english language centre newsletter university of macau · suzanne rizzo since earning her...

UM ELC Newsletter Issue I (February 2009) 1

Table of Contents

2008 ELC Events 2 Faculty Introductions 6 New ELC Initiatives 8 Academic Activities of ELC Faculty 13 Upcoming Events 15 Students Speak 15 Distinguished Visitors 16

Many thanks to our Newsletter Editor: Fulbright ETA Jessica Kahn!

Message from the Director, Kim Kim Kim Hughes Wilhelm

Welcome to our inaugural issue of the ELC’s newsletter! We plan to publish and distribute one newsletter each semester (along with special issues upon occasion) so please look for our English Language Centre news and thank you for your interest.

Since early June, when I was welcomed as the new ELC director, I’ve been pleased and impressed by the work being done at the ELC. An intensive summer session with nearly 60 students was held from July 7 through August 8th, with students attending 6 hours of class a day and also going on several fieldtrips. At the same time, we were conducting a search for 3 new faculty, bringing our new faculty numbers to 12 this academic year as we welcome 6 new full-time lecturers, 4 Fulbright English teaching assistants, 1 lecturer transfer and 1 administrative staff transfer. Please refer to pages 6 of the newsletter for new faculty introductions.

Placement exams were held the end of August with nearly 1300 undergraduate students taught English improvement classes by ELC faculty Semester I of the 2008-2009 academic year. Over 300 students have been given individual tutorial help by CREW (Centre for Research and English Writing) staff and approximately 20 workshops offered this semester by ELC faculty or TAs. We also administered the TOEFL internet-based exam with 12 groups of registered test-takers between September and February. In addition to the English Festival, new initiatives for students this semester include the English Table at the UM Library Cafe (held 4 days a week with UM students

chatting with our Fulbright ETAs), cultural and language immersion fieldtrips to provide students with informal exposure to English in conversational settings, and podcasts which feature interviews with English speakers in Macao for listening practice. Another major initiative is expansion of our testing and multi-media learning centre, with renovation scheduled to be completed by the end of February of 2009. We sincerely appreciate the support given by UM for this expansion, which will allow for additional testing stations, a multi-media workstation, and better use of technology-supported language learning classrooms. Finally, please stay tuned for the next English Festival, scheduled for April 21-23, 2009. Happy reading and thanks again for your interest and ongoing support of the University of Macau’s English Language Centre!

English Language Centre Newsletter University of Macau


Cutting the ribbon at the Opening Ceremony

English Festival, October 14-16 2008

Our first ever English Festival was held over three jam-packed days in October 2008. During the Opening Ceremony, head of the English Department Professor Glenn Timmermans gave an opening speech and past director of the ELC, Dr. Keith Pharis, introduced our guest speaker before joining then Acting Rector Professor Martins to cut the ribbon and officially open the festival. The highlight of the evening of Opening Ceremony events was an academic guest lecture by assessment expert Professor Lyle Bachman, currently a Fulbright Scholar at Hong Kong University.

Other presentations involved six highly successful graduates of UM who returned to talk about the importance of English in their careers and their experiences as UM students, encouraging current UM students to focus on English improvement. Three other panels were held to discuss student exchanges and study abroad opportunities along with exchange experiences and photos.

A poetry reading competition and a debate showcase by the UM Debate Team were popular with students and the Closing Ceremony was augmented with performances by the poetry competition winners, songs by the UM Singing Society, and a closing speech by Associate Dean Prof. Timothy Simpson.

Professor Lyle Bachman giving his lecture on English Language Assessment at the Opening Ceremony

Exchange Panel, from left: Julie Hanks, Zoe Mak (Australia, Japan), Tom Gaffney (China), Henry Cheong (New Zealand), Paige Borelli

Graduate Panel, from left: Carina Ho, Assistant Manager of Public Relations, MGM Grand Macao;

Joaquim Kuong, professor of Linguistics at UM; Manuel Noronha, instructor in the ELC


Students directing questions to the Graduate Panel. A question and answer portion was

included after each event.

English Festival

Poetry Competition

With 23 contestants and 5 winners, the Poetry Competition was one of the highlights of the Festival and drew a large crowd of students and faculty alike. Contestants chose from a selection of 14 poems, ranging from Emily Dickinson to D.H. Lawrence to Robert Frost, and read their poem aloud in front of five judges and their peers. The five winners had an encore performance during the closing ceremony where they received prizes. All other participants were awarded gift certificates

Poetry Competition Winners:

1)vTrevor Ho 2) Li Liang Ying 3) Nicole Ng Chi Mei 4) Wendi Song 5) Kiwi Xiao Yang

A Poetry Competition contestant proudly showing off his prize

Poetry Competition winners, from left: Kiwi, Wendi, Trevor, Li Liang, and Nicole

Above: Graduate Panel, from left: Sumi Ito (MC); Buddy Lam Chi Seng, Director of Public Relations,

Venetian Macao, Stephanie Lam Ian Ian, High School English Teacher, Luso-Chinesa Sec. School;

Raymond Lai, Lecturer, Department of Communications, UM

Left: ELC Faculty, Distinguished Guests, and

attendees at the Opening Ceremony


U.S.A. Election Series 2008

The U.S.A. Presidential Election Series was a joint venture between the English Language Centre and the Hong Kong – America Centre created in the spirit of bringing events of this particularly historic U.S.A Election to university students and also the larger community of Macao. The Series provided a month-long build-up to Election Day with a variety of events that brought people of all backgrounds together to partake and reflect upon this exciting political time. Events were held in the American Corner of the university library.

Lecture on the Electoral College by Fulbrighter Prof. Michael G. Roskin

The first event held in the American Corner was a talk given by Fulbright Lecturer and Scholar Michael Roskin on the American Electoral College system. Students and faculty alike discovered how Americans elect their leaders through this unique system.

Film Viewings

The Election Series kicked off with film viewings of biographies of both Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Also shown was the film “Making the Message: The Fight for the Presidency,” a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the 2004 election. Integrated as a part of English Table, each of the screenings was followed by a discussion between students and our Fulbright ETAs.


Above: Vice Consul Brian DaRin awards prizes to the winning debaters

Right: Election Day Panel, from left, Dr. Kim Johnson, Michael Roskin, Tom Gaffney, and Brian DaRin

Mock Debate and Campus Vote

Students piled into the American Corner to watch and support the University of Macau Debate Team who squared off to present the two presidential platforms. The six debaters spoke fervently on policies of the presidential candidates, examining issues from off-shore drilling to national health care. The event culminated in a campus vote, the results of which were revealed on Election Day.

Election Results and Panel Discussion

After much anticipation, the poll results on Election Night – or Election morning for all of us in Macao– arrived. Students glued their eyes to Wolf Blitzer on CNN as early as 9:00 a.m. as each state was called red (Republican) or blue (Democrat). By noon we had a new President-elect and a celebration luncheon. Panelists (Fulbrighter Michael G. Roskin, Assistant Professor of Journalism Kim Johnson of Hong Kong Baptist University and Fulbright Scholar Tom Gaffney) answered numerous questions from students and faculty about the issues facing the U.S.A. and future President Barack Obama. Vice Consul Brian DaRin and Solomon Wong of the Hong Kong U.S. Consulate were also in attendance to reflect upon the day and to award prizes to the winning debaters. Results of the campus vote revealed Barack Obama as the UM students’ candidate of choice.


New Additions to the ELC Staff

ELC Welcomes Eric Lam as IT Specialist Eric Lam transferred to the ELC in September and has been hard at work helping to plan the renovation of our testing centre and to better utilize IT in language learning. He is setting up a multi-media work station as part of the new lab facilities and will offer training and support to teachers and students. He is also helping to select language lab software and is getting trained to be a testing supervisor. One of his most important contributions since coming to the ELC is the restructuring of our ELC web site.

Ming Cheang

Ming has been with the University of Macau since 1996, working for both the Institute of Chinese Studies and, more recently, as administrative staff for the Department of English, FSH. She has newly joined the English Language Centre, transferring in early January. The ELC is fortunate to be able to draw upon her years of experience in working with other departments, her knowledge of student affairs and her expertise with office management. She has been asked to take the main leadership role in managing the ELC's General Administrative Affairs and we appreciate the breadth of experience she brings to us as we plan short- and long-term for the future development of the Centre.

New Faculty

Laura McWhorter

Laura earned her BA in Psychology in 2002 and MA in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2004 from the Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She taught general EFL courses in an intensive academic English program for Koç University English Language Centre in Istanbul Turkey from 2004 to 2006, primarily doing reading and vocabulary classes with some TOEFL prep. After that, she taught EFL courses for nursing students in a program leading to a BSN degree with a minor in English language at the School of Nursing of the same university from 2006 to 2008.

Ricardo Medeiros

Ricardo is originally from San Jose, California, but grew up in the southern United States, Europe, and Central America. Before coming to China he lived for many years in Minnesota, where, in addition to being a teacher of writing and editing at a number of tertiary institutions, he was a professional copywriter and editor, including a couple of years as copy editor for Lavender, a biweekly newsmagazine with a national circulation. In 2006-07 Ricardo taught oral English and writing at a teacher's college in Henan Province. Previously he was an instructor of oral English and public speaking at Macau University of Science and Technology. His research interests include, among other things, pedagogy and curriculum for English language learners, world Englishes, Lusophone studies, and Jewish studies.


New Faculty

Suzanne Rizzo

Since earning her Master’s degree in TESL from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio (U.S.A.) Susanne has taught integrated and special skills courses in ESL and EFL settings. In addition, she has co-authored a textbook, entitled Communication Strategies 3, with Prof. Jun Liu and Tracy Davis as well as co-designed a multi-media online course in American culture and presented papers at a number of national and international conferences. She is particularly interested in learner motivation, task-based instruction, and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Susanne has taught at Shantou University’s English Language Center in Guangdong Province, P.R. China, and at Koç University English Language Center in Istanbul, Turkey.

Eve Smith

Eve is a former English Language Fellow in China and Russia with the U.S.A. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs and has a Master's in Applied Linguistics/TESOL and a second Master's in International Relations. She spent her summers in Asia as a teacher trainer for Summerbridge Hong Kong, preparing faculty in the fundamentals of teaching ESL, assessment, classroom management and lesson planning. Previously, Ms. Smith had taught EFL and ESL at Georgia State University, Western Chongqing University in China,

and Bridge Languages, which is a small private language school in Atlanta. She has also worked as an intensive English Language Instructor with Georgetown University and USAID in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ms. Smith’s research areas include cross-cultural pragmatics, the role of culture and socioeconomics in teaching and learning, and issues related to second language reading and writing.

Janice Tibbetts Janice Tibbetts holds an Honours degree in English Literature and a Master’s in TESOL. She has taught language, literature, drama and theatre arts, communications and media studies, and EFL and ESP in the U.K., Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong. Janice is particularly interested in learner autonomy and self access learning, having set up various self access centres in Hong Kong secondary schools, a vocational training centre and for the British Council. Her research interests include learner autonomy, vocabulary acquisition, student motivation and quality issues in assessment. Janice has published a number of articles on student learning and self access and has also written simplified readers for Hong Kong and Malaysian secondary schools. She is a keen environmentalist so watch out for someone rushing round turning off the lights! We welcome her to the ELC as of Sem. II 2008-2009.

Teresa Lacuna

Teresa is originally from Vancouver, B.C., Canada. In 2003 she received a Master’s of Arts in TEFL/SL from the University of Birmingham, U.K., her research area being everyday reading


Student consultation with a CREW GA.

practices of Form 6 students in Macao. Her first experiences with ESL were in Vancouver teaching English to new Korean immigrants. She then worked for 6 years at Tamwood International, a private English college for teens and adults where she was responsible for many areas of administration as well as teaching, course and curriculum development, implementation, student internships, student advising and teacher training. Wanting the chance to focus mostly on teaching, she decided to come to Macao and has since taught all skills to Form 6 students of all levels at the Centre for Pre-University Studies. In her spare time, Teresa loves to explore new places, languages, people, ideas and recipes, and to find fun things to do with her family in and around Macao.

Vivian Chaplin

Vivian Chaplin has just come on board as a full time instructor after teaching courses in ELC and the Faculty of Business part time for a number of years. Vivian holds an MSc in Human Resources Development and Training and has industry experience in the tourism and hospitality sector. She is particularly interested in curriculum planning and development for Business and Professional Purposes. Her research interests are in the field of sociolinguistics, ethnic minority education and training. She enjoys traveling – especially to places where she can go scuba diving.

ELC Initiatives

CREW (Consulting Centre for Research and English Writing)

This past semester, tutors at the university writing centre (CREW) facilitated more than 28 writing and academic study skills workshops, with the “How to Avoid Plagiarism” workshop being the most popular among students. CREW tutors also assisted more than 100 students through individual consultations. After a consultation, one student remarked in her evaluation, “I have learnt a lot about how to write and organize the structure of an essay.” Together with the number of students attending CREW’s daily chat room hour, more than 450 UM students have used CREW’s services.

If you’d like to get assistance in the writing process, please visit CREW’s office on the ground floor of the Library from 10:30 – 13:30 and 14:30 – 17:30, Monday through Friday. Appointments preferred. Drop-ins welcome. Bring your assignment if possible.

If you’d like to attend our workshops, including “Proofreading Strategies,” “Presentation Skills,” “Résumé and Cover Letter Writing,” and “APA/MLA Documentation Styles,” look for workshop schedule flyers around campus. You can also visit http://www.umac.mo/elc/crew/crew.html for more information.


ELC Testing Centre Expands in Size and Offerings

Renovation of the ELC testing centre should be completed by the end of March and will quadruple the number of seats available for internet-based testing. The IT language learning classroom will be modified so that it can be used for testing in addition to teaching and will be equipped with the Sanako state-of-the-art language laboratory.

A group meeting room and multimedia lab for video-editing will also be added for both teacher and student use. With this new lab, students will not only be able to edit their English video projects but also use English for communication. In addition, we are in the process of reviewing good language-learning software for self-access student use.

Testing Information

Over the past nine months, the Testing Centre has administered TOEFLiBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language), SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), and ACT (American College Testing program) tests to more than 300 test takers. The Testing Centre also administers the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), with plans to add the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) and GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) in the future. If you are interested in any of these standardized tests, please visit http://www.umac.mo/elc/testing_centre_toefl.html for more information.

Upcoming – Free Seminar!!!

On Saturday, February 21, 2009, a specialist from Hong Kong’s Institute for International Education, Ms. Winnie Wong, will be coming to Macao to give an informational seminar on the TOEFL

and TOEIC exams. The seminar is free and is open to anyone who wishes to attend. Please contact us to register for the seminar, which will begin at 3 pm.

English Table

One of the first projects spearheaded by the Fulbright ETAs, English Table, is now a well-known aspect of campus life. Held four days a week from 12:30 – 2:30 in the library cafe, English Table is open to all students regardless of their level of English and boasts a regular following. Students come to chat over lunch or simply stop by for a few minutes between classes to improve their oral English with native speakers. Although topics of discussion are assigned from time to time, conversation is usually fed by intercultural queries, current events, and pop culture. Please come and bring a friend!

Lectures by Damon Anderson Damon Anderson, the Director of Regional English Language Programs for China and Mongolia for the U.S. Embassy, gave lectures entitled “How to Be a Better Language Learner” for ELC students on September 25-26, 2008. Damon also took the time to meet with the Fulbright ETAs to share his career experiences.


Fulbright ETAs

This September marked the arrival of the first group (3 year agreement with UM) of Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) sent to the University of Macau through the U.S.A. Department of State. This year, three Macao universities (UM, MPI, and MUST) received a total of nine ETAs to develop English immersion opportunities and to encourage cross-cultural exchanges for Macao students. The four ETAs sent to UM have had a busy semester as teaching assistants, also attending and creating extracurricular events for ELC students, volunteering at Macao’s Anglican College, studying Chinese, and attending Fulbright events with other ETAs in Hong Kong and Macao. Let’s meet them…

Paige Borelli

Paige grew up in Kansas and majored in Sociology and International Studies at Saint Louis University in Missouri. In 2007, she studied in Beijing and also taught an English class at her university. Paige plans to pursue a doctorate in Sociology upon her return to the United States. During her time at UM, Paige has worked very closely with the Debate Team, coaching the dedicated debaters twice a week and traveling with them to competitions.

Denny Chan

Denny graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Mandarin

Chinese in May, 2008. He plans to enter law school in the fall of 2009. Denny is the creator of the ELC Podcast, an initiative to help students with their English listening skills. He is also helping to develop a distance learning cross cultural exchange.

Sara Atienza

Sara attended University of California, Davis, where she double majored in Economics and Sociology. After completing her honors thesis in Sociology, she continued her research in a Masters of Education Program at Stanford University. Directly following Stanford, she worked as the director for an after-school program for high school students. Sara also taught writing classes and acted as an academic counselor for the 200 families attending the program. She feels incredibly blessed to be with us at the University of Macau where she can further her passion for education and teaching.

Jessica Kahn

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Jessica graduated from Kenyon College in 2008 with a major in English and minors in both Art History and French. In 2007, Jessica spent eight months studying and working in Paris, an experience that sparked her love of cross-cultural learning and language. At UM, Jessica is responsible for the creation of the ELC Newsletter.


Above: Sumi Ito’s English-002 class enjoying their dessert

Left: Holiday “Chocolate Party” for our ELC Team!

ELC Podcast In October, the ELC launched a podcast series tailored for UM students to strengthen their English listening comprehension skills outside of the classroom. Each podcast features an insightful interview with special guests affiliated with UM or the greater Macao community. ELC Director Kim Hughes Wilhelm and Dr. Kim Johnson, Vice-President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Macao, were our first guests. Students may download transcripts of the interviews to read along as they listen. Podcasts can be accessed at http:/umacelc.podbean.com/ Watch for new postings this semester!

A Very American Christmas UM students and the Fulbright ETAs rang in this past holiday season with a festive Christmas party held in the American Corner. Despite the onslaught of schoolwork at the end of the semester, 40 students gathered together to celebrate the season with carols, candy canes, and a cookie decorating event, by far the most popular part of the evening. Be on the watch for more events to come in the American Corner this semester!

Bridging the Cultural Divide This past semester all ELC classes were able to organize cross-cultural “field trips” around Macao to promote English speaking outside of the classroom. Attended by ELC teachers and the Fulbright ETAs, these were English-only events and were completely organized by volunteer leaders in each class. The events usually took place on weekend afternoons and ranged from attending special events such as the Macao Food Festival to visiting cultural landmarks and museums. The trips provided a chance for students to practice conversational English in a comfortable atmosphere while sharing cultural nuances with native speakers.


Paige and UM Winner Emmanuel

Victory for UM Debate Team

Congratulations to the UM English Debating Team for winning the 6th Macao Inter-Tertiary Debate Competition organized by Tertiary Education Services Office. The competition was held on the 18th and 19th of October, 2008, in the Grand Hall of Institute For Tourism Studies. Not only did the UMAC English Debating Team win the Championship in the Finals, but also four individual prizes!

UM debaters Ms. Flora Pan, Ms. Nicole Ng and Mr. Brian Tang were ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, respectively, as Best Debaters in the Heats. Ms. Flora Pan also won the title of Best Debater in the finals. This success is undoubtedly due to the incredible work ethic of the debaters and the assistance of the Team Leader, Ms. Amanda Lei—and let’s not forget the coaches, Mr. Theo Cheng and Ms. Paige Borelli. Way to go English Debating Team!

UM Student Wins Macao English Speaking Competition

Congratulations to Omoleye Segun Emmanuel for winning the 7th Macao-wide English Speaking Competition! Emmanuel is a first year student from the Department of English, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. He not only won the 1st place prize in the university category, but also took home the Best Manner Award. Eman spoke on the theme of “Globalizing Macao,” and on the topic of education. For the competition he was required to give a four minute, pre-written speech, a one minute impromptu speech, and answer two impromptu questions from the judges. Being the first place winner of the competition will enable Emmanuel to travel to Shanghai in 2009 to compete in the 21st Century National Speech Competition. Many thanks to Fulbright ETA Paige Borelli and to ELC Director Kim Hughes Wilhelm for helping to prepare him for the competition.


Students and ETAs at the Macao International Fireworks Competition, September 2008

A tour of the Macao Venetian Hotel and Casino

Students listen attentively to Dr. Bill Guthrie as he explains the history of a temple in Taipa.

Summer Session 2008 A total of 67 UM students participated in the four-week Summer English Language Program this past July. Aside from classroom activities, extra-curricular activities were organized and included multi-media and interactive activities day, a tour of the Macao Venetian Hotel & Casino, and a walking tour of temples on Taipa.

Students Speak “I never thought I could keep speaking English for more than 30 minutes. It was really an amazing experience for English learners to practice English. I indeed have learned a lot and got to know what I still need practicing as well. Thanks UMAC for giving us such a wonderful opportunity and if it is possible I hope we could have some more such activities” – an English 292 student reflecting on a class field trip “Workshops of this kind are important to people's studies here. Plagiarism is one key issue that students should address and I hope to have more [workshops] in the future” – student commenting on CREW Plagiarism workshop

“From this class, I know that English is not far away from us. It can be used in our daily life, not only in class. I am also happy that I know many friends. We help and encourage each other during the practice in the class. I will always remember this class” – Pauline, English 150 student


Academic Activities of ELC Faculty

Publications

Vivian Chaplin, Sumi Ito, Manuel Noronha, Mark Wong

“A Multimedia Approach to English Language Teaching and Learning” presented at the Electronic Commerce, Administration, Society and Education (e-CASE) and e-Technology Joint Conference, Singapore, 8-10 January 2009

Stephen Shackne

“Schackne, S. (2008). “The Good Teacher” and “The First Fifteen Minutes”. Developing Teachers. http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/gdtch1_steve.htm

Prof. Kim Hughes Wilhelm

Wilhelm, K. H. & Chen, P. (2008). University teachers’ and students’ perceptions of ELT methodologies and their effectiveness. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies 8 (2), 79-102.

Li, H. & Wilhelm, K. H. (2008). Exploring pedagogic reasoning: Reading strategy instruction from two teachers’ perspectives. The Reading Matrix 8 (1), 96-110.

Conferences

Alice Lee

“Developing critical thinking through student panel discussions” presented at The 17th International Symposium and Book Fair on English Teaching, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2008.

Manuel Noronha

“The Portuguese Eurasians, tracing history and linguistic characteristics” presented at the “Ethnic Identity, Hybridity and Intercultural Communication Conference” organized by the Institute for Intercultural

Communication (IAICS), Louisville, Kentucky, 13-15 November 2008

“Preserving and interpreting intangible cultural heritage in an ethnolinguistic community: The case of the Portuguese language, patois and creole in Macau” (M. Noronha, I. Chaplin) presented at the 2nd International Conference on Language Development, Language Revitalization and Multilingual Education in Ethnolinguistic Communities, Bangkok, 1-3 July 2008

“A Multimedia Approach to English Language Teaching and Learning” (M. Noronha, M. Wong, V. Chaplin, S. Ito) presented at the Electronic Commerce, Administration, Society and Education (e-CASE) and e-Technology Joint Conference, Singapore, 8-10 January 2009

Eve Smith

“Autonomous Learning: Increasing Student Interaction in the Target Language in the Classroom and Beyond” presented for the English Department at Hefei University of Technology in Hefei, Anhui Province, December 2008

Prof. Kim Hughes Wilhelm

Wilhelm, K. H. & Lo, L. “Signing and Language Development of Two-Year-Old Twins: A case study conducted in Macao.” One of four papers presented in a research symposium entitled “Babies Signing Around the World: The Effects of Using Infant Sign Language as a Parent-Infant Communication Intervention in Four Countries.” 11th Conference of the World Association of Infant Mental Health (WAIMH). Yokohama, Japan, 1-5 August 2008

Wilhelm, K. H. “The painful process of transforming obedient students to active


ELC instructors Rex Wilson and Sumi Ito at the end-of-semester “Chocolate Party”

researchers in a graduate program: Instructional and curricular change.” International Conference on Language Issues in English-Medium Universities: A Global Concern. University of Hong Kong, 18-20 June 2008.

Mark Wong

Electronic Commerce, Administration, Society and Education (e-CASE) and e-Technology Joint Conference, Singapore, 8-10 January 2009

Upcoming Conferences

Julie Hanks

“Not Just Another Speech” to be presented at TESOL, Cambodia, February 21-22, 2009

"Simplifying Vocabulary: Easy Steps Towards Classroom Integration” co-presenting with Susanne Rizzo at TESOL International, Denver, Colorado, March 26-28, 2009

Susanne Rizzo

“Reading Circles: Circles of Trust and Confidence” a workshop to be presented at TESOL, Cambodia, February 21-22, 2009

"Simplifying Vocabulary: Easy Steps Towards Classroom Integration” to be presented with Julie Hanks at TESOL International, Denver, Colorado, March 26-28, 2009

Eve Smith

“Adapting Western Teaching Styles to Chinese Learners from Rural Settings” presented with Associate Professor Jian Min at TESOL International, Denver, Colorado, March 26-28, 2009

Consultations and Workshops

Kim Hughes Wilhelm, Consultant for English curriculum for primary students, DSEJ, 2008

Kim Hughes Wilhelm, “Getting Started with Research,” Invited talk for graduate students at UM conducted by UM library, November 5 & 6, 2008

Kim Hughes Wilhelm, Invited 3-hour workshop for English teachers at Yuet Wah College on project-based teaching, October 18, 2008

Upcoming Events

Valentine’s Party, February 17, 2009, 7:00 p.m., American Corner

TOEFL/TOEIC Testing Seminar, February 21, 2009, 3:00

“A Change Has Come: The Historic Presidential Election of Barack Obama,” February 26, 2009, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Auditorium II, UM Library

Travel in U.S.A. talk by recently-returned SIUC-UM exchange students, American Corner, Date TBA

AFI Project 20/20, Macao screening of “Skin” and “Iron Ladies of Liberia” with director’s panels, March 5-6, 2009

Asian-American Identity Series, March 16-18, 2009, American Corner

English Festival, April 21-23, 2009


Distinguished visitors to UM’s English Language Centre 2008 (summer and fall): Week of June 2, 2008 Professor Jun Liu, Head of the Department of English in the College of Humanities at The University of Arizona and faculty member of both English Language/Linguistics (EL/L) and the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program. He is the Past President of TESOL (Teachers of English to the Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.) for 2007-2008. June 16-18, 2008 Professor JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall, Professor of Education and Co-Director of the MA Program in ESOL/Bilingual Education; Director of the interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Language, Literacy, and Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Prior to joining the faculty at UMBC in 1992, she was Vice President of the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. She is a past president of TESOL and AAAL (American Association for Applied Linguistics) September 16, 2—9 Clay Hensley, Associate Director for International Services, College Board September 25-27, 2008 Damon Anderson, Director, Regional English Language Programs Office for China and Mongolia, Public Affairs Section, U.S.A. Embassy September 30, 2008 Glenn Shive, Executive Director, Hong Kong – American Center October 9, 2008 Rodney Adams, Regional Program Officer, U.S. Speaker and Specialists Program, Washington, D. C. Dale Kreisher, Spokesman, Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consultate General, Hong Kong Solomon Wong, Information Resource Center Director, U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong October 10, 2008 Ann White, Director, Institute of International Education for China-Hong Kong October 14-15, 2008 Professor Lyle Bachman, Professor, Applied Linguistics & TESL, University of California at Los Angeles and Senior Fulbright Scholar, University of Hong Kong. He is a past president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics and of the International Language Testing Association, was the first winner of the TESOL/Newbury House Award for Outstanding Research, and has won the Modern Language Association of America's Kenneth Mildenberger Award for outstanding research publication twice. October 21, 2008 (and monthly) Solomon Wong, Information Resource Center Director, U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong November 5, 2008 Mr. Brian DaRin, Consular Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong Professor Michael Roskin, American Fulbright Lecturer in Macao and Professor, Department of Political Science, Lycoming College, Pennsylvania Dr. Kim Johnson, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Hong Kong Baptist University

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