Finally at TESOL!

Well, I was finally able to find the time and location of a computer to write a blog entry! The Convention has been great...have gone to many sessions about pronunciation. The big ideas is syllables and suprasegmentals. Segmental (phoneme) is addressed indirectly, or through homework, or through listening lab assignments. Went to a presentation where we were shown a diagnostic tool foir measuring and keeping track of syllable stress patterns, AND the presenter wants us participants to email him with our comments and findings. (it is nice to be part of a --free-- pilot project). It was amazing to sit in a room with other pronunciation folks who have written the textbooks I use, or are presenters at the convention, or I have seen their names in research articles. The exhibits have been great. Picked up some books on classroom assessment and adult ed ESL standards. Other materials--esp software/tech materials--have been very tempting as well. It is also amazing to see people literally from all over the world here, something that I hope ASHA Conventions encourage more of in the future. And, last but not least, Howard Gardner was truly inspiring. His new work focuses on "5 Kinds of Minds" for the 21st century, based on research he has been doing. (these can separate entries by themselves, so I will save that for another time, soon). So I am having a great time, learning lots, and hopefully getting a little smarter each day.

weather

Phew! The weather report for Rochester for Wednesday is 51 and sunny.

Countdown to TESOL...5 days!

Five more days and I will be in Boston!

Right now in Western New York it is sunny and 60 degrees. It is supposed to be nice tomorrow, but then...! I just want it to be clear on Wednesday -- NO SNOW!

I have to get my schoolwork done for my Wednesday and online classes for this week, AND my assignments for the week when I get back. Pass the coffee, please!

If anyone out there has ever attended a Convention in Boston at the Convention and Exhibition Center (near the World Trade Center) and knows of a (realtively) inexpensive resatuarant, please let me know by Tuesday.

There is supposed to be a Technology Village at the Convention. I am hoping I will be albe to make some blog posts from there...?! Or I hope that the hotel has a business area where I can have access to the internet.

More later!

Countdown to TESOL...11 days

Hi again. I cannot believe TESOL is sneaking up on me. I have been looking forward to it for so long I can't believe it's finally here.

OK, so the main focus of my attending TESOL is to find out how pronunciation classes are taught in other colleges and universities (no surprise, huh?). The book Curriculum Development in Language Teaching by Jack Richards is very good for those seeking to work in higher ed or other adult-ed focused programs. This book has helped me to think about a number of questions about teaching pronunciation effectively:

The Richards book talks about a number of approaches to teaching ESL students--which approaches do other people use?
If a program uses a context based curriculum, how does a teacher focus on specific pronunciation skills?
What are some ideas to teach self-monitoring to students?
Is a Listening Lab a mandated part of the course?
Are there any programs that take phonological awareness into account?
What 'homework' is given to the students?
How does a teacher know that a student has made progress?
What are ideas for generalization of skills?
Are there any other programs that teach with quarter-based calendars? How does a teacher prioritize what to work on?
What textbooks (if any) are used?
What technology has been found to be helpful?
How does a pronunciation course fit into the overall goals of a language program? Is it a required course, a 'mandated elective', or a regular elective?

I may think of some more. Watch this space for further developments!

Experience

Attached is a 'discussion' that I received through tesol.org. You may want to scroll to the bottom first and read your way up. It talks about what makes a good teacher: the diploma? or experience? or both? or something else?

Experience.
It can be either evolving or stagnant, repeating the same over and over again. The same for teaching experience.
Steve Linke

Charles Nelson wrote:
As Patreshia noted, what is needed is "'darn good' teachers for their
students." But how does someone hiring determine who is "darn good"
and who isn't?

Of course, diplomas alone can't determine that. Neither can indepth
interviews. Imagine basketball recruiters recruiting on the basis of
interviews. Even sports experience at the high school level can't
determine who will be successful at the college level, and college
level experience can't always predict NBA success. And even experience
at the same level but in a different context doesn't always translate
into success. I taught EFL for 4 years at Marmara University's
preparatory department. I believe I did fairly well in my first two
years and my fourth year. But classroom dynamics in my third year led
to unsatisfactory results in some regards.

Diplomas aren't the end all, be all criterion of a good teacher, but
neither is an interview or even experience.

Charles Nelson

On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 9:04 AM, Debbie East wrote:

Great point, Richard. This should spur us all to be more cognizant - both
good and bad aspects - of the almighty "piece of paper". In and of itself
that paper doesn't make a great teacher. It does assume that those who have
them have more knowledge about the subject than others who don't. That is
not always the case.
Deb
________________________________
From: RICHARD OLIVA
To: ESL in Higher Education IS E-List
Sent: Sun, March 7, 2010 7:48:23 AM
Subject: RE: [heis-l] ELS takeover

What you are describing is a common problem in education and in business.
Generally speaking, employers, whether in business or education, do not take
the time to "know" the individual they are hiring. It is far easier for
most hiring managers to rely on "a piece of paper" rather than conduct an
indepth interview. It is also safer because of legal issues.



Richard



________________________________
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 12:13:33 +0200
Subject: Re: [heis-l] ELS takeover
From: pvtkach@gmail.com
To: heis-l@lists.tesol.org

I would like to wade in and speak to the issue of those pesky little pieces
of paper that those who have hold dear and those who haven't are too often
pooh-poohed at in our profession. A Masters or Ph.D does not a good ESL
teacher make necessarily. I worked with several exceptional ESL teachers in
Los Angeles (higher ed. level) who did not hold a Masters in TESOL, one of
whom has written several textbooks that I'll bet some of us "more educated"
use in our college classrooms, another who was a primo grammarian who's
equal I have yet to meet, and several others who were just darn good at what
they did - including mentoring new teachers. I have found this to be true in
many other professions as well, where highly intelligent and competent
people who accomplish amazing results in their field, are held in less
esteem than people who hold advanced degrees and little proven talent.

With every recession in the U.S., the number of people who go back to school
to pick up a new piece of paper when they get laid off increases, and just
as a Bachelor's degree doesn't seem to be worth what it once was, how many
of us are now finding a Master's degree not cutting it? Employers can ask
for the moon and get it in this economy - but what they need and should be
looking for are "darn good" teachers for their students.

~ Patreshia Tkach

English Language Fellow
Pamukkale University
Denizli, Turkey



On Sun, Mar 7, 2010 at 8:59 AM, Tara Smith wrote:

I have followed this thread with interest. I do appreciate reading what
everyone has had to say on all the various aspects of this issue.

However, I disagree with the notion put forth here and in other responses
that this list should simply be a place for finding support, and I think
there is an important distinction between being critical and insulting
something/someone.

I think Karen's advice is helpful, to phrase our emails as if we were
sitting across the table from each other. This advice also serves to remind
us that we have an extremely diverse group at this "table," which makes it a
more powerful medium for discussion. I don't think we should try to avoid
controversy, but rather, engage in these discussions earnestly.

I would find this list much less useful if we somehow decided it is not a
forum for discussing difficult issues.

Thanks,
t
Tara Smith
Associate Professor of ESL
BMH 120D
(907)786-6873



-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-308624-3287348@lists.tesol.org on behalf of
teachingsamantha-0@yahoo.com
Sent: Sat 3/6/2010 6:10 PM
To: ESL in Higher Education IS E-List
Subject: Re: [heis-l] ELS takeover

Denise,

At the ELS center I worked at, all the teachers were required to have at
least a BA, esp in the relevant areas, preferably with some related teaching
experience as well. To my knowledge, most if not all of us have at least a
Master's (one had more than one Master's and in SLA, while at least another
had a PhD in Linguistics) and some teaching experience. At first, I did
think like you: "good" TESL teachers should at least have a related Master's
and some teaching experience, but that would unnecessarily exclude many of
us, including myself, who may be still studying for our graduate degree
and/or could do with some experience and money to pay our bills as well.
However, I have seen my ex-colleagues at work and can assure you that they
are really very good at what they do, and in many ways, the students at the
ELS center I taught at were really fortunate to have them. Honestly, in
many other parts of the world, all a TESL teacher needs to be is a
native English speaker, and some of these still make excellent - and
informed - TESL teachers. Therefore, all the paper qualifications and
experience one can prescribe are really quite arbitrary at best, although
not without their (substantive) benefits.

Finally, because the teaching faculty makes up at least 70% (if not more) of
the "warm bodies" at any ESL center or school, it is trite in my opinion to
believe that one's issue is with the organization itself than those who work
for it. One can have the best administrators but without equally competent
(and dedicated) teachers, there is no way the organization and its students
can shine. All organizations have their strengths and weaknesses; and in
every organization, most people work individually as well as in teams. I am
afraid I cannot sit idly by when someone, especially a fellow professional,
who has never worked in any ELS center in this instance or any of the places
I work or worked at, appears to me to be tarnishing the work of my (former)
colleagues - who may not have access to this list - using such sweeping
statements. It is important to bear in mind that TESOL and its mailing
lists are a place for us to support each other, not denigrate
which can only weaken our profession. I myself have lost teaching hours
which have benefited fellow professionals, who in turn had been made
redundant from their former positions because their workplaces were shut
down. I did get a bit emotional about it but I chose to move on. I
sincerely believe that if one is qualified, experienced and perhaps more
importantly, willing to invest in the profession, there will always be
windows of opportunities open to such person. One should perhaps remember
that the TESL pie is the largest of all second-language ones.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you my perspectives,
which I hope have helped shed some light regarding some of your valid
concerns.

Regards,
Samantha




________________________________
From: Denise Lowery
To: ESL in Higher Education IS E-List
Sent: Saturday, 6 March 2010 10:41:17
Subject: RE: [heis-l] ELS takeover

Samantha:

My problem is not with those who work for these organizations, but with the
organizations themselves. I do, however, still feel that anyone who is
teaching at a college should possess a Masters and at least 18 graduate
hours in the subject matter he/she is teaching. From what I've seen, many
of these companies do not require that.

________________________________
Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 00:47:48 -0800
From: teachingsamantha-0@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [heis-l] ELS takeover
To: heis-l@lists.tesol.org


Denise,

As someone who worked at an ELS center (staffed by fellow professionals)
until last year, although I would agree that the pay was nothing glamorous,
as is quite common in the TESL field, I rather take exception to the rest of
the last sentence.

Samantha




________________________________
From: Denise Lowery
To: ESL in Higher Education IS E-List
Sent: Saturday, 6 March 2010 2:54:50
Subject: RE: [heis-l] ELS takeover

Wow. This discussion is so pertinent for me right now. I've been
following it since yesterday, and then, this morning got an e mail from the
Dean of Academic Affairs at the college where I work asking me about ELS
(they had contacted him) and if I thought they could "help" us with our
program. The fact that someone from ESL contacted the Dean of Academic
Affairs at my college, (where there is an existing ESL program) is in direct
contrast to the claims (made by Mr. Morrow below) that ELS does not
approach an institution which has a program already in place.

I also noticed that Mr. Morrow failed to address the questions dealing with
the "quality" of educators that his company hires. I sincerely doubt that
they are as concerned with qualifications as they are with the "bottom
line".

As a proponent of the professionalization of the ESL field, I fear this move
toward the corporatization of College English Language Programs. We have
fought long and hard for respect from our fellow educators. By "diluting"
our field with evermore ill equipped, underpaid and unqualified "warm
bodies", ELS and companies like them line their own pockets at the expense
of the integrity of those in our field who truly love this profession and
consider it a calling rather than a business.

TESOL keynote

Howard Gardner is the keynote speaker on Wednesday at the TESOL Convention and he is so awesome !!!

Countdown to TESOL...17 days

Oboy! I am going to the TESOL Convention in Boston on March 24th til the 27th. Here is my list to date of Survival Tips for Attending a BIG Convention (in no particular order; just what comes pouring out of my head):

1. Wear comfy shoes.
2. Pack clothes that are professional, comfortable, packable, and washable.
3. Pack snacks like nutrition bars, fruit, crackers, or muffins. The food court lines can be notoriously long and the food can be expensive.
4. Bring one of those small travel (toiletry) bags on wheels to move around the Convention, especially for the Exhibit Halls. Much easier on the arms/shoulders.
5. Check out the online itinerary and plan for 1st, 2nd and 3d choices.
6. Check out the Exhibitors on the website and make note of who you most want to see.
7. Get to the Convention city, if possible, a day before you start attending sessions. This gives you plenty of time to check-in, register, and maybe see the town a little bit.
8. Pursuant to 4., pack an expandable tote bag (with a zipper) to pack all your Convention souvenirs, handouts, purchased supplies, etc that you can possible check on the plane. Either that, or the suitcase with your underwear.
9. Share expenses, if possible.
10.Have Fun and Learn Lots!

now to get down to business

OK, I think I am all done with the experimental blog posts. I've thought about the general direction of this blog and I would like it to be a clearinghouse for folks who work with language to post ideas, comments, revelations, ponderings, confusions and the like.

So my first official post is as follows...it's a lot of work being a full-time grad student! Al of what I am reading is very interesting, and I know it all fits together under this big tent called 'culture'...I just want a leetle breathing space to integrate it all into the big picture of What it Means to be a TESOL Teacher.