March 2020
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Matthias Maunsell, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Dear Readers,

Hot off the press, we are pleased to present the spring 2020 issue of As We Speak. We promise you will discover marvels nestled among its featured articles. First off the blocks, we have an article by Walton Burns and Alice Savage who, with theatrical flair, introduce us to drama activities that can be innovatively used to teach pragmatics, pronunciation, and prosody. Nipping at its heels is a Turkish delight, an article by Sezgi Acar & Susan Spezzini, which recounts a study of Turkish-speaking English learners facing the challenge of pronouncing English words that occur as loan words in Turkish. Keeping things rolling is an article by Patricia Pashby, who with uncommon good sense, directs novice teachers towards popular student pronunciation textbooks to enhance their own pronunciation instruction. A final surge is provided by Yu-Ju Hung who plants us firmly in the tech age by demonstrating how smart phone technology can be put to powerful use in speaking assessment. Last, but by no means least, Jennifer Zhang and Julie Prentice render a first-rate book review of Prosodic Patterns in English Conversation by Nigel Ward. Undoubtedly, there is something for everyone, so please do indulge. We would also encourage you to consider submitting an article for the next issue of our newsletter. As always, we are on the lookout for those intrepid enough to share their tips, theories, and thoughts with an appreciative audience.

Of course, we will miss seeing you at the now canceled TESOL 2020 gathering this year, but take comfort in knowing that many exciting conventions and terrific SPLIS agendas are to follow. Remember we are always open to new ideas and encourage those SPLIS members who did not get to present in person this year to share their presentation materials in the SPLIS library on the TESOL website.

Take care of yourselves and each other!

Best wishes,

Matthias