by Shaeley Santiago “Why do you put so much emphasis on the students answering in complete sentences?” I was once asked by a practicum student observing my class. As I hesitated to form my answer, I realized the reason was based on what I believe about language learning and my responsibilities as a teacher. These…
by Shaeley Santiago College- and career-ready standards in the K-12 world have raised the bar of expectations for English Language Learners (ELLs) and their teachers. English Language Learners and the New Standards by Heritage, Walqui, and Linquanti (2015) explores ten necessary shifts in instructional practice to provide support for ELLs to learn at accelerated rates.…
By Arla Jones It’s free. It’s fun. And you can dance to it! Lyrics Training is my favorite new website for teaching English. There are so many features to the site that I made a short video to show what it can do (see below). There are music videos from every genre, including pop music,…
MIDTESOL is pleased to present The Conference Proceedings of MIDTESOL 2015. This publication is a collection of twelve articles written by presenters who made their presentations at the MIDTESOL Annual Conference in Iowa City, IA, October 23-24, 2015. “The scholarly articles featured in this publication were written by classroom practitioners who are passionate about teaching adult…
In December 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act. ESSA brings sweeping policy changes to the K-12 arena that all educators should be aware of. With a primary focus on the changes to Title I and Title III, this webinar will provide a…
by Zachary Smith With the rising numbers of migrant and immigrant families joining our communities, states are increasing funding for community ELL courses. Initially, this is viewed as a positive way to spend state funding. However, there are facts that can make recruiting members of these populations difficult, and once the classes are full, many…
by Ziyun Chen I took my first public speaking class in English four years ago. On the first day, the instructor gave us his requirement – to give presentations without notes in hand. I remember how stressed everyone was with fear and anxiety about forgetting lines. Our instructor expected us to prepare a draft and…
It’s MIDTESOL conference time! This year’s theme, “Innovation and Improvisation” was selected to highlight Kansas City’s role as a “cradle of jazz.” To spotlight how this conference promotes the innovation and improvisation of ideas in the field of English language teaching, we are introducing the #MIDTESOL16jazz hashtag. Please share on social media like Twitter, Instagram,…
by Denise Mussman, Awards Chair This year has been an exciting one when it comes to MIDTESOL awards. As our conference attendance and membership has grown, we have added new awards and expanded others. Here’s an update on the conference-related awards for 2016. Essay Awards Last spring, we had our annual essay contest for K-12…
🎵 “Kansas City, here I come!” 🎵 Those of you getting ready for #MIDTESOL16 may be humming the words of this well-known jazz song, but have you decided on what you’ll do for entertainment while in Kansas City? Conference Venue The Kansas City Marriott Downtown is in the heart of the city within walking distance…
