Editor’s Note: Dr. Aymen Elsheikh (left), a 2010 recipient of a TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant, is the current President of Africa TESOL. The organization has 21 affiliates representing national associations in 20 different African countries. Dr. Aymen Elsheikh has been spearheading an initiative to bring panel discussion opportunities to TESOL

Editor’s Note: Ross Thorburn (right) started his career in language teaching in 2006, teaching young learners. He has since worked as a teacher, director of studies and teacher trainer, and materials writer. In his job, he has led a team of 80 staff members designing online language learning materials for

In this month’s Chair’s Report, I am writing about the state of being inactive and unmotivated. Well, actually, I am writing about the difficulty of writing. I seem to be experiencing the doldrums. According to the National Ocean Service, “the ‘doldrums’ is a popular nautical term that refers to the

The current times have forced many individuals around the world to make difficult financial decisions. Traditional donations to nonprofits may be difficult for people to make. In lieu of such donations, there is an alternative way that you can help provide meaningful revenue for TIRF without actually making a donation

This past month, we experienced the June solstice. This event is realized as the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, solstice is an Old French word from the thirteenth century. It is derived from the Latin

We are pleased to announce the election of two new TIRF Trustees. The Foundation’s Board members unanimously elected Dr. Joan Kang Shin and Mr. Erik Gundersen to serve on the TIRF Board. In this piece, we introduce our supporters to Dr. Shin and Mr. Gundersen. Joan Kang Shin, Ph.D. is

For the past several years, TIRF has been offering professional services to individuals and organizations in the field of language education. In line with its mission of promoting both research and best practices in English language education, the Foundation seeks to work directly with stakeholders around the world to help

One of the resources TIRF provides is a collection of reference lists on over two hundred topics of interest to researchers, teachers, teacher educators, test developers, and others. The reference lists are stored as Word documents, which anyone can download for free by clicking here. Over the past few months,

TIRF’s Board members recently reelected four long-standing TIRF Trustees. Kathi Bailey, Donna Christian, MaryAnn Christison, and Lorraine de Matos will continue to serve the Foundation for at least the next three years. These four Trustees bring a combined 50+ years of experience in serving the Foundation. Kathi Bailey is a

The Foundation’s 2020 DDG (Doctoral Dissertation Grants) application window closed this past Wednesday. Here is a quick glance at some of the key data we have collected based on this year’s competition. Total Number of Proposals Received: 48 Number of Countries DDG Applicants Come From: 17 Number of Proposals Eligible

Research on language assessment has been one of TIRF’s DDG funding priorities since 2008. For this reason, we are very pleased to tell you about a new resource that may be helpful to you, your students, or your colleagues – or even to potential clients who might ask you to

ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) recently launched a series of short videos, which are being published throughout May. The videos reflect some of the work happening at ALTE that would have been shared and discussed during its international conference in Madrid last month. These videos are publicly available

The competition for the 2021 TIRF James E. Alatis Prize for Research in Language Policy and Planning in Educational Contexts is underway. The 2021 Alatis Prize competition marks the sixth year of TIRF offering the program. For the 2021 competition, a prize of $500 will be awarded for an article