Letter from the Editor
Linda Molin-Karakoc, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Dear TESOL and RCIS community,
Welcome to the new issue of the TESOL Refugee Concerns Interest Section (RCIS) newsletter. As the newly appointed editor, it is a pleasure to share this newsletter with you as part of the RCIS leadership team and to highlight the thoughtful work and voices that continue to shape our community.
This issue brings together perspectives from educators, practitioners, researchers, and learners with experience in English language education across diverse contexts of displacement. The contributions reflect the breadth of our field — from classroom practice and community engagement in U.S.-based adult literacy education contexts, to stories of new refugees entering secondary classrooms in Cameroon, to reflections on blending global and local perspectives in EFL lessons in the West Bank. Collectively, they underscore the importance of collaboration, critical thinking, ethical commitment, and care in our work as language teachers. Complementing these perspectives, the issue also features a Letter from the Chair, a book review examining scholarship on trauma-informed pedagogy, and updates from the RCIS leadership team for 2025–2026, each offering insights and guidance that strengthen our shared work and community.
I am deeply grateful to the authors who contributed their time and expertise to the newsletter, as well as to the RCIS leadership team for their support and collaboration throughout the editorial process. This newsletter is very much a collective endeavor, strengthened by the generosity and insights of our members. As editor, I see the RCIS as a space for sharing practice and research-based knowledge, raising critical questions, and amplifying voices across countries. I warmly invite you to engage with the pieces in this issue and to consider contributing to future editions — whether through articles, reflections, anecdotes, or reviews. To propose ideas or discuss future articles for the newsletter, please email me at [email protected].
Thank you for being part of our community. I look forward to continuing these conversations throughout the year, and I hope to connect with as many of you as possible, whether in person at the TESOL Convention & Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah, or virtually for those unable to attend.
In partnership,
Linda Molin-Karakoc
Newsletter editor, Refugee Concerns Interest Section
Linda Molin-Karakoc, PhD, is an early-career impact and engagement fellow and postdoctoral researcher at University College London. With over a decade of international teaching experience across the U.S., the U.K., Finland, Thailand, and Ukraine, she works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice in language education. Her research interests include computer-assisted language learning, multilingual education, and inclusive pedagogies that support refugee and immigrant-background learners. Drawing on collaborative design methods, her research examines how emerging technologies can be used to strengthen language and literacy development for culturally and linguistically diverse students.