Dear colleagues,

I want to start this letter by giving thanks to so many of you who have volunteered your precious time and energy to make this a strong and vibrant interest section. I was so pleased to see the great turnout of proposals that were submitted for the ITAIS section of the TESOL conference; in total there were 53! I really wanted to hear more about each and every one. The range of topics was incredible, including scaffolding fluency, ITA orientation, pronunciation challenges, testing calibration, questioning techniques, measuring growth, analyzing data, diagnosing speech disorders, mentoring, using technology, negotiating meaning, hiring undergrads, and many more. What a wealth of creative ideas and valuable information you have! I only wish we could have accepted at least 76 percent of the proposals, not just the 24 percent allotted to us by TESOL. It was very difficult to limit the number so drastically, and without the help of the many volunteers who reviewed these proposals, it would have been an impossible task. Thank you.

This year I have been trying to think of different ways that would allow more of us to benefit from this great wealth of knowledge we have. Surely coming to the international conference is the best way to participate in professional development, but maybe we could set up more mini-conferences around the country or we could Skype presentations or we could set aside time before or after the conference. If you have suggestions on how we can involve more people, please let me know and we can try to work together to make it happen.

That being said, I am very much looking forward to seeing you all at the 2012 TESOL Convention in Philadelphia from Wednesday, March 28, to Saturday, March 31. This is the one chance we all have to meet together and learn from one another. I expect all the sessions to be really interesting, informative, and thought provoking. I also expect us to have a lot of fun!

Sincerely,
Kathi