The Psychic Rewards of Teaching: An Interview with James E. Alatis

James E. Alatis has a distinguished career in Foreign Language teaching and Bilingual Education that spans 50 years. Early in his career he served as a language researcher for the U.S. Departments of Education and State. At Georgetown University in Washington, District of Columbia (DC), he has been a professor of linguistics and Modern Greek since 1966 and was dean of the School of Languages and Linguistics from 1973 to 1994. His record of professional service is outstanding; he has served numerous national and international organizations in management and advisory positions. For 21 years, Dr. Alatis was the executive director of the international association Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). During his tenure, TESOL grew from 337 members in its first year (1966) to over 12,000 in 1987. Dr. Alatis has also been chair of the annual Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics. He has published dozens of articles in scholarly journals, written and edited numerous books, and delivered hundreds of presentations at conferences around the world. When TESOL created an annual award to recognize outstanding and extended professional service, it was named the James E. Alatis Award in honor of his years of vision and leadership. TESOL also established the James E. Alatis Plenary Session at its annual convention. In this interview, Dr. Alatis talks about his career and shares his personal vision of the future of the English teaching profession. (Contains 4 notes.) [This interview was first published in Volume 42, No. 2 (2004).]