April 2020
Distance Learning Update: Letter to Gov. Walz
We strongly believe that access to the Internet is a civil rights issue. On March 23, we wrote to Gov. Walz and urged him to immediately issue an executive order to provide all households with Internet access during school closure and our time of distance learning.
Featured Article
Check out the book review of “Teaching adult English language learners: A practical introduction,” featured in the Fall 2019 MinneTESOL Journal. This review discusses the new and updated edition of the seminal ABE textbook from Hamline University’s Betsy Parrish. It includes an important update for distance educators: The new edition includes a chapter on online learning, and there are free online resources linked to the article. Cambridge.org makes available lists of free online resources for each chapter, which are updated regularly by Parrish herself. You need to create a Cambridge account, but it is free with the choice to opt out of email notifications from the publisher.
The next issue of the MinneTESOL Journal will be released later this Spring.
MELEd 2020 Call for Proposals
MinneTESOL and the Minnesota Department of Education welcome proposals for MELEd 2020. We are looking for presentations related to all aspects of English language teaching and best practices for instruction and administration. MELEd 2020 will be held November 19-21, 2020 at the Rivercentre in St. Paul, MN.
Here is the link to Submit a Proposal to MELEd 2020! The submission deadline is May 22, 2020
Please see our website for more information: minnetesol.org/fall-conference
MinneTESOL First-Time Presenter Scholarship
This scholarship is for people who have never presented at MELEd (or SLIFE Spring Fling or MinneTESOL). If awarded, the scholarship will reimburse recipients for the cost of 1 day of conference attendance. Reimbursements will be issued after attending the conference and presenting. MELEd First-Time Presenter Scholarship applications will open in September.
We Need You to Help Rate Proposals
Early this summer, the MELEd Proposal Rating committee will work with over three dozen raters to read and score all proposals submitted. This blind rating process ensures a fair selection of the proposals best suited to our event.
If you’d like to join our crew of raters, please complete this quick form by Monday, May 11. The Proposal Review committee will be in touch with instructions later in May or in early June. This is a great way to increase your professional development and get involved with the MELEd Conference! Presenter Scholarship applications will open in September.
Get to Know the MinneTESOL Executive Board
Each newsletter will profile a different Executive Board or MinneTESOL member.
Name: Leah Soderlund
Position at MinneTESOL: External Relations Director, Advocacy Co-Chair, MELEd Exhibit Coordinator
Teaching context: K-12 EL (currently middle school)
Why you got into ESL: It was too good to be true! I couldn’t believe a career existed that was an amalgam all of the things I love– language, culture, people, and education!
Current project: Experimenting every day with new ways to engage our EL students in “distance learning.”
Did you know?
Past MinneTESOL newsletters can be found on our website, at http://minnetesol.org/minnetesol-newsletters
We want to hear from you
We are always looking for information to share from our members. Please send newsletter submissions to [email protected].
Did we miss something?
Do you have a professional event you’d like to see included in the MinneTESOL newsletter? Please send an email with details to: [email protected]
