Continuing the tradition of highlighting excellence, the 2014 TESOL International Convention saw the recognition of several leaders in the field, as well as those outside the field who have helped advance opportunities for English learners and their educators. Awards were presented at the 2014 TESOL Annual Convention & English Language Expo in Portland, Oregon, USA. Here are some of this year's award winners:

TESOL Virginia French Allen Award for Scholarship and Service
Dr. Margo Jang joined Northern Kentucky University (NKU) in 1978 with a tenure track position in the Literature and Language Department; she retired from NKU in 2013. Dr. Jang taught linguistics and advanced grammar for TESL, and she also established NKU’s IEP (American English Language Programs). She collaborated with colleagues from four other state universities and the Kentucky Department of Education to establish Kentucky TESOL as a state affiliate. Margo served on Kentucky TESOL’s Board of Directors continuously for 34 years.

Ruth Crymes Fellowship for Graduate Study
Shelley Staples is a doctorate candidate in applied linguistics at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Her research interests include corpus-based analyses of spoken and written discourse to inform EAP and ESP instruction. Her dissertation focuses on the analysis of linguistic and paralinguistic features that characterize L1 and L2 nurse-patient interactions.

Mary Finocchiaro Award for Excellence in Nonpublished Pedagogical Material
Martha Iancu retired in 2013 as Associate Professor Emerita from George Fox University, Newberg, Oregon, USA, where she taught EAP and TESOL courses for 24 years and directed its English Language Institute. To support whole-language techniques in reading classes, Martha has created teaching materials for 30 fiction and nonfiction books.

TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues, presented by Eastern Carolina University
Dr. Fauzia Shamim is a professor and coordinator, female section, in the ELC, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia. Previously, she was head of the Department of English at the University of Karachi, Pakistan. Dr. Shamim has taught ESL/EFL and trained English language teachers in a variety of settings in Pakistan and internationally.

TESOL Teacher of the Year, presented by National Geographic Learning
Ann Fontanella, a tenured instructor at City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA, has taught students of different ethnicities, cultures, and ages in various contexts around the world for 25 years. Ms. Fontanella holds a bachelor of arts in Italian, with a minor in Spanish, a master of arts in comparative literature, and a master of arts in TEF/SL from San Francisco State University, USA. She has served as coordinator for the collaborative SFSU-CCSF PROJECT SHINE, a national multigenerational service-learning project with a focus on leadership and mentoring, and as a content provider for contemporary language teaching media for KQED-SF (the local San Francisco PBS affiliate).

James Alatis Award for Service to TESOL
Dr. Neil Anderson is a professor of linguistics and English language at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA. Dr. Anderson's research interests include second language reading, language learner strategies, motivation in L2 teaching and learning, and English language teaching leadership development. He has devoted more than three decades of his professional career to an impressive range of educational pursuits on behalf of TESOL International Association and TESOL affiliates.

D. Scott Enright TESOL Interest Section Service Award
Dr. Julia S. Austin has been a university administrator and a teacher educator for 25 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. She has published and presented on effective second language teaching practices, academic writing, authorship ethics, and collaborative mentoring. TESOL has been her professional home since 1986.

The TESOL Presidents’ Award
The TESOL Presidents’ Award is presented to the British Council in recognition of their important contributions in support of TESOL’s mission to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide. The Presidents’ Award is presented to an individual or organization outside of the field that has demonstrated a commitment to education.

2014 TESOL Award for Distinguished Research, presented by ETS/TOEFL
Stephen Bax is professor of applied linguistics at the Center for English Language Research and Assessment, University of Bedfordshire, UK, where he is involved in researching language learning. His research interests include the use of computers in language learning and language testing, and areas of discourse including computer-mediated discourse analysis. He also has published on discourse, reading, and computer technology in language education.

2014 Outstanding U.S. Advocate Honor
This honor was awarded to David Bautista. Mr. Bautista is assistant superintendent in the Oregon Department of Education. He has an established record of being a highly successful professional and administrator for K–12 bilingual and ESL education; he has held positions as superintendent of the Woodburn School District, director of Instructional Service Department in the Salem-Keizer School District, director of Bilingual Services for Students and Families in the Woodburn School District, and coordinator of Bilingual, English as a Second Language, and Migrant Programs in the Salem-Keizer School District.

Find out about all the awards TESOL has to offer, and learn how to apply:
http://www.tesol.org/awards

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