A new era of good feeling and good looks
Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, is teaching ESL at NVCC. I wonder which campus. Hopefully, this will shine some light on the importance of ESL teaching in the overall curriculum. All too often, ESL programs are the first to undergo budget cuts. I am happy to see NVCC isn’t headed down that path yet.
…That’s another great thing about both men: They’re married to (”drop-dead gorgeous”) women with multiple degrees and important careers, and both men are enormously proud of their wives. As a feminist, I confess that I regret that both women resigned their full-time back-home jobs to dedicate the next four (or more?!) years to their husbands’ career paths. But their unique positions as Mmes. Number One and Number Two give them an opportunity to do even more good than they could in their previous gigs. Besides, Jill Biden is now teaching ESL part-time at Northern Virginia Community College, so she’s still professoring, at least for now.
Read Full article…Phoenix Progressive Examiner: A new era of good feeling and good looks.
TEA gets stay on court-ordered bilingual ed plan
A court-ordered plan for how the Texas Education Agency would remedy constitutional problems with the state’s bilingual education programs was not released this week as anticipated.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week granted TEA a stay pending oral arguments in June. U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice last summer mandated the plan and set a due date of Jan. 31. TEA appealed the ruling.
Read Full Article…TEA gets stay on court-ordered bilingual ed plan.
New provincial mandate makes literacy ‘cradle to grave’
Clear and plain language training helps make communication more usable for more people. We had relied on one trainer (who has since moved on to another job), but last summer we were able to train 12 trainers in Williams Lake (and another 10 in 100 Mile House). Training at some local businesses will be starting next month.
Partner Assisted Learning, English as a Second Language (ESL) and Books for Babies have been the main activities of CCPL for the last 10 years. The participation in PAL and ESL continue to grow, with more and more truly life-changing success stories.
June Striegler and Shirley-Pat Gale, with all their volunteer tutors and now some past learners as well, are doing a great job. So great CCPL now needs more tutors!
Read Full Article…Williams Lake Tribune
ACT teachers’ average age drops
The ACT Education Department says the workforce has changed dramatically over the last few years.
“With Government announcements, including reduced class sizes from next year, extra help in literacy and numeracy and ESL [English Second Language] we expect that we’ll have to increase our recruitment over the next 12 months or so to meet those needs,” he said.
Read Full Article…
ACT teachers’ average age drops - ABC News
Changes in ESL are slow, but ‘trickle’ is underway
Two years after looking how the Abbotsford school district handles ESL learning, last week, at the board of education meeting, trustees heard about the steps being taken to make sure every student is given an equal chance.
Marcy Criner, Abbotsford ESL district principal, presented the district’s plan to the board and the challenges an ESL student has starting out.
An eight-year-old newcomer to English has to learn 4,500 words that his or her English-speaking peers already know plus 1,000 new words a year.
Read FUll Article…Changes in ESL are slow, but ‘trickle’ is underway.
TOEFL: Grants and Awards Deadline
January 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Grants
This is a reminder that the deadline for applications for TOEFL Grants and Awards is February 16. Applications are being accepted for the TOEFL Board Grants, Small Grants for Doctoral Research in Second or Foreign Language Assessment and the TOEFL International Speaker Grant. Nominations are also being accepted for the TOEFL Outstanding Young Scholar Award. The purpose of these grants and awards is to encourage scholarship and support significant activities in the field of English language assessment and international education.
February 16 is also the deadline for the TOEFL Library and Resource Center Award, which provides language teaching and testing texts to enhance the collections of libraries and resource centers outside of the Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
For more information about these grants and awards, as well as the application form, please visit TOEFL Grants and Awards. Applications received after February 16 will be considered for the next application deadline of October 1st.
(OPRE): Grant Opportunity
January 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Grants
1) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Administration for Children & Families, The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE): Grant Opportunity
The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) has recently published a research discretionary funding announcement titled Child Care Research Scholars.
Letters of intent are due March 2 and applications are due March 30.
Eligible Applicants are Doctoral-level graduate students enrolled in accredited public, state-controlled, and private institutions of higher education, including faith-based institutions of higher education, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Land Grant Colleges and Universities (TCUs).
This funding will support dissertation research, conducted in partnership with State Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) lead agencies, regarding child care policy issues. Applicants may apply for project periods up to two years and will be awarded up to $30,000 for the first year and up to $20,000 for the second year of the project. Six individual grants are expected to be awarded.
32 Million Adults Still Won’t Be Able to Read, Write, or Apply for Jobs
ProLiteracy, the nation’s leader in adult literacy programs and advocacy, today decried the exclusion of Title II of the Workforce Investment Act from the current economic stimulus package.
David C. Harvey, president of ProLiteracy, called on President Obama and Congress to include Title II of the Workforce Investment Act in the economic recovery proposal. “We applaud the efforts of our new president and Congress to craft a stimulus bill focused on creating new jobs,” Harvey said. “But it is imperative that they focus on the very people who will have the most difficulty finding jobs — low-literate workers. An effective recovery bill must provide adult literacy and employment training opportunities.”
Harvey pointed out that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to be reviewed by House subcommittees this week, funds job training services for at-risk youth, individuals with disabilities, and older Americans through Titles I, III, and IV of the Workforce Investment Act.
“But inexplicably, Title II, which focuses on adult education and literacy, was left out of the bill,” Harvey said. “Many of the nearly 3 million jobs lost during 2008 were held by individuals who need additional help with basic reading, math, or English skills in order to take advantage of the jobs that the Recovery Act will create.”
Read Full Article..
32 Million Adults Still Won’t Be Able to Read, Write, or Apply for Jobs.
ESL classes offered in Somerville, Manville
SOMERSET COUNTY —The Educational Services Commission offers free English as a Second Language classes to adult learners.
Advertisement
The daytime program takes place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 300 Union Ave., Somerville. The evening classes take place at Manville High School, 1300 Brooks Blvd., Manville on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m.
For more information, students may contact me at 908-806-2795 or e-mail fleddy@hcesc.com.
mycentraljersey.com | MyCentralJersey.com.
Wall Street Institute Improves the Way Its Students Learn English
Wall Street Institute, the world’s premier provider of English language instruction, has updated its educational product offering and is introducing the enhanced features and benefits to its over 160,000 ESL students around the world in a phased product roll-out.
The project involved both modernizing the look and feel and use of language in its online course lessons and educational materials and introducing new features including educational videos and new teacher-led class lesson topics.
The project was a major undertaking by Wall Street Institute, and shows the commitment the company has to offering its students the best and most technologically advanced educational tools available to help them achieve their English language goals.