Greetings! We hope you’re getting to slow down, at least a little, and recharge before the busyness of fall hits us full force. If you’re participating in a year-round program, as some of us are, this is about the time you could use some fresh ideas.

It was great to see some of you at the convention in Toronto! The number of concurrent sessions taking place at any given time was simply overwhelming. Those of us in attendance certainly got plenty of exercise, walking back and forth, upstairs and downstairs in the convention center. And there was an abundance of information. The steering committee meeting announced changes in our community, such as ushering in a new co-editor, Ellen Street, and our new chair, Amanda Huensch!

In the first publication for 2015, we’re happy to bring you several articles that touch on subjects such as politics and pronunciation, pop music in the ESL classroom, and preparing students to make impressive oral presentations.

In closing, please consider submitting for the fall 2015 SPLIS newsletter. Whether you’re fairly new or a seasoned educator, it’s always inspiring to hear about the success of others in classroom situations similar to our own. You might write about a well-received lesson, a recent presentation, or a research project. If you have an idea you think others might be interested in, please contact us by email!

Read on and be refreshed!

Demetria and Ellen

Demetria Li is the speaking and listening coordinator and a full-time faculty member at The University of Alabama, where she has been an ESL instructor for the last 4 years. Although both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees were earned in Mississippi, Demi has spent about 8 years living and working abroad and still looks for opportunities to travel.

Ellen Street currently resides in Washington, DC, where she provides accent training for international clients to improve their workplace performance and potential for upward mobility. She is earning her MEd in TESOL at the University of Missouri with a focus on language and culture in the workplace. Ellen is fluent in Spanish after spending 2 years in southern Spain to research the Andalusian dialect.