October 12, 2015

Dear colleagues,

Week 3 of the Fall Cycle is here already!

And it's also almost October 14 - that means: 
New free HotSpots for students without internet access at home!

You should have received the forms and flyers for the Library HotSpot program, 
or you will be receiving them shortly.

Please give a HotSpot Forms packet to eligible students:
* are over 18 years old
* have no internet at home
* have a library card without fines

The package consists of:
1. A Loan Agreement
2. Loan Terms
3. Quick Start Guide
4. Internet Safety Guide

Students should fill out the loan agreement, sign it and take it to the front desk to check out a HotSpot.
If your branch runs out of HotSpots, please let us know.

Please mark on your roster which students have HotSpots 
(Column "G" on your roster/MiFi, please include the date)

Thank you for your help with this!!!

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

TEACHING TOOLS

Rosetta Stone 

We're excited to announce that Rosetta Stone is back and we will be able to offer more private accounts for students to practice on their home computer or smartphone: 
1500 private accounts!

Each HUB will have a share. This cycle we will start giving out accounts to students who take classes in an Adult Learning Center (Aguilar, Bronx Library Center, Harlem, Seward Park, St. Agnes, St. George, Tompkins Square, Wakefield) and some students in Elective classes.

Our focus will be on beginner and intermediate students, since they will profit the most from using Rosetta Stone.
Students need a library card to be eligible for a Rosetta Stone account.

Students accounts have the Rosetta Stone levels, not the stories and games. Rosetta Stone includes a sophisticated Speech Recognition system that will help students with pronunciation.

We will have an additional 20 Accounts for teachers to share and those accounts will have levels, stories and games.

We will keep you posted!

In the meantime... there's also...

Mango

If your students don't have access to Rosetta Stone right away - the library website offers MANGO languages - a great free program for your students to practice English.
Or a program for you to learn or practice another language...
You can choose from 71 (!) languages (all major languages plus Cherokee, Scottish Gaelic and more). Fun features also include "Pirate English" and "Wine and Cheese French."

Visit:
www.nypl.org/mango
Click "Connect to Database"
Create a user ID or use your email address and create a password or sign in as "guest."

Feedback about your Mango experiences would be appreciated.

We will add a tutorial for Rosetta Stone and Mango to our alc-teachers wikispace in the near future.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

TEACHING GRAMMAR IN TODAY'S CLASSROOM

This is a great video featuring three gurus of TESOL: 

Betty Azar, Keith Folse, and Michael Swan. 
Chances are, you have at least one of their books in your personal library. 

Elke's note: I think Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage" is one of the best grammar-overview books, ever :) - although it includes some British English examples.
It has a short section for all imaginable grammar topics, with examples 
and great time lines.

In the video Betty Azar talks about fluency vs accuracy. Keith Folse talks about the history of teaching grammar. He also says that, "Good grammar teachers don't just happen. Good grammar teaching requires grammar knowledge." Michael Swan suggests that both academic research and accumulated knowledge and experience of teachers are important in our field- and both point to the fact that "grammar teaching does make a difference."

Watch the complete video below or click here:



Thoughts?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Reminder:

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

OCTOBER

LAC & The New School Announce:

Meeting Challenges, Exploring Solutions in the Adult ESOL Classroom

Saturday, October  24, 2015 9:00 am- 4:30 pm

I will present a workshop at the LAC/New School Conference: 

"Practicing English with Songs Inside and Outside of the Classroom." 
There will be different hands-on activities and approaches for all skills (not just listening). No musical talent required :)
Elke



Feel like driving down to Maryland? 

October 17th - 35th Maryland TESOL Annual Fall Conference:

"Beyond Borders: Connecting Diverse Perspectives" 
Maryland, USA. Email website@mdtesol.org. 

UPCOMING CONFERENCES
NOVEMBER

The 45th Annual NYS TESOL Conference
Emerging Global Literacies in Language and Technology
November 13-14, 2015
7:30 am - 5 pm
Crown Plaza White Plains
Link: http://ac15.nystesol.org/

Harlem Adult Education Conference, Friday, November 6, 2015

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

There are still a few open spots!

NYPL Professional Development for hourly teachers:

Linking theory and practice into effective lesson planning using backward design and the WIPPEAR model. 

See Steve's (Mahoney) email sent last week. Here is the link to sign up:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RZiC25uhPz3HJ-LGC5XaDwMA94Y90q1So6hG1Sl5xis/edit

Did you know that TESOL offers Virtual Seminars? 

TESOL virtual seminars are 90 to 120-minute Webcasts focused on key issues in ESL and EFL. The seminars are easy to access online from your home or office, as a live event or using the playback feature when it fits your schedule. You can also extend peer-to-peer learning by bringing together ELT professionals in your school or area for the seminar at no extra charge (registration is on a per site basis). See more at: TESOL Virtual Seminars

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!