Letter from the Chair
Svetlana Koltovskaia, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, USA
Dear SLWIS members,
It is my pleasure to introduce the dedicated team of the 2024-2025 Second Language Writing Interest Section (SLWIS). Our team includes Chair-Elect: Andy Jiahao Liu; Members-at-Large: Katie Hibner, Madhukar K C, Stefan Vogel, and Bakheet Almatrafi; Newsletter Managing Editor: Ali Yaylali; Community Manager: Moti Ram Sijapati; Past Chair: M. Sidury Christiansen; and myself, Svetlana Koltovskaia, serving as Chair. Together, we are committed to building on past successes while also introducing fresh ideas and perspectives.
In my role as Chair, I have chosen to honor our longstanding traditions, continuing the organization of events that have historically brought our community together. Following the TESOL 2024 conference, we seamlessly onboarded our new members and mapped out our agenda for the year. Our first major event was a successful webinar, held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. The topic was “Nurturing Feedback-Literate Teachers of L2 Writing in an Evolving Educational Landscape,” presented by Dr. Icy Lee, Professor of Education (TESOL and Language Education) at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Lee for her insightful presentation, and to our event organizers Katie Hibner, Stefan Vogel, and Bakheet Almatrafi for making the event a success. The webinar's recording will be available soon on the TESOL International Association’s YouTube channel for those who were unable to attend.
Additionally, on Friday, October 25, 2024, we hosted our highly anticipated Book Club event: "Professionalizing Multimodal Composition: A TESOL SLW-IS Book Talk" featuring Dr. Santosh Khadka, Professor of English and Academic Lead at California State University, Northridge. The event delved into Dr. Khadka and Dr. Shyam B. Pandey’s latest book, Professionalizing Multimodal Composition, published by Utah State University Press. A special thanks to Dr. Khadka, our event organizers (Madhukar K C, Katie Hibner, and Bakheet Almatrafi), and all attendees. Stay tuned for the recording on the TESOL YouTube channel.
Our newsletter team, led by Managing Editor Ali Yaylali and supported by Stefan Vogel and Bakheet Almatrafi, has been working diligently on the latest issue of SLWIS News. Their tireless efforts in promoting, reviewing submissions, and compiling content are greatly appreciated.
I would also like to extend my thanks to our Community Manager, Moti Ram Sijapati, for his commitment to promoting our events and expanding our social media presence. For updates and event details, please connect with us on My TESOL-SLWIS, SLWIS Facebook, and SLWIS Instagram.
Additionally, Chair-Elect Andy Jiahao Liu and I have been working diligently on proposals for both an academic session and an intersession, which will take place at the TESOL 2025 International Convention & Expo in Long Beach, California, from March 18-21. Andy will lead an academic session titled "Emotions in Teaching Writing: Conflicts, Strategies, and Perspectives," featuring six speakers. Together with Namsook Kim, Chair of the Higher Education Interest Section (HEIS), I will be co-leading an intersession between SLWIS and HEIS titled "Global Perspectives: AI-Powered Innovations in Higher Ed Second Language Writing," featuring three invited speakers. We are excited to receive further details from TESOL and look forward to seeing many of our members participate in these engaging sessions at the conference.
As we move forward, we are excited to continue offering engaging webinars, book clubs, and the upcoming spring issue of our newsletter. Our team is full of energy and new ideas, and we encourage you to participate in our events, connect with us, and share your feedback.
Sincerely,
Svetlana Koltovskaia
Chair, Second Language Writing Interest Section
Svetlana Koltovskaia is an Assistant Professor of English and Director of the ESL Academy at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Her research centers around L2 writing, computer-assisted language learning, and L2 assessment. She had her works published in journals like Assessing Writing, ReCall, JALT CALL, and TESL-EJ.