TESOL International Association began creating formal affiliation agreements with other language teacher associations in 1969 when nine organizations applied for and were granted affiliate status. If you look at our current bylaws, however, they say very little about the purpose of affiliation. They simply state: “Geographically based, autonomous organizations that support the mission of TESOL may become TESOL Affiliates” (Article V). As president this year, I have had the distinct honor to speak at a number of affiliate conferences and interact with representatives from associations around the world. I know how much both TESOL and our affiliates value this relation. But why?

The TESOL Board of Directors has been grappling with this question for several years. In a recent post on the TESOL President’s blog, I describe an overall review of governance structures and processes that the association has been engaged in since 2010. As part of that effort, we struck a task force to examine and make recommendations regarding our affiliation program. In the TESOL Affiliate News September 2016 newsletter, Past President Andy Curtis wrote a detailed account of the work and recommendations of that task force. Of the recommendations that Curtis highlighted in his account, the first was “the purpose of the partnership must be clearly defined” and the second was that “a common vision or plan is necessary.”

In December 2016, the board shared with affiliate membership and leadership a proposal for a new vision for our affiliate program and ideas on how an Affiliate Network Professional Council could be used to advise TESOL. The proposal argues that the relation must be based on four touchstones: (1) respect for the independence of all parties, (2) the significance of these relations for the field and profession, (3) flexibility to allow the relation to manifest in diverse ways, and (4) mutuality of benefits.

For me, the heart of this proposal is a recognition of what we can accomplish if we work together. Currently, more than 100 language teacher associations based in the United States as well as countries around the world have chosen to become TESOL affiliates. Though TESOL has roughly 12,000 members, when we bring together the membership of all our affiliate associations, that number swells to more than 45,000.

These numbers give our field a voice, a voice we are using this year at our Summit on the Future of the TESOL Profession where one of the themes is the profession as a change agent. When we work together as a worldwide profession, we can promote research on issues that cut across contexts. We can share our resources and expertise to provide quality professional learning opportunities online and in person that are locally relevant but also informed by the latest voices from around the world. We can access the learning achievements being made in other places to share with our local policy makers.

TESOL has a clear mission: “to advance the quality of English language teaching through professional development, research, standards, and advocacy.” As an association, we recognize that we can do this better when we work with our affiliates. As the convener of a worldwide network of affiliates, we believe that we also can help you achieve your respective missions. Whenever I write something about achieving missions, I know that there are cynics who ask what that really means. In this case, the hard currency that will enrich both TESOL and our affiliates will be increased access to information; electronic tools that structure interactions; and collaborations on specific projects, such as regional conferences or gathering data on the status of the profession worldwide.

As an appointed group of members with expertise in local and international association leadership, the proposed Affiliate Network Professional Council will be tasked with detailing our shared vision even further, actively looking for collaboration opportunities and advising TESOL on procedures for implementing the relation. In short, this group will be tasked with holding us all to account and reminding us of our mutual interests.

If you have not had the chance to read the proposal yet, I hope you will. The Board of Directors will be discussing language for implementing this as an association policy at its March 2017 meeting prior to the Seattle convention. We will then discuss our most current vision with the Affiliate Assembly during the convention and plan to vote on a new Affiliate Relation policy shortly after that. As with all revisions to TESOL’s governance, we actively seek input and ideas.

Dudley Reynolds is the 2016–17 president of TESOL International Association and a teaching professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, where he teaches first-year writing. Over his career, he has also taught elementary school learners in Egypt, intensive English students at Indiana University, and MA TESOL candidates at the University of Houston. His research focuses on teacher development and second language literacy issues. During his presidential term, he has learned greatly from invitations to speak at TESOL affiliate conferences in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Italy, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.