Dear SLWIS Members,

I hope that this message finds you well and looking forward to the 2015 TESOL International Convention in Toronto. Our IS always has a strong presence at the convention, offering a variety of events and presentations of interest to our diverse membership. I encourage you to take part in whatever you can, as active participation by all our members helps strengthen our community and offers you opportunities to get to know people with similar interests. In this last letter as the chair of the SLWIS, I would like to talk a bit more about the convention events and our plans for 2015, as well as recognize the contributions of existing and new leaders in the organization.

As mentioned above, our IS continues to be one of the most vibrant at TESOL. For the convention, we had a record number of submissions and have a number of interesting special sessions that Silvia Pessoa, our chair-elect, has organized, including InterSections with the EFL, Adult Education, and CALL Interest Sections. The diversity of sessions, in both content and structure, reflects the dynamic transdisciplinary nature of our field and will continue to increase recognition of the important work we all do at TESOL and beyond. You are encouraged to attend our Open Meeting on Thursday night at 5 pm in Room 204 of the convention center. This will be immediately followed by the Friends of Second Language Writing social organized by Deborah Crusan, which is always a prime venue for reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. To help you plan for the convention, the leadership team has compiled a list of all the SLWIS sessions and events.

Once again, SLWIS has chosen to have its own table in the exhibit hall. We are only one of two ISs who pushed to have its own table instead of only having representation a few hours at a shared table during the convention. We believe that having a presence in the exhibit hall throughout the convention is important, as the table provides a way for people to connect with other IS members and for us to recruit new members. However, in return for granting this space, TESOL expects us to have the table staffed at all times during the exhibit hall business hours: 9 am–6 pm Thursday and Friday and 9 am–2 pm Saturday. Volunteering at the table is an important way that our members help contribute to the IS and help us grow. We aim to have at least two people at all times at the booth. Please sign up to help out. This is the perfect place for networking, collaborating, or just supporting the IS!

Our members regularly express interest in IS events beyond the convention, because not everyone can always attend. With this in mind, we’re trying a new way to engage membership this year and hope that it can provide a way for more involvement year round. As I described in a recent email to the IS, we’ll be hosting monthly discussions on topics of interest to IS members. We’ll start these discussions with some questions posed to the e-list, which will be accompanied by a live discussion via TESOL’s teleconferencing service. We kicked this off in February with a discussion around TESOL’s recently released research agenda, and we were happy to welcome Dudley Reynolds, TESOL’s president-elect and co-chair of the Research Agenda Task Force, to lead the live discussion (see sidebar).

I would like to close by recognizing the contributions of members as leaders in our IS and beyond. First, I’d like to congratulate Dudley Reynolds on being elected the 2016–2017 president of TESOL. He has long been an active member of the IS and we look forward to having a friend of the IS leading the organization. Second, I’d like to recognize the service of our outgoing chair, Gena Bennett, who has been an important leader in the IS these past few years. Fortunately, our new chair, Silvia Pessoa, and our recently elected incoming chair, Ryan Miller, will provide strong leadership in coming years. We also have some great new members joining the steering committee, including Meredith Bricker as secretary and Hee-Seung Kang, Betsy Gilliland, and Ilka Kostka as members-at-large. Finally, I would like to recognize the service of our newsletter editor, Margi Wald, who is stepping down from her position after years of excellent service. I would like to thank the contributions of all these members, whose leadership is vital to ensuring a strong IS. I hope that many others like them continue to step up and play an important role in the IS in coming years.

I look forward to seeing you in Toronto!

Best,

Todd Ruecker
2014–2015 SLWIS Chair