Last week at the TESOL International Convention and Exposition, Dr. Joyce Kling , a former TIRF Trustee, was installed as the 57th president of the TESOL International Association. The Association now has over 17,000 members and its mission is “To advance professional expertise in English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide.” TESOL was instrumental in establishing TIRF in 1999.
Joyce has taught English in Japan, Denmark, the UK, and the USA. Her research interests include English-medium instruction and language assessment. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen. However, from August, she will take a post as a Senior Lecturer at Lund University in Sweden.
Joyce has a long history of volunteering. She served as the 2017 conference co-chair for the ICLHE (Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education) Association and the conference co-chair for EALTA (the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment) in 2014-2015. Joyce was also a member of the TESOL Board of Directors from 2006 to 2009. She was a recipient of a TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant in 2012.
TIRF President Kathi Bailey had this to say about Joyce’s election as TESOL President: “I have known Joyce for many years. In fact, I was her direct supervisor when she taught English in California and was privileged to serve as the external examiner at her doctoral dissertation defense at the University of Copenhagen in 2013. She has excellent organizational skills, international vision, and a caring leadership style that will serve TESOL’s needs very well. I’m sure the TIRF Trustees join me in congratulating her and wishing her every success in this new role.”
Asked to comment on what she will focus on during her presidency, Joyce stated, “My focus for the coming year is to build and expand on the TESOL 365 initiative. That is, we will continue to work to establish practices that promote membership engagement for all members of our association over the course of the entire year, beyond just the one week of our annual convention. Coupled with this, in collaboration with the Board of Directors, we will amplify our efforts to promote DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, & access) within TESOL’s programs and practices to ensure equal opportunities for English language professionals around the world.”
TIRF community, please join us in congratulating Joyce on this major accomplishment!
