Dear SLWIS Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well. As the Second Language Writing Interest Section (SLWIS) transitioned to a community of practice, I would like to thank all members for continuing to keep our interest section (IS) an active and vibrant venue for us to share the teaching and research of second language writing in different contexts, including ESL and EFL. Our members are researchers, teachers, and practitioners who come from many levels of instruction and settings across the world; this is one of the unique qualities of our IS.

At this year’s TESOL Convention in Chicago, our IS organized different sessions, including an academic session on Researching, Teaching, and Assessing Argumentation in L2 Writing. The panel was well received, and it generated great discussions and questions from audience members. Our intersection session with the Bilingual Education Interest Section on Teaching Writing from a Biliteracy Perspective in K-12 Education was also successful. At TESOL 2018, our IS’s committee members-at-large also organized two networking roundtable sessions focusing on tips for writing successful L2 writing conference proposals and getting a TESOL/SLW job in today’s market. Our IS was well represented, judging from a considerable number of other sessions on L2 writing in the program.

For this 2018-2019 year, we have planned to host multiple activities with a range of professional and academic goals and interests. These activities will take place throughout the year. Our webinar on “Multilingual Writers & Technology: 4 Ideas from the Second Language Writing Standing Group at CCCC" took place on April 27, 2018. Our next webinar, focusing on academic job search in TESOL/SLW, has been scheduled for October 19, 3-4 pm (EST). Those of you not able to attend the webinar can access the recording available shortly after this event. Along with the webinars, we plan to continue book club discussions. Our very first book club coordinated by Betsy Gilliland and Sarah Henderson-Lee took place in the spring and summer;over 100 people participated. The selected book was Christine Pearson Casanave’s Controversies in L2 Writing (second edition). The next book for our book club will be announced soon. Please stay tuned!

I’d like to end with an informal announcement. We are in the process of preparing for our SLWIS leadership elections. More information about the nominee process will be announced soon. Please let us know if you would like to join our team!

Thank you for continuing to support our community. I hope you enjoy the newsletter.

Best wishes,

Tanita Saenkhum, Chair (2018-2019)