Dear SPLIS members,

The TESOL convention is just around the corner and as Gary mentions in his letter, it is going to be an exciting event. Besides attending various SPLIS sessions, I would like to encourage you to visit the SPLIS booth, which is going to be conveniently located in the Exhibitors Hall. Many experts in our field are part of SPLIS, and the booth provides a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with some of them. A booth schedule will be posted in the TESOL Community prior to the conference. Speaking of the Community, if you haven’t done so, please log in, update your profile, and add a picture. This new platform is an excellent and effective tool to post notes, ask questions, or simply keep in touch with the membership.

One of TESOL’s latest initiatives is the improvement of the proposal review process. More details will be sent out in a few weeks, but at this point it is important for us to know that the review process is going to be standardized across all the interest sections. A couple of training sessions for reviewers will be offered at the convention. Please do consider joining one of them and then sign up to be a reviewer. Reviewing proposals is not only an excellent way of honing your own proposal writing skills, but is one of the most important tasks of our IS, as it ensures the quality and the variety of the sessions offered at the next convention.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Gary, our outgoing SPLIS chair, for his outstanding work and leadership. I will try to maintain the high standards he and all the other previous chairs have set. I have learned and benefited so much by getting involved in our friendly and knowledgeable IS, and I am truly honored that you have entrusted me with leading SPLIS to the convention in Dallas.

I am very much looking forward to meeting and getting to know you in Philadelphia.

Michael Burri is the program coordinator of the International Student Entry Program at BCIT in Vancouver, Canada. He also works as an instructor in the TESL program at Vancouver Community College and as an adjunct instructor in the MA TESOL at Trinity Western University.