TESOL President-Elect Candidate Questions

Deborah J. Short, PhD

Academic Language Research & Training

1. Why are you interested in being TESOL President? TESOL has been my professional home for 35 years. When I was in the U.S. Peace Corps, in the early 1980s in Zaire (now DR Congo), I fell in love with teaching—with teaching language, with integrating language and content, and with learning about diverse cultures. But I needed to find a community that I could share my passion with. I found TESOL a few years later.

I would be honored to serve as TESOL President. I have worked in many of TESOL’s interest areas over the years and I’d like to bring those experiences to our organization. I was a researcher, professional developer, and division director at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC and I have been a strong advocate for English language learning programs in school districts the U.S. You may know I worked on TESOL’s first ESL Standards project and most recently on the 6 Principles initiative.

I want TESOL to thrive. I want it to bring meaning to the lives of educators and their learners. I want everyone interested in teaching English or in learning about working with culturally and linguistically diverse people to turn to our association. And so, as President I want to work with you and engage your energy, interests, and talents so TESOL can reach its potential.

2. While respecting institutional memory, what vision do you have for the future of TESOL? What would your role be in that vision? In my vision, TESOL is the premier source for information on English language teaching in the world. And we achieve this vision through our research and advocacy efforts, and our mentoring, partnerships and networking opportunities.

My vision draws from three key documents, Promising Futures, the monograph that kicked off the first ESL standards, the Action Agenda from the Summit on the Future of the TESOL Profession, and the 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners.

I see TESOL as innovative and responsive to members’ needs and global trends. It disseminates cutting-edge research and develops sought-after products. It enhances the status of our profession, calling on others to recognize TESOL members as specialists with knowledge and expertise. And TESOL affirms that all languages have equal value. For we are all the richer when we live in a multilingual and multicultural world.

My role is to listen, reflect, and represent, and to collaborate with members and staff so together we can realize this vision.

3. What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing the association, and what do you think the association should do to meet those challenges? TESOL has three core challenges: to energize our member base, to secure our finances, and to rise above the competition to become the global resource on English language teaching.

We are the main association for an active, international community of ELT professionals. We are mission-driven, values-oriented, and have a great reputation for high quality work that advances our field. But inescapably, we are also a business and we can achieve our goals only if we meet the bottom line.

So, to energize our members, we have to remain relevant and meet their needs in timely, flexible, and cost-effective ways so they see value in their membership. To secure our finances, we need strategic partnerships with entities like universities, ministries of education, and like-minded associations. And to become the global resource, the first place people turn to, we have to outperform the competition by showcasing our strengths and knowledge base.

The good news is that our field is broader and more vibrant than ever, and together, we can take advantage of this opportunity to meet the challenges head on.

FOREWORD BY JIM CUMMINS

TESOL International Association Writing TeamDeborah J. Short, Lead Writer

Helene BeckerNancy CloudAndrea B. Hellman Linda New Levine

This book has a companion website. Go to

www.the6principles.org/K-12 for additional resources.