2019 News Stories

Encyclopedia edited by USF associate professor receives multiple awards, honors

TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 11, 2019) – An encyclopedia of English language teaching edited by a College of Education associate professor received multiple awards and honors for its contributions to the field of English language teaching.

The "TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching," an eight-volume publication edited by Associate Professor John Liontas, Ph.D., was recognized by the Association of American Publishers’ 2019 PROSE Awards as a subject category winner for best Multivolume Reference in the Humanities. The Association of American Publishers’ PROSE Awards recognizes publications that demonstrate the best of professional and scholarly publishing in 49 subject categories and have made a significant contribution to a field of study. More than 500 entries were reviewed in this year’s competition.

“I am deeply honored by this recognition,” Liontas said. “It is a tremendous honor indeed. To be recognized by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing division of the Association of American Publishers with such a prestigious publishing award speaks volumes—it speaks to the breadth and depth of the scholarly work itself. All of us involved in the development of this indispensable professional resource for English language teachers and English as a second language practitioners everywhere—from project editors and associate editors to advisory board members and contributors—have worked tirelessly with the talented staff at Wiley to produce the definitive reference in the field of English language teaching, a scholarly work that is meticulously researched, persuasively written and expertly edited and produced.”

The Encyclopedia also received an honorable mention for most outstanding reference work from the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, as part of the association’s 2019 Dartmouth Medal award, an award that honors the creation of a reference source of outstanding quality and scholarly significance. 

Co-published by Wiley and TESOL Press, the “TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching” was developed through Liontas’ work with the TESOL International Association and explores the theoretical and practical aspects of English language instruction by providing an essential, go-to reference resource for educators, professionals, researchers, and students world-wide. The Encyclopedia contains more than 830 entries written by leading practitioners and scholars from around the globe.

Dr. Liontas is an associate professor of ESOL and the program coordinator for the Technology in Education and Second Language Acquisition program in the College of Education. He holds a doctorate in second language acquisition and teaching and is a distinguished thought leader, author and practitioner in the fields of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. Throughout his career, Dr. Liontas has received more than three dozen local, state, regional, national and international teaching awards and honors.

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching is available through Wiley Blackwell.