Letter from the Chair-Elect

Rachel Lee, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 

Greetings to all the folks in our English for Specific Purposes Interest Section!

I am honored to serve as your Chair-Elect, and I look forward to continuing to get to know and learn from all of you. I am an Aviation English Specialist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), where I have been teaching English for Air Traffic Control and English for Flight Training to non-native English-speaking aviation professionals and students.

My path into ESP was preceded by aviation. After working in aviation education and administration for many years, I returned to school to earn an M.A. in TESOL and shortly after was hired by ERAU. Aviation English is one clear example of English for Specific Purposes: our students need English not simply to complete a language course, but to communicate effectively in specific professional situations where safety is at stake. I value the opportunities in my career to connect language learning directly to what students do—or will need to do—in their aviation careers.

Working in Aviation English has also shown me how much ESP depends on collaboration. Language teachers bring important expertise, but we also benefit from listening to subject-matter experts, industry professionals, students, administrators, and colleagues working in other fields. The strongest courses, materials, and programs are often created when people with different knowledge and experiences are willing to learn from one another.

As Chair-Elect, I hope to support an ESP-IS community that is welcoming, practical, and open to many perspectives. ESP practitioners work in remarkably varied contexts, but we often face related questions: How do we identify our learners’ real needs? How do we choose appropriate methodologies and materials? How do we adapt our teaching when resources, technology, or professional expectations change? I hope the ESP-IS can continue creating opportunities for us to share both successful practices and the challenges behind them.

One small project I have been developing with colleagues is a Service-Learning Project that connects creative writing students with Aviation English learners. The project is creating aviation-related stories that are adapted for language learners at different levels. I share more about this project in my ESP Project Leader Profile. For now, I will simply say that it has reminded me that worthwhile ideas often become possible through patience, collaboration, and the willingness to begin before every detail has been solved.

I would like to hear from you as well. What projects are you developing—or hoping to develop—in your specific area of ESP? What challenges are you trying to solve for your learners? How have collaboration and professional communities helped your work, or how could they help in the future?

If you have an idea that could strengthen your area of ESP or better support your learners, I encourage you to keep working on it. Be bold, be brave, and do not give up simply because the first version is incomplete. Many worthwhile projects begin as unfinished ideas and grow through conversation, feedback, and shared effort.

I am also looking forward to seeing many of you at TESOL’s convention in Houston. The ESP-IS Academic Session topic is “Teaching Methodologies for Various ESP Contexts: Best Practices & Important Considerations.” ESP instruction is inherently context-specific, yet practitioners across diverse settings share many challenges and principles. Our panelists, who work in a variety of ESP contexts, will discuss different methodologies, materials, and learner considerations. Together, they will explore practices that can transfer across settings while also considering how teachers can make informed, context-responsive methodological choices in their own classrooms.

I hope you will join us for this session and for the other ESP-IS activities at the convention. I also hope you will continue sharing your questions, ideas, successes, and unfinished projects with this community. We have much to learn from one another, and our field becomes stronger when we make space for different perspectives and experiences.

I look forward to collaborating with you in the coming year.

Warm regards,

Rachel Lee
English for Specific Purposes Interest Section Chair-Elect

Rachel Lee is an Aviation English Specialist for the Aviation English Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Worldwide. At Southern Illinois University she completed a BS in Aviation Management, an MPA in Aviation Administration, an MA in TESOL, a minor in Spanish, and studied Mandarin Chinese. She has been an aviator for decades and an instructor for 4 years. She is certified by the National Weather Service to observe and disseminate weather (METAR reports), and is also an FAA certificated private pilot.