Welcome to the preconvention newsletter! Ready or not, TESOL 2017 is around the corner. It kicks off in Seattle, Washington, USA on 21 March. To preview some of the contributions ALIS is making to this year’s convention, we have invited three presenters, whose proposals were accepted in the applied linguistics strand, to share what they have been working on and what they will be presenting in Seattle.

First, Curtis Kelly reminds us of the power of stories. He considers the influence storytelling has on our brains, how stories shape our learning, memory, thinking, and even our interaction with others. Given such a powerful influence, Curtis encourages teachers to fill their language classes with stories. Our next author, Randa Taftaf, heeds this advice and explores how storytelling can be utilized for grammar instruction. She describes the Vygotsky-inspired presentation, attention, co-construction, extension (PACE) model and illustrates how it can be implemented in a beginner language class. Our final article also addresses language pedagogy from a Vygotskian perspective. Donald Englund discusses his attempts to combine sociocultural theory and cognitive linguistics. He reports on a classroom-based study targeting the instruction of English prepositions.

We hope you enjoy each of the articles. And please don’t forget to check out the letters from the ALIS Chair, David Olsher, and the incoming Chair, Olga Griswold. These letters contain interest section updates as well as details on noteworthy events you may very well wish to attend at the convention. If you are headed to Seattle, you can expect an excellent lineup of talks and presentations. Whether you are attending this year’s convention or not, perhaps we will see you on the Applied Linguistics Digest, the new ALIS discussion board.

Best,

Ben & Natalia