Sunday, March 31, 2013

TESOL 2013 Dallas, TX

TESOL International Convention 2013 Dallas, TX

…was amazing! As a green graduate student experiencing her first TESOL, I don’t think I could really imagine how many people “6,000” was until  a stampede of educators bustle through the halls of the Dallas convention center once their sessions released. The convention presentations were simply inspiring. Over 1,500 presenters from 100 countries shared their ideas at TESOL 2013. The TESOL program is THICK; nearly 240 pages. To give some perspective, from 7:30 to 8:00 each day, there were nearly 30 concurrent sessions at the same time. For the program, I was expecting a slender book with brief descriptions. However, when I was handed the program, I nearly dropped the 250 page behemoth from weight alone. ...Okay, I'm exaggerating, but the book is still big!

Critical Thinking with the World Peace Game
From before day one, my brain was exploding with information! TESOL was gracious enough to, Wednesday night, stream their plenary speaker John Hunter teaching critical thinking strategies with his amazing World Peace Game. Though the TESOL opening speech is not available any longer, his famous TED Talk is. His talk is an utterly inspiring motivator to get teachers to think outside of the box.
Comic Books in the ESL Classroom
For classroom use, I was able to find practical applications for free technology, and even comic books. Common core standards in the USA were a BIG topic this year at TESOL, as it has been for all education. "Reading as a Superpower" is a series of books designed to teach reading with subjects that all kids love-- comics, including Star Wars, Marvel, and DC!  Here is a quick write up of their awesome wares from the School Library Journal: http://www.slj.com/2012/11/webcasts/reading-is-a-superpower-comic-books-graphic-novels-literacy/

Research in NNEST
Research is a much more personal subject, and for myself I attended two research-oriented presentations on NNEST in TESOL, including the annual content-area meeting of the NNEST interest group in TESOL. Sitting next to George Braine was  unequivocally one of the nerdiest and most exciting moments of my time in TESOL and I won't soon forget it. Especially because my colleagues and I will be presenting this May at the regional SSTESOL conference on NNEST and NEST Perceptions in Asia, this was incredibly informative. http://nnest.asu.edu/
Corpora
There were also two very special presentations on corpora in ESL education. If you haven't used corpora, oh boy, are you in for a pleasant surprise! One was by Alison Youngblood, a PhD candidate from UCF as well as my former practicum director for the Soy Culto intensive English Program. Alison presented a history of corpora which was beyond mind-boggling. The amount of accumulated, searchable knowledge on the internet today is beyond staggering. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that researchers have accumulated very specific information, including the English language, in amazing databases called corpora. Corpora accumulate words from written articles, T.V. and radio broadcasts, books, and more. The other presentation was by both Alison and another student in my cohort, Christina Torres, who spoke on practical applications for integrating corpus in vocabulary lesson planning. Here is a link to the most used American Corpus, BYU's COCA: http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/

 Job Marketplace
Another amazing aspect of TESOL 2013 was the job marketplace. Here, employers from around the world signed up to meet with hundreds of eager applicants. 45-minute interviews were scheduled online and then conducted in-person. It is an incredible opportunity for anyone seeking employment in the field, and even if you weren't at TESOL Convention 2013, they have a great online application as well! http://www.tesol.org/convention2013/job-marketplace

 All in all, I feel incredibly fortunate and excited to be part of TESOL. As graduation looms above my head, I guess the best course of action next is to study for my comprehensive exam and get ready to experience even more amazing things in the field as I continue to develop as a professional. :)
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Friday, March 1, 2013

Problems of Practice: ESL Students in the University Writing Center


Problems of Practice Inquiry into Tutoring ESL/NNS Students
Leah DeLorenzo and Charlotte Jones
Inquiry Question:

What perceptions do tutors have of non-native speakers and English and how might those perceptions affect teaching and learning in the Writing Center?



According to Thonus (1993) satisfactory scores do not always translate to college-level academic writing. To be admitted to the University of Central Florida as an International Student, students must get 80/120, or approximately 66.7%.. The following is a Level 3 (out of 5) Writing Sample, from the TOEFL iBT website.  


When we were children, we were taught to tell truth. Telling truth and being honest also become
the criteria of judging a person. I do think that most people prefer to live in a world of pure truth
and it is also the best wish of all kind hearted people. However, what we have to face is not the


dream land. Telling truth all the time could only exist in our dreams. In another word, lies could

not be avoided.
I will illustrate my opinion with the following facts. In the business world, always telling
truth equals to commit suicide. For example, when competitor company is asking the content of a tender or the cost of a major product, telling truth is nonsense. Furthermore, we could learn from old collegue that to keep the business secrete is to keep the position.
For those people whose profession is politics, lies is their favorite language. In order to
stablize the mood of anxcious people, some times president has to tell lies to comfort the peolple so that no more serious result will hapen.  Among friends, allways telling truth will also cause lots of avoidable confllicts. For example, when a 49 years old lady ask her froend whether she is beautiful or not. If the answer is No (truth for sure). We could imagine the accompanied results. This is why we are using the term white lie to find the suitable reason to use minor lies.
However, despite all these difficulties, we should always try to be honest and tell truth as
much as we could. In lots of situation, to tell truth can strengthen the relationship and deepen the
communication and understanding among people. Especially among family memers, telling truth
is quite necessary for every one. A family full of lie will bankrupt immediately. In a word, in
different situation, we should tell different words.


What does the research show?
Lyons, G. (1992). Validating cultural difference in the writing center. Writing Center
Journal,12(2), 145-158.
  • Learn to understand where the writer is coming from
  • Says to “ask tough, honest questions... about his or her own prejudices, commitments, and ethos.” (p. 157)
Blau, S & Hall, J. (2002). Guilt-Free Tutoring: Rethinking how we tutor
non-native-English-speaking students. Writing Center Journal 23(1), 23-44
  • It is realistic to alter your practices (p. 29)
Thonus, T. (1993). Tutors as Teachers: Assisting ESL/EFL students in the writing center.
Writing Center Journal, 13(2), 13-26
  • Repeat Sessions: Working with students in multiple sessions
  • Ask good questions: “How would you write that in your language?” ( p. 20).


Volunteer Challenge: WE WANT YOU!
The University of Central Florida’s IEP program CMMS conducts a Conversation Hour open to students and volunteers who want to help international students improve their English. We challenge you to volunteer an hour of your time (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursday 1:00-3:00 at the Barbara Ying Building next to the Student Center).


Resources for Tutors
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