic that is impacting all of us, our academic session at TESOL 2023 will address this issue under the title “Re-Envisioning ELT in the Metaverse Era.” Topics and speakers for the panel include the following:

• “Solving the Language Practicing Problem through Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence” by Dr. Ammar Al-Sharafi, Columbus City Schools
• "Using AI to Co-Construct a Learning Community for Podcasting" by Yasmeen Coaxu, Columbia University
• “(Dis)embodied Interaction: Classroom Literacy Practices in Highly Networked Multimodal Learning Environments” by Dr. Tait Bergstrom, Yale-NUS College

Our session is scheduled for Friday, March 24, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in D133/134 at the Oregon Convention Center. I do hope that many of you will plan to attend!

Additionally, stay tuned for more information about our webinars and social events for 2023/2024. If you would like to take part in any of ALIS activities, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome.

Thank you all for choosing me to serve you, and I look forward to meeting you at TESOL 2023 and/or at other events.

Best,

Rashad