TESL-WW SPRING NEWSLETTER 2012

TESL-WW SPRING NEWSLETTER 2012 In this Issue A message from your President Information about 2012 combined PD/AGM event TESL TALKS: Toward ESL Teaching Excellence Become a part of the Executive for 2012/2013 FAQ s about being part of the Executive How to get to the AGM *SIGN UP TODAY FOR THE SPRING PD EVENT REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FOUR WEEKS AWAY!! TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 1 SPRING 2012

Your President s Message I want to get a job in my field, to talk to my child s teacher, to finish my dissertation, to get into college, to talk to my doctor, to use a computer to fill out a form, to find help with. How do I meet the multi-level needs of my class? How do I help some students with remedial spelling while the others forge ahead? How do I incorporate pronunciation, meet intercultural communication challenges, incorporate technology, cope with changes as they arrive. Diverse, committed, strong, skilled - we are the ESL community in Waterloo Region. And this is YOUR TESL Waterloo Wellington organization. The Professional Development day you will read about in these pages is the fruit of the questioning, the envisioning, and the collaborating of a small group of your colleagues. Our goal is to provide everyone with good quality PD in a new format. to provide enough PD for TESL Ontario requirements for the year... to provide incentive for our diverse, committed, hard-working colleagues to come out for one day on May 12 and join us in celebrating and strengthening who we are as a language education community. Please look through the offerings and find what will teach, inspire, or even amuse you. And then please sign up and please come. And if you like what you see in these pages, consider joining the executive. If you don t like what you see in these pages, DEFINITELY consider joining the executive! We need you. The Annual General Meeting will take place on the same day as the PD. We promise to keep the meeting short and to the point. We want to be accountable to you, our membership. And we do need a new President elect. If you have served on the executive in the past or are serving now, please consider making a three-year commitment: one year as president elect, one year as president, one year as past-president. Diverse, committed, strong, skilled You will not regret your time serving this community. Kind regards, Laura Stoutenburg TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 2 SPRING 2012

TESL TALKS: Toward ESL Teaching Excellence This year s executive has created a one day event that provides you with your full 5 hours of required yearly PD together with a wonderful lunch and our AGM. Please join TESL WW Saturday May 12, 2012 at RENISON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Registration TESL Talks Coffee/Book Displays Keynote Address Lindsay Brooks Lunch and AGM Workshops Session 1 Workshops Session 2 Agenda 8:30 9:00 9:00 10:15 10:15 10:45 10:45 12:00 12:00 1:10 1:20 2:05 pm 2:15 3:00 pm The cost for attending the AGM is $15 for TESL members and $20 for non- TESL members. The deadline for registration is April 27, 2012. TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 3 SPRING 2012

Our WW TESL Keynote Address With speaker Lindsay Brooks Dynamic Assessment: Bringing instruction and assessment together In this talk, I will provide an overview of the principles of Dynamic Assessment (DA), an innovative pedagogical approach that brings instruction and assessment together, and discuss how DA can be practiced in the language classroom. Dynamic Assessment has its roots in sociocultural theory and the work of the Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky. Key to understanding and implementing DA is Vygotsky s conceptualization of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), or the difference between what one can do individually and what one can accomplish with assistance or mediation either from a teacher or from peers. After presenting these concepts and the theoretical background of DA, I will discuss how we can apply the principles of DA in our assessment practices and change the traditional view of assessment in which typical learner performance is elicited, to how we can provide mediation so that learners can produce their best possible performance. Lindsay has over 20 years of teaching experience and is currently an instructor in the TESOL Certificate Program, Woodsworth College, University of Toronto, where she teaches a course on curriculum planning and assessment. She is also in her final year of her Ph.D. in the Second Language Education Program of the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE/UT. Her dissertation research, framed within sociocultural theory, examines oral proficiency testing in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) context in which test-takers interact with an examiner versus when they interact with another test-taker. In addition to her teaching and studies, she is currently coordinating a research project funded by the Educational Testing Service on comparing TOEFL ibt Speaking tasks with performance on real-life academic speaking tasks. TESL Talk Presenters: Our day will begin with three ideas related to the ESL world of today. Each speaker will take 20 minutes to guide and inspire you as a language educator in the 21 st century. 1. Getting the Most Learning Out of Intercultural Encounters Kathryn Brillinger, Conestoga College This talk will be about our journeys as ESL teachers through an ongoing series of complex, diverse intercultural encounters. Stories will illustrate best practices in making this powerful journey one of respect and inclusion for all. 2. Current Immigrants Struggles Sherry Thiessen, Kitchener Waterloo Multicultural Centre This short talk focuses on how some immigrants come to Canada as refugees, while others come as economic immigrants. Though immigrants face many common barriers upon their arrival, the biggest issues they face depend in part on how they came to Canada in the first place. Physical and mental health problems tend be a major issue faced by immigrants who come as refugees. For economic immigrants one of the biggest barriers is finding work in their field of expertise. 3. Student-driven ESL in the Workplace Maggie Heeney, Renison University College, University of Waterloo This short talk describes challenges faced by foreign-trained professionals in the workplace and describes how ESL instructors can encourage them to contribute to their own learning by having students create classes around cultural appropriateness and matching L2 language competency with professional competency. TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 4 SPRING 2012

The Afternoon Workshops You can join two of these exciting sessions. Each session is repeated so that you are able to attend the two workshops that interest you the most. Read the descriptions of our presenters and their workshops and make your choice. 1. Using Technology in the Classroom Technology plays an important role in student learning today. This workshop is crafted to encourage versatile teaching practice by the use of technology. You will receive guidance in using technology in your classroom that reflects the diverse nature of our learners. You will also walk away with a list of fun and creative websites. Let's explore the wealth of online resources together to see how you can use them in your classroom. Adrienne Horvath Cortes A little over a decade ago, Adrienne Horvath Cortes decided to take on a career change leaving the legal field behind. During this journey, Adrienne realized that teaching ESL is her true passion. After receiving her TESL Ontario certification, she continued her studies and completed a Bachelor s of Adult Education from Brock University in 2006. Later in 2010, she received a Master's degree in Education from the same university. Adrienne has worked as an ESL instructor, LINC professor, and a Site Coordinator. Much of her work focuses on finding effective and creative ways to meet the needs of her learners. Adrienne is always on the hunt for local employment related partnerships to create more links to work for her students in the community. When not working, Adrienne loves to go skiing in the mountains and enjoys going for long walks. 2. Dictionary Activities for the ESL Classroom The main objective of this workshop is to inspire ESL teachers to develop dictionary skills among their students and provide a variety of dictionary activity ideas for the classroom. Using your learner s dictionaries more actively in class will help your students become proficient dictionary users and give them more control over their language development and learning. All ESL instructors and coordinators are encouraged to attend. Opportunity will be provided for participants to discuss how and why they have used dictionaries in their classes, and we will examine together how using a learner s dictionary regularly can benefit a student s learning in ESL classes, even when they are beyond the beginning level. Special time will also be given to explain what sets a learner s dictionary apart from the other dictionaries (e.g., electronic, online, monolingual for native speakers, bilingual) to help attendees understand how it can be a useful resource for any level ESL classroom. Jeff Gully Jeff Gulley is an ESL Consultant with Oxford University Press. He previously taught ESL overseas and has contributed to various ESL publications as both a writer and an editor. 3. Encouraging Independence in ESL Literacy Learners How can literacy learners read (and learn) better? Reading is key to Lifelong Learning. This session will share a variety of activities that help adult literacy learners gain confidence. With Silent Reading time, Reading Logs, Word Tracking, Word Building and simple daily Writing Journals, you can provide meaningful reading practice. You can teach students how to identify appropriate reading material. You can show them strategies they can use to ready themselves for reading. You can focus students on rereading to find answers within their own notebooks. You can give feedback in a way that supports self-correction. You can find appropriate reading materials in your community, on the Internet and by creating it in the classroom. And then your students can read (and learn) better. Lisa Fedak Since 1992, Lisa Fedak has been teaching a variety of classes including Literacy, Pronunciation, CALL and CLB levels 1-8 at St. George's Centre in Guelph, Ontario. She is currently the Tutor Lead organizing the Volunteer Tutor Program at the school and has been a Mentor Teacher for Conestoga College's TESL program several times. Trained as a visual artist, Lisa makes pottery for sale on the weekends. TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 5 SPRING 2012

4. Using Lists to Teach Phrasing and Intonation This workshop will demonstrate simple techniques for using short lists of items to help ESL learners produce basic pronunciation patterns in English. Kathryn Brillinger Kathryn Brillinger has been teaching ESL for 20 years and been involved in teacher training in pronunciation for 8 years. She completed a BA in Exceptionality in Human Learning and a post-graduate certificate in TESL at the University of Toronto. She obtained her MEd with a specialization in TESL from Brock University and her research was in why ESL teachers don t teach more pronunciation. She now teaches TESL and is Chair, Professional Development, Teaching and Learning at Conestoga College. 5. Look who s chanting in the classroom! Discover the tricks, learn and experience the exhilarating beat, and liven up your classes with the many useful ideas and strategies for teaching pronunciation, idioms, grammar, and conversations by using a variety of invigorating chants, songs, and poems delicately created and selected for the adult language learner - ESL and LINC. Andrew Taylor Andrew Taylor currently teaches LINC and ESL in Mississauga and has been an ESL and LINC Teacher for over two decades. He has presented many very successful workshops at various TESL Conferences in Ontario and abroad, and has so far published ten well-received ESL books under his company ESL Transcend Publishing. Andrew Taylor is also a professional singer, stage actor and director, and poet. 6. Writing Strategies for ESL Students in the Writing Centre at Conestoga College Approximately 54% of students who use the Writing Centre at Conestoga College have a language other than English as their first language. Within that group, however, there is considerable variety. Students first languages include Urdu, Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Tigrigna. Their programs range from Bachelor of Science of Nursing, to English Language Studies, to Bookkeeping. They may be in the college for 4 years or 4 months. Some are interested in exploring sophisticated ways of combining ideas in a sentence; some don t realize they write sentence fragments. The Writing Centre supports all these students. In this talk, come and see samples of students work, hear what we do, and join the conversation about how to serve the diverse writing needs of English Language Learners. Lynn Gresham Lynn Gresham, coordinator of the Writing Centre at Conestoga College, will be joined by Tamsin Cobb, a consultant in the Writing Centre. Lynn and Tamsin s enthusiasm for and expertise in assisting students with academic English make the service popular. Lunch Menu Chicken Breast Chasseur Vegetarian Lasagna Roasted Potato Seasonal Vegetable Bread Rolls / Butter Salad and Dressing Coffee and Tea TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 6 SPRING 2012

Registration Form TESL TALKS: Toward ESL Teaching Excellence Professional Development Conference and Annual General Meeting Saturday May 12, 2012 Renison University College, 240 Westmount Rd N., Waterloo, ON Name: Phone #: Email: _ School: Food Preference: Chicken Vegetarian Choose your workshops. Please choose three workshops from the list below by numbering 1, 2 and 3 in order of preference beside the workshop title: Using Technology in the Classroom - Adrienne Horvath Cortes Encouraging Independence in ESL Literacy Learners - Lisa Fedak Dictionary Activities for the ESL Classroom Jeff Gully Using Lists to Teach Phrasing and Intonation - Kathryn Brillinger Look Who s Chanting in the Classroom - Andrew Taylor Writing Strategies for ESL learners - Lynn Gresham I have enclosed $_ for the Sharing Tips for ESL Teaching Excellence TESL-WW joint PD and AGM Event. (Please make cheques payable to TESL WW) IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT REGISTRATION: *Please note the registration date as we have to confirm numbers for lunch with the Renison Chef. Lisa Vielma Cost: $15 for members and students 44 Peachtree Cres. $20 for non-members Guelph, ON N1H 8K5 TWO WAYS TO REGISTER: Mail payment and registration by April 27, 2012 to Lisa or EMAIL Lisa at lisavielma@hotmail.com to let her know you are coming by April 27, 2012 and pay at the door. TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 7 SPRING 2011

A Call for Nominees! If you would like the opportunity to work with ESL instructors from diverse teaching backgrounds in an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration AND earn valuable P.D. hours, then consider joining your TESL-WW executive. The following positions need to be filled for the upcoming year: Calling all past Committee Members: The position of President is open you must have served on the committee in the past to be eligible. Please email our current President, Laura (see below for her address), if you would like to take on this position. We are looking for a President Elect! Have you served on the WWTESL committee in the past? Have you served on another affiliate? We need you! President Elects must have one year s prior TESL committee experience. Want to help at the PD events? Be a Member at Large! No experience necessary! We have 2-3 positions to fill! FAQ S about being on the Committee 1. How often do we meet? Usually we have about 4 meetings a year. 2. Do I have to attend ALL the meetings? Although we like the entire executive to attend, sometimes there is a conflict, and you are not able to come. We do send out minutes after the meeting. 3. How many PD events do you organize a year? Usually we have one fall and one winter plus the AGM. 4. Do I have to be available for all PD events? Again conflicts arise, and if you can manage two out of three a year, that is great. If you are interested in filling any of these positions, please attend the AGM on May 12 th where nominations will be heard and elections held. If you are unable to attend, but would like to volunteer on next year s committee, please notify the TESL WW President, Laura Stoutenburg, (lstoutenburg@conestogac.on.ca ), prior to May 12 th or speak directly to one of the executive members at the AGM. * If you want to know more about what the positions on the executive entail, contact us and we ll send you a description! TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 8 SPRING 2011

Renison University College (University of Waterloo) 240 Westmount Road N., Waterloo, ON Written Instructions From Highway 401(coming from Toronto) take exit 278 (Highway 8 Exit west) towards Kitchener Follow 8 West to Highway 7 East (also called the Conestoga Parkway) Follow 7 East as it turns into Highway 85 North (still the Conestoga Parkway) Exit at University Avenue West Continue west on University Avenue to Westmount Road North (you will have passed Wilfrid Laurier University on the left and the University of Waterloo on the right) Turn right onto Westmount Road North. Take the second driveway on the right to Renison University College. TESL-WW NEWSLETTER 9 SPRING 2011