News: 2012 International TESOL Convention in Philadelphia

This article by PR Web services through Yahoo! News discusses an international convention in Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. on TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Here is an excerpt:

In support of participants in this year’s International TESOL Convention and English Language Expotaking place in Philadelphia March 28 -31, ESL Shop is offering extended conference pricing on all online orders. With a database of over 20,000 titles, it is the hope of ESL Shop to connect English language teachers worldwide with the materials they need to best serve their learners.

The rest of the article can be read here:

http://news.yahoo.com/esl-shop-shows-support-teachers-participating-2012-international-070402879.html

Language Learning Expands Platform to Support ESL Education in Libraries and Workplaces

This article from PR News Wire discusses the use of games in education and learning, specifically language learning and ESL. Here is an excerpt from the article:

The Learning Games Network, a non-profit spin-off of the MIT Education Arcade that bridges the gap between research and practice in game-based education, today announced a $1.99 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand Xenos, its flagship integrated social learning environment gaming platform, for Hispanic adults learning English (ESL) in libraries and workplaces. The goal of the Play Games-Learn English Project is to provide self-directed ESL instructional resources to adults in informal learning and vocational training settings. Pilot sites include the Boston and San Francisco Public Libraries and BJ's Wholesale Clubs.

News: ESL Now Free For Canadian Citizens

This article by Julie Larsen discusses a change in tuition for ESL (English as a second language) students in Canada. Here is an excerpt:

English as a Second Language courses are now tuition-free for everyone at 17 public post-secondary institutions in B.C., including the College of New Caledonia.

Dean of Community and International Education, Barbara Old, says while the course was free for non-citizens, that has now been expanded.

News Commentary: No Child Left Behind Increases Gap in Arts Education

This article by Laura Sauer at Yahoo! discusses the effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in American education. Here is a brief excerpt:

A recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics comparing changes in arts education in public schools from 1999-2000 to 2009-2010 shows that since the start of No Child Left Behind, our public schools have seen a reduction in the arts education offered to students. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, commented on the results, stating it is imperative that "we continue to elevate, enrich, and expand arts education in our nation's schools", according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Among the most disturbing findings in the report is that economically disadvantaged students, many of whom do not have access to arts education anywhere but in public schools, have suffered a 20 percent reduction in arts education offerings, from 100 percent of schools offering such programs in 1999-2000 to only 80 percent in 2009-2010.

News: ESL college students could get tuition break

This article from the Richmond Review discusses a new opportunity for college students who are English as a second language learners. Here is an excerpt:

Some applicants to Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s English as a Second Language programs may be eligible to receive their ESL instruction tuition-free.


A joint initiative between the Canadian federal government, the ministries of Advanced Education and Jobs, Tourism and Innovation are making funding available to cover the costs of ESL tuition for some ESL students at Kwantlen.

"SAT and ACT to Change Tests' Rules After Cheating Scandal"

This article by Jennie Anderson of the New York Times discusses the changes for the ACT and SAT, American university entrance tests, after recent cheating scandals. Here is an excerpt:

The SAT and ACT college entrance exams will now require students to provide a photograph when they sign up for the exams, and officials will check those images against the identification the students present when they take the test.

The new rules were part of a broad set of changes announced on Tuesday in the aftermath of the cheating cases, in which high-scoring students used fake IDs to take the SAT or ACT for other students. The revelations had proved embarrassing for the testing services, on which virtually every American college relies in making admissions decisions.

ESL News: Teachers Uses New Method to Teach ESL

This article by Alla O. Schlate in the Tribuna Connecticut is about the use of recordings to help students to start to think, speak and express themselves in English. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Since I believe that language is more than just “plugging in the words of one language into the English slots” (J. McWhorter 2000) and that students must share ownership of the second language acquisition, I require that my students keep journals, starting with their reflections on my classes and then proceeding to insightful observations of their learning process. 

One example is a grammar course, “Recording Your Inner Voice: Think and Dream in English” for ESL students, in which I complement a learning centered syllabus based on the readings from S. Pinker and P. Bloom with interpretive dance, Kundalini meditations and other non-orthodox techniques. Students are required to think and “speak inside themselves” in English while outside the classroom and to reflect upon the process of their learning in the form of journals documenting every obstacle they came across when expressing themselves in English. (A major benchmark of success has been the moment the students begin dreaming in English, hence, the title.)

The rest of the article can be read here.

ESL News: ESL Class Incorporates Slang

This article by David Britto of the Daily Pennsylvanian discusses a  learning strategy used in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. This class embraces informal English with slang, idiom and other overlooked components of English. Here is an excerpt of the article:

While most would easily call the presidential election a ‘big deal,’ foreign students may be stumped by these kinds of idioms.

Thankfully, one English as a Second Language program, that is celebrating its 15th anniversary at Penn, helps internationals cross the language barrier.

‘SLANGuage,’ a free ESL class hosted by The Christian Association at Penn, aims to educate students about idioms and slang language that they might not learn in a more formal English language course.

According to William Kelly, the founder of SLANGuage and the Coordinator of International Programs at the Christian Association, the ESL course is designed to allow foreigners to interact more successfully with Americans.

The full article can be read here.

ESL News: Professor Articulates the Need for ESL Teachers

This article by Christine Metz at JL World discusses Professor Hyesun Cho's speaking on the importance of ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. Here is a brief excerpt:

“Every teacher will have an ESL (English as Second Language) student at some time. If not now, in the future. That is pretty much guaranteed. Unfortunately, these teachers aren’t being prepared to utilize the student’s background,” said Hyesun Cho, an assistant professor of curriculum and teaching at KU. 

Cho has co-authored an article with Terri Rodriguez of Duquesne University that examines the experiences of bi- and multilingual student teachers and the insight it could provide in developing more effective teaching practices. 

The article, published in the journal Teaching and Teacher Education, studied the experiences of Latino teaching candidates in the Midwest and a group of bilingual student teachers in Hawaii. Those in the study described what it was like to be a bi- or multilingual student and how their backgrounds influenced their teaching styles.

The rest of the article is available here.

ESL News Article: Schools on Shoestring Budgets

This article by Manny Fernandez of the New York Times discusses what schools in the USA are like after heavy budget cuts. You can read an excerpt here:

For Hutto and the 1,264 other public school districts in Texas, this has been the year of doing without. Texas lawmakers cut public education financing by roughly $5.4 billion to balance the state’s two-year budget during the last legislative session, with the cuts taking effect this school year and next.
The budget reductions that districts large and small have had to make have transformed school life in a host of ways — increasing class sizes, reducing services and supplies and thinning the ranks of teachers, custodians, librarians and others, school administrators said.

The rest of the article is available here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/us/for-texas-schools-a-year-of-doing-without.html?_r=1&ref=education