New grant opportunity! Are you an Oregon secondary teacher who has experience working with students who are emergent bilingual? The Oregon Open Learning team invites you to apply individually or as a part of a team to participate in a new grant opportunity for the 2021-22 school year focused on developing open educational resources (OER) to support students who are emergent bilingual. Grant award: $5000. More information and the grant application can be found on ODE’s OER Grant & Professional Learning Opportunities webpage.

Guest blog post by ORTESOL Board Member Abigail Pecore

Join a free conference for Anti-racist Teaching, Language, and Assessment funded through an endowment housed at Oregon State University Foundation. 

Moderators are Jesse Strommel and Akua Duku Anokye with guest speakers from across the country and from disciplines spanning intercultural communication, antiracist writing assessment, research methods, theater and storytelling. 

Please see the link for the schedule and read more about each keynote speaker: https://www.atlaconf.com/

Click this link to register: https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cBhadv9KONlfZbM

The conference is spread across three Fridays in September and October:

September 17th, 11-2:15 pm PST

September 24th, 11-2:15 pm PST

October 1st, 11-2:15 pm PST

Anaheim University 2021 TESOL Open Conference

Blog post by ORTESOL member Linda Rasmussen

Anaheim (California) University shared its online Open Sessions with the public on Saturday evening, August 28. Last year, due to the pandemic, the University offered free, public attendance to the entire conference, and it was of such high quality and educational level that I again attended all available sessions this year and am excited to reflect on their key concepts for you, according to the schedule:

Sandra McKay "The need for diversity and inclusion in ELT textbooks" (Dr. McKay is an AU TESOL professor, an international educator, and author of books such as Teaching and Assessing EIL in local contexts around the world, with J.D. Brown, 2016, Routledge. https://anaheim.edu/schools-and-institutes/graduate-school-of-education/diploma-in-tesol/faculty/243-about/faculty-and-staff/tesol-faculty/1742-dr-sandra-mckay.html)                                                                    

David Nunan / Julie Choi "How do we know what our learners need? (How) Do they know what they need?" (Dr. Nunan is TESOL Institute Director, founding Dean of the A. U. Graduate School of Education, former President of TESOL International Association, and wrote the world’s most popular ESOL textbook series, "Go For It." https://www.anaheim.edu/about-david-nunan.html

 A former student of Dr. Nunan’s, Dr. Choi is an Anaheim University Alumnus, University of Melbourne Senior Lecturer in Education in Additional Languages, author and contributor to publications such as Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Resourcefulness in English Language Classrooms: Emerging possibilities through plurilingualism, 2017. ).

Rod Ellis "Pre-task planning for Writing" (Dr. Ellis is a leader in Second Language Acquisition, is Anaheim University Senior TESOL Professor and Founding Department Chair, as well as the author of The Study of Second Language Acquisition, 2008, Oxford Press. https://www.anaheim.edu/schools-and-institutes/graduate-school-of-education/doctor-of-education-in-tesol/243-about/faculty-and-staff/tesol-faculty/50-rod-ellis-phd.html).

Although the title "The need for diversity and inclusion in ELT textbooks" sounded like much information since the murder of George Floyd, I attended, looking for review and hoping for further learning. Dr. Sandra McKay astounded me by extending to other countries the US movement for diversity and inclusion of all marginalized peoples. With us, she used the example of  Japanese English Language Training (ELT) texts to examine representation of marginalized peoples, confirming for me what many teachers anticipate in worldwide publications. Just as we have encountered in the US, other countries’ resources focus on narrow, possibly stereotypical, English language speakers and/or learners, omitting the inclusion of diverse people. Dr. McKay explained and identified Japanese texts that include historical cultures and social issues outside their own nation. In contrast, current diversity, especially in migrant populations, and domestic social issues are neglected. Appealing to the attendees from Argentina to Canada, Portugal to Japan, and Russia to Australia, Dr. McKay instructed how teachers in their own countries can prompt publishers to include all “types” of students, as well as all types of fluent speakers. An ELL student in Missouri (or anywhere else) should not be surprised that a blind man from Haiti uses fluent English. From my professional experience, Dr. McKay deserves a standing ovation, besides our active response to her lead in extending diversity and inclusion in all nations. 

True to Anaheim University’s character, "How do we know what our learners need? (How) Do they know what they need?" was equally compelling. After an introductory chat with Dr. Nunan, Dr. Choi presented a paper of research that seemed to have been a milestone in her own professional development. Warts and all, she revealed struggles in teaching low (natively) literate ELL’s and her enlightenment to understanding students’ experiences and needs. Dr. Choi displayed actual sections of her work “How do ‘we’ know what ‘they’ need? Learning together through duoethnography and English language teaching to immigrant and refugee women” (2018). She and a colleague found their teaching fell far from their goal of student-centered instruction when realizing illiterate students cannot explain their education or needs on a written questionnaire! The instructors explained their whole learning process in their documentation, and Dr. Choi admitted that she still wonders how to communicate with low-level language learners (which I believe is the same information every effective teacher of any subject constantly seeks). She emphasize our humanity and the “acts of love” we all need to provide each other.

Finally, Dr. Ellis rephrased his presentation title to ask “Does planning before writing help?” and provided us with factors to consider in deciding whether or not to teach pre-writing to ELL students. By thoroughly analyzing existing research, Dr. Ellis offered these considerations:

• fluency, in the expression of ideas, or accuracy of writing mechanics, compete for the writer’s focus

• planning usually increases fluency, sometimes complexity, but not accuracy

• therefore, a personal narrative will be more fluent that a structured essay                                                                                                                

• studying planning improves planning

• technology assists accuracy

• clear instructions on planning are the “key” 

• planning in L1 or L2 makes no difference in the final writing product 

• collaborative planning might help accuracy but not fluency

• lower level ELLs do not benefit from planning as much as advanced

• writers or students who like planning benefit most from it  

Unfortunately, I have not accessed the recordings of these sessions in the Anaheim University 2021 TESOL Open Conference so my interpretation here is all I can offer now. If I receive information about videos of these three, at least, besides the entire 3-day conference, I will again share as much as I can. Again, the last two years that I have attended this online conference have greatly impressed and benefited me. Sharing the information with my ORTESOL peers is my “act of love.”                                                             

Notes written / re-written by Eric Dodson on Aug 17, 2021 based on emails and phone call with Julia Stone.  http://ericdodsonpdx.com/helping-people-in-afghanistan-who-need-to-leave/

Helping People in Afghanistan Who Need To Leave

This information may be helpful for students and community members who have family and friends who are still in Afghanistan and are not safe there.

Translations available

Here are 4 things that can help in different ways:

1. Do you know someone in Afghanistan who is a US Citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident (they have a green card)?

a. U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident family members who are in Afghanistan should complete the US embassy in Kabul’s Repatriation Assistance Form (linked below).

b. If the people in Afghanistan cannot fill out the form, then a family member or friend in the U.S. should do their best to help submit that form online.

c. This is how the embassy staff in Kabul is collecting info of US Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents still in Kabul needing help with evacuation.

d. The embassy staff will contact them directly with instructions. e. Repatriation Assistance Form

f. The US Embassy in Kabul is posting updates on their website, also.

 

2. Do you live in Oregon? Your US Senator’s office is helping to connect people in Afghanistan with the US State Department to try to help them leave.

a. Oregonians can email Julia Stone, constituent services representative with Senator Jeff Merkley, information about the family members or friends in Afghanistan.

b. Their office is sending the details to the State Department task force coordinating the evacuation efforts and asking them for help.

c. This does not replace the embassy’s web form process, but they are trying to use the Senator’s office to get more attention and help more people.

d. They can help US Citizens and Lawful Permanent residents. They can try to help people with pending visa cases or people of particular concern such as those eligible for P-1 or P-2 refugee status (such as interpreters and their immediate families, other staff for the US Government, etc.)

e. Please send an email with as much information as possible to Julia_Stone@merkley.senate.gov (

 Full names of all the people

 Dates of birth

 Legal status (if they are a US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident)

 Passport number and country

 Local contact for the embassy in Kabul to use (phone and/or email)

 Back up contact info

 Are there any pending visa cases or petitions filed on their behalf

 Other important information, like if they worked for Afghan government, worked for U.S. NGO or military, they are an educated woman, etc.

f. You are welcome to share this email address with others in the community

3. If you don’t live in Oregon but want to get help from your senators

or representative:

a. Find your Senators and/or representative (your Senator is usually a good place to start, but every one is different…)

b. If you find their phone number, call them. Be ready to leave a message with your name, phone number, and the situation you need help with.

 Example: “I’m calling because I have family in Afghanistan and they need to leave because they are not safe. I need to talk with someone in your office who can help me. My name is _______, my phone number is ______, and my family worked as

translators.”

c. The senator or representative may have help on their website. Look for “Services” or “Contact”

 They may have a link that says “Help with a federal agency”

 Sometimes they may have an online form. You can give them your contact information and explain the situation.

Here’s one example:

4. If you don’t know anyone in Afghanistan, you can still help by:

a. Making sure that your friends, coworkers, neighbors, or community members from Afghanistan know about these resources.

b. Give $$$ to organizations that can help with refugee resettlement, like IRCO or Catholic Charities

c. Reach out to IRCO, Catholic Charities, and other organizations about volunteering in the near future.

d. Write to your Senators and Representative to urge them to do everything they can to help people in Afghanistan who need to leave.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Would you like to attend the upcoming TESOL Virtual Advocacy & Public Policy Summit or TESOL ELevate, a brand-new event for new and emerging English language professionals, but you need financial assistance? We have great news--if you're a TESOL member in good standing, you can apply for a TESOL 2021 Professional Development Scholarship!

As part of the application, you will need to submit a statement of 500 words or fewer addressing the following topics:

How attendance at the TESOL Advocacy & Policy Summit or TESOL ELevate will further your professional development

How attending the TESOL Advocacy & Policy Summit or TESOL ELevate will benefit your ESL/EFL community

Why you need this scholarship, including evidence of the financial need

Applications are due 6 June 2021. If you have any questions, please contact me at awards@tesol.org.

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research (Fulbright DA) Program provides an opportunity for K–12 educators from the United States to conduct research and engage in other professional learning experiences abroad for three to six months. Participants work on individual Inquiry Projects on a topic relevant to education in the United States and the host country, take courses at a host university, and collaborate with colleagues on educational practices to improve student learning.

The 2021-2022 Fulbright DA Program host countries include Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Greece, India, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Application Deadline: March 7, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET

Applicants Notified: July 2021

Earliest Departure Date (Country Dependent): September 2021

See More Information

Fulbright DA Program Announcement 2021.pdf

On January 23rd from 9-10 am EST (2-3 pm UTC) CALL-IS and colleagues from across the association will present "Open Educational Resources 101: Finding and Using Free Resources in Your Classroom," a free professional development webinar that will explore the exciting world of OER for TESOL educators. Please join us!

Webinar description:
English language teaching and learning communities around the world are facing educational inequity. In developing countries, English teaching resources are critically limited (Modisaotsile, 2012) and teachers face many challenges, including lack of textbooks, libraries, and exposure to language usage (Kuchah, 2016). Developed countries also face educational inequities exacerbated by the digital divide and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has pushed millions of students into remote and online learning situations. Open educational resources (OER) address many of these needs because they can be downloaded for free, revised by teachers to meet the needs of their students, and redistributed to students without fear of infringing on copyright protections. In this webinar, participants will learn about:

What open educational resources are and how they are different from traditional copyrighted educational resources
How to find OER via OER portals, access OER textbooks, and search OER repositories
Teacher and student perceptions about OER
Wikieducator and the OER Foundation
Presenters: Charity Davenport, Dr. Nellie Deutsch, Dr. Christine Sabieh, and Sharon Tjaden-Glass

Please register here: https://tinyurl.com/CALLIS-OERwebinar

Check your local broadcast time: https://tinyurl.com/CALLIS-webinartime

------------------------------
With best wishes,
Heather Benucci
Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section (CALL-IS) Chair, 2020-2021

The CoT February 2021 | The 7th Annual Celebration of Teaching Conference

Theme: Teaching ONLINE in K-12: Best Practices, Challenges, and Perspectives

Conference Date: February 20, 2021 | Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm EST

Location: Online

Call for Proposals submission deadline January 18, 2021

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The CoT February 2021 CALL FOR PROPOSALS.

Submit a Proposal

The CoT February 2021 seeks 10-minute practical demo lessons addressing this year's theme - Teaching Online in K-12.

The presentation should focus on one of the online aspects of instructing ELLs/MLLs in the online environment and may address (but is not limited to) the following components of the lesson sequences:

Scaffolding and Differentiation:

- managing different language levels in one content area class;

Facilitating group work:

- mediating student-student interactions,

- transitioning between whole-class and small group instruction;

Giving every student a voice:

- making sure we are hearing from everyone,

- translaguaging in online settings.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Website: https://tcot21.weebly.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cot.tesol/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cot.tesol/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CelebrationofT1

The LSA's Committee on Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics (CEDL) is sponsoring "travel" grants to enable students from underrepresented groups to attend the LSA's annual meeting. In most years, it's an actual travel grant. This year, since the conference is virtual, it will cover registration. 

More about the annual meeting can be found here: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/event/lsa-2021-annual-meeting

The purpose of this award is to fund registration for participation in the 2021 annual LSA conference. Preference will be given to applicants from the following groups:  African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Americans with an Asian and/or Pacific Islander background. You must be a US Citizen to apply.

Download the Application

To apply, please complete the application, and send it to sdhanker@umd.edu. 

All applications must be received before midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on December 4, 2020. Incomplete applications and applications received after the December 4 deadline will not be considered. Any questions should be addressed to the CEDL Registration Awards Committee Chair, Dr. Shenika Hankerson at sdhanker@umd.edu.

Thank you for your patience as TESOL International Association has been working on the best way to hold the 2021 TESOL International Convention & English Language Expo. Recently, the TESOL Board of Directors voted in favor of holding a 100% virtual TESOL 2021 Convention due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that this may be disappointing to those expecting an in-person or hybrid event, but nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors, and this decision was made with that in mind. The dates of the TESOL 2021 Convention have also changed slightly to 24–27 March, beginning with the opening evening keynote on the 24th. After hosting our first-ever TESOL Virtual Convention last July, we are ready to build on our success and bring you an even bigger and more engaging virtual learning and networking experience this March! During the 2021 TESOL Virtual Convention, you will be able to connect online with thousands of English language professionals from around the world, while participating in interactive keynotes, sessions, exhibits, and more. You can find an overview of the schedule, keynote speakers, registration rates, and FAQs on our TESOL 2021 Convention website. Registration for the TESOL 2021 Convention will open the week of 16 November. Please regularly check your email, the TESOL 2021 Convention website, and TESOL’s social media channels for more information and the latest updates. Warm regards,

Rosa Aronson Interim Executive Director Deborah J. Short President