Greetings From Yilin and Important Initiatives From TESOL

The TESOL President’s Blog

Greetings from Yilin! I am truly honored and excited to have this opportunity to serve as president of TESOL International Association.

I’d like to thank the entire TESOL membership for choosing me to represent you and serve you in this leading international professional organization in the global ELT field! This is a responsibility that I do not take lightly, and I will endeavor to be your tireless advocate, visionary, and responsive leader in representing TESOL and all of our members with the utmost transparency and courage.

In my statement on the TESOL ballot for the 2013 election, I promised to work closely with you all to help TESOL

• stay focused on its mission, values, and vision statements
• be accountable to its members and the global community of ELT professionals
• listen to and represent diverse voices to address critical issues of TESOL International and to affect positive changes
• scale up professional and leadership development opportunities for all TESOL members
• maintain TESOL’s financial health
• further strengthen TESOL’s research agenda
• attract and retain new members and collaborate with all possible organizations
• become a truly “go to” place for ELT professionals

TESOL has come a long way but we have not yet arrived at the point at which TESOL is a truly “go to” place on matters of ELT.

In the coming year, TESOL will have a number of important and exciting tasks to fulfill. I’ll highlight only a few given the limited space here.

• The current TESOL strategic plan is in its final year of operation and we’ll develop and implement a new 3-year strategic plan. Going hand in hand with the new strategic plan, we also need to create a governance system that
  • fosters a culture of knowledge, trust, and nimbleness within the Association
  • ensures that all entities within TESOL are high impact and add value to the association
  • supports efficient, effective, and strategic decision-making that is responsive to the needs of members and the TESOL profession
  • increases the ability for members to identify and discuss issues and to have input into governing actions that impact them
  • maximizes the benefits from the time and financial investment of members in association governance and supports a leadership pipeline for members. (Governance Review Task Force Public Report; PDF)
• In 2014, TESOL will launch an accreditation initiative for short-term adult ELT certificate programs.
• This year, TESOL will also work on the completion and implementation of the new research agenda developed by the Research Agenda Task Force. We need to define what TESOL’s research is and explore effective ways to bridge the gap between research and practice.
• TESOL’s 50th anniversary celebration is around the corner, and we have marvelous plans to make it a successful and memorable event for 2016.

TESOL is an international organization. We need to utilize internationalization strategies to make TESOL truly global in serving members and ELT communities throughout the world. As a TESOLer who was born in and grew up in China, and has worked and lived in China, Canada, and the United States, I fully understand and recognize the importance of TESOL serving members from different parts of the world.

TESOL’s 2015 convention will be in Toronto—the first time in many years that TESOL will have its convention outside the United States. A great deal of planning and support from you all is needed in order to make it successful. In addition to encouraging you to attend the convention in Toronto, TESOL will bring symposiums and academies “to you” in more global communities. The Professional Development Committee and TESOL staff team have been busy working on scaling up different professional development opportunities for our membership and the community at large this year.

As your president, I am committed to working closely with you all and making TESOL accountable to its members and the global ELT community by listening to and representing diverse voices to address critical issues, and to affect positive changes and innovations.

As a classroom teacher, researcher, and program leader, I am committed to helping TESOL continue to provide exemplary and accessible professional and leadership development opportunities for all TESOL members.

I highly value the richness and diversity that TESOL educators bring to the field. I’m also committed to working with you to further strengthen TESOL’s research and professional development agenda and collaborate with a variety of professional organizations, making TESOL truly the “go to” place on matters of ELT.

Finally, with deepest sense of humility, let me say Xie xie! 谢谢! and thank you! I look forward to working with you all in the exciting years of 2014 and 2015!