TEIS Newsletter - January 2013 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
•  LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
•  ADVOCACY IN TEACHER EDUCATION: SOMETIMES WE NEED TO STOP TEACHING AND JUST LISTEN
ARTICLES
•  EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL TEACHER EDUCATION
•  FIVE IMPORTANT FEATURES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS
•  THESIS WRITING AS A WAY TO ENHANCE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
•  NEGOTIATING MEANING: HOW TWO LATINA MOTHERS MAKE SENSE OF THEIR ROLE IN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION
BOOK REVIEWS
•  TEIS Voices
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY
•  CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

LEADERSHIP UPDATES

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Anne Walker, PhD, Associate Professor, University of North Dakota, USA

I want to thank all of you who completed the new proposal review training process and reviewed conference proposals for the 2013 convention. The new process went very smoothly for a first-year trial run. The new scoring rubrics and training appeared to result in a more fair review process, and I found that the reviewers’ scores were much more reliable than in past years in highlighting the most deserving and promising proposals.

This year members reviewed a total of 435 proposals to fill the 75 session slots allotted to TEIS for the 2013 convention. I rechecked my math several times because I was astounded that the proposal acceptance rate was only 17%! With such strong competition, many good proposals were ultimately not accepted. My best advice for proposal writers in the future is to clearly address all criteria in the proposal; a proposal that loses only 2–3 points (out of a possible 25) for minor issues is out of the running.

I am excited about the lineup of TEIS sessions for the 2013 convention in Dallas. There is a good balance between international and U.S. presenters and hot topics such as teacher collaboration, distance education, NNEST issues, practica assessment, and more. I look forward to seeing you in Dallas!

TEIS Chair-Elect

I am glad to announce that Angela Bell has been elected the 2013–14 chair-elect-elect of the TEIS. Angela will officially assume the position during the 2013 convention in March.

TESOL’s Teacher Resource Center: A Resource for Teacher Educators

There are a variety of ways that TESOL’s Teacher Resource Center can be used in teacher education. Students can post their lesson plans or find lesson plans to use or critique. Everyone is also welcome to suggest books and articles for the TEIS section of the TESOL library!