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Dear SLWIS Colleagues,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the first issue of SLW News for 2021. I hope you and your families are safe and healthy.
I would like to start my letter by thanking SLWIS Steering committee members and our SLWIS community for their collaboration and engagement in our events this year. As we all know, due to COVID-19, it has been a very challenging year for all of us in many respects. I am humbled by the ongoing efforts of our community, and all of you, in uniting with us in furthering the education in the world by your valuable contributions to the teaching and research of writing during these unprecedented times. Thank you!
In 2020-2021, I am glad to announce that SLWIS continues to be one of TESOL’s largest communities of practice with over 1,100 members. This year, we have exhibited a dynamic presence on social media, MyTesol, SLWIS Facebook page, and Twitter to bring our community together. We carried out many useful events to inform our community on up-to-date research and pedagogical practices, and kept our community informed of our events, which has helped tremendously to increase our members and followers online. We are glad to share that our SLWIS Facebook page now has 5,713 followers and our SLWIS Facebook Book Club has 3,300 members. SLWIS Twitter is new and has 48 followers. Thanks for your dedication to SLWIS!
This year, SLWIS has had two main categories of events organized by our Leadership: SLWIS Interactive Online Discussion Series led by Aylin Baris Atilgan Relyea and SLWIS Book Club Online Discussions led by Sarah Henderson Lee and Betsy Gilliland. Our newsletter SLW News edited by Elena Taylor continued to collaborate with authors from all over the world and produced high-quality publications. I am honored to share that it has been a productive year for us, and we are grateful for the positive and valuable feedback on our events which inspires us to do more.
In our SLW News October issue, I shared SLWIS’s accomplishments and activities. I would like to update you on our events and activities since then.
In October, we had the second session of our Interactive Online Discussions Series, titled “Qualitative Research Project with Genre Checkpoints in an Online Graduate Writing Course”. The presenters Veronika Maliborska and Natalya Watson discussed how research interviews can serve as a qualitative research tool to develop analysis and synthesis skills and enhance language learning in an online graduate-level research-based writing course. It was an engaging session and it created a good discussion among our members and presenters.
This year, SLWIS Book Club discussed the book “Changing Practices for the L2 Writing Classroom: Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay” edited by Nigel A. Caplan and M. Johns, with our members during engaging online sessions. In November, we had the final discussion session which hosted chapter authors Luciana de Oliveira, Todd Ruecker, and Deborah Crusan. This session created a dynamic and informative discussion among members.
In December, we had our "Diversity in L2 Writing: Creating Inclusive Pedagogical and Administrative Approaches" webinar, which originally was the TESOL 2020 International Convention. The presenters Megan Siczek, Aylin Baris Atilgan Relyea, Caroline Torres, and Shawna Shapiro addressed important issues such as inclusive pedagogies in the diverse classroom, the necessity for needs analyses for creating inclusive curricular practices, digital tools to support English learners with disabilities in writing, and working with refugee-background writers. It was a very informative session that sparked great interest among the audience of 150 members.
In February 2021, we started the New Year with wishes for a peaceful world and had our third online interactive discussion session titled “Integrating Peace Linguistics into Second Language Writing”. The presenters Aylin Baris Atilgan Relyea and Andy Curtis highlighted the importance and integration of Peace Linguistics and Peace Education in L2 writing courses, which are “rich in linguistic diversity and multilingualism” (de Matos, 2014, p. 416) so that learners become agents of positive change and ambassadors of peace through composing. The session was well-received and generated an important and thought-provoking session among participants. As SLWIS, we strive to continue the conversation around diversity, inclusion, multilingualism, and peace linguistics in the field and I invite all of you to continue to actively present, publish, and teach taking these important themes into consideration. We have faith that you do. Our next online interactive discussion will be on Literacy as oppression by Ahmar Mahboob.
As we are approaching TESOL 2021 Virtual Convention, I would also like to highlight the TESOL 2021 SLWIS academic sessions and intersection sessions, organized with other Interest Sections. The Virtual TESOL 2021 International Convention & English Language Expo will take place between March 24-27, 2021. We are excited about all the highly engaging and informative sessions that the convention has to offer to professionals from all over the world. We are grateful that TESOL International Association is organizing its second virtual convention despite all the challenges we have experienced this year.
We as SLWIS are also very excited about engaging with our community and creating professional and friendly dialog with our colleagues during these times in which we crave social interaction. So, we look forward to seeing you in our virtual sessions and hearing your voice in these sessions.
It is with great excitement that I introduce you to the four engaging and influential sessions organized by SLWIS. As usual, in addition to our own academic session, we have organized three sessions with other TESOL interest sections, during which the presenters will discuss and provide recent research findings, strategies, and tools. Here is an overview:
In the “On Demand” section of the TESOL Virtual Convention platform, you will find our SLWIS academic session titled “Online Writing Assessment Literacy, Strategies, Tools for L2 Writing Instruction” presented by Paul Kei Matsuda, Deborah Crusan, Lia Plakans, and Xun Yan. This session provides new insights into how online writing assessment literacy can support L2 writing instruction. The presenters will discuss alternative ways to enhance building more effective curricula, share online integrated reading-writing assessment tools and rubrics, and inform best practices in developing online placement tests.
The “On Demand” section also hosts the SLWIS-CALLIS intersection session “Practical Approaches to Leveraging Technology in L2 Writing Instruction” with our presenters Jennifer Meyer Francois, Nicky Hockly, M. Sidury Christiansen, Undraa Maamujuav, and Marta Halaczkiewicz as co-discussant. This session explores classroom-based techniques for using technology to support writing skills development in ELT contexts. Panelists will demonstrate tech tools for L2 writing instruction, share implementation, and discuss learning and affective outcomes associated with the use of technology.
In both of these sections, the presenters encourage attendees to email them questions that they may have after watching the recording. We are thankful to our presenters for their valuable time and dedication to the field!
The BME-NNEST-SLW intersection session “Affirming Multifaceted Identities in TESOL” can also be found in the “On Demand” section. Our presenters are Rashi Jain, Lawrence Zhang, and Ching-ching Lin, and co-discussant is Aylin Baris Atilgan Relyea. The speakers examine the distinctions among the terms “non-native”, bilingual, multilingual, translingual. They also share professional experiences affirming their/their students’ multifaceted identities, and call for diversity and equity.
The ICC-SLW intersection session titled “Exploring “good writing” and Complexities of Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons” and the session will have a live Q & A chat session with the presenters. Our presenters are Ulla Connor, Estela Ene, Kyle McIntosh, Nancy Ann Overman, Andrea Lypka, and Kazuyuki Kawano. This session revisits intercultural rhetoric, including positioning as a link between L2 writing and the translingual approach, and discusses how L2 writers negotiate linguistic and cultural differences.
We also encourage you to check out SLW related sessions located in the Concurrent Sessions on the TESOL Virtual Convention Platform. It is important to note that all of the recordings of our sessions will be available to you with your TESOL registration for 90 days.
Finally, I am honored and humbled to have served as the chair of SLWIS this year and have enjoyed working in such a professional interest section with a group of great colleagues. I would like to thank our committee members, who have contributed to the success of all of our events, especially our Past Chair Betsy Gilliland in the transition period from last year, Chair Elect Sarah Henderson Lee, the steering committee Veronika Maliborska, Julie Riddlebarger, Estela Ene, Megan Siczek, and M. Sidury Christiansen, our Secretary Ozge Yol, and our Community Manager Ashley J. Velazquez. I would also like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Elena Taylor for producing our great newsletter SLW News that we always look forward to reading. Many thanks to the outgoing support of Nancy Flores, Member Engagement Specialist at TESOL International Association, who spent many tireless hours making our SLWIS online.
I also would like to thank you, our valuable community of dedicated members and scholars, for your engagement and support to professional growth. It is YOU who raise the quality of our profession and contribute positively to the lives of our next generation.
With peace and respect,
Aylin Baris Atilgan Relyea (Chair 2020-2021)
Gomes de Matos, F. (2014). Peace linguistics for language teachers. DELTA, 30(2), 415-424. |
