TESOL Conference Trip

By Reba Orton

Reba’s TESOL Conference Schedule

• 3/23/2010– 9 am – 4 pm Mathematics for ELL’s: What Teachers

Need to Know • 3/24/2010

– 9 am – 4 pm What does Explicit Strategy Instruction Look Like in the Classroom?

Reba’s TESOL Conference Schedule

• 3/25/2010 – 10 am – 10:45 am Ten Techniques for Teaching Culture

in the Classroom– 11 am – 11:45 am Collectivism Meets Individualism:

Techniques for a Linked Intercultural Communication Class

– 12:30 pm – 12:45 pm Re-Imagining Accreditation with Web Tools (poster session)

– 12:45 pm - 1:00 pm Math Spoken Here: Teaching Math Language Using Manipulatives (poster session)

– 1 pm – 3:45 pm Applying Linguistics to Support ELLs

Boston Conference Center

TESOL Conference March 2010

Math Instruction• Mathematics for ELL’s: What Teachers Need to Know

• Dr. Anita Bright from Fairfax, VA taught this fun workshop.

• She says “It’s perfectly feasible to use mathematics as the teaching context for simultaneously helping students learn mathematics AND learn English.” (Email, May 7, 2010)

Explicit Strategy Instruction

• What does Explicit Strategy Instruction Look Like in the Classroom?

• This workshop boiled down to utilizing (American) common sense in the class. Tell your students what’s going on. Use explicit labels for the activities and explain the rationale for doing the activities.

• Yes, please tell your students why you are using specific techniques to teach them a concept.

Explicit Strategy Instruction

• In Japan, students are clueless why teachers use a technique.

• For example, if they are doing an activity, tell them the name of the activity (i.e. mind map) and why we are doing the activity (i.e. to brainstorm).

• This is cultural difference between the Japanese classroom and the American classroom.

Cross Cultural Instruction• Ten Techniques for Teaching Culture in the Classroom

• One technique that stood out was the exercise on cross cultural conflict situations.

• For example, one Japanese student went to meet his American instructor. When she criticized his behavior in class, he looked down. She told him to look directly at her face. What was the cross-cultural conflict?

Utilizing Technology in the Accreditation Process

• Re-Imagining Accreditation with Web Tools (poster session)

• This presenter said that she used Google Documents to get 8 institutes scattered across the USA accreditated at the same time.

• Changes made to the Google documents are labeled with who made the changes.

• It was better than coordinating emails and attachments.

Math Manipulatives

• Math Spoken Here: Teaching Math Language Using Manipulatives (poster session)

• The presenter had pictures on her board of basic shapes that are used in geometry.

• She is an ELL instructor and works with children.

• She may be a good person to consult with for designing math manipulatives for the ELI.

Application of Linguistics to the ELI• Applying Linguistics to Support ELLs• The main theme of this workshop was to emphasize

the difference between a language disorder and a language difference.

• A language disorder is very severe. • A language difference is often mislabeled as a

language disorder by ESL instructors.• For example, using the same word “el” in Spanish for

el, la, le, lo, las, los, les is a language difference and usually cannot be corrected if the Spanish language learner is persistent in making these types of mistakes.