Dear ICIS Members,

The 50th annual TESOL convention is approaching! In a little over 1 month, we will gather in Baltimore to share ideas and catch up on the latest news. In preparation for the convention, this month’s ICIS newsletter shines a spotlight on collaborations within our interest section and innovative practices that our members are developing within their classrooms.

Our first and second articles report on the work of ICIS with intercultural organizations beyond TESOL. These articles are based on the work of six of our members who represented our interest section at the Society for Intercultural Training, Education and Research (SIETAR) and The International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication (IALIC) conferences, showcasing their research. Together, Heidi Faust, Ramin Yazdanpanah, Jane Dunphy, Maxi-Ann Campbell, Barbara Lapornik, and Amy Alice Chastain contributed to a strong network of individuals united by the passion and respect for other cultures in the English language teaching profession. We are extremely proud to highlight collaborative presentations such as these and encourage ICIS members to continue this promising practice in TESOL and beyond.

My favourite part of our newsletter is the section in which ICIS members share their teaching resources with our community. The pieces featured in this section represent solid practice grounded in the appreciation of languages and cultures that our learners bring to the classroom and represent one of the greatest strengths of ICIS. In our current issue, the authors provide insights into the ways in which intercultural communication was fostered among students as well as between students and teachers. To demonstrate how intercultural communication can be developed between students and teachers, Quanisha Charles shares two strategies that she used to increase Korean adults’ listening, reading, and writing skills while simultaneously demonstrating the impact of English language on their Korean cultural practices. Also focusing on adults, Lisa Currie demonstrates how the use of Flat Stanley blogs lends itself well to helping students develop cross-cultural understanding.

We hope that these articles will not only enrich your practice, but also inspire you to share your lesson ideas with our readership. What better way to celebrate all the accomplishments of our members?

As we prepare for the TESOL convention in Baltimore, one of our authors looks back to her experience as a graduate student convention attendee in 2015. In her article, Elizabeth Yoshikawa presents insights from her learning at the 2015 TESOL convention in Toronto through a discussion of the benefits she gained by attending the Doctoral Research Forum. Among the areas that Elizabeth highlights are the importance of one’s research question, ways in which to manage time, the strategy for writing a whole thesis, and the value of relationship building. It is our hope that this article will speak to those of you who attended the convention in Toronto and also help first-time attendees as they plan their trip to Maryland.

Please mark your calendars for all the events hosted by our ICIS conveniently listed in the Community Update section. Come support your fellow ICIS members at their presentations and enjoy TESOL 2016 50th Anniversary International Convention & English Language Expo!

Natalia and Patriann

Natalia Balyasnikova is a doctoral candidate in language and literacy education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Originally from Russia, Natalia moved to Canada in 2013 to pursue her degree in TESL with a focus on intercultural communication. Natalia writes about her life as a graduate student and a newcomer to Canada in her blog.

Patriann Smith, PhD, is an assistant professor of language, diversity, and literacy studies at Texas Tech University who relies on tenets of intercultural communication in her cross-cultural work to better understand how immigrant teachers to the United States address their ideologies about nonstandardized languages and how these ideologies affect literacy instruction. The intersections of Patriann’s research can be better understood by taking a look at her recently released coedited Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Approaches to Language and Literacy Development.