April 20, 2018

Welcome/Learning to Learn

TEACHING RESOURCES

Here are some interesting resources I've come across. Wishing you all a great first week of class!

The Best Resources For Planning The First Days Of School

Learning Names (by Marc Helgesen)

Breaking News English

Macmillan Dictionary Word of the Day blog

OUP Blog: Learning to Learn from the Dictionary

NYPL Spring 2018 Curriculum

ALC Week 1 Wiki

Give your students jobs in the classroom: I Heart Input Blog: Giving Students Jobs

TEACHER SHARE

Sharing Your Best Work With Other Teachers

Eight ways you can share lessons or other great ideas with fellow teachers everywhere. Read the Edutopia blog post here: Sharing Best Work With Other Teachers

GOOGLE RESOURCES

I've had some questions from a few of you recently about Google Calendar Invitations. The one you'll be most familiar with right now is the invite for the ALC Instructional Staff Meeting on 4/27. It's important that you respond YES or NO when you receive this kind of invitation and others.

So let me give you some visuals:

This is what it will look like in your email. It will have "Invitation" in the subject line. You can go back and search for old invitations by entering "invitation" in the search bar at the top.

​

When you open a Google Calendar Invite, it will look like this:

(Ardit invited me to work with him on Saturday. Wasn't that nice of him?) :-)

​

So you need to respond to the invitation YES or NO. (Maybe isn't really very helpful, but you can use that too.) See YES is circled in yellow in the photo below.

So, when you reply, it will look like this- see how it turned green?

​
​Now the person who invited you knows and can see your response. Hope this is helpful!

IMPORTANT DATES

April 23 - Spring term begins
April 27 - Teacher Meeting- Harlem Library 
9 W 124th St, New York, NY 10027
 May 15 - Ramadan begins
May 26, 27, 28 - Memorial Day weekend - no classes
June 15 - Ramadan ends/Eid
June 30 - Spring term ends
July 30 - Summer term begins
August 25 - Summer tern ends
October 1 - Fall term begins

TELL ME!

As the term begins, I'm thinking about goals and what I'd like to accomplish this spring. Could you please take a minute to give me some of your thoughts? This will help me so I know what you're interested in, and what I can include in the blog. It's only five questions!

Fill out the Google Form here: Goals for Spring 2018

FROM THE NYPL PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues,

On National Library Workers Day, I want to thank you for all that you do both for the Library and the communities you serve. No matter your role, the work you do every day honors our priority to have More People Reading More and makes NYPL a vital public resource for so many New Yorkers.

This year, you will each receive a small gift, a tote bag that proudly shares a message we believe in so deeply: “Libraries Are for Everyone.” In this time of public funding challenges and tight budgets, you are the ones who protect the spirit of NYPL and make our libraries safe and welcoming places for all. You keep people coming back to attend our programs and to read more every year. Thank you to all of our staff and our colleagues in Local 1930, Local 374, and DC 37 for your dedication to The New York Public Library.

Today we celebrate National Library Workers Day, and I hope you will continue this celebration throughout this advocacy season by recognizing each other on our staff recognition site. Thank you for all of the work you do every day to show how important libraries are to our city and around the world.  

Yours,

Tony

-- 

Anthony W. Marx | The New York Public Library

President

INTERESTING READS

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

English Language Teaching Global Blog

Minds matter: Psychology of language learning

‘It’s all in the mind!’ – How true when it comes to learning a foreign language. Every teacher knows that you can have the best resources in the world, but if the learner is not in the right frame of mind to engage with the new language and use the opportunities before them, then they are unlikely to do so. There are all kinds of reasons why a learner may put obstacles in their own way or simply avoid engaging, but many of these reasons often lie in how learners view themselves, their competences, and their relationship to the language, classroom, peers, and the teacher

Read the entire blog post here: Minds Matter



PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

“Tech in Ten”

Join our Workshop!

Sponsored by NYS TESOL NYC Region in collaboration with Baruch College’s Tools for Clear Speech

Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 6-8 PM https://nystesol.wildapricot..org/event-2860944   Location details in registration confirmation email Baruch College, CUNY 55 Lexington Avenue, room 14-270 Learn novel ideas for incorporating technology into                                                  your classes in this fast-paced and dynamic event!                                                 Each presenter has ten minutes to demonstrate a tech tool                                          for ESL education, followed by a short Q&A. Learn, share and network at the reception after the presentations. Advance Registration Required Due to Space Limitations NYS TESOL Members: $10 Non-Members: $15 For more information: nyc@nystesol.org

END QUOTE
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery” (Mark van Doren)

Thank you for all that you do! Have a great week!

TEACHER HUB is a weekly blog of resources and information for instructors and staff of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Adult Literacy (ABE) programs of the New York Public Library in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island

March 16, 2018 Week Nine, Time/Weather

Week Nine

Time & Weather

TEACHING RESOURCES

Wiki note:
You may have noted when you opened our wikis that there is a notice that wikispaces is shutting down. Unfortunately, it is true. Elke and I are working on finding a new home for all of our resources. Stay tuned for more information!

Learning English Through Lyrics
Read the blog post from TESOL about using audio/music in your classroom.

The NY Times Learning Network has some interesting reads on using audio in the classroom:

NY Times: Active Listening: Using Times Videos, Podcasts and Articles to Practice a Key Skill
Experimenting With Sound and Story: Teaching and Learning With ‘The Daily’ Podcast
TEACHER SHARE
From Joan Benham:

I have a "Teacher Share" item for the blog:

If you teach literacy, or search for interesting readings
for your ESOL classes, newsela is a terrific resource.  

Nonfiction articles are offered on a myriad of topics;
each article is available at 5 different reading levels.

Students at different lexile levels within a class can read

at their own level, and still engage with the same subject matter.
Students could also choose the level they want
to read at, or read the same article at different levels.

Joining is easy, and free. (There is a charge for  the Pro version.)
https://newsela.com/

~Joan 

TEACHER READING

Aiding Reading Comprehension With Post-its

A simple, low-stress strategy that helps students engage with, understand, and remember what they read. Read the entire blog post from Edutopia here: Aiding Reading Comprehension with Post-Its

CLASSROOM SHOWCASE

From Manal Grant:
Last week, WIOA 5/6 students at the Aguilar Library created and performed skits about applying soft skills in a variety of challenging situations at work. Each scenario was performed to a soundtrack (instrumental suspense, comedy, rom-com, action, soap/telenovela) curated by a fellow student musician. 

Please send me pictures, and be sure to include the branch name and level.
I need them by the end of the business day on Wednesday.
If I already have enough submissions for the week-
that just means your pictures will be published the next week.
Personally, I think the pictures that you share are the best part of the blog.

Thank you! elizabethschade@nypl.org

CALENDAR

IMPORTANT DATES

March 31: Winter 2018 term ends
April 2 - April 21: Intake period
April 23: Spring 2018 term begins
May 26,27,28 - no classes for Memorial Day holiday
June 30: Spring 2018 term ends

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

NEW YORK CITY CONSORTIUM FOR ADULT BASIC EDUCATION

Saturday, April 21^st, 2018

Empower Adult Educators; Empower Adult Learners

All Day Conference for Adult BE and ESOL Educators

8:00 am to 4:00 pm

On Saturday, April 21^st, 2018 adult educators from New York City and beyond will meet at The High School of Fashion Industries at 225 West 24th Street in Manhattan for the 39^th annual Adult Basic Education/ESOL Conference. There will be a variety of interactive workshops exploring best practices in ESOL and BE instruction, HSE/TASC, college prep, math, writing, science, ESL literacy, civics, classroom management, integrating technology, fostering critical thinking and other highly relevant topics by innovative and talented presenters from a cross-section of New York City adult education providers including CUNY, NYU, NYPL, QPL, BPL, the CBOs, the Literacy Assistance Center and the New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy. The conference will conclude with a panel presentation and discussion of Embedding Civics and Civic Engagement in Adult Basic Education: An Introduction to We Speak NYC Season Two, the next generation of the former We Are New York.A variety of publishers of books and technology relevant to the field will exhibit. The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) will be offering immigration advocacy consultations and a display of information for attendees to share with adult immigrant students.

This is a unique yearly conference for all the adult education programs throughout the city and beyond. Program directors and teachers as well as volunteers are urged to attend the conference to take advantage of this valuable professional development opportunity and build mutual support to face the current climate together. Adult education students and future adult educators are also welcome to take part in the conference. Together, we’ll explore the path forward to meet the challenges of making adult education succeed!

Join us — to learn, share, to strengthen

adult education and to support our students and ourselves!

To pre-register: Click here to go to https://nycabe2018.eventbrite.com to secure your spot in each workshop of your choice.

Pre-registration by April 19th: $20.  On-Site registration (cash only): $25. ESOL/ABE students: $10.

                                       Registration & Breakfast           8:00       —       9:00

                                      First Workshops                         9:15       —       10:30

                                       Break – Publishers                     10:30     —       11:00

                                       Second Workshops                   11:00     —      12:15

                                       Lunch – Publishers                     12:15     —       1:15

                                      Third Workshops                      1:15       —       2:30

                                    Educators’ Roundtable              2:45       —       4:00

(While light snacks will be provided in the afternoon, please note that lunch is not included.)

The High School of Fashion Industries

Wheelchair and ADA Accessible

225 West 24th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues)

#1 train to 23rd St. & 7th Ave

E and C train to 23rd St. & 8th Avenue

See what previous participants had to say about the conference:

“Well done presentation! I really enjoyed the activities presented

and modeled from the presenter. This workshop helped me a lot.”

“Thank you for a wonderful workshop. It was very easy to follow,

and it had a lot of excellent ideas that I will incorporate in my classes.”

To pre-register: Click here or go to nycabe2018eventbrite.com to secure your spot in each workshop of your choice.

END QUOTE
“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results” (John Dewey)

Thank you for all that you do! Have a great week!

TEACHER HUB is a weekly blog of resources and information for
instructors and staff of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Adult Literacy (ABE)
programs of the New York Public Library in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island

10/13/17 Week 3: Personal Information

WEEK 3: 

Personal Information

TEACHING RESOURCES

Read2Me - Free Text to Audio Conversion

Read2Me is a free service that will convert a webpage or an uploaded document into an audio file that you can listen to on the Read2Me website. Read about it on the Free Teach for Teachers blog here: Read 2 Me on Free Tech for Teachers

WANY Stay in School Stay In School

Google Drive Google Drive Folder with Resources Stay In School

WANY Welcome Parents Welcome Parents

Google Drive Google Drive with Resources for Welcome Parents

Website to share with students: NYPL: 11 Great Websites for Studying English

The Let’s Teach English video series offers free online training for English language educators worldwide. It is based on the Women Teaching Women English text for adult, beginning level learners. Voice of America and the University of Oregon are partners on this project. The course includes:

1. An introductory segment which summarizes the main topics of second language teaching and shows classroom examples of the topics.
2. Ten 5-minute video episodes based on the units of Women Teaching Women English. Each of these episodes provides a model of communicative language teaching through simulated language classroom interaction.
3. Updated digital downloads of the Women Teaching Women English student book, teacher’s manual, and audio files.
4. More here: VOA Let's Teach English

TECH TIPS

This free Google Drive tutorial will teach you how to use this cloud-based program to create and save documents, spreadsheets, and more.
Tutorial: Google Drive and Docs

TEACHER READING

Although the article is aimed at K-12 teachers, it's a nice, quick read about fostering conversation in your classroom. Edutopia Blog: Teaching Your Students How to Have a Conversation

STUDENT MENTOR INTERVIEW

Each week, we'll get to know some of the Student Mentors who work for our program.
This week, it's Josephine Medina.
She works in both the Harlem and Washington Heights branches.

1. Are you going to school? (Or, where did you go?) What do/did you major in? Do you have future educational plans? I graduated from City College with a degree in Political Science. I am currently studying for the LSAT so that I can attend Law School next fall.

2. How long have you worked for the NYPL? What do you enjoy about your job? I started in October of last year. I enjoy helping students and working alongside my amazing colleagues.

3. What’s your favorite movie of all time? Fact: Pulp Fiction is the greatest movie ever made.

4. Do you have any pets? I wish, but my apartment is too small.

5. Coffee or tea? Water.

6. What’s your favorite way to spend a Saturday? Going to new places in the city with my friends.

7. Do you see yourself as an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist? Why? I see myself as a realist. I try to manage my expectations, but not necessarily expect the worst.

8. What’s your favorite holiday or tradition? Christmas is my favorite. I love seeing my family happy and together.

9. What are your hobbies? I love music, film, history, and learning new things.

10. What would you like to be remembered for? Helping others whenever I could and living a full and happy life.

FOR TEACHERS IN THE BRONX and UPPER MANHATTAN

Please share with your students!

The Bronx Library Center (BLC), in collaboration with the New York Historical Society offers free classes for Permanent Residents to prepare for the USCIS Naturalization Exam. Students must attend a mandatory information session at BLC before registering for a course. Wednesday, October 18, from 6-7 pm. See the flyer here: BLC NY Historical Society Citizenship Classes

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Registration is now open for the third annual 

MEETING CHALLENGES, EXPLORING SOLUTIONS 

IN THE ADULT ESOL CLASSROOM

Conference, sponsored by the Literacy Assistance Center and 

English Language Studies at The New School.

When: Saturday, October 21st, 2017, 9am to 4pm

Where: New School, Tishman Auditorium, University Center, 

63-65 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011

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 the plenary "Learning Challenges: Assessment Solutions" by Anne Katz., workshops exploring techniques and ideas to support classroom practice, and presentations focusing on current challenges facing ESOL teachers.

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.

REGISTER HERE

ADMISSION:
**PLEASE NOTE on-the-day payments can only be made via credit or debit card. Pre-purchase via Eventbrite is strongly preferred**
$25 per participant (until 10/20/17)
$15 for New School students, faculty, staff, alumni (until 10/20/17)
$15 for current and former TESLA certificate students at the Literacy Assistance Center  (until 10/20/17)
$30 for at the door registration (10/21/17)

THANKS FOR READING THE TEACHER HUB BLOG

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!