ESL professional organizations
Membership in professional organizations provides various benefits, the most important of which is NETWORKING. Whether you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the hot issues in the field or make you CV look more impressive, joining a professional organization is a must for a graduate student. Below is our summary of the main ESL professional organizations; we have also provided the links to the original websites.
| INTESOL | ILTA |
| TESOL | CCCC |
| AAAL | Others |
| IAWE |
Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (INTESOL) is a statewide affiliation of TESOL. INTESOL is a good start for the graduate students who plan to continue their career in English language teaching, teacher education, administration and management, curriculum and material design, and research. http://www.intesol.org
Membership fee for a full-time student is $20 for 12 months from an annual conference to an annual conference (i.e., if you register in March 2008, your membership expires in November 2008) and is not available on-line. The perks of being an INTESOL member:
- Reduced conference fees
- Eligibility for an INTESOL Travel Grant of up to $200 for conference presentations
- Eligibility for an INTESOL Small Programs Development & Applied Research Grant of up to $1000
- Advanced notices of conferences, seminars, and other events with special relevance to professionals in the ESL field.
- Subscription to the annual INTESOL Journal and a newsletter tesolin’
- Networking with colleagues from Indiana
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is a global professional community of teachers of English to speakers of other languages. http://www.tesol.org
Membership fee for a student is $33 per year. The perks of being an TESOL member:
- Discounted prices for the annual convention, TESOL education programs, and TESOL publications
- Complimentary subscription to Essential Teacher, TESOL's quarterly magazine
- Online access to TESOL Quarterly for members who subscribe (@$50)
- Access to the TESOL Resource Center
- Access to as many Interest Section and Caucus e-lists and e-newsletters
- Optional complimentary subscriptions to TESOL Connections, the association’s semimonthly e-newsletter; the Placement E-Bulletin, the semimonthly e-newsletter of our Career Center; and the Worldwide Calendar of Events, the monthly e-newsletter calendar of affiliate events around the world
- Access to the Online Career Center, Job Market Place, and Worldwide Calendar of Events
- Eligibility to apply for awards and grants
- Discounted subscriptions to other publishers' serial publications
The American Association for applied Linguistics (AAAL) features research and practice in applied language issues. AAAL is the U.S. affiliate of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA). http://www.aaal.org
Membership fee for a student is $50 per year. The perks of being an AAAL member:
- Complimentary membership in AILA along with all the benefits of AILA membership
- A complimentary copy of the AILA Review, published by John Benjamins Publishing Company
- A complimentary copy of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, published by Cambridge University Press
- Discounted conference registration fees for the AAAL Annual Conference
- Discounts on a number of language related books and journals, as well as access to online publishers’ offerings
- Graduate students travel awards to AAAL Annual Conferences
International Association of World Englishes (IAWE) "is committed to the study of the forms and functions of varieties of Englishes in diverse cultural and sociolinguistic contexts". IAWE promotes research in language, literature, and pedagogy of World Englishes. http://www.iaweworks.org
Membership fee for a student is $20 per year. The perks of being an IAWE member:
- Supporting international environment
- Discounts on conference fees
- Discounted subscription on World Englishes journal
International Language Testing Association (ILTA) focuses on research in language testing around the globe. ILTA hosts annual Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC). http://www.iltaonline.org
Membership fee for a student is $35 per year. The perks of being an ILTA member:
- Reduced conference fees
- ILTA on-line Newsletter
- 15% discount on Language Testing journal
- Access to ILTA members-only discussion list
- Students travel and other awards
Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) focuses on research iand teaching composition. CCCC is an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). http://www.ntce.org/cccc
Membership fee for a student is $20 per year. NCTE membership is required to become a CCCC member. The perks of being a CCCC member:
- Discounts on conference fees
- Annual subscription to CCC
- Access to CCCC members-only on-line resources
- Grants, awards, and scholarships for travel, research, publications, programs, etc.
- Up to 50% discounts on NTCE and CCCC publications
- Eligibility for group insurance
Below are the links to other professional organizations that may be of interest to ESL graduate students:
Modern Languages Association (MLA) http://www.mla.org
American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTEL) http://www.actefl.org
Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFLTA) http://www.iflta.org