ABSTRACT
We know that organizations – the institutions where we work and the professional associations to which we belong – influence us a great deal along our TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) career paths. Other organizations, such as religious communities, social justice groups, and others do the same. Here, we will focus on questions about the two organizations that affect TESOL professionals’ lives most directly and most regularly throughout our careers: How do we organize and operate using our skills in business and language? How do workplaces and those who populate those affect us throughout our careers? Here, I think of three groups: supervisors, colleagues, and students (there are others, of course). How do the people in and the structures and policies of these organizations support teachers at various stages of these teachers' careers? How do we see communities of practice supporting teachers? What types of networking opportunities exist for teachers? And how do complex collaborative projects get done in TESOL professionals’ (often) cross-disciplinary and multicultural workplace environments? These are complex questions that I will begin to address in this chapter.
