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Message from the SAAL Executive Committee

New Year greetings from the SAAL EXCO (2004-2006)! We hope the start of 2005 finds you well, and that the coming year will be a good one for you. In this note, we wish to keep you informed about a few SAAL matters:

a) SAAL 20th Anniversary Celebrations

SAAL was established in 1985, and 2005 marks the 20th Anniversary of SAAL's establishment. The EXCO will be planning the following string of events for all SAAL members and friends to mark this occasion:

1. First Quarter: Prof Sandra McKay has agreed to deliver the 22nd SAAL Lecture on the topic "The Cultural Basis of Teaching English as an International Language" on Thursday, 10 March 2005. We will be sending out publicity details to you soon.
   
   
2. Second Quarter: Plans are underway to schedule a SAAL Talk sometime in the second quarter of 2005. Once details are confirmed, we will make them available to you.
   
   
3. Third Quarter: We hope to schedule a language teaching workshop sometime in September 2005. This workshop will introduce participants to an online software that will aid students in second/foreign language learning. We are currently working out the details of this workshop.
   
   
4. Fourth Quarter: We will mark the end of our 20th Anniversary celebrations with a gala dinner tentatively scheduled for the last week of October. We are currently finalizing the date and venue for this event.

Our events will not be successful without your support. We therefore hope to see you (and your friends) at all the above events.

b) SAAL Quarterly Online

We conducted a survey of the membership in 2004 to determine if SAAL members prefer to receive the SAAL Quarterly in soft or hard copy. The membership was evenly split on this matter, with about half voting each way. The SAAL EXCO therefore voted on the matter, and the majority decided to exploit the SAAL website and host the Quarterly online. Hence, from February 2005, the Quarterly will be made available in soft copy only.

As you can see, the new EXCO has been fairly busy since we took over the SAAL leadership in August 2004. We would very much like to involve you, the members of SAAL, in all our academic and social efforts. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us whenever you have an idea to share.

Wishing you good health and happiness in the New Year, take care!

CHNG HUANG HOON
SAAL President
on behalf of the SAAL EXCO