A word from the AELFE president

Dear colleagues,

As former president Elisabet Arnó has told you in her recent farewell message, I became the new AELFE president at the last conference in Bucharest 2015. Let me introduce myself with this message, although I believe that many of you already know me from previous conferences and exchanges.

Needless to say, I am honored to serve as president of this association, where I have been a member since 1995. This Association of LSP has always meant a lot to me both academic and personally, with many good memories from different events (conferences, seminars, meetings) and personal interactions with colleagues who are still in the association or already left after retirement. To all of you, my most sincere appreciation and kindest regards in this new position which I hold as president.

My project (if I may use this, for me, uplifting word) in this new phase hopes to be that of everyone involved in the LSP network of teachers and researchers: rewarding as well as fruitful in both academic / professional and personal terms. I agree with all said by Elisabet about the good benefits of our Association as a provider of opportunities to share “ideas, models, and outcomes of LSP teaching and research”. I think that not only have the annual conferences and publications accomplished that, but our frequent exchanges and collaborations at different levels (in projects, groups, individually, etc) too. I also think that former presidents and executive boards have done magnificent work over the years, and I subscribe to all said by Elisabet in that regard as well.

I have also belonged to the executive board since 2009, as former elected member and then as vice-president. I take this opportunity to thank Elisabet and former and present executive members for their work, trust, and collaboration. I have learned a lot from them, and I am still learning, an on-going project in my view that makes AELFE what it is, a shared network for learning and growing in our daily work with LSP.

A new phase usually means the future of something, in this case, of LSP teaching and research. Most of us work at university and notice the challenges ahead almost on a daily basis, which tend to derive from institutional changes and / or reforms. The landscape is changing in that respect, not only for university scenarios, but also for other research / professional areas. In this context, I think that we must stay strong and collaborate with each other within the network, as well as with different agents outside our own association to bring in more members and specialists that continue strengthening our work value. Europe can be a good space for collaboration and support, as we all know, and our joint project should approach this idea and grasp it fruitfully.

We have indeed a stronghold in the association, with the various conferences and events organized as well as the highly-ranked journal Ibérica, a proud asset for us all. I intend that all this great effort and work continue during my presidency term, and I believe that with the current executive board members, editors, collaborators, and colleagues, this on-going project will continue providing us with many rewarding and productive developments and outcomes. It is my sole effort to do so, with the help from all of you.

Thank you so much, and I hope to see you soon.

Alejandro Curado Fuentes
President of AELFE

Universidad de Extremadura
Merida (Badajoz, Spain)
acuradounex.es