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Dear members of the Applied Linguistics Interest Section,
First of all, I hope that you and your loved ones are all healthy and well. While I am optimistic about 2021, I know that 2020 brought many issues to the forefront that we as language educators, teacher trainers, applied linguists, and students have for far too long buried or pushed aside but can no longer ignore. Though the issues may seem great, I am confident that such challenges can lead to meaningful research, impactful changes in our practice, and improved student education. With this in mind, I look forward to serving the ALIS community as chair-elect alongside the current co-chairs, Bahiyyih Hardacre and Polina Vinogradova.
So, as ALIS Chair-Elect, I would like to take a moment introduce myself to y’all.
I am an applied linguist and an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics and TESL Program at California State University Northridge. As an applied linguist I am interested in applying ethnomethodology to study the interactions of atypical populations with their caregivers, the neurobiological underpinnings of language acquisition and use, and TESL/TEFL pedagogy. Like so many in our field, my journey began when I taught abroad. I discovered that I loved teaching, but I didn’t understand the process of subsequent language learning or the principles that underlie good language pedagogical practices. So, I went to graduate school to learn more. While in graduate school I continued to teach at universities, community colleges, and intensive English language programs, and teach abroad when possible. Since 1999, I have taught EFL in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, East Timor, Myanmar, the Republic of Georgia, and Armenia. Now, I am privileged to be a part of my students’ journeys in linguistics and TESL. I have also led language teaching workshops for CATESOL, universities, the state department, and conferences.
As Chair-Elect, I have chosen this year’s theme to be Race and Language Teaching, which will be kicked-off at the TESOL 2021 convention with a fantastic panel for the ALIS academic session titled: “Translanguaging: Current Understandings of Dynamic Bilingualism.” Panelists include David and Yvonne Freeman, Ann Ebe, Lydiah Kiramba, and Mary Soto. (Seriously, what a line-up!) They will share their research on how translanguaging has the potential to incorporate students’ cultures, identities, and bilingualism, as well as promote metalinguistic knowledge and maximize communicative potential in various classroom contexts. Please check out the details in the flyer below.
In addition, several webinars are being scheduled. So, stay tuned for more information on speakers, dates, and times!
I am thrilled to organize these events to have a forum to seek answers to questions, to learn more, to have these important discussions, and to be on this journey onward together. To this end, I am also seeking out ways to connect and engage our members more, not only with each other but with other intersection groups as well. So, I welcome ideas and suggestions from ALIS members and other IS leaders. I can be reached at anna.joaquin@csun.edu.
Thank you for this privilege to serve you and I look forward to meeting you virtually at TESOL 2021 and other upcoming events.
Best,
Anna Dina L. Joaquin |
