By Arla Jones and Kimberley Kreicker, Ph.D. South Middle School in Lawrence, Kansas has a diverse ESOL population comprising approximately 12% of the student body. South has both long-term ELs and relative newcomers, mostly of Spanish, Laotian, and Arabic language backgrounds. We are the two full-time ESOL professionals on staff. With the middle school model,…
by Lindsey Jackson The topic of immigration is particularly important for educators, especially in regards to undocumented minors. These children and teenagers, brought to the States at a young age, have no paperwork and no legal status. Although all children in the United States have a legal right to a free, appropriate, public education up…
by Lindsey Jackson I recently read (and highly recommend) Shapiro, Farrelly, and Tomaš’ (2014) book, Fostering International Student Success in Higher Education, which is filled with invaluable advice for helping language learners assimilate into their new university environment. Though nearly every page ended up tagged with a Post-it note reaction to something I’d read, one…
by Lindsey Jackson It’s not uncommon nowadays to hear of instructors incorporating TED Talks into their lesson plans. TED Talks present interesting topics for discussion, and they also have subtitles and transcripts available for listeners who may require a little more scaffolding. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story” (2009), has…
by Lindsey Jackson It’s been a few weeks now since the annual International TESOL Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and I’ve had some time to process and reflect on all that I experienced. As a first-time attendee (and a really young one at that), I learned a lot, not only about what’s happening in my field…
by Lindsey Jackson Plagiarism is something that language learners often struggle with, especially when they come from countries where taking others’ words or ideas is actually considered a compliment (see McCool, 2009, for a more thorough explanation of culture’s influence on writing). Language learners often voice concern about plagiarism. They may be able to verbally…
by Lindsey Jackson ECentral is an app designed to introduce English Language Learners (ELLs) to authentic materials in the L2. The app description boasts over 10,000 available videos for users to watch and learn from, directions given in eight different languages, and a variety of activities learners can do in response to the videos. Positive…
By Shaeley Santiago I recently spent four full days in Baltimore, Maryland, at the TESOL 2016 International Convention. Since returning home, I have struggled to summarize the convention so I can share with colleagues what it was like. So, I have selected four adjectives that capture the highlights of my experience this year. Educated –…
By Lindsey Jackson Like many teachers, one of my main concerns in the classroom is lowering my students’ affective filters. Reading past and current literature on the topic always further convinces me of my need to make my students feel safe in our English Composition for Non-Native Speakers classroom. Following best practices set forth in…
By Lindsey Jackson Universal Design (UD) is a concept originally intended for consumable products, operating under the principle that products should be usable by any consumer without requiring adaptation. It has since been implemented in other areas, too, and has fairly recently begun taking the educational world by storm, despite having been introduced there back…
