There are many language teacher associations (LTAs) around the world, most of which are managed by volunteers and board members who make daily decisions that directly affect their LTA. These decisions are sometimes guided by initiatives proposed by members; in other cases, they emerge from pressing issues in the community. LTAs become visible in…

Many Language teacher associations (LTAs) are nonprofit organizations and thus rely heavily on volunteers to carry out their mission. A volunteer is a person who donates time and labor in service to others. In the case of LTAs, volunteers play key roles in governing the association, planning and realizing national conferences and local workshops,…

Stereotypical notions and depictions of the German language, its speakers, and cultural practices are more persistent in instructional materials, language program advertisements, and people's minds than one might presume (Bryant et al., 2019; Chavez, 2020a, 2020b; Rothe, 2022). Overcoming such misconceptions requires educators to reconsider…

One of the most critical steps in the test development process is defining the construct, or the knowledge, skills, or abilities, to be assessed. This foundational step provides the basis for initial assumptions about the meaning of test scores and serves as a reference for subsequent validity research. In this paper, we describe the purpose of…

This article presents the themes that emerge from this Special Issue on language teacher associations (LTAs). I discuss various conceptualizations of LTAs, as well as the different theoretical frameworks which the contributors to the Special Issue use in their analyses. I then focus on some of the ways in which LTAs achieve their mission of…

The report of the MLA Task Force on Ethical Conduct in Graduate Education calls on administrators, departments, and faculty members to embrace "student-centered graduate education informed by an ethics of care." To confront long-standing issues in graduate education--such as precarity, bias and favoritism, harassment, mental health,…

This interview provides a panoramic view of Antony's research interests, which includes his language-related experiences of early life, his study at UCLA, the PhD dissertation research he conducted under Lyle Bachman's supervision, and his idea of fairness. Given the specific context in which the interview was conducted, the interviewer approached…

The report of the MLA Task Force on Ethical Conduct in Graduate Education calls on administrators, departments, and faculty members to embrace "student-centered graduate education informed by an ethics of care." To confront long-standing issues in graduate education--such as precarity, bias and favoritism, harassment, mental health,…

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been increasingly used to inform language policies and teaching practices in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Education proposed in 2011 that objectives of English curricula at the secondary education level ought to be stated using the "Can do" schemata of the CEFR and…

Khatuna Kharkheli is an English language teacher in the Faculty of Education, Exact, and Natural Sciences at Gori State Teaching University (GSTU) in Gori, Georgia. With her passion for developing innovative and creative lessons and with her commitment to professional development, Ms. Kharkheli works to inspire her students to achieve success both…

Professor J. Charles Alderson grew up in the town of Burnley, in the North-West of England, and is still based in the North West but in the ancient city of Lancaster. From Burnley to Lancaster, however, lies a journey and a career that took him all around the world to share his knowledge, skills, and experience in language testing and to learn…

The topic of this "Perspectives" column is "Requiring a Proficiency Level as a Requirement for U.S. K-12 Teacher Licensure." In 1998, the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) began to work with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), which accredits teacher education programs…

This overview to "The Modern Language Journal"'s Focus Issue on Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) takes a fresh look at issues examined in a 1991 article by Grosse and Voght. Reflecting on change drivers and growth in LSP, the authors comment on current challenges to the field and future research needs. Their remarks are based on new insights…

On 14 February 2013, TESOL International Association brought together 30 ESL teachers, and administrators, education experts, researchers, and thought leaders from Maryland and the District of Columbia to start a conversation on how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will change the roles of those who teach English as a second language (ESL).…

This article presents the of history of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) from 1990-2010. The article ends with a look at the future and a SCOLT history timeline of 1980-2010.