Letter from the Chairs
Dear SRIS Community,
We are privileged to have this issue during these hard times. This work could not have happened without the tremendous work of Sheila Ameri and Nadine Bravo.
This is a truly tumultuous time for our community. As The Social Responsibility Interest Section (SRIS) advocates for human rights, and social justice and helps English language teachers around the world incorporate Social Responsibility themes into their lessons, we cannot overlook the political climate and concerning events that are taking place in Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Haiti, Ukraine, and the United States.
In the era of extreme levels of anti-immigrant, racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic behavior, Social Responsibility Interest Section always advocates for the immigrant, refugee, multilingual, women, and LGBTQIA+ rights which should be and need to be considered as basic human rights
In line with this mission, we are inviting researchers, educators, practitioners, and graduate students to join our community and attend the various sessions that the SRIS will host and support at TESOL 2025.
We will be hosting the Academic Session Conflict Resolution Through Culturally Responsive Teaching on Wednesday, March 19 at 10:00 AM. Cultural conflict through microaggressions in global classrooms often reflects the microcosm of global conflict occurring simultaneously around the world. This panel session brings together specialists in the field of culturally responsive pedagogy to discuss conflict resolution methods and strategies to use in the diverse classroom to support multilingual learners.
In addition, we are serving as the primary IS on an InterSection session. Our Primary InterSection Session Promoting Social Justice in Teacher Education Working With Multilingual Learners will be on Friday, March 21 at 10:00 AM. Living in a global context with constant migrations, globalization, and transnationalism, educators need to create teaching practices that address the needs of multilingual learners and promote social justice. This panel is grounded in social justice frameworks and explores the intersection between teacher education, multilingualism, and social justice.
The Intercultural Communication and Social Responsibility Interest Sections are organizing a Secondary InterSection Session Critical Intercultural Awareness in Discussing Uncomfortable Topics in ELT on Thursday, March 20 at 1:00 PM. Addressing uncomfortable topics is essential for fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments. This panel discusses the role of critical intercultural awareness and identifies critical intercultural awareness strategies for effectively discussing uncomfortable topics in ELT, particularly focusing on the intersectionality between race, sexuality, ethnicity, gender, nationality, socioeconomic status, and religion.
Another Secondary InterSection Session, The Impact of Policy on Adult ELs, will be on Wednesday, March 19th at 2pm. Policy intersects with adult education in numerous ways, governing learners’ access to and experiences in English classes as well as outcomes of such programs. This session examines the impact of policies on adult ELs, including program funding and language requirements for citizenship and residency as well as advocacy efforts.
Finally, Supporting Disabled MLLs of English in Global Education Environments is an intersection session that will take place on Thursday, March 20th at 9am. This session explores the inclusion of disabled multilingual learners (MLLs) in ELT to foster global citizenship and education. Emphasizing an asset-based focus of diverse abilities in various global settings, the presenters share strategies for creating inclusive classrooms that empower all learners, promoting equity and enhancing access in educational contexts worldwide.
Finally, we want to meet you! Please, join us for the SRIS Open Meeting on Wednesday, March 19, from 12:30-1:30 pm and the Networking Lounge on Wednesday, March 19th from 4:30-5:30 at the exhibition hall during TESOL 2025!
Michel Riquelme Sanderson and Iuliia Fakhrutdinova
Chairs
Michelle Land
Incoming Chair
TESOL Social Responsibility Interest Section (SRIS)
Michel Riquelme Sanderson is an Assistant Professor at Universidad Arturo Prat in Iquique, Chile. He works preparing future EFL teachers and has a passion for promoting social justice in teacher education.
Iuliia Fakhrutdinova is a doctoral candidate, research assistant, and navigator at the project CREATE at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her work is devoted to refugee and immigrant populations in the United States.
Michelle Land has taught ESL/EFL at home and abroad for over 25 years. In addition to serving as the SRIS incoming co-chair, she is serving as Past-President of NJTESOL/NJBE (New Jersey Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language/New Jersey Bilingual Educators) after successfully completing two years as President of NJTESOL/NJBE. Michelle has been teaching ESL at Randolph Township Schools for the past 21 years.