PA Adult ESL Teachers

News from the SWESL Network

2008-04-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Attention all ABLE-funded adult ESL practitioners (tutors, teachers, administrators).

The next meeting of our SWPDC ESL Network will be Friday, April 25th at Goodwill of Southwestern PA, 2600 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, 15203 (Southside) from 1:00 - 3:00pm.

You can sign up by going to:

https://www.ecampus.ed.state.pa.us/Activityregistration.asp?activity=4340

Please register on-line before April 21.

Any questions, call 412-661-0811.

Guest Speakers:

1. Sister Janice representing the Latin American community will speak about the needs of ESL learners in the Pittsburgh area

2. Allegheny County Human Services representative who will speak on what services the county can provide for our non-native English speakers

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Co-facilitators: Jackie Abel-Stavropoulos & Doug Masiroff
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New members and visitors are encouraged to attend. Bring a question or just come!

We welcome you to our meetings, usually the 4th Friday of the month, 1:00-3:00pm.

We meet every other month (Feb, Apr, June, Aug, Oct).

Organizing this blog

2008-04-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

Pax!

We need someone with some organizational skills!

In the meantime, let's look at the structure of this blog. There are two (2) ways to add to this blog.

1) If you want to talk about something that is already started, like the NW ESL Network, or Content Standards, you can just "Comment" to that thread (subject). You do not have to register, and you can even "post" (submit) anonomously.

2) If you want to start a NEW thread, then you have to email me (msenger@gecac.org), and I will invite you to be an author. You can then log-in and post your new thread. I would ask all "authors" to post a brief biography on the "Who are we?" thread.

We are still looking for ways to share documents.

If ANYONE has ANY suggestions, questions, or comments, please, please do not hesitate to contact me or any author.

Thanx!
Martin

Our Disclaimer

2008-04-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Pax!

I have been asked to put a disclaimer up, just in case of... well, I don't really know, but here goes. And to whit:

"The ideas expressed in this publication represent the opinions of individual contributors. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the US Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, or the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education."

End of quote. Now you know.

Ciao!

2nd intro-same as the first!

2008-03-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and welcome!

If you've read the other posts below, you may be getting a sense of deja vu...yes, you have seen most of this before, now it's just easier to find!

My name is Cathie Whitmire. I teach ESL and Civics for the Hispanic American Council of Erie. Our agency serves Latinos, as well as a wide variety of immigrants and refugees from countries throughout the world.

I've been in the field of Adult Ed for 13 years, and prior to teaching at the Council, I worked with adults with multiple disabilities at the Barber National Institute.

I currently co-chair the ESL Division of PAACE (Pennsylvania Association for Adult and Continuing Education) along with our Host, Martin Senger (from the Greater Erie Community Action Committee) and Susan Adams (from the YMCA in Philadelphia). PAACE is the host for the Midwinter Conference. (Find more info about it at: www.paacesite.org)

In addition, I facilitate the NWPDC ESL Network with Martin, and am currently acting as a Teacher Leader for the Learner's Lives as Curriculum(c) initiative. I look forward to hearing about, & learning from, all of you!

Thanks,Cathie

Re-introductions and Link to Adult ESL Content Standards

2008-03-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy we have decided to start a blog for adult ESL practitioners in Pennsylvania. This is a great way for us to keep the networking that happens at the PAACE MWC going through-out the year.

Here is a link to the ABLE page where you can read about how the standards were put together by & for Pennsylvania practitioners:

http://www.able.state.pa.us/able/cwp/view.asp?q=129314

Please consider downloading the document (12 pages of content, plus a helpful glossary of ESL terminology) and distributing it to your fellow teachers, tutors, students, administrators, etc. The text was written to be as clear and jargon-free as possible, while at the same time conveying what students can learn to do in English at each of the NRS levels.

Enjoy!

Keep in mind that if you test a learner in listening and speaking alone (e.g. BEST Plus), the other skill areas such as reading and writing ability may or may not be at the same level. Much depends on your individual learner's academic background in L1 [native language] and L2 [in this case English]. In our program we routinely get a writing sample at the pre-/posttest to help fill in this gap for in-house diagnostic purposes.

By the way, I'm Doug Masiroff. (ESL Specialist, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council)

Adding Your Own Posts

2008-03-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Pax all!

If you would like to begin your own thread (topic), please email me (MSenger@GECAC.org) and I will invite you in as an Author.

What do you need for your ESL professional development?

2008-02-25T18:38:00.000-08:00

Through many of the organizations we are affiliated with, we are trying to find out what you need as an ESL teacher to make you a better teacher. What kind of "professional development" would help. One of the ways in which we are trying to reach our fellow ESL teachers and administrators is through a survey. If you would like to fill one out to help us help you, please contact me, Martin Senger at MSenger@GECAC.org

News from the NWPA ESL Network

2008-02-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

Attention anyone with an ESL interest in NW PA! Teacers, tutors or administrators! Have we got the group for you! The original ESL Network in the Commonwealth, over three years and still kicking!

Our group was started because we ESL teachers needed to find sympathetic ears for our classroom tears and fears, and also voices of experience. Voila!

We welcome anyone to our monthly meetings, usually the 3rd Friday of the month, 2:00-4:00. Our next meeting will be March 14th.

If you are PDE / ABLE-funded, please pre-register on e-Campus. If you have no idea what I just said, just show up! Contact us here to find out more info.

What do we tell our students seeking citizenship?

2008-02-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, a warning: UNLESS YOU ARE A CERTIFIED IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT BY THE USCIS, DO NOT TELL ANYONE ANYTHING!

That warning out of the way, we are often the first line of defense for our students against the rumors that FLY through immigrant communities. We can be a legitimate source of accurate information for our students, if only to refer them to someone qualified to answer their questions, something often sorely needed.

PDE who? NRS what?

2008-02-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of compiling an A to Z list of the initials and acronyms that we need to know as ESL teachers. Know one? Post it! Don't know one? Post it!

Who are we?

2008-02-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

Here is where you can add your name and experiences to this blog by telling everyone about yourself personally and professionally!

Assessing speech

2008-02-09T06:22:00.000-08:00

Pax all! I am trying to find/create a fairly comprehensive assessment for spoken English only, something that can go from Beginning Literacy to Advanced/ABE. Any suggestions?

Ciao!
Martin

How does the brain learn languages?

2008-02-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

Pax all! One of my passions right now is trying to understand how our physical brain learns a language (L1 or L2), and how, as teachers, can we meet the brain "half-way" as it were. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd appreciate it!

Ciao!
Martin

MWC '08: Cheers & Jeers

2008-02-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

This is the spot for you to tell us on the board of PAACE what you liked and didn't like at the PAACE Midwinter Conference, in Hershey, February 6-8.

Introducing the PA Adult ESL Blog

2008-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

Pax et bonum! (Peace & goodness)

Welcome to the unofficial newsletter written for, and by adult ESL teachers in Pennsylvania. Here you can add your voice, knowledge and experience to our profession, or ask any question about ESL, plumbing our collective wisdom.

My name is Martin E. Senger, and I have been an ESL/EFL teacher for over a decade. I have a degree in Russian Language. I started teaching EFL to refugees in the former Yugoslavia as a humanitarian aid. Upon my return to the US, I became the Adult ESL Teacher for the largest non-profit in the state, the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC), pronounced "jee-kak" in Erie, Pa.

Since then, I have participated in devloping the recently released Adult ESL Content Standards for the PA Department of Education (PDE). I am also one of the founding members of the NWPA Adult ESL Network, sponsored by the NW Professional Development Center (PDC). I have also been on the board of Three Rivers TESOL (Pittsburgh), an organization dealing primarily with the academic aspect of ESL.

In the past year, I was appointed to be co-chair of the ESL Division for PAACE, the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education, along with Cathie (Cat) Whitmire and Susan Adams. Together we are attempting to put a state-wide face on ESL teachers in Pennsylvania.

In addition to my full-time job of ESL teaching, I am also a private tutor for professional ESL students. I am also facilitating on-line courses for K-12 certified teachers to get their ESL certificate.

I hope that this blog will provide you with many opportunities to increase your own knowledge of teaching ESL, while enriching ours.

Thanx!