Letter from the Chair

Sarah Emory, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Dear Fellow ITA Practitioners,

As I prepare for the upcoming TESOL International Convention and English Language Expo in Long Beach, CA, I have had the chance to reflect on my work in the ITA field, my experiences on the steering committee, and how central to my professional development this interest section has been.

I joined the ITA field in 2013 when I joined Peggy Heidish and Rebecca Oreto’s team at Carnegie Mellon. Their approach to supporting international graduate students by offering a “menu” of skill-focused training options allowed me to strengthen how I teach a variety of skills: from academic writing, focused listening skills, social media and brand management, to pronunciation, public speaking, and teaching skills. As someone who works with ITAs, I had to learn how to wear many hats while juggling many different priorities, and I was lucky enough to train and work with people who not only modeled how to do both, but were also there to brainstorm ideas and work through challenges together. Rebecca volunteered me to be the editor of the ITAIS newsletter (she was Chair at the time), and I’m so grateful she connected me with all of you.

Our interest section is fundamental to empowering ITA practitioners in finding community, whether you are already on a team or a “lone wolf” professional. When I transitioned to my current role in 2018 at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, my mentor became Pamela Pollock. This is also an ITAIS connection as I first met Pamela in 2015 at the ITA interest section dinner at the TESOL convention in Baltimore. It is impossible to measure how much I have learned from her expertise and how much I’ve grown as a professional from her guidance.

While I have learned the most from Pamela, the ITAIS is where I turn when I have questions about classroom activities, designing tasks, program management, training or working with undergraduates, assessment practices, policy writing, needs assessment, and so many other aspects of my work. Our group’s strength is in our community and our ability to connect with and support each other. Over the past five years, the ITAIS has held dozens of working groups, published multiple newsletters, hosted webinars, posted videos to our Youtube channel, shared spreadsheets and ideas, and been a source of collaboration. I’ve learned so much through ITAIS by collaborating on conference presentations, taking on different roles on the steering committee, and hosting working groups.

I’d like to encourage you to help our community thrive by participating on the steering committee, sharing your ideas in our newsletter, presenting on your work at conferences, hosting or attending working groups, and/or keeping our email list active by asking questions and sharing ideas.

There are several exciting ITA-focused sessions at the upcoming TESOL convention. If you aren’t attending, we will have other ways to engage professionally throughout the coming year. Mike O’Niell and Eva Miszoglad have done an amazing job as Community Events Organizers and have a slate of upcoming opportunities. You can read the details in their note in this newsletter.

Mo Burke will be taking over as the Chair of ITAIS in March, so I’m excited to welcome her back to the role. I look forward to continuing conversations and exchanging ideas with all of you as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of higher education.

Thank you for being part of our community!

Be well,

Sarah Emory

Sarah Emory, (Assistant Director, International Teachers & Scholars, Harvard University, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning) provides training on oral English, intercultural communication, public speaking, and teaching skills. Sarah has been active in ITAIS since 2013 and is honored to support a group that has given her so much guidance.