TESOL Affiliate News, October 2025
Letter from the Editors
Ching-Ching Lin, Adelphi University
Watsachol Narongsaksakul, Illinois State University
Samir Omara, Shebin El-Kom IDGL School, Menofia, Egypt
From Vision to Impact: Co-chairing the Africa ELTA 9th International Conference
Kessia Kiwia, Secretary General – Tanzania English Language Teachers Association (TELTA)
Discover how glocalisation reshapes English Language Teaching in Africa by blending global perspectives with local practices to empower teachers, enrich classrooms, and strengthen cultural identity in language learning.
What Makes Us Tick! Beta And the Leadership Mission!
Albena Stefanova, Lina Yanbastieva-Petrova, Veselin Chantov, Georgi Dimitrov, BETA, Bulgaria
BETA on the rise. A series of initiatives that make BETA an association that impacts and inspires.
Empowering TESOL Affiliates: Building Resilience and Collaboration
Evrim Üstünlüoğlu, TESOL Türkiye, İzmir, Türkiye
In this inspiring piece, TESOL Türkiye shares its journey from local beginnings to building powerful international collaborations. Born out of crises—earthquakes, pandemics, war, and technological disruptions—the association turned to trauma-informed teaching as a unifying practice. Through webinars, joint conferences, and an international summit in İzmir, educators from Türkiye, Ukraine, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Nepal, and beyond came together to exchange strategies, foster resilience, and craft a shared handbook on trauma-informed approaches.
Rising Together – Teaching with Hope and Strength
Serhii Petrenko, TESOL-Ukraine, Ukraine
Despite the challenges of war, Ukraine’s English teachers continue to teach and learn with hope. TESOL-Ukraine has encouraged its community to provide innovative training, mutual support, and new tools so that quality language education endures despite adversity. Our shared resilience is key to this mission.
Stronger Together: Advocating For Multilingual Learners of English in Uncertain Times
Melanie Schneider, Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (WITESOL)
Do you wish you could do more to support and uplift MLEs and their teachers outside of the classroom? Advocating for MLEs may offer a partial answer. In this article we share how you can learn advocacy skills at both the state and (inter)national levels in your TESOL affiliate and International TESOL.
Empowering Leadership from Within: TESOL France’s Asset-Based Approach
Ngan Phan, TESOL France Vice President, Lyon, France
Discover how TESOL France transformed leadership by adopting the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach. Learn practical steps to empower your team, foster collaboration, and build a resilient, engaged community regardless of your organization’s size.
Building Leadership Through Shared Vision and Capacity Building
Valerie Seals, MEd, NVTESOL Affiliate, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Unlock the Power of Collaborative Leadership! Discover how NVTESOL is building a shared vision and empowering educators to lead with purpose and passion. Learn practical strategies to cultivate leadership, foster equity, and create lasting impact for Nevada’s English learners.
Empowering Teacher Leaders in Rwanda: A Community of Practice Approach to Professional Development
Kanyankole Rukundo, Association of Teachers of English in Rwanda (ATER), Kigali, Rwanda
Improving English instruction in Rwanda is a national priority. In response, ATER’s professional development initiative, launched in January 2025, is training 60 teachers to lead regional communities of practice and empower peer learning.
Why Professional Learning Matters
Gregory Stancil, TESOL International Association, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
As the population of multilingual learners of English continues to grow, many teachers lack the preparation to meet their needs. Drawing on classroom experience and national insights, this article explores the urgent need for professional learning and how schools can overcome barriers such as funding shortages and administrative resistance. Practical models like peer coaching, TESOL’s SWEL, and The 6 Principles illustrate how educators can transform instruction and build inclusive classrooms.
Feedback and SEL: Unraveling Some Concerns
Ruth Allio, URUTESOL, Montevideo, Uruguay
As educators, we need to carefully select the words to be used when giving feedback, mostly in an attempt to build a constructive environment, which is conducive to meaningful learning. Thus, offering feedback must be a way of building confidence between both actors in the feedback session, ensuring that our classroom becomes a safe place for students to coexist. By ensuring the conditions of an appropriate exchange, we are also building up students' confidence and self-worth, which also impacts on their capacity to obtain the best results.