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TESOL English Language Bulletin- 11 ways to make math instruction more accessible to English-learners 19 September 2023
- How states are using PDG B-5 grants to support multilingual learners 19 September 2023
- Boost Your 'Back to School' Learning With TESOL! 19 September 2023
- Last spring, Minnesota overhauled how schools teach reading. How will that affect English-language learners? 19 September 2023
- TESOL Welcomes NABE as TESOL ELevate Partner and Extends Early-Bird Registration to 6 Oct! 19 September 2023
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Social-Emotional Learning in ELT: 3 Takeaways From Action Research
Özgehan Uştuk
This blog is part of the TESOL Research Professional Council (RPC) Blog series.
I have been teaching EFL at higher education institutions in Turkey for more than a decade. One thing that became apparent to me over the years was that it can be very stressful to be a young adult language learner. The year 2019 was a particularly challenging one for those working and studying at Turkish universities. In Turkey, there was a sudden rise in the suicide rate, particularly among young people, according to news reports. This phenomenon did not leave the university unscarred. A conversation that I had with a colleague was particularly thought-provoking for me. She told me how powerless she felt and she had had no idea what her students had been going through. Continue reading
Memes and GIFs for Writing Development
Betsy Gilliland
As a consumer of social media, I have long been fascinated with memes, particularly those that relate to topics I am invested in, like teaching, literature, or composition. Memes, usually consisting of an image file overlaid by a short text, have become ubiquitous in popular culture. Many are based on images taken from films or TV shows, while others are based on a memorable photo or pair of photos. The humorous text references current events or everyday experiences. Similar to memes, GIF files are omnipresent in social media, particularly reaction GIFs, which are very short video clips showing characters’ facial expressions. Both memes and GIFs can be found through a web search, but can also be created using free and easy-to-use web tools like Canva or Giphy.
As much as I enjoy consuming memes and GIFs in my own social media use, I also see great potential for these formats in supporting second language learners’ writing development. Two recent publications highlight ways that language and writing teachers have drawn on these resources. In this blog post, I summarize these two articles with a focus on how they can be useful for teaching second language writing and suggest additional activities writing teachers might try to bring memes and GIFs into the classroom. Continue reading
Posted in TESOL Blog
Tagged as popular culture, second language writing, social media, teaching writing
2 Comments
7 Benefits of Reading Aloud to Multilingual Learners in School
Judie Haynes
What are your most beloved memories of elementary school? One of my most poignant recollections of my early school years is that of my teachers reading books aloud to the class after recess. My parents didn’t read to me as a child, so the fact that nearly all my teachers in K–8 did so was crucial to my development as a reader and led to my lifelong love of reading.
When I became a teacher, I believed that reading aloud to multilingual learners (MLLs), and encouraging parents to do the same, has multiple benefits for their academic learning, and I’ve since found that this belief is supported by research—in addition to my own experiences over time. In this blog, I discuss seven benefits of reading aloud to MLLs in school. Continue reading
Posted in TESOL Blog
Tagged as elementary education, elementary reading, ELT reading, primary education, reading fluency
2 Comments
Mindfulness in PD: Not a Magic Pill, but Certainly a Superpower
Laura Baecher
For the next few months, I will be inviting voices from a variety of contexts to share their work and thinking on professional development (PD). This post focuses on mindfulness as a practice that can inform our PD, teaching, and whole lives and is contributed by Mary Scholl at the Institute for Collaborative Learning in Costa Rica.
I don’t believe that there is a magic pill that we can give every teacher to bring meaningfulness and ease into their lives in the classroom. But If I were suddenly given the ability to make sure that all teachers everywhere were given one specific superpower, and I could choose from all the tools, techniques, frameworks, materials, approaches, and methodologies that I’ve encountered, tested, and adapted in my 34 years of teaching and working with teachers, I would choose mindfulness. Continue reading
Posted in TESOL Blog
Tagged as mindfulness, PD, professional development, SEL, social-emotional learning
8 Comments
4 Ways to Use AI to Build Laser-Focused Custom Content for Your Students
Brent Warner
An incredible amount interest in artificial intelligence (AI) launched late last year and has gone through the stratosphere since I wrote about ChatGPT in December. Since then, a so-called arms race of AI has begun to flood the market, from lesser known options like Lexii.ai to the expected big hitters like Microsoft and Google. And that’s not even to speak of the image, voice, music, and video generation tools that are showing up.
While educators are spending a lot of time figuring out how their students might be using AI, many haven’t stepped back yet to take a breath and think about how teachers themselves can use these text generators to lighten their load and better engage students. One promising solution is the use of AI to create customized content for English language learners. Continue reading
Posted in TESOL Blog
Tagged as AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Custom Content, edtech, educational technology, technology resources, Texts
6 Comments
Reading Black History Month at Dar America
Spencer Salas
Happy February from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte! For this post, to celebrate Black History Month, I’d like to write about the power of public libraries and how I came to read Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
In 1991, I graduated from the University of Virginia and began teaching at the American Language Center in Casablanca, Morocco. I stayed for three years. Every day, I’d walk to the school on Boulevard Moulay Youssef — passing by a restored villa, “Dar America/The American House.” It was an extension of the Cultural Affairs section of the U.S. Consulate and, among other things, a library. I filled out a card and became a member. Continue reading
Helping Students to Recognise and Respond to Social Injustice: Suggested Strategies and Resources
Naashia Mohamed
In conversations with preservice teachers, a question that inevitably arises is this: Why did you choose to become a teacher? Among the varied answers, there is always one common theme. This relates to wanting to make a difference in people’s lives by influencing the next generation, and, potentially, changing the world.
But do we actually do this? As individuals, do we even have the capacity to change the world? We live in a time where poverty, war, oppression, injustice, and uncertainty are predominant issues in every part of the globe. Many of us, as teachers, may feel overwhelmed, and unsure of where to even begin.
February 20 is World Day of Social Justice. The day is celebrated to raise awareness of social justice issues worldwide, highlight the power of global solidarity, and advance opportunities to promote social development and human dignity. As educators, this may be a useful opportunity to enable conversations about inequities and injustices, so that we can help students to develop the critical thinking, collaboration, and self-reflection skills necessary to foster a better society. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Continue reading