Wheaton College TESOL & Intercultural Studies

This year's ICLL conference theme is "Exploring acculturation through language acquisition". Check it out! Richmond, Virginia in October!

Registration is open now for the International Congress on Language Learning this October! Learn more and register today to reserve your spot!

More kudos to our TESOL alumni! Congratulations to Dr. Angela Mooney, Professor of Education at the University of Central Oklahoma who received the 2026 DaVinci Scholar Award.

The DaVinci Institute, Oklahoma's Creativity Think Tank, presents DaVinci Scholar awards each year, recognizing higher-education faculty whose creative, innovative accomplishments have made a significant contribution to their academic disciplines.

Dr. Mooney has been the director of Project ENGAGE: Equipping a new generation for academic growth and excellence, through a $2.5 million National Professional Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Congratulations to Sarah Taylor, Regional Director of Adult Education for World Relief. Sarah, a Wheaton TESOL Grad, received the Administrator of the Year Award for Adult Education from the IACEA (Illinois Adult and Continuing Educators Association).

Sarah writes, "I love the work of language, literacy, and workforce education--the creativity, the purpose, the budgets and the grants, the hard work and dedication of my team and our students. Adult Education, Literacy & Workforce Training changes lives, strengthens families, and builds communities, and I am humbled to serve alongside so many who lead this work with purpose and heart."

TESOL Faculty and Staff gathered together for an end of the year retreat. We evaluated the past academic year's program and worked on future plans. There are exciting things coming! What a great team!

Well done!! The 2026 Lonna Dickerson Award in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages was awarded to Corie Jakes and Kerry Yu during the Commissioning Service on May 9th. They were recognized for excellent academic work and professional preparation.

Corie continues teaching ESL to newcomers in a community-church based program in Ohio. Long term goals include training others for church based programs.

Kerry will be moving to Thailand to teach in an International School in Bangkok.

Congratulations TESOL Graduates!

Saturday May 9th: the best day of the Academic Year!! TESOL faculty, staff, students and family gathered for a very full day. We started with an early commissioning service for graduating students, an open house brunch, then full commencement in Edman Chapel. Here a few photos from the Commissioning Service where some joined virtually. Commencement photos are coming later!

Dan Wang started our MA program as a residential student. With only 6 credit hours to go, his family is relocating to Taiwan! Because our program can be completed online, residentially, or in combination, Dan will be able to finish the program and earn his MA while in Taiwan. Amazing flexibility!!