MinneTESOL Essay Contest

Give your learners an opportunity to write for a broader audience!

Enter your students' essays in the 2007 MinneTESOL essay contest. One prize will be awarded to a learner in each of the following student groups: elementary school, middle school, high school, adult basic education, and college. Essay topics and complete entry submission guidelines are on MinneTESOL's website. Go to http://www.minnetesol.org/ and then select 'contest information.'
Questions about the contest may be directed to Anita Dualeh at anitawolters@yahoo.com or 651-582-8648.

New College ESL Resource
PASSING THE TORCH: Strategies for Innovation in Community College ESL

The Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL) has released the Executive Summary from its upcoming report titled PASSING THE TORCH: Strategies for Innovation in Community College ESL. The full report will be published and formally released by February. Its authors are Forrest P. Chisman and JoAnn Crandall, two of the foremost experts in ESL and/or community college adult education work.The authors begin the summary with the following synosis:
Adult education English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction is an essential national education service,* but the outcomes of most ESL programs are by no means as great as they should and can be -- in terms of learning gains, retention, and transitions to further education. Fortunately, at least some programs have developed a wide range of innovative strategies that meet with considerable success in addressing these problems. Regrettably, inadequate funding for ESL – and for administrative and other policy issues– has prevented programs from taking most successful strategies to scale, and other programs have no way to learn about them in depth. Funding for ESL should be greatly increased to permit the dissemination of these strategies and to allow more students to benefit from them, as well as to advance research and development of new strategies to improve program outcomes.

A PDF file of the executive summary is available from the CAAL website at: http://www.caalusa.org (scroll down the left column to the title).

Position Open
English as a Second Language Teacher
MLC Learning Center, Lake Street

The Minnesota Literacy Council has a part-time opening (17 hours per week, Monday-Thursday 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., bimonthly meetings Friday 9 a.m.-11 a.m.) for an ESL teacher in South Minneapolis. Teach low-level adult learners from around the world and provide support to volunteers working with small groups of beginning-literacy adult learners. Other duties include: student intake, assessment, and student and volunteer recruitment. Qualified candidate will have BA in Education or related field and at least one year experience teaching ESL with adults. Graduate-level coursework in education preferred. Experience working with people of diverse communities, excellent oral and written communication skills, well-organized and able to meet deadlines. Spanish or Somali proficiency a plus, but all résumés will be considered.

To apply, send or fax resume and cover letter to:

Minnesota Literacy Council
756 Transfer Road
St. Paul, MN 55114-1404
Fax: 651-645-2272

OR contact Brad Hasskamp at 651-645-2277, extension 204, or bhasskamp@themlc.org

St. Paul Public Schools in the National Press

'English language learners' succeed in St. Paul, Minn.

Collaboration between classroom teachers and ELL experts has corresponded with rising test scores for nonnative speakers.
By Stacy A. Teicher --Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

For the full article in the Christian Science Monitor, go to the following URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1221/p14s01-legn.html?s=hns

Top 10 Migration Issues of 2006

Published by the Migration Policy Institute, the second annual list of the year's Top 10 migration issues include government policies favoring assimilation over multiculturalism, competition for skilled workers, the worsening situation in Darfur, and this past summer's crisis in Lebanon. The choices for the list are based on news events, noteworthy developments, and increasingly important trends.
http://www.migrationinformation.org/top_ten2006.cfm

Seattle TESOL ?

Going to TESOL? Need a Room?

Friendly teacher is looking to share a hotel room, already reserved. Contact Debbie Hadas at deborah.hadas@district196.org. If several of you write, I'm happy to play matchmaker.

Dear Colleague,

Georgetown University's Center for Intercultural Education and Development is pleased to announce that the English Language (EL) Fellow Program is currently accepting applications for the Academic Year 2007-2008 Fellowships. We invite you to share the information about this unique opportunity for TESOL professionals with your colleagues, students and other interested parties. Please feel free to explore the Program's website and e-mail us with any questions you might have.

The EL Fellow Program promotes English language learning around the world, and fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries. The EL Fellow Program places highly qualified teachers with Master's degrees in TEFL/TESL and Applied Linguistics in all regions of the world. Through U.S. Embassy projects, Fellows gain international experience while sharing their unique perspectives and expertise abroad.


Quick Facts about the Program
The EL Fellow Program has placed over 500 Fellows in 80
countries since 2001.
All fellowships are federally-funded professional positions.
Assignments are for a ten-month period (September - June).
Fellows cultivate international experience teaching English in
all regions of the world.
Fellows work on projects at host universities, teacher
training institutions, NGOs, and other language teaching
institutions.
Fellows serve as full-time ESL/EFL teachers and may conduct
teacher training, provide ESP instruction, design curricula,
and carry out program evaluations/needs analyses.
In the academic year 2007-2008, approximately 120 Fellows
will participate in projects abroad.


Fellow Benefits
For the academic year 2007-2008, all Fellows receive:
$25,000 stipend
Living allowance covering the cost of reasonable, safe and
comfortable housing (comparable to the standard of living in
the country of assignment), food, utilities, and local
transportation.
International round trip transportation from the Fellow's U.S.
residence to the host country.

For more information please contact:
Midwest Regional Recruitment Center
Nancy Stephani, Email: stephani@fvtc.edu, (920) 735-4844
Rose Zoesch, Email: zoesch@fvtc.edu, (920) 735-4728
Or
English Language Fellow Program
Georgetown University
Center for Intercultural Education and Development
Email: elf@georgetown.edu
Tel: 202-687-2068
Fax: 202-687-2555
Apply Online – http://elf.georgetown.edu