Letter from the Chair

Polina Vinogradova, American University, Washington, D.C. USA

Dear members of the TEIS community,

It is a great pleasure and privilege to be serving you as the Chair of the Teacher Educator Interest Section this year. TEIS has been my professional home for many years, and I am proud to be a member and this year to lead such a vibrant professional community. I also want to express words of gratitude to Heather Linville who served as the Chair last year for her tireless work and leadership.

This year, I look forward to working with two amazing teacher educators, Grazzia Maria Mendoza Chirinos (Chair-elect) and Khanh Duc Kuttig (Chair-elect-elect) as well as an outstanding Newsletter team, Bridget Schvarcz and Vu Tran Thanh, and Abdulsamad Humaidan, TEIS Community Manager. The editors, as always, have prepared a rich newsletter for us to enjoy.

This year’s theme for TEIS is mentoring - an integral part of teacher education. We will engage with this theme and with you through a series of webinars that are currently in the works, other newsletter issues, and of course, during our academic and intersection sessions at the TESOL International Convention in Long Beach, CA.

I wish you all a restful and exciting summer and look forward to seeing you virtually and in person at our future events!

Sincerely,

Polina Vinogradova

Chair, TEIS

Polina Vinogradova is Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer and TESOL Program Director at American University in Washington, DC, USA. She holds a PhD in Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research interests include advocacy for language learners and teachers, pedagogical uses of digital storytelling, and postmethod in teacher education. Dr. Vinogradova’s most recent book is Digital Storytelling as Translanguaging: A Practical Guide for Language Educators (with Heather Linville). She is a member of the Board of Trustees of TIRF.