ALIS Newsletter - Volume 31 Number 1 (Plain Text Version)

Greeting ALIS members!

It is with some mixed feelings that I am returning to serve as chair-elect of our interest section 15 years after I had served in this capacity (1994-1995). I am happy that I can still be involved in the leadership of this wonderful organization but I also feel a little disappointed that not enough new people are becoming involved, considering especially the fact that our current chair, Howard Williams, is also a second-term chair, who served in the position just 3 years ago. I hope we will be the last ones needed for a second term of service.

For those who don't know me, I was the chair of ALIS in 1995-1996. I am currently professor and coordinator of applied linguistics/TESOL in the English Department at the University of Alabama. My areas of teaching and research include lexis/grammar, especially corpus-based description and teaching of lexis/grammar, and language pedagogy. I look forward to working with all of you, especially the other leaders in the interest section. I also hope to see most of you in March at our business meeting at TESOL-New Orleans.

In addition, I would like to mention what ALIS has planned for the New Orleans convention. Our ALIS Academic Session will be on Thursday (3/17/2011) from 1:00 to 3:45 p.m. in room 221 at the Convention Center. The title of the session is "New Theories and Effective Practices in Teaching Vocabulary and Grammar." Eli Hinkel of SeattleUniversity, Diane Larsen-Freeman of University of Michigan, and Andrea Tyler of GeorgetownUniversity will join me in this session. All the panelists have published extensively on the topic and their talks will be based on their research and teaching experience. Specifically, they will discuss how contemporary linguistic theories such as cognitive linguistics (including cognitive/construction grammars), corpus linguistics, and complexity theory may be applied to make the teaching of vocabulary and grammar more interesting and effective.

I would also like to add some information about our ALIS InterSection panel "Linguistic Issues in Writing From Sources." The original goal was essentially to cover some key problems experienced by advanced writers in reporting others' words and ideas in research and summary writing. Sad to say, some scheduled presenters (Marianne Celce-Murcia among them) will not be attending the convention for one reason or another. Leading the panel will be Susan Olmstead-Wang and Howard Williams. Susan, who came on board late last summer, will present her research on hedging in academic writing―in particular, on teaching epistemic nuances carried by modal verbs to enable learner expression of optimal certainty. Howard Williams will present a continuing study of the semantics of reporting verbs that addresses the poverty of verb choice among high-intermediate to advanced student writers who do not go much beyond the simple comfort zone of "say/think." Currently teaching at a southern university, Susan also takes an interest in (Jimmy Carter-style) double modals and is in a position to comment on constructions such as "might could" and "shouldn't ought" if the topic is raised. Both presenters will show how nonnative-speaker intuitions may be exploited in developing usable lexical frameworks in the classroom.