ITAIS Newsletter - March 2014 (Plain Text Version)

I am writing this letter with great delight, as we hope this joint newsletter with Applied Linguistics brings together a collaboration that provides inspiration for our work.

We seem to live in an age of changes where reinventing ourselves is the new constant. In this new way of life, it seems like the one constant we can rely on is change. Expectations, standards, generations, culture, internationalization, economy, communication, organizational structures, disruptive technology, and more shift seemingly overnight.

How do we lead these changes? What should we do to partner inside, and outside, of TESOL to lead these changes? How can we take advantage of new technologies? I believe the simple answer is in us. We—teachers, researchers, and students alike—can come together to partner and collaborate for the best results. Committing to this newsletter is part of this path. Another step along the way may be attending Applied Linguistics or International Teaching Assistant sessions in Portland. Very soon many of us will be joining together for TESOL 2014. As we look ahead to Portland we have an opportunity to join together to explore ideas, share our knowledge and experiences, and learn from colleagues. I am including information about some of the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) sessions in the hopes that we can get together to continue to engage in conversation. We invite you to join us for these and other ITA sessions:

ITA IS Steering Committee Meeting
Wednesday, March 26, 7–9 pm, Convention Center PB 251/252

ITA IS Open Meeting
Thursday, March 27, 5–6:30 pm, Convention Center, C121

Much thanks to Robert Elliot, University of Oregon/ITA member-at-large, who has arranged our Thursday night dinner at Jake's Famous Crawfish. Please refer to our ITA Listserv conversations about menu, time, cost, payment, receipts. We have a private room and space for 40–50 folks.

On Friday, March 28, we have three amazing sessions planned:

Toward a More Inclusive TESOL Profession: Diverse Contexts, Collaborative Endeavors
9:30–11:15 am, Convention Center D131
An InterSection where we are collaborating with Nonnative English Speakers in TESOL and Teacher Education ISs, with presenters Brock Brady, Seonhee Cho, Davi Reis, Elena Stetsenko, and Ke Xu.

Recent Research Regarding ITAs: Theory and Practical Implications
1–2:45 pm, Convention Center OB 201
Our ITA Academic Session featuring Greta Gorsuch, Dale Griffee, Thomas Nakayama, Kyoung-Ah Nam.

Classroom Pragmatics: Research and Best Practices for Avoiding Potential Pitfalls
1–2:45 pm, Convention Center B116
An InterSection with Speech, Pronunciation, and Listening and Intercultural Communication ISs in which Anna Moldawa-Shetty, Veronica Sardegna, Elena Stetsenko, Tunde Csepelyi will share multiple perspectives and practical ideas.

Please note that we are working with TESOL to shift one of these panels so they are not taking place concurrently. If you know of other TESOL sessions that feature anyone from the ITA Interest Section, please share them with me or via the ITA list (and via the ITA TESOL community).

Congratulations to our incoming ITA steering committee:
Chair: Rebecca Oreto
Chair-elect: Liz Tummons
Secretary: Elizabeth Gillstrom
Members-at-large: Barbara Beers, Elise Geither, and Stephen Daniel Looney
Newsletter editor: Sarah Emory
Newsletter editor-elect: Mary Jetter

I am really looking forward to the convention. We hope many of you can join us in Portland. Click here for our current ITA session schedule.

Best,

Kim

P.S. Special thanks to Pauline Carpenter, ITA Newsletter editor, for all her work on the joint newsletter with Applied Linguistics and our ITA newsletters. If you haven’t seen the latest ITA newsletter, check out http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolitais/issues/2014-01-15/email.html