Korean teachers turn an eye to Kennett’s ESL program
Agroup of English teachers from South Korea has spent the last few weeks in some of Kennett’s schools, exploring the ins and outs of the English as a Second Language program.The five teachers - three at the high school and two at Kennett Middle School - were here as part of a program sponsored by the English Language Institute from the University of Delaware and the board of education in Seoul, Korea.
During their visit, the teachers took classes at the ELI by day and took graduate courses in English as a Second Language at night. The university also provided workshops for teaching methodology.
According to Shinja You, the South Koran government recently initiated a reform in the English language program, with an emphasis on “teaching English in English,” forcing the teachers to adapt to a language immersion program to teach English to all students in the education system.
Read full article via : PA8NewsGroup.com.
Early Launch for Language
Can kids learn anything if they are exposed to a subject for only half an hour a week, with no homework?
When it comes to learning another language, educators say yes.
“The kids getting it for 30 minutes won’t become fluent, but that’s not the point of those programs,” said Julie Sugarman, research associate at the nonprofit Center for Applied Linguistics in the District. “It’s to give them exposure to the language. Just because kids aren’t able to do calculus in sixth grade doesn’t mean we shouldn’t teach math in elementary school.”
Foreign language instruction is considered more important than ever as the nation’s demographics and national security issues change and the world’s economies become intertwined.
Read full article via washingtonpost.com.
Grace Presbyterian expands outreach with ESL program
February 14, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Classes
Grace presbyterian Church, 1009 15th ave. s. w., is gearing up to host a second english as a second language course for new Canadians.
Jean pattison, who co-ordinates grace’s program, says sponsoring eight refugees from somalia was an eye-opener for the beltline congregation on the pressing need for such programs.
“These people had never been to a school. they couldn’t converse or function in their own language, let alone try to learn english,” says pattison.
“We don’t want to duplicate any esl programs already operating in other downtown churches, but just to offer another outlet. we want to reach out to those newcomers, particularly women, who can become isolated in their apartments because of language barriers.”
The grace esl program is open to those at literacy levels 1 to 3 and runs monday, wednesday and Friday mornings from 9 a. m. to noon.
The cost for the next six-week course, which begins Feb. 23, is $30, with free child care available for preschoolers.
Volunteers from the church work one-on-one with students to practise conversational skills and instil confidence.
“We felt we were well positioned to offer this because we’re close to bus routes and new Canadians living downtown can walk to our church,” says pattison.
More information is available by calling the church office at 403-244-5861.
Read full article…Grace Presbyterian expands outreach with ESL program.
CARLA University of Minnesota: Institute
February 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Classes
Topic: Language and Culture in Sync: Teaching the Pragmatics of a Second Language
Date: July 27-31, 2009
A truly daunting challenge for second language learners is to adjust their language use so that it is appropriate for different socio-cultural contexts. How, for example, are learners supposed to address strangers, close friends, or people of higher social status in that culture? While acquiring discourse practices can take learners many years, research has shown that the process can be facilitated through explicit instruction.
This institute provides practical insights for teachers on how to enhance the learning of pragmatics. Participants will have hands-on opportunities to develop activities and materials for the classroom.
This institute is designed for K-16 ESL and foreign language teachers, material developers, curriculum coordinators, teacher educators, administrators, and researchers.
Testimonials from past participants:
· Becoming aware and excited about new aspects of teaching are an important part of our continual development as instructors. The professional quality of the workshop, the ideas and experiences of other participants will definitely result in benefits for my students.
· Pragmatics positively encourages successful communication, and successful communication means getting what we want. Isn’t that what teachers need to motivate and encourage students and to raise all student’s achievements? We need this kind of training!
Presenters:
Noriko Ishihara, PhD, Hosei University, Japan
Andrew D. Cohen, PhD, University of Minnesota (guest speaker)
Readings include:
Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (in press). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and culture meet. Pearson Education (latest manuscript to be shared with all participants)
More information about this institute is available on the CARLA website at: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/2009/pragmatics.pdf
Information about registration: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/register.html.
Arizona State CLI: Language Course
February 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Classes
In 2009, the Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute (CLI) will offer eight-week, eight-credit intensive language courses in:
· Albanian (elementary, intermediate, and advanced)
· Armenian (elementary and intermediate)
· Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (elementary and intermediate)
· Macedonian (elementary and intermediate)
· Polish (elementary)
· Russian (elementary, intermediate, and advanced)
· Tajik-Persian (elementary and intermediate)
· Tatar (elementary and intermediate)
· Uzbek (elementary)
This year the CLI will be held June 8 - July 31, 2009 on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University.
Classes meet Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 12:30 pm and cultural sessions are held in the afternoons.
All classes are tuition-free. The only cost for the course is a $500 non-refundable registration processing fee.
After the course in Tempe, students can continue their language and culture studies on special three-week study abroad programs. These programs will run from August 3-August 21, 2009. Students earn an additional two credits for these classes, tuition-free.
The study abroad programs are open to eligible students who did not participate in the courses at ASU.
For more information and to apply to the CLI, please visit our website: http://melikian.asu.edu/summersessions.php or contact us at cli@asu.edu.
Schools chief: Slash English-learner funds
The state schools chief has recommended that the Legislature slash more than $30 million in funding to teach English to students who aren’t fluent, a move that critics warned would further cripple schools that have been forced to shrink their budgets.
In his annual State of Education speech at the Capitol on Thursday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said $8.8 million for language instruction is adequate for the upcoming budget year. He added that so far, he believes the state’s new standards to help students become fluent in English are succeeding.
And Horne said students in Grades 3 and 8 should have to pass the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test before moving up a level. He also wants to expand AIMS to test students on history, which he acknowledged would require more funding.
Read Full Article here…Schools chief: Slash English-learner funds.
Tackling the three R’s in a second or third language
Stolen shopping carts collect behind Indian Creek Apartment Homes. In good weather, Nyo Nyo spends hours pushing her 2-year-old around the parking lot in one, her skirt flapping, his head high, like a prince surveying his realm. His mother is less at home in the country that took her family in four years ago, when they arrived in the Atlanta suburbs from Burma Myanmar by way of a Thai refugee camp.
“The problem, she says, is language. “No English,” she apologizes, and calls to the oldest of her three kids, on the playground outside their apartment.
Reluctantly, daughter Thayoomoo Ywin untangles herself from a swing and comes running. Thayoomoo is 8 going on 30. After 2-1/2 years at the International Community School ICS in nearby Decatur, Ga., her English is close to fluent, she’s on track doing math at a second-grade level, she’s in the top half of her class in reading, and she is her parents’ lifeline to the English-speaking world.
Read full article ..csmonitor.com.
English Classes in Loudoun County Va, Feb. 11-17
February 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Classes
ENGLISH CLASSES. 7-9 p.m., Crossroads United Methodist Church, 43454 Crossroads Drive, Ashburn. The Loudoun Literacy Council offers six English classes in five locations around Loudoun County for speakers of other languages. Classes meet two hours weekly for 10 weeks. Call 703-777-2205 to register or visit the online course schedule at http://www.loudounliteracy.org/new_classevents.html.
George Washington University: Research Assistant
From: Patricia Doran (prdoran@gwu.edu)
Research assistant needed for the bilingual special education program at the George Washington University. Position involves working in school-based settings to support in-service teachers enrolled in bilingual special education coursework, along with research, data analysis, and administrative duties related to supporting the project. Minimum qualifications include 2 years of educational experience and a master’s in ESOL, special education, bilingual special education, or a related field. Tuition funding for doctoral study in bilingual special education is included as a benefit of employment. Please contact Patricia Doran at prdoran@gwu.edu for further information.
Immigrant Parents Push to Protect English Classes
Each year, Fairfax County classrooms serve more than 20,000 students who are learning English as a second language. They also serve many of their parents.
More than 8,000 foreign-born adults enroll in classes annually through the county’s adult and community education program. They study English grammar and are taught about getting ahead in a new country. The courses are offered in public schools, and the fee, which works out to about $2 an hour, is subsidized by the school system.
Read full article…Immigrant Parents Push to Protect English Classes - washingtonpost.com.