Leadership Updates
Editors’ Remarks
Silvia Pessoa and Fabiana Sacchi introduce the newsletter (the last one they coedit) and encourage members to submit articles for the next issue of the newsletter.
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Letter From the Chair
In this letter, Karen Newman summarizes highlights from TESOL 2006 in Tampa and shares some of the issues she would like to pursue as chair of the NNEST Caucus.
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Articles and Information
Toward a Familiarity-Based Approach to Language Proficiency
In this essay, the author draws on our understanding of research on world Englishes and genre and introduces a familiarity-based approach to language proficiency. He argues that when discussing language standards and language proficiency for language teachers, it is necessary to keep in mind our familiarity and unfamiliarity with both the domain of language use and the local language variety.
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NNES Teachers’ and Prospective Teachers’ Perceptions of English as an International Language: An Exploration in an EFL Context
In this paper the authors describe a study with EFL inservice teachers and student teachers at a Venezuelan university. Through problem posing, the participants were encouraged to reflect on their perceptions of EIL, their role in ELT, and the taken-for-granted assumption of the neutrality of EIL.
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A Collaborative Language-Focused Graduate Seminar in a TESOL Program
This brief report describes a collaborative language-focused-graduate seminar to improve nonnative English-speaking TESOL graduate students’ academic and professional oral English communication skills.
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Why Did I Become the Caucus’ Chair?
Lucie Moussu discusses why she became a caucus leader and the kinds of demands and rewards that were involved with holding this position. The purpose of this article is to encourage members to become more involved and experience the professional and personal benefits gained through volunteering for such positions.
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Book Review
The Age Factor in Foreign Language Acquisition
Age and the Acquisition of English as a Foreign Language provides an overview of new research on the age factor in foreign language (FL) learning, addressing issues that contradict existing beliefs about the potential of mature FL learners. It offers evidence demonstrating the strengths and success of older learners with the objective to inform FL planning strategies. The book’s findings can also assist NNESTs who began their English study at a mature age to better advocate for a legitimate position in the English teaching classroom.
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