Dear SPLIS Colleagues,

I am very much looking forward to the upcoming annual TESOL Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on 12–15 March 2019. I hope to see you all there. The Speech, Pronunciation, and Listening Interest Section (SPLIS) has planned many interesting sessions. You don’t want to miss them! Following, I detail the dates, time, location, and content of SPLIS feature presentations and its Open Meeting:

13 March
Instructional Models and Priorities for Teaching Pronunciation Revisited
3 pm–4:45 pm, Georgia World Conference Center, Room A314

In this SPLIS Academic Session, Wayne Dickerson, Veronica Sardegna, and John Murphy argue for a reevaluation of teaching priorities based on a well-documented model of English rhythm, an apprenticeship model that positively changes teachers’ agency, and a reconceptualization of pronunciation instruction.

14 March
Instructional Technology Tools for Developing ITAs’ Oral Skills
9:30 am–11:15 am, Georgia World Conference Center, Room A406

In this International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) IS/SPLIS/Teacher Education IS InterSection, Colleen Meyers, Lara Wallace, Edna Lima, and Jennifer Foote identify and show how to use instructional technology tools for developing ITAs’ oral skills. ITA instructors learn about various activities and apps that can be used to practice mirroring and shadowing.

15 March
Helping Young Learners Overcome English Pronunciation Challenges
2 pm–3:45 pm, Georgia World Conference Center, Room A313

In this SPLIS/Elementary Education IS InterSection, Tamara Jones, Susan Spezzini, and Kelly Hill explore why elementary teachers should be aware of their ELs’ pronunciation difficulties, describe how communication breakdowns can negatively affect ELs’ academic development, and highlight what can be done to help young ELs improve their pronunciation.

13 March
SPLIS Open Meeting
6:45 pm–8:15 pm, Omni Hotel, Pecan Room

SPLIS members meet to network and learn about past, current, and future SPLIS activities in addition to open positions and how they can contribute to SPLIS. The SPLIS incoming chair learns about SPLIS members’ needs and wants in order to establish common goals for next year.

For information about Preconvention Institutes, plenary speeches, posters, workshops, individual research and practice-oriented presentations, and other events, please check the Convention Planner on TESOL’s website.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the SPLIS officers that served with me this past year: Susan Spezzini (Chair-Elect), Suzanne Franks (Newsletter Coeditor), Shantaya Rao (Newsletter Coeditor), Hilal Ergul (Secretary), Nancy Elliott (Member-at-Large), and Holly Hubbard (Communications Officer). It’s been wonderful to work with them. Some of these officers will end their service at the TESOL Convention. If you are interested in joining the SPLIS Steering Committee, please come to our SPLIS Open Meeting for information on open positions, or contact me via email.

This issue of the newsletter is full of interesting and practical activities for teachers of English learners around the world. I hope they inspire you as much as they have inspired us. Consider sharing activities, lessons learned from the classroom, reviews of instructional technology tools, research findings with valuable pedagogical implications, and the like in our next issue. We are always looking for interesting contributions from our membership.

I hope you enjoy this issue of our newsletter and the upcoming annual convention in Atlanta.

All the best,
Veronica Sardegna
SPLIS Chair