MinneTESOL
Fall 2008 Updates
www.minnetesol.org

Have You Registered for the Fall Conference Yet?
Early registration ends October 29 for our annual fall conference. Register online
at https://www.acteva.com/go/minnetesol

What: MinneTESOL Fall Conference

When: November 7 and 8th, 2008

Where: University of St. Thomas, downtown Minneapolis campus

Who: all ESL teachers and administrators!

Why: Excellent keynote speakers, dozens of concurrent sessions, publishers' exhibits, networking with colleagues, silent auction, alumni events, and more!

For more information, go to www.minnetesol.org and click on Fall Conference.

Pre-Conference Workshops at MinneTESOL

This year, MinneTESOL is thrilled to offer interactive pre-conference workshops on important topics for ESL teaching. Dynamic facilitators will lead workshops from 2:30 - 5:00 pm on Friday, November 7 at the University of St Thomas. The cost for each is $25 and seating is limited.

You can register for any pre-conference workshop online when you register for the conference: https://www.acteva.com/go/minnetesol


Workshop 1:
Building Literacy in
Emergent Adult Readers

Workshop 2:
Putting Technology to
Work for Your Students

Workshop 3:
Creative and Sustained
Professional
Development for
Mainstream Teachers

Announcing the 2nd Annual MinneTESOL Silent Auction

The MinneTESOL fall conference will continue with last year's silent auction. Conference participants can shop for exotic offerings and help the ESL field, too!

Here's the idea: The Silent Auction is a fund raiser for MinneTESOL
grants. MinneTESOL would like to be able to offer more grant money in 2009 for its members. MinneTESOL grants support special projects, events, research, and professional development for ESL professionals at all levels and ages of instruction throughout the state of Minnesota.

How You Can Help: Send an email to Laura Funke:
lfunke@inverhills.edu
indicating that you'd like to donate an item, preferably related to your work teaching English Language Learners. Please include a description of the item and a suggested minimum bid. Then bring it for sale on the day of the conference.

Remember this is no ordinary silent auction. Ideally, items for sale should be related to language, teaching and culture.

Here are some ideas:

• Movie tickets or rentals for foreign films
• Meals at an ethnic restaurant
• Books
• Canvas conference bags filled (or not) with books
• Art items
• Crafts
• Travel souvenirs from other countries
• Paper
• Dictionaries

We want to continue to with last year's silent auction success and hope that you will join us in making the event a hit.

Thank you for donating an item to the MinneTESOL Silent Auction!

MinneWITESOL Journal Coming Soon

Look for Volume 25 of MinneWITESOL Journal to be published online by Nov 1, 2008. This is the 25th Anniversary edition of the Journal with a look back at the history of the Journal. It is also a special topic issue on: Research and Best Practice Concerning the Instruction of ESL Learners with Low Levels of Literacy. Here is a sneak peak at the table of contents:

HISTORY OF THE JOURNAL

The Early Days of the Journal
Mark Landa

MinneWITESOL Journal Volumes 1 – 24 Table of Contents

ARTICLES

"Maestra! The letters speak." Learning to Read for the First Time: Best Practices in Emergent Reading Instruction
Patsy Vinogradov

Learning Strategies and Low-Literacy Hmong Adult Students
Julia Reimer

Conversations about Inclusion: Connecting Mainstream and ESL
Lisa M. Bolt Simons

Classroom Strategies and Tools for Differentiating Instruction in the ESL Classroom
Anne Dahlman, Patricia Hoffman & Susan Brauhn

REVIEWS

A comparative review of recent literacy-level textbooks:
Literacy Plus A: Language, Lifeskills, Civics
by J. Saslow
Literacy Plus B: Language, Lifeskills, Civics
by J. Saslow
Longman ESL Literacy
by Y. W. Nishio
Taking Off: Beginning English and Literacy Workbook
by S. H. Fesler & C. M. Newman
Ventures Basic Student's Book and Literacy Workbook
by G. Bitterlin, D. Johnson, D. Price, S. Ramirez & K. L. Savage
LifePrints Literacy Book and Literacy Workbook
by M. C. Florez
English—No Problem! Literacy Book and Literacy Workbook
by E. Minicz & M. L. Taylor
Reviewed by Anne Lazaraton & Andrew Baker

Step Forward Introductory Level: Language for Everyday Life
by J. K. Santamaria
Reviewed by Rhonda Petree

Sam and Pat 1: Beginning Reading and Writing
by Jo Anne Hartel, Betsy Lowry & Whit Hendon
Reviewed by Parthy Schachter

The Basic Oxford Picture Dictionary
Reviewed by Catherine Clements

Teaching Content to English Language Learners: Strategies for Secondary School Success
by Jodi Reiss
Reviewed by Kathryn Huebsch

ABE Transition Conference
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

"From Dream to Reality: ABE Transitions to College, Training, and Work"
Thu. Oct. 30 - Fri. Oct. 31, 2008
St. Cloud Holiday Inn & Suites

This conference is sponsored by the MN Department of Education, the MN Workforce Council Association, and the ATLAS Program at Hamline University.

Register online at the ATLAS website:
http://www.hamline.edu/education/academics/centers/sltl/atlas/events/transitions2008_event.html

MinneTESOL Alumni Events

MinneTESOL Alumni Events Scheduled for November 8, 2008

The following colleges and universities have announced alumni events following the MinneTESOL Conference on Saturday, November 8th:

Hamline University: Kramer Gallery, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Address coming soon!

Northwestern College: Caribou Coffee, 1116 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis

University of Minnesota: Brits Pub, 1110 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis

Watch for additional announcements on the MinneTESOL Conference webpage.

Photo below: A few participants at 2007's U of M alumni get-together.

Attention Immersion Teachers!

Immersion Education: Pathways to Bilingualism
and Beyond
A CARLA - CAL Conference Collaboration
October 16 – 18, 2008
St. Paul, MN
Conference registration and exhibitor opportunities are still available.
http://carla.umn.edu/conferences/immersion2008/index.html

Poster Contest

The 2008 MinneTESOL Poster Contest winners and their teachers will be announced at the MinneTESOL Conference, November 8, 2008.

Thank you to all those participating!

THANK YOU

Thank you to all the members that submitted proposals to the MinneTESOL conference! The program committee is working on the final details, and our detailed conference schedule will be available soon at our website.

International Educators!

The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education
2008 Call for Applications

The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society are seeking applications for the 2008 Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education. The prize program was created in 2003 to raise awareness of the growing importance of international knowledge and skills for U.S. students and annually awards prizes totaling $150,000 in five different categories.

Applications for the elementary/middle school, high school, district/state, and media/technology prizes are due Monday, December 1st, 2008. For more information and to access the online application, please visit http://asiasociety.org/gsfprizes.

MACAE Conference

The Minnesota Association for Continuing Adult Education (MACAE) has released information on it's 33rd Annual Conference, to be held at St. Thomas University, St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 7, 2008. This year's theme – The Mosaic of Adult Education focuses on two critical issues facing education today: The role of technology; and the need to refocus and regenerate our efforts to create a true culture of lifelong learning.

The conference will feature both excellent keynote presentations as well as hands-on oppFor more information on the conference, registration and MACAE, please check out our web page @ http://www.mnmacae.org
--Nancy Herther
Conference Planning Chair
President-Elect, MACAE
Social Sciences Librarian - University of Minnesota

Adolescent English Language Learners

Falling Through the Cracks:
Meeting the Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners

Tuesday, October 28, 2008
3:00 pm to 4:30 pm EDT

When it comes to dropping out of school, English language learners (ELLs) are a particularly vulnerable population.

Deborah J. Short and Kate Menken, two leading experts in the field of English language teaching, highlight the key policy, academic, and practical issues related to the high drop-out rate for adolescent ELLs and recommend effective approaches and policies for addressing the problem. This live interactive Webcast will be moderated by New York Times editor Joseph Berger.

Register today! Participate from your home or office, as an individual or a group. If you cannot join the live session, view the archived Webcast when it fits your schedule. Registrants receive access to the live event and archived version of this program, New York Times content relevant to the topic, and a vibrant online forum for discussing the issue with peers.

This program is free for TESOL Global and student members.

For complete program and registration information, visit TESOL's Web site at
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=1919&DID=11442

If you have any questions, please contact edprograms@tesol.org or 703-518-2528.