The President of the Chinese Language Teachers Association is elected by the CLTA membership, as per the CLTA Bylaws: Article V. The CLTA member who is elected to that position serves as the CLTA Vice President in the first year, fulfills the role of CLTA President in the second year, and then serves as the Immediate Past President (IPP) in the third year. A message from the CLTA President to the membership — "From the President" — is published in each issue of the Chinese Language Teachers Association Newsletter. In the table below are links to messages from Presidents and Immediate Past Presidents (IPP) of the CLTA over the years, commencing with the December 1997 issue, marking the beginning of the regular publication of messages from the CLTA President.*

* In 2007, the CLTA Newsletter shifted its time of its annual, three-issue publication in December, March and September to a new publication schedule of January, May, and September. Prior to 2007, the December issue contained the first message from the new president to start the cycle, and the second and third messages appeared in the following year's March and September issues respectively. The cycle began anew in that new December issue, with a message from the new President, but also a message from the Immediate Past President (IPP), summarizing events and activities of the Association during his/her term in office as CLTA President.