Summer School Gives Esl Students Jump Start

When Jeannette Sgambellone found out there was money available for Lakewood Schools to hold an ESL summer school session for the first time, she and her fellow district English as a Second Language teachers rallied into action.

Because the district didn’t know for sure that federal Title 1 funds were available for the program until after school let out in June, the teachers had to go the extra mile to notify families of the opportunity.

Read full story via The Lakewood Observer

Sagging economy boosts English class enrollment

The sinking economy has spurred demand for English classes, while at the same time cuts in education budgets have left some of the programs without classrooms, education officials say.

While there has always been a high demand for English classes, recently more students are calling and walking up to registration counters at local community colleges throughout the county, hoping to sign up for one of the hundreds of classes offered during summer sessions, according to education officials.

Read full story via OCRegister.com.

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Workshop: Developing Professional Developers: Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners

From: Jane Hill (jhill@mcrel.org)

Workshop:
Developing Professional Developers: Classroom Instruction that Works
with English Language Learners

Dates: July 20-22, 2009

Place: McREL in Denver, CO

English as a Second Language staff developers and coaches, come to McREL’s Denver office to attend a 3-day program to learn how to deliver Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners in your own school, district, or area.

Goals/Objectives:
Developing Professional Developers is McREL’s term for Training-of-Trainers.
The primary objective of the Developing Professional Developers program is to prepare English as a Second Language staff developers/coaches to provide Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners professional development sessions to support mainstream teachers in providing high quality instruction for English language learners.

Based on McREL’s popular book, Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners, this workshop applies the nine categories of research-based instructional strategies identified in Classroom Instruction that Works to five stages of language acquisition.

Learn how to adapt research-based teaching strategies, many of which you may already be using, to successfully engage and raise the achievement of English language learners in mainstream classrooms.

During the first two days you will see the Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners workshop modeled, and on the third day, you will work on your skills as a facilitator and practice delivering parts of the workshop.

Price: $825 per person
Early-bird discount: $750 per person (Deadline: May 20, 2009)
Group registration discount: Save $75 per person when registering more than one person.

The workshop price includes a copy of the Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners Facilitator’s Guide and Participant’s Workbook.

Register now (you will be taken to McREL’s secure event registration site)

For more information go to www.mcrel.org and look on the right side of the homepage for Upcoming Events at McREL or contact Jane Hill (jhill@mcrel.org).

Second Language Research Forum (SLRF) Conference: “Diverse contributions to SLA: Integrating the parts of a greater whole”

From: SLRF (slrf2009@msu.edu)

Dates: October 29 - November 1, 2009

SLRF 2009 will be hosted by Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, MI.

Call for Papers
This annual conference aims to create a forum for the presentation and discussion of research in second language acquisition from a variety of subfields including, but not limited to: theoretical linguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropology, cognitive science, psychology, and educational science.

SLRF 2009 asks how these varied methodologies and approaches compose a single field of SLA.

We solicit papers, posters, and colloquia that address this question and that add to our understanding of SLA.

Plenary Speakers:
Dr. Robert DeKeyser, University of Maryland
Dr. Susan Gass, Michigan State University
Dr. Jim Lantolf, Penn State University
Dr. Bonnie Schwartz, University of Hawaii
SLRF 2009 offers two workshops and three colloquia (one invited and two refereed). The invited colloquium will be organized by Dr. Shawn Loewen, MSU. We invite submissions for the other two colloquia.

Invited Colloquium: Current Issues in Focus on Form
Although considerable research has been conducted on focus on form (FonF), there still remain numerous unanswered questions. This colloquium will consider FonF from the perspectives of current SLA theory, research methodology and pedagogy.

Areas to be addressed include the role of social context, the measurement of constructs (e.g. noticing), the intensity and frequency of focus, and the target of focus, inter alia. The goal of the colloquium will be to advance the research agenda for FonF.

Conference Workshops:
“Conducting Research with Learner Corpora” with Dr. Thomas Cobb, University of Quebec at Montreal.
“Grant Acquisition Workshop” with Linda White, In-House Grant Writer for the MSU Second Language Studies Program and Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR).
Submission Deadline: May 1, 2009
Notification of Acceptance: July 1, 2009

Submission Guidelines:
Proposals for papers, posters, and colloquia are welcome on all areas that contribute to second language research, including:
Formal approaches to SLA
Socio-cultural approaches / CA / pragmatics
CALL / CMC
L2 psycholinguistics
Classroom research and pedagogy
L2 assessment and research methodology
L2 phonetics and phonology
A first for SLRF, comprehensive syntheses, preferably in the form of meta-analysis, are also invited in these areas.

Paper Presentations:
Paper presentations will be 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes for discussion.

Poster Presentations:
Posters will be on display each day between 9:15am - 4:30pm. Poster presenters will be available to present and discuss their work during the two hour lunch break on both Friday and Saturday.

Colloquia:
Colloquia are thematic collections of presentations organized by one or more individuals; they may be proposed for blocks of 2 hours. Two colloquia will be selected for the conference program.

Instructions for submission:
All proposals will be submitted through the SLRF 2009 online submission system. To submit an abstract, please go to: http://sls.msu.edu/slrf09

Registration:
Pre-registration available online until September 15th.
Student rate: $50. Regular rate: $70.

Student Registration Waiver:
The four students whose conference proposals receive the highest ratings will have their conference fees waived. Submission deadline is May 1, 2009.

Travel/Accommodation:
Nearby airports in Lansing, MI; and Detroit, MI. Rooms available at conference venue- Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. For more  details, please see http://sls.msu.edu/slrf09

Student Registration Waiver:
The four students whose conference proposals receive the highest ratings will have their conference fees waived. Submission deadline is May 1, 2009.

Questions:
Please direct any questions to the SLRF 2009 organizing committee at slrf2009@msu.edu, or view the conference website: http://sls.msu.edu/slrf09

Center for Parent Leadership at the Prichard Committee: Seminar

From: Molly Toney (mtoney@prichardcommittee.org)
Parent Leaders: An untapped resource in education

• Join your peers from around the country in a two-day seminar where you will learn how to develop and sustain a successful parent leadership program.
• Learn best practices for planning, staffing, developing curriculum, recruiting, publicizing and funding parent leadership programs.
• Work side-by-side with parent involvement experts from around the country including Anne T. Henderson, Senior Consultant, Community Involvement Program, Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
• Meet active parent leaders and hear first hand what is working for them at school and district levels.
• Be inspired by success stories from varied communities (rich and poor; urban, suburban and rural).
• Get acquainted with the latest research on how parent involvement makes a difference for kids and with the leverage points in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
• Work directly with experts to get a head start on planning your own program.

Who Should Attend
·         School Districts
·         State Departments of Education
·         PIRCs
·         Community-based Organizations
·         Advocacy Groups
·         Parent Liaison Programs
·         Foundations
·         Community Organizers
·         Business-Education Coalitions

Organizers
These seminars are hosted by Center for Parent Leadership at the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. Sessions will be led by staff and parents from Prichard’s acclaimed Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership (CIPL), which since 1997 has trained approximately 1500 Kentucky parent leaders. Today, these leaders are actively and knowledgeably promoting school improvement through their participation on school boards, school site councils and other venues where their voices are heard - and their recommendations are acted on. CIPL is a program of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, which is known nationally for its longstanding success in mobilizing leadership and grassroots support for better schools.

Why Now?
As states and communities implement the testing, accountability and quality teaching requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and state requirements, the demand for parent leadership has never been greater. Research confirms what common sense suggests: in schools, homes and communities where parents are engaged and involved, students perform better. The stakes have been raised. Additional tools (like detailed school and district performance data) are now available to help parent leaders do their work. We know more than
ever before what works - for students, for parents, for educators, and for communities.

Cost/Registration
$750 per person (before March 20, 2009) includes seminar registration, accommodations, and all meals and materials.

$800 per person (after March 20, 2009) includes seminar registration, accommodations, and all meals and materials.

Accommodations will be booked upon receipt of registration by the Center for Parent Leadership. Our receipt of your registration form indicates your payment responsibility.

LOCATION
Downtown Hilton Hotel
369 W. Vine Street • Lexington, KY 40507
(859) 231-9000

DATES
May 6-7, 2009

CONTACT
Molly Toney
(859) 233-9849 ext. 226
mtoney@prichardcommittee.org

Visit www.CenterForParentLeadership.org for additional details and the seminar agenda.

The George Washington University: Short-Term Study Abroad Course

From: Tara Courchaine (taratez@gwu.edu)

SPED 220: International Education and Policy: Implications for Educators

Travel dates: July 22nd-July 31st, 2009

Description:  The purpose for this course is for graduate level students to examine educational policy decisions in the areas of curriculum development, teacher training and service delivery in Costa Rica.  The program is appropriate for students within the school of education, students interested in sociology, current policy, museum education, individuals with legal backgrounds or those who are interested in the impact of family and culture on learning.

Cost: $4,099.00
The cost of the program includes three credits of tuition, study abroad insurance, and lodging.  International airfare and personal expenses are not included.
NOTE:  The fees listed are based on estimates and are subject to change.  GW reserves the right to cancel this program at any time without notice.

Professor: Dr. Amy Mazur

Contact: Tara Courchaine taratez@gwu.edu

Grace Presbyterian expands outreach with ESL program

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

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

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.

English Classes in Loudoun County Va, Feb. 11-17

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.

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