As this Newsletter goes to print, many of us are preparing to attend the annual ACTFL meeting in Philadelphia. ACTFL has, as usual, prepared a program that appeals to a wide range of interests and languages. Even if you can’t attend yourself, do take a look at their website (www.actfl.org/) for an overview of what’s happening in the field and what challenges and advances face the profession.

We remind members that three of our SIGs (Special Interest Groups) will be convening at ACTFL to talk about their progress and future strategies. The Study Abroad for Advanced Skills (SAFAS) SIG will meet on Friday (11/21) at 3:00 in 309-310 Marriott Conference Room; the Professional Development SIG will also meet on Friday at 3:00 in 414-415 Marriott Conference Room; and the Heritage Language SIG will meet on Friday evening at 9:00 in Salon D of the Marriott. We hope to see many of you there.

Next year’s AAS meeting will be earlier than usual (March 4-7), so the ATJ election of new officers and board members will follow close on the heels of the new year. You should expect to see your ballots in January, and we urge everyone to participate in the election.

If you are an AAS member, you have received the Fall Newsletter and can see that there are numerous panels of interest to members. Linguistics and pedagogy-oriented panels include one on Japanese functional linguistics (Friday at 8:30 a.m.), one on grammar in language instruction (Saturday at 10:45 a.m.), and one on learners engaged in culture (Sunday at 8:30 a.m.). Panels of interest to literature specialists include one on modern Japanese literature (Saturday at 8:30 a.m.), one on Tawada Yoko (Saturday at 10:45 a.m.), and one on the Tale of Genji (Saturday at 5:00 p.m.). The ATJ Seminar committee is also hard at work preparing the program for Thursday evening, and that will be published in the next ATJ Newsletter.

The succession of year-end celebrations has begun. I hope that all ATJ members have the time to enjoy a pleasant and restful time with loved ones over the holidays.

I wish everyone a successful academic year.

Patricia J. Wetzel