Annual Voices Journal Call for Articles

2025 has been an eventful year; let’s mark it with some reflection on how we met the challenges we faced and the inspiring efforts we have made to embrace and educate our students and ourselves. I invite you to write those thoughts down and share them with NJTESOL/NJBE’s many members by submitting an article to our Annual Voices Journal.

If you have submitted a proposal for our Spring Conference: Unlock Your Potential, BE Multilingual – Celebrating 50 Years of NJBE, writing an article on your presentation topic can build interest in your workshop. Do you have a new practice you are using with your students? Advice on writing an ESL Curriculum? Thoughts on the current state of multilingual education and ways to support our students and colleagues. These are just a few suggestions of topics that we are looking to publish in Annual Voices.

Articles are requested before the submission deadline of January 15, 2026. To promote all voices in our organization, we encourage articles from Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) members and/or topics that focus on race and power within language instruction, or linguistic justice more broadly. Submission guidelines indicate articles in these categories:

Current issues: A submission for the current issues category should provide a clear analysis, critique, discussion, or presentation of key topics in New Jersey ESL, Bilingual Education, and Dual Language programs.
Classroom explorations: A submission for the classroom explorations category will enable teachers to share their personal perspectives on their own instructional techniques, challenges, issues, and successes. It should include viewpoints in developing multiple avenues to address the range of issues in ESL, Bilingual Education, Dual Language education, and student learning. Each submission should include the type of program, the instructional techniques, and an overview in the first paragraph, then provide supporting evidence throughout the rest of the article.
Program descriptions/exemplary scheduling: A submission for this category will detail a school or district program that has created a solution to an issue impacting effective instructional settings for English language learners, bilingual students, and dual language learners. These programs do not need to be all-encompassing but rather provide insight into creative strategies for scheduling and/or lesson planning to enhance student learning.
Alternative perspectives: A submission in this category will provide an opportunity for diverse perspectives on one issue or topic. We encourage innovative commentary on issues or teaching methodologies as a way of including all voices in a professional conversation.

Articles must be current and appropriate as related to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, Bilingual Education, and Dual language programs, including students who are U.S.-born bilinguals, ethnically and/or racially diverse multilingual speakers, “generation 1.5”, immigrants, and international students. Articles may focus on any educational level, from kindergarten to university/teacher education, as well as on adult school and workplace literacy settings. An article length of 500-1200 words is recommended, and photos are accepted. In recognition of the disproportionate impacts upon Black multilingual language learners, we encourage submissions at the intersection of race and language.

NJTESOL/NJBE thrives on the scholarship and teaching skills of its members. Please take the time to share some of your expertise with your colleagues in the NJTESOL/NJBE Voices Annual Journal. The deadline for submission is January 15, 2026. Click here for submission guidelines and information. https://voices.njtesol-njbe.org/home/submissions/

Thank you,
Kathleen Fernandez, Executive Director NJTESOL/NJBE

Announcements

The CABR Committee had a great meeting with John McWhorter. For our next meeting on 11/12 at 7:00, please listen to this podcast. It’s called: Why Ebonics Should be Centered in Teaching Black Kids to Read. After having listened to John McWhorter, I feel like he would contest what is being asserted in the title because he told us that phonics was the answer to teaching literacy to Black kids (or any kid, for that matter). What do you think? To join this fascinating conversation, fill out this Google Form.

Bergen County Chapter – Join us virtually on Thursday, November 13 @ 4:30 for High School to College Pathways presented by Leah Carmona of Bergen Community College. She will discuss the survey NJTESOL/NJBE is using to gather information about pathways to higher Education for high school students and college readiness programs for ESL high school students. The survey aims to learn ways to improve communication between institutions and foster partnerships that will help ESL high school students succeed in their academic life and the workforce.

Register here and the email link with the Zoom information will be sent to you the day of the meeting. School email addresses tend to reject Eventbrite emails, so please use a personal email address and check to make sure you get an email confirming registration.

Your Voice for Weekly Voices – Lessons and activities for the holidays
Do you have a lesson plan and/or activity for the holidays that you like to do with your MLs? Here is an opportunity to share it with other teachers through Weekly Voices.
We will need a brief description of the activity in 100-600 words with links to whatever resources you use: websites, shared Google docs, or files.Not acceptable are items you are selling or materials that are copyrighted. Sharable materials that require attribution are fine. Please include the link or links for these.Yes, you can share more than one activity.

Please submit your lessons and activities here at least three weeks before the holiday so other teachers can use them. Of course, you can share other ideas as well. Questions? Email Marilyn at tech1@njtesol-njbe.org

Spring Conference Call For Proposals
Presenters play a key role in our Spring Conference. We invite proposals that explore how being multilingual can unlock potential for opportunities and learning. Proposals may focus on any educational level, from Preschool to university, as well as in adult school and workplace literacy settings. Proposals can be submitted for an in-person presentation, a pre-recorded presentation for the Video Library, or a combination of both. You can submit your proposal here. The deadline has been extended to Nov. 16, 2025.

Register for the 2026 Spring Conference
Theme – Unlock Your Potential: BE Multilingual – Celebrating 50 Years of NJBE
You can attend in person at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, May 19, 20, & 21 (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday) OR view the Virtual Library Conference: May 27 through August 20. Register early, by Jan. 30, 2026, for the discounted rate. Regular registration is open through April 24, 2026 or until capacity is reached.
See more information here.

2025 Spring Conference Platinum Sponsor

Bridging Language in PreK