Vol. 11, Issue 1, October 2010


Welcome to Dialogue!


Featured Articles

  • Spotlight: 2010 TESOL Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. →
  • Webbing In: Debbie Coutavas creates a wiki. Find out why she and her students love it. →
  • Ask the Librarian: The Curious Librarian, Nanette Dougherty, shares another great resource for your students - Claiming Face: Self Empowerment through Self-Portraiture. →
  • Pronunciation Corner: Joyce Mandell reports from the “Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching” Conference at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. →
  • Neophyte: Jen Scully helps first year teachers with a touchy topic - behavior management. →
  • Job Tips: Patti Juza shares why networking at conferences can lead to an unexpected job offer →

Dialogue News & Announcements

  • An Honor to Serve: A Message from NYS TESOL President Constance Dziombak ↓
  • Something New is Coming to NYS TESOL Website ↓
  • Recent & Upcoming Events ↓

Constance Dziombak

An Honor to Serve

Constance Dziombak, President, NYS TESOL

Greetings Members!  I hope you’ve had a good start to the new academic year.  This is my last message as President of NYS TESOL, since I will soon be joining the ranks of NYS TESOL Past Presidents at the close of our upcoming 40th Anniversary Conference, Forty Years and Forward:  Responding to Change through Innovation in Albany November 5-6.
 
I am grateful to my dynamic Executive Board members for their support.  Thanks to their dedication and creative energy, NYS TESOL has indeed started to move “forward.”   Some of this year’s accomplishments include the establishment of  new Technology and Marketing/Publicity Committees, a Web Editor position, a new Special Education SIG, and  new member services: the Electronic Job Coach and Mentoring Program.  We have also developed enhanced relationships with outside educational organizations and programs such as NYSCEA, NYSUT, NYSABE, and the U.S. Department of State International Visitors Program.
 
I would also like to give a shout-out to our Dialogue Editor Sue Peterson, Webmaster David Hirsch , and all the Dialogue columnists for  their hard work and creativity.
 
It has been an honor for me to serve as NYS TESOL’s 40th President. Throughout the past year, I have had the invaluable opportunity to lead this important organization and work side-by-side with colleagues from all regions of New York State and all levels of education.  Though my term as President will end next month, I will continue to work with NYS TESOL and advocate for our students and programs.
 
Thank you all for your support! See you in Albany this November!
 

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Members - Something New Is Coming to You SOON!
Jeanie Faulkner, Business Manager, Treasurer, NYS TESOL

We are very excited to announce that NYS TESOL is transitioning to an online membership system to enhance our communication with you and make it easier for you to connect with your NYS TESOL member colleagues.

We’ll need some help from you at the beginning.   We’ll send you an email when the system goes live, but then you will need to sign on and verify your profile data and decide what information you want to share with other members and what to make private.

We hope to “Go Live” in October, so keep your eyes peeled for that email notice.  We’ll also be introducing all the new bells & whistles at the Annual Conference in Albany on Nov. 5-6, 2010, so be sure to drop by the NYS TESOL table to check it out.

Our new system has three key components:

  • a Membership Center with profiles on each active member with options to add a photo, your job title and organization that can be shared with the member group to facilitate networking and information sharing
  • a Communications Center that will allow members to sign up for their Region and Special Interest Group (SIG) listservs to communicate about upcoming events and to share professional development information
  • an Events Management Center that will provide members advance information on NYS TESOL events and allow you to easily register online using your existing profile data

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Recent Events

Regional Update

The Capital Region held its first regional event in several years – a special screening of an award-winning documentary about the language journey of four students: “Speaking in Tongues.” This event was co-sponsored by Questar III, BETAC, and NYSUT and was free for NYS TESOL members. It took place on Monday, June 21 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm at NYSUT Headquarters in Latham and more than a dozen people were in attendance. The movie was very well-received and many expressed interest in showing the documentary to colleagues, parents, and community members in their school districts to show the importance of understanding a second language.

Report from: Susan Lafond, Capital Region Co-chair

Special Interest Group (SIG) Updates

Adult Education SIG First Salon & Survey Highlights
Report from: Tamara Kirson, Adult Ed SIG Chair

The first Salon was held on August 4, 2010 at the apartment of Tamara Kirson, Adult Ed SIG Leader. Read more>>

Survey Result Highlights

  1. Salons, E-List and Newsletter top the “Wish List”
  2. Preferences for Salon topics:  pronunciation, reading writing, and grammar in that order
  3. Salons to be facilitated by members and guests
  4. 96% of SIG respondents want Teaching Strategy Ideas/Articles on the SIG page
  5. There are a host of wonderful members offering their volunteer services!

For more survey results about who we are, what we want, how we plan to achieve what we want as ESOL adult educators, and to learn about the next Salon date, go to the Adult Ed webpage at: http://nystesol.org/sig/AdultEducation/

Secondary Education SIG
Report from: Lan Ngo, Secondary Education SIG Chair

Exchange and Engage: Enhancing Lessons to Support English Language Learners
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: Teachers College, Columbia University, Grace Dodge Hall Room 365

We had a small, intimate group of nine participants, allowing everyone to comfortably exchange information and ideas. The group consisted of a mix of current teachers and graduate students. We began by discussing practical strategies and scaffolds that may be used to support English language learners in varying contexts. During the second half of the event, we examined lesson plans created by the event participants, and provided both positive and constructive feedback. In general, participants thought that the event provided a forum in which teachers were able to support each other and share their experiences and ideas.


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Upcoming Events

Buffalo Region
ESL Book Club
Buffalo Region ESL and bilingual teachers enjoy their monthly book club meetings.
If you are interested in joining, please contact Elena Dokshansky-Zelfond, Buffalo Regional Chair, at buffalo@nystesol.org.

  1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
    October 2010, Location TBA
  2. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
    December 2010, Location TBA

ESL / Bilingual Research Article Study (Discussion Group) November 2010
Check for article list at http://www.nystesol.org/region/buffalo.php

Long Island Region
"Afternoon of Turkish Culture"
Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
4-6 PM at Molloy College
Rockville Center, NY

NYSUT Regional ELL Conference
"Enriching the Education of English Language Learners(ELLs)"
Date: October 8, 2010
Location: Utica,NY, Radisson Hotel-Utica Centre
Audience: Elementary classroom teachers, secondary content area teachers, ESOL, and bilingual educators.
Cost: Educators will not have to pay a registration fee.
Content: We plan on offering breakout sessions targeted for and presented by ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science educators. We also plan on including a session on strategies and techniques for modifying instruction for both ESL, classroom and content area teachers. In addition, we plan on providing a session focusing on addressing the needs of newcomer students in adjusting to US schools.

A new feature that we are exploring for this year's regional ELL conference is a parent panel in which parents--from 3 or 4 cultural backgrounds--will share their perspective on assisting their children in having success in school. To finish off the conference on a very meaningful and thought-provoking manner, we plan on including an ELL student panel as we did at the Long Island regional ELL conference.

Contact: Melanie Pores
Assistant in Research and Educational Services
New York State United Teachers
Phone: 800-342-9810  
Email: mpores@nysutmail.org

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Idiom - is the quarterly paper publication for members of NYS TESOL. You can be a part of an upcoming issue so why not submit an article for consideration? Sample Idiom articles can be read here: http://idiom.nystesol.org.

The theme of the winter 2010-11 issue of Idiom is “Annual Conference.” Articles are based on conference presentations. The deadline is December 1, 2010. Send your submission to idiom@nystesol.org.
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Dialogue – E-Newsletter of NYS TESOL
Please invite your non-member colleagues to join us (membership@nystesol.org).