Articles in this first special focus issue in Cross Currents' 18-year history include the following: "Courses or Resources" (Alan Maley); "Linguistic Pragmatics and English Language Learning" (S. Kathleen Kitao); "Arriving at the Himalayan Range: Language Learning and Teacher Training" (Subhash Jain); "The Fear of Making Errors (Keiko Nonaka); and "Politics and the Modern English Language" (Thomas Clayton). Four somewhat brief articles are contained in the section headed "Bright Ideas." They are: "Note Taking" (David Wardell); "Task Writing for Conversation Courses" (N. Ann Chenoweth); "Teaching with Imperfect Language" (Curtis Chapman); and "The Skit Project: Teaching Cultural Communication Patterns" (Mika Miyasone, Daniel J. Eichhorst). The final section consists of a series of articles focusing on professionalism in English language teaching and presented as a forum. Titles are as follows: "Introductory Remarks" (Thomas Clayton); "International TESOL: An Argument for Certification" (Janet Anderson-Hsieh); "Against an International TESOL License" (Thomas Graham); "Matters of Professionalism and the Degree in TESOL" (John Staczek); "Pilgrims, Progress, and Professionalism in TESOL" (Keith Maurice); "International Standards for ESL Teachers: An Agenda and Recommendations" (Rene Cisneros, Elizabeth Leone); "What Did Isadora Duncan and Einstein Have in Common?" (Robert O'Neill); "The Importance of Grammar in ESL Teacher Education" (Patrick Duffley); "Japanese University Hiring Practices and the Masters in TEFL" (Michael Redfield); "Some Thai Perspectives on TESOL Professionalism" (Acharapan Leanhanathavuth); and "The Teacher-Researcher: Personal Reflections" (John Swales). (MSE)