|
Natalia Balyasnikova
|
|
Maxi-Ann Campbell
|
Dear ICIS members,
Welcome to the exciting year of 2018! Very soon, we will gather
for the 52nd annual TESOL convention in windy Chicago, Illinois, USA.
We hope to see you at our open meeting, academic
session, and InterSection sessions. We can keep each other warm by
networking and sharing our experiences with intercultural communication
in our classrooms, research, and beyond. The 2018 year brings with it
many changes in our leadership structure, as we move more toward a
communities of practice model for the interest section. We hope that
this new model will offer ICIS members more opportunities to engage with
the TESOL association and find a “home” in such a vast, international
organization.
In keeping with the changing leadership structure, there will
also be changes in the group’s leaders and their roles. We have a new
incoming chair, Roxanna Senyshyn. Roxanna is assistant professor of
applied linguistics and communication arts and sciences at Pennsylvania
State University, Abington College. Her teaching and research focus on
intercultural communication and second language learning and teaching.
Barbara Lapornik, who has been in the position of chair-elect, will
become chair, and our current chair, Ramin Yazdanpanah, will become past
chair. The ICIS is also looking for two newsletter editors for the
2018–2020 convention years! If you are interested, please send an email
to newsletter.icis.tesol@gmail.com.
Please read the “Letter From the Chair” to learn more about changes and planned events
that are happening in 2018.
Our articles in this newsletter focus on building leadership
skills and intercultural competence in our students. For instance, in “A
Tale of Two Classrooms,” Ildiko Porter-Szucs reflects on her daughter’s
experiences in two schools abroad. In the first school, students are
encouraged to take responsibility in helping the new student adapt,
while the latter leaves adaptation to the new setting to chance. A lot
can be learned about our roles as teachers from this reflection. Aimee
Leisy’s “That’s My Story” public speaking event gives international
students a chance to share their stories with other students and staff.
They begin to use English as a means of expressing themselves and
connecting to the communities in which they are now living. Both stories
offer great inspiration.
We also have an interview with Dr. Michelle Kohler, who presented a TESOL Virtual Seminar on Wednesday, 28 February 2018. The recorded version is available for
free to TESOL members.
You
can also learn more about Dr. Kohler and her work in “An Interview with Dr.
Michelle Kohler.”
Finally, as we make
preparations for the TESOL convention in Chicago, we encourage you to
take a look at the ICIS academic session description provided and the
excel sheet, “ICIS
Presentations Chicago 2018,” which details all presentations in
the strand of intercultural communication that will happen at the
convention. You can also find an update on the work we are doing to
enhance our presence in the social network community. Be sure also to
take a look at our Call for Submissions for the postconvention issue. We
would love to see your reflections on the convention or other
conferences you have attended. We look forward to seeing you, our fellow
ICIS members, at your presentations and we wish you an enjoyable 2017
TESOL convention!
Cheers!
Natalia and Maxi-Ann
ICIS Coeditors, 2017–2018
Follow us on Twitter
Natalia @_balyasnikova |
ICIS @TESOL_ICIS
Like our pages on Facebook
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. Fun
Fact about Natalia: Natalia has always lived in
large cities with developed public transport systems, which is why
despite working for multiple car dealerships, she still does not know
how to drive.
Maxi-Ann Campbell received her MA in applied
linguistics from Georgia State University. She has taught English and
intercultural communication at universities in China, and she has served
as a global academic fellow at New York University Shanghai. She
currently teaches academic writing and oral communication at Duke
Kunshan University. Her research focuses on native-nonnative speaker
interaction in university settings and methods for improving native
speakers’ attitudes toward and comprehension of nonnative speech. She is
also coauthor of the latest edition of TESOL’s More than a
Native Speaker. Fun Fact about Maxi-Ann:
Maxi-Ann loves to dance. She met her husband in a
salsa class in the United States. After moving to China, she started to
learn belly dance, which is actually quite popular in China these
days. |
