Middle School Interest Section
MinneTESOL is forming a new interest section! Over the past months a number of people began asking why there wasn't a middle school interest section. Some middle school teachers belong to either the elementary or secondary interest sections, but some were starting to feel that their particular issues were a little different than either one of these other interest sections addressed. A petition for a new interest section was drawn up and signed, and the new interest section was formally approved by the MinneTESOL board.

At the MinneTESOL conference, middle school teachers should go to their former primary interest section (elementary or secondary) meeting for the first 10 minutes or so to hear any business that might be relevant for them as well. After those first few minutes, everyone interested in being in the middle school interest section will go to their own designated room for their first official meeting! In the meeting, the group will choose leaders for the year, discuss issues important to them, and begin to make plans for a workshop in 2007.

If you are interested in being part of this middle school interest section and have questions before the conference, please email Andrea at apoulos@lincolnadulted.org.

Language Teacher Education Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS
Deadline December 1, 2006

Bridging Contexts, Making Connections:
Fifth International Conference on Language Teacher Education
May 31_June 2, 2007
Radisson University Hotel
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

The Fifth International Conference on Language Teacher Education welcomes proposals for papers and symposia on all aspects of the education and professional development of language teachers. Papers and symposia may report on data-based research, theoretical and conceptual analyses, or best practices in language teacher education.

The mission of the conference is to address the education of teachers of all languages, at all instructional and institutional levels, and in all the many national and international contexts in which this takes place, including: English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/
EFL) instruction; foreign/modern/world language teaching; bilingual education; immersion education; indigenous and minority language education; and the teaching of less commonly taught languages. The conference aims to bring together teacher educators from these many contexts to discuss and share research, theory, and best practices and to initiate and sustain meaningful professional dialogue across languages, levels, and settings. The conference will focus on the following four broad themes:

* The Knowledge Base of Language Teacher Education;
* Social, Cultural, and Political Contexts of Language Teacher Education;
* Collaborations in Language Teacher Education; and
* Processes of Language Teacher Education

The deadline for submission of proposals for papers and symposia is December 1, 2006.
More information and on-line submission instructions can be found at:
http://www.carla.umn.edu/conferences/LTE2007/call.html
Questions? Email the planning committee at:
lteconf@umn.edu

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Looking for a fun and an interesting ESL lesson? Consider subscribing to Kids Avenue Magazine. Kids Avenue is an innovative, high-interest magazine for children ages 8-14 that is published six times during the school year. It is packed with high-interest (and teachable) stories, articles, games and quizzes. According to its editor, Darren Augustine, the magazine was created specifically for English language learners. "It is always difficult to find reading material that actually excites kids, and I wanted something that was not too childish, but really grabbed their attention." Darren, a Minnesota native, has been living and teaching in Turkey for the past five years. Kids Avenue is in its third year of publication. For ordering, please visit www.kidsavenueonline.com.

JOBS

Title: SAT English Reading and Writing Instructor
Students: Mostly students from immigrant Chinese families
Location: MinHua Minnestoa China Academy, Macalester College of St. Paul
Time: Saturday mornings 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., 4 to 6 session in total starting in October
Payrate: $50-$75 per hour depending on qualifications and enrollment
Qualifications: BA degree and above, with a minimum of 2 years of teaching experience in English or related subjects, perferably in a high school or college setting.
Contact: Dr. Jian Wu, email: jxw015@gmail.com, phone: 651-442-9517


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Currently we have two teacher positions open at the the Blaine Learning Lab.
1. Evening Reading A Teacher – 12 hours/week
2. Morning ESL Teacher – 28 hrs/week

Patrice Adams
Metro North Adult Basic Education
1201 89th Avenue NE Suite 335
Blaine, MN 55434
763.783.4879
Fax 763.783.4757

Sponsored by Community Education

TESOL Grants!
A number of grant opportunities are available through TESOL for ESOL professionals. Some are travel awards for attending the annual convention or other trainings, others are monetary awards or memberships to TESOL, etc.

Please visit www.tesol.org/awards for more information.