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Dear SLWIS colleagues,
The Second Language Writing Interest Section (SLWIS) continues
to be a vibrant home for research and practice into second language (L2)
writing concerns. We were well represented at the annual TESOL
convention, with a lively academic session (on the myths of the
five-paragraph essay) and three substantive InterSections (with Teacher
Education, Elementary Education, Materials Writers, and Video/Digital
Media ISs) as well as almost 100 other sessions on L2 writing.
Representatives of the interest section also participated vigorously in
conversations about the future of TESOL’s constituent groups, a process
which has continued throughout the spring and summer. Though the final
shape of the new “communities of practice” is still under discussion by
the TESOL Board of Directors, we are confident that SLWIS will remain an
important source of community and information for our
members.
One indicator of the strength of our IS is the record number of
proposals we received for the 2018 Convention in
Chicago: almost 300! Due to the limitations of time and space,
our acceptance rate was under 20%. Thank you to everyone who submitted
and reviewed proposals. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. In
addition, our email list has more than 2,000 members, and I hope you
will continue to use it to share ideas, opportunities, and questions
about teaching and studying L2 writing. We are also planning webinars so
that we can provide and participate in continuous professional learning
throughout the year.
I’d like to end by thanking our newsletter coeditors, Ilka
Kostka and Elena Shvidko, for all the work that goes into producing this
important publication. Ilka has been assiduously editing the newsletter
for 2 years, and Elena was recently appointed as coeditor, having
previously edited the Graduate Student Spotlights section. If you have
an idea for an article for SLW News, please contact
the editors. Finally, we are gearing up for SLWIS leadership elections.
Please look out for emails with the nomination process and consider
joining our team as we look ahead to a new future for SLWIS.
Thank you for supporting this community, and I wish you a successful academic year. Enjoy the newsletter!
Nigel Caplan
2017–2018 Chair, SLWIS |
