The Department of Language and Literature at Lee University announced the addition of a chapter of Phi Sigma Iota, the international foreign language honor society, to honor the achievements of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages students.
“We believe that this honor society will provide us with an additional means of acknowledging excellence among our TESOL students,” said Dr. David Broersma, associate professor of TESOL and linguistics and sponsor for Lee’s PSI chapter. “It will also give us a student organization vehicle for serving Lee and the Cleveland community.”
The TESOL major, started in 2014, offers two tracks: a bachelor of arts degree, which prepares students for a career in teaching English in a context outside of U.S. public schools, and a bachelor of arts degree with teaching certification, which prepares students for a career in teaching English as a second language in grades PreK-12. Since the program’s inception, it has grown to include 50 majors and 61 minors.
According to Dr. Broersma, in the fall of 2015, he, Dr. Christopher Blake, and Dr. Carolyn Dirksen had discussed the benefits of an honor society for the TESOL and applied linguistics programs. Three TESOL majors, Hayden Croxall, Brennan Zagami and Selah Meyer decided to take initiative, and after another meeting with faculty, the students initiated the process of applications and approvals to start a Phi Sigma Iota chapter. As of Feb. 17, the Chi Epsilon #271 chapter of Phi Sigma Iota was officially approved by the national society.
According to Croxall, who is currently chapter president, the key was collaboration among the officers and support from Drs. Broersma, Eledge, Blake, and Dirksen.
“There is certainly a feeling of pride in having accomplished this, but it isn’t pride in only my efforts—Brennan and Selah were just as instrumental in the formation of this chapter,” said Croxall. “We all taught in Lee’s English Language Center during the spring of 2015, so we were already used to working with each other, which made it a smooth process.”
Currently within the chapter, Zagami serves as vice president, and Meyer as secretary. The officers are in the process of extending invitations to eligible students. Later, they will take orders for T-shirts which will be handed out at the PSI initiation ceremony at the end of this month. Even though Croxall is graduating in May, he has concrete goals for his remaining time in, and the future of, the chapter.
“In the two months I have left, I want to establish a firm foundation regarding who we are as an honor society,” said Croxall. “My goal for us is to be a community that encourages excellence in the field of TESOL, academics in general, and all of life. The TESOL program is a unique group of students who have a heart for helping others, so I would love to see that manifested in how we encourage one another and in the ways we serve the community.”
Phi Sigma Iota recognizes outstanding accomplishment in the study or teaching of any of the academic fields related to foreign language, literature, or culture. Phi Sigma Iota is the highest academic honor in the field of foreign languages. The society has inducted over 50,000 members since its founding in 1917, and there are approximately 250 chapters of Phi Sigma Iota in the U.S., Mexico and France.
For more information about Phi Sigma Iota, visit phisigmaiota.org. For information about Lee’s chapter, contact Dr. Broersma at dbroersma@leeuniversity.edu.