September 30, 2016

WEEK 2: 

Personal Information

TEACHER RESOURCES

Show your students a video where the narrator (off screen) asks people questions like "What's your name?", "How is that spelled?", "How old are you?" etc. Giving Personal Information

From the YouTube channel Rachael's English, which has a focus on pronunciation:
How to Introduce Yourself

Although I might not necessarily use the exact lesson here, I think this is worth a share because it has the right idea- you could change things to suit your needs: British Council: Reading Personal Information

A reader for Level 1/2 students, very basic text: Andres' Speeding Ticket. Includes a driver's license and insurance card.

NEWS FOR YOU

Many of us have been familiar with this student newspaper for years. But did you know it has an online component? Go to News For You Online and explore. This page: NFY: Teachers Page has great resources and activities you can incorporate into your lesson plans. There is a video here: How To Use News For You Online that is also helpful. 

WE ARE NEW YORK

Perhaps the episodes Love and Money or Welcome Parents might fit in with your plans: WANY: Love and Money, WANY: Welcome Parents. The pagse have links to the Study Guides and Low Level Readers as well. There are some additional resources that I've compiled in a Google Drive folder (including epidode scripts and worksheets) over the years here: WANY Google Drive 

NEWSELA

Newsela  is a great resource for teaching Reading. This TESOL Blog post gives you 5 quick reasons why you should use it. TESOL Blog: 5 Reasons to Use NEWSELA

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTION

This is from your colleague Angela Thompson, who teaches Level 3/4 at Muhlenberg and Hamilton Fish:

There is a website that I used to create a flipbook based on student writings. Documents that are 15 pages or less are free. More pages require monthly or annual fees. 

Please share the site with others who may find use for it: flipsnack.com

GOOGLE RESOURCES

Having a hard time distinguishing between your lesson plans for Fall 15 and Fall 16 in Google Drive?

You can make folders a different color to help you keep them separate. Here are some written directions: How to Make a Folder a Color in Google Drive or a 20 second YouTube Video: 

TECH RESOURCES

90 tech resources that have appeared on the TESOL Blog over the past several years, organized somewhat loosely into nine major categories. Click the name of the resource to be directed to the TESOL blog post in which it is mentioned and click the URL to go to the resource itself. 90 Tech Resources for Teachers

READING FOR YOU

I remember clearly when in class in graduate school and my Professor brought up Noam Chomsky. I raised my hand and asked, "You mean, the political commentator?" At that time I had no idea about the influence Chomsky had on the field of Lingusitics. I thought I'd include this interesting article here: Evidence Rebuts Chomsky

CONFERENCE:

Meeting Challenges, Exploring Solutions in the Adult ESOL Classroom

Both the New School and the Literacy Assistance Center have a long tradition of excellence in the training of teachers of English to speakers of other languages. We welcome participation by professionals who seek to address critical issues in the field and hone their own craft.

Join us for this one-day conference that provides English language teaching professionals with a space to learn from one another, share ideas, and network. 

The day features a plenary by a leading educator in the field, workshops exploring techniques and ideas to support classroom practice, and presentations focusing on current challenges facing ESOL teachers.

The day’s schedule is as follows:

9:00-9:45 a.m.–Registration, breakfast

10:00-10:45 a.m.–Plenary by Sarah Lynn in The Auditorium at 12th Street11:00-11:45 a.m.–Session I12:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.–Session II12:45-1:45 p.m.–Lunch break, exhibit2:00-2:45 p.m.–Session III3:00-3:45 p.m.–Session IV4:00-4:30 p.m.–Final reception

For more information, go to the event page here: Meeting Challenges, Exploring Solutions

Important Dates

• October 3 and 4- NYC public schools are closed, but we have classes.
• Friday, October 7, from 9 am - 2pm: ALC Full Instructional Staff Meeting - Mid Manhattan Library
• Monday, October 10- all branches of the NYPL are closed for Columbus Day.

SHOW US THE LOVE!

One of the only ways we can know if you like what we are doing is if you make a comment on our blog page. Like our blog? Are there topics you would like us to add? Please comment! 

Would you like to contribute something? A link, teaching tip, other? Any time!

Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!

Have a great week!!!

Elizabeth & Elke

September 23, 2016

WELCOME TO THE FALL 2016 CYCLE!

Fall Curriculum Overview: (PDF on teacher wiki) Week 1: Welcome / Learning to learn Weeks 2-4: Personal Information Weeks 5-8: Civics Weeks 9-12: Family and Friends TEACHING RESOURCES We updated the wikis for weeks 1-8:  (Thanks, Harlem and St. Agnes student mentors Sheena DePasquale and Joel Berrios!) alc-week1.wikispaces.com -  THREE NEW FIND-SOMEONE-WHOs  ARE UPLOADED (for ALL levels.) alc-civics.wikispaces - New material for the Presidential Election 2016, songs and more. alc-writing2017.wikispaces.com - Select student writing. Check out two wonderful stories by Diana Vayserfirova's Kingsbridge students:  alc-writing2017.wikispaces.com/If+I+won+the+lottery The 'housing' and 'family' Wikis will be updated by week 7. Wiki contributions welcome! :)

MORE TEACHING RESOURCES
A nice reader from Bow Valley College in Canada- Sado goes to School. The main character is an adult muslim woman, very easy text, for level 1 students: Sado Goes to School. For a little more challenge- perhaps a level 2 student: Mursal's Trip to School

Aguilar HUB Manager Stephanie Burnes created a great reference sheet for all of the new readers we received lately. The chart lets you see at a glance which books correlate to our themes. Text to Theme Correlation Chart Some books may only be available in Adult Learning Centers (not satellite sites).

WE ARE NEW YORK
Perhaps the WANY episode Stay In School might fit in with your plans.The page has links to the Study Guide and Low Level Reader as well. There are some additional resources that I've compiled in a Google Drive folder over the years here: WANY Google Drive 

Or check out our wikipage with WANY Stay in School YouTube links in 3 parts, plus activities: alc-wany.wikispaces.com/Stay+in+School

ICEBREAKERS

Icebreakers to Make Conversation Flow

Busy Teacher: How to Break the Ice

Busy Teacher: 7 Back to School Games

Back To School Grammar Review

How To Introduce Classroom Language

Icebreakers that Rock

 

Ventures Quarterly This issue of the Ventures Quarterly focuses on CCRS Speaking and Listening Strand Anchor 1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas, and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.  Three articles highlight activities that are level specific - one for beginners, one for intermediate, and one for advanced. For the complete post, go here: Ventures Quarterly

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

I found this blog post on the FluentU English Educator blog, it's called 8 Crucial Elements of Superb Classroom Management. What do you think? - Elizabeth

CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION

From the  Oxford English Language Teaching Global Blog:

Zarina Subhan is a teacher trainer who has been working in the field of EFL for 25 years. She has taught in both private and government institutions in many different countries and has worked with policy makers, educators, community leaders and civil servants In a variety of contexts. Her interests are education and development of people and institutions. Today she previews her September 28^th and 29^th webinar, “Boost Classroom Participation” in a short video blog explaining what you can expect when you attend this free session.

All learners need a classroom atmosphere in which they can feel able to experiment with, notice and understand aspects of the English language without fear of making mistakes in front of their peers. This webinar will give you practical ideas for how to create this kind of environment in your language learning classroom. Read the full blog post here:

How Can I Boost Classroom Participation?

TECHNOLOGY TIP We updated our student resource flyer. Thanks, SASB student mentor Alicia McMillan for getting the ball rolling and all your input!!! It's a two page flyer with great internet resources for students to practice English outside of class.  Google Drive link (Please print pages 2 and 4) Excerpt: Free English Websites from A-Z These general websites offer many types of activities for language learners for all levels (grammar, listening, pronunciation, vocabulary, reading and more.) 5 Minute English ✔ short and easy to understand lessons in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, listening and reading 5minuteenglish.com Activities for ESL students ✔  many vocabulary and grammar quizzes, puzzles A4esl.org Breaking News English ✔ 2,247 english lessons including transcribed audio lessons, reading materials,  grammar, vocabulary and dictation practice ✔ flashcards, printable workbooks and activity pages ✔ plus fun to play games and quizzes breakingnewsenglish.com California Distance Learning Project ✔ read and listen along to news stories on common topics ✔ vocabulary and reading comprehension activities cdlponline.org

Important Dates September 30: NYU Gallatin Professional Development Day October 7: Instructional Full Staff Meeting @ Mid-Manhattan Library October 10: NYPL closed for Columbus Day November 8: Election Day (NYPL open) November 11: NYPL closed for Veterans' Day November 23-27: No classes for Thanksgiving December 18: Fall 2016 cycle finished

AN INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN KRASHEN - THE AFFECTIVE FILTER AND READING

According to WikiPedia, Stephen Krashen is: professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, who moved from the linguistics department to the faculty of the School of Education in 1994. He is a linguist, educational researcher, and political activist. You may remember his name because he is famous for his Theory of Second Language Acquisition. This interview comes from the most recent issue of the Material Writers Interest Section of TESOL.

An Interview with Stephen Krashen

An Introduction to the Work of Stephen Krashen

Video of Lecture by Krashen

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

NYS TESOL 46th Annual Conference:  Collaboration in the Classroom and Beyond Nov 4 & 5, 2016- Crowne Plaza Syracuse For complete details, go here: NYS TESOL Convention 2016 We will present workshops at the Convention: Elizabeth Schade - Teaching Verbs to Level 1 Adults Elke Stappert and Chris Vasquez - Dynamic Activities for Using Songs in Class

NYS TESOL is looking for Volunteer Editors for their newsletter “Idiom”. Description and job duties of the editor are listed below.  If interested please send your resume and a cover letter to Sarah Elia at pres@nystesol.org and Ravneet Parmar at vpcommunications@nystesol.org Idiom Editor (s) The Idiom editor works independently and has a strong understanding of the varied aspects of ELL/ESL education. This is a highly visible role within both NYS TESOL and the NYS educational community. The position is multi-faceted, with skills needed in editorial planning, author recruitment and editing, and digital publishing and management. The Idiom editor is an ex officio, non-voting member of the Executive Board of NYS TESOL but is eligible for all the same benefits as Board members. Idiom Editor’s duties are listed below in detail. (Please note that these duties are subject to change in the future) 1.     Publishes four quarterly issues (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) 2.     Selects the themes for all four issues. 3.     Puts out calls and receive submissions for Idiom articles for each issue 4.     Selects and reviews articles 5.     Edits articles and works with writers on any improvements and revisions. The author must approve any edits that the editor makes. 6.     Makes final editorial decisions on whether to run articles or whether revisions are insufficient. 7.     Works with the copy editor on final pieces. Checks the online Table of Contents and articles prior to the page going live. 8.     Makes sure the Volumes and Issue numbers are on all issues. 9.     Inputs and paginates the articles into the ready-made design template and sends it  to the Technology Support Specialist to publish on the NYS TESOL web site 10.  Reviews copyedited pieces again before submission to the Technology Support Specialist for publication. 11.  Reviews the Website information on the Idiom publication and provides the Technology Support Specialist with information on deadlines, submission guidelines and themes, in a timely manner. 12.  Promotes Idiom on the NYS TESOL listserv and social media. 13.  Recruits volunteers to write recurring Feature Columns 14.  Assists and guides Column Editors on editing their respective Feature Column articles. 15.  Attends the Annual Conference as a representative of NYS TESOL and emails presenters after the conference to submit articles or columns. 16.  Presents on writing for Idiom at area conferences. 17.  Reports regularly in writing to the Executive Board as part of the Communications Committee report (status of current issue; possible future themes; request suggestions for contributors).   18. Member of the Communication Committee and is expected to attend all Executive Board and Communication Committee meetings in person or online via GoToMeeting.

VIDEO AND TESOL.ORG NETWORKING 

TESOL.org offers many networking and participation opportunities, in the different "Interest Sections" and other places. At the last Convention in Baltimore I became the "VDMIS" Co-chair (Video and Digital Media Interest Section), and Elizabeth became the "AEIS" Co-chair (Adult Education Interest Section). 
If you have a moment, please check out the VDMIS Newsletter.

Every two months I will post a short clip about using videos in a teaching context on TESOL's YouTube Channel, here's the first one :) - Elke

HAPPY FALL!

SHOW US THE LOVE!

TEACHER BLOG SURVEY

Thanks to all who responded to the survey we sent out at the end of the summer cycle and for your positive feedback! 

(If you missed it and would still like to respond, now is the time)

Would you like to contribute something? A link, teaching tip, other? Any time!

Please let us know. We can see from the survey that some people are interested in contributing, but we don't know who :)

Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!

Elizabeth & Elke

Have a great week!!!