PRTESOLGram Nov 2009

P R T E S O L - G R A M! NOVEMBER 12, 2009

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PRTESOL-GRAMWinds of Change:

Teaching for Tomorrow

PRTESOL celebrates 40 years of serving Puerto Ricoʼs teachers and students at all levels: elementary, middle school, high school, and college.

Through the years, PRTESOL has contributed to the teaching profession by providing quality workshops and seminars, professional publications, supporting students becoming teachers through scholarships, and building a professional community of English teachers.

The Winds of Change are blowing strong and PRTESOL is here to make a difference by Teaching for Tomorrow.


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Table of Contents Developing Culturally Competent Teachers, .............2Manuel Hernandez Carmona

New Study on Teaching Academic Vocabulary, Reading and Content Knowledge Dr. Margarita Calderón,............4

Why a Book Club?..................6

Writing About the Holidays Dr. Olena H. Saciuk.................10

The Violence of English as a Second Language Kevin George Kelly..................12

Improved Writing Instruction for Teaching English as a Second Language in the P-12 Classroom .............................15 Susan N. Piper, Ph.D.

Redefining Culture in the ESL Classroom David Sallay, Qatar University..17

COMMUNICATIVE METHOD ACTIVITIES OF MAJOR INFLUENCE USED BY BASIC ENGLISH STUDENTS AT UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL SANTA. CHIMBOTE-PERU Dr. Betty Risco Rodríguez........20

PRTESOL CHAPTER NEWS...................................21

Developing Culturally Competent Teachers By Manuel Hernandez Carmona

Latinos not only bring their language with them to America, but they carry one of the strongest cultural expressions in the universe, pun intended. As a matter of fact, the three main Latino groups (according to US Census population statistics) are very politically, economically and culturally diverse. This uniqueness raises huge questions on how to meet their academic needs. Mexicans have always been geographically intertwined with the United States, but today the majority of Latino illegal citizens are Mexicans. Puerto Ricans became part of the US in the late 19th century after being colonized by Spain for over five hundred years. They are born US citizens and travel to and from the US without a passport. Cuba took its own political twist in the mid-20th century, and its US immigrants are classified as political refugees. These basic facts make them so exceptional that only a culturally competent teacher can really make an academic difference in their lives.

There is no doubt that Latinos have made their presence felt in America. The Major Leagues, N.A.S.A., Hollywood, US Congress, schools, colleges and universities, the music and entertainment industry, and other US institutions have all been influenced by the Latino community. We are a people with great history and pride for the spoken and written word. Nonetheless, about 45% of all Latino children in public schools today are classified as English Language Learners. What percentage of teachers that work directly with them are culturally competent? What is the United States Department doing to train and prepare teachers that receive the newly arrived Latino child? These are just two of the many questions left unanswered by those who administer and foster the educational policies of the United States Department of Education.

The recent national Latino high school drop-out rate is still close to 40%. If there are 2.9 million Latino students in American high schools today, simple math would place more than a million of these prospective young adults in the streets every year. These are just too many kids exposed to crime, gang violence, drugs, prostitution and other “street related activities.” Cultural awareness is strongly related to what students read and study. Once upon a time, there was an English teacher who read stories to me as a child in


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Developing Culturally Competent Teachers Sleepy Hollow, New York. I developed awareness, gained understanding and learned to value the American and British classics. Many of us that were brought up in America took different paths and crossed a multiplicity of bridges, but the stories of Humpty Dumpty, Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and the passion for literature are deeply rooted in our hearts. But that is not the story for millions of Latino kids, who as children and/or teens are placed in American schools speaking a different language and coming from a different literary tradition.

However, they are expected to pass city, national and statewide exams lacking the literary experiences that many of us had as American children. How can these students perform academically at mainstream level without having a literary foundation that will uphold their formation as students in a highly competitive educational system? How will they be prepared to make a sudden and smooth transition in literary lanes with one, two and even three years to prepare? It simply does not make sense! In many school districts, it is only during Hispanic Heritage Month that Latino teens have the opportunity to read and hear about Piri Thomas, Esmeralda Santiago, Pat Mora, Julia Alvarez, Richard Rodríguez, Martin Espada, Tato Laviera, Abraham Rodríguez, Judith Ortíz-Cofer and Cristina García, just to mention a few.

United States based Latino/a literature written in English by Latino writers helps to make a transition in literary lanes to the literature of Hemingway and Shakespeare. The literature constructs upon the Latino teens' prior experiences and skills. It is a mirror of the language, culture and history of the American Latino experience and allows students (especially Latinos) to transform their learning experience into a dynamic, pro-active and meaningful adventure with purpose and a greater understanding of themselves. A competent teacher must be trained in teaching and integrating culturally based literature. Latino teens today are looking for role models everywhere they look, and culturally based literature does that and provides them with identity, vision and a profound sense of purpose that will eventually encourage them to stay in school and read the classics at the same time.

TESOLGRAM is a periodical service to English language educators and administrators published by

Puerto Rico TESOL, P. O. Box 366828,

San Juan, PR 00936 -6828.

Newsletter Staff Editor: Carmelo Arbona Assistant Editor: Mark Wekander

Circulation: 1,000.

Copyright Notice Articles may be reproduced for classroom use. Quotations up to twenty-five (25) words are permitted if credit to the author and the TESOLGRAM are included. In other situations, written permission is required.

Contributors

Miguel Camacho,President

Carmelo Arbona, Editor

[email protected]

Mark [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]





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The Carnegie Corporation of New York funded a 5-year study to design and test a project to train teachers on how to improve reading achievement, English language acquisition, and core knowledge of English language learners and students who are struggling readers. The program is called Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners (ExC-ELL) and Acelerando la Comprensión en Español: Lectura, Escritura y Razonamiento Académico (ACE-LERA). ExC-ELL/ACE-LERA. It was empirically tested in New York City and other K-12 schools in various states. Staff who use the strategies in the program have a track record of success in helping schools meet AYP and move out of low-performing categories.

The ExC-ELL/ACE-LERA models consist of:

1.# A fi v e - d a y P r o f e s s i o n a l Development Institute where teachers learn how to explicitly teach academic vocabulary, reading comprehension skills and strategies, writing for different purposes, and how to integrate all this into their math, science, social studies, and language arts daily lessons. Student performance assessment s t ra teg ies a re p resented fo r each component. The institutes are conducted in either English or Spanish.# 2.# A teacher support system that includes expert coaching by Margarita Calderón and Assoc ia tes , and the establ ishment of Teachers Learning Communities in the schools where teachers share lessons and strategies, analyze student progress, problem solve, and conduct book studies.

# 3.# A Regional Principal Academy on how to support teachers, students and coaches; and three-day Leadership Institutes to continuously upgrade and monitor the quality of classroom instruction and support systems at the schools. # 4.# A three-day Inst i tute for Literacy Coaches and other School-based Coaches on how to plan with teachers, conduct classroom observations with the E x C - E L L / A C E - L E R A O b s e r v a t i o n Protocol®, how to give feedback to teachers, and help them set new goals.# 5.# A series of Workshops for enhancing parent and family literacy. # The philosophy of professional development behind ExC-ELL/ACE-LERA is that training must be comprehensive with presentation of research, modeling of all ins t ruct iona l s t ra teg ies , teacher discussions of application, and a lesson template for each strategy (Calderón, 1984; Calderón and Minaya-Rowe, 2003; Calderón, 2007). Teachers are provided with the theory and research-based rationale for what they are learning, but the main emphasis is on providing active, hands-on, pragmatic experience with the strategies that work.

Tools for Continuous Growth.

The ExC-ELL Observation Protocol (EOP®) and the ACE-LERA Observation Protocol (AOP®) dovetail the lessons designs and training to help teachers keep t r a c k o f i n s t r u c t i o n a l p l a n n i n g , classroom implementation, and the language/reading/writing development of their students. The OP® is a tool to track the implementation of the collection of

New Study on Teaching Academic Vocabulary, Reading and Content Knowledge Dra. Margarita Calderón


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evidence-based instructional strategies for developing academic language, oracy, reading, writing and collaborative or team skills.

Expert Coaching. The Margarita Calderón and Associates (MC & A Team) provide expert coaching and assistance to teachers and/or coaches in the schools three to nine times a year, depending on the school. The MC & A Team model instruction, co-teach with the teachers, answer questions, and provide ideas and tips for strengthening the next lesson. Information collected from teachers and classroom observations with the OP® is used to give teachers and coaches feedback and set goals for the following visit.

Training Coaches and Trainers for Capacity Building. Site-based Literacy specialists and/or content coaches receive an additional 2-day training to support teacher implementation of the project strategies. Each year, highly qualified teachers are offered the opportunity to participate in additional training to become coaches or trainers. The school site coaches shadow the MC & A, and receive additional on-site support to become expert coaches. They learn to observe and provide feedback.

Administrators and specialists value this training because it focuses not only on sheltered instruction, but also on literacy, language and content development. And it applies to all students, not just ELLs. The training also provides field experiences for principals. They shadow the trainers and p rac t i ce observ ing , co l lec t ing da ta , interpreting, and giving feedback to teachers.

SUMMARY

The professional development program (ExC-ELL and ExC-ELL/ACE-LERA) is based on a collection of evidence-based instructional strategies for developing academic language,

oracy, reading, writing and collaborative or team building skills. Participants are provided with the theory and research rationale for what they are learning, but the main emphasis is on giving them active, hands-on, pragmatic experiences with strategies that work. Students in schools with teachers who participate in the training improve vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension and writing levels.

Margarita Calderón, Ph.D.Professor/Senior Research ScientistJohns Hopkins University AndMargarita Calderón and Associates, Inc.3131 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 2403Washington, DC 20008Cell: [email protected]

SonnetWhen I began your class I think I knew

The kind of challenges you'd make me face.You gave me motivation to pursue

The best, and to reject the commonplace.

Your thinking really opened up my mind.With wisdom, style and grace, you made me

see,That what I'd choose to seek, I'd surely find;

You shook me out of my complacency.

I thank you now for everything you've done;What you have taught me I will not outgrow.

Your kind attention touched my mind and heart;

In many ways that you will never know.

I will remember you my whole life through;I wish that all my teachers were like you.

By Joanna Fuchs




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Why a Book Club? Vaille and QuinnWilliams, 2006

IMAGINE your students, sitting in small groups of five or six, earnestly and eagerly holding a discussion in English. Imagine the topics being learner-generated and the d i scuss ion na tu ra l , w i thou t fo rma l comprehension questions or post-reading exercises.

In our book club, this is not just a glorious pipe dream—itʼs reality. We use a specific set of comprehension strategies to provide a framework for our beginning to advanced adult ELL students in our multilevel class. Once students know how to use these strategies, we let them take it from there. The result has been increased levels of reading for pleasure, wider vocabularies, and the practice of higher-order thinking skills, such as analyzing and evaluating stories and the ideas in them in class discussions.

We have both anecdotal and test-score results that bear out our contention that book clubs work. After 50 hours in our class, our students typically improve between one and two levels on the standardized test, the BEST Plus, a speaking and listening test that we use to measure growth. While all aspects of the class contribute to this growth, we feel certain that the book club is an important factor. Students tell us about other books they have read once they realize how enjoyable and helpful reading in English is. We see improvement in their daily interactive journal entries, with words popping up from stories we have read. For example, after several months of our book club, one student started to bring in newspaper articles (in her native language and English) to share during our Current Events session. She was reading these stories outside of class for enjoyment.

The books we provide for our students are high-interest pleasure books. High-interest books are important, whether you are using fiction or non-fiction, because reading in a second language is challenging, and students need to be motivated to move on in the story. If students want to know what happens next, or are fascinated by the material, they will make the extra effort required to keep reading and will learn to enjoy it. When one of our students initially resisted reading Flor because other students had summarized the beginning of the book for him and he thought it would be too sad, we asked him to read just one chapter. He did, but he didnʼt stop there. He read the entire book and then wrote us a beautiful essay on why reading in general is important and why Flor, specifically, is a good book. Once his interest was piqued, he couldnʼt put Flor down, even though his English was at a level that made the reading challenging for him.

Textbooks and readers with comprehension questions, grammar exercises, or vocabulary lessons may have their place in a curriculum, but they are not good choices for book clubs. Book club reading and discussions must focus on reading, on students making connections with what they are reading and generating ideas, and then discussing these ideas and connections. The emphasis is on comprehending the reading and being understood as they communicate their connections during discussion. The discussions are student-driven, as opposed to text-driven. This fact helps students enjoy what they read because the focus isnʼt on unders tand ing someth ing to ge t a comprehension question correct, and there is less pressure to have “the right” ideas or answers. Students begin to look within themselves for ideas and begin to share them in a more natural way. Once lessons, exercises, and tests are introduced, they


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interfere with and CREATING BOOK CLUBS dilute this process and the discussion is no longer about issues the students care about. Based on the research of Graves (1991) and o u r o w n e x p e r i e n c e , t h e u s e o f comprehension strategies helps learners “make sense of the world around them through reading.” Weʼve seen our book club help our adult students make sense of English and the new country in which they find themselves. And it all starts with reading.

Research

As we researched books that would be appropriate, interesting, and enjoyable reading for our students, we discovered that many other educators and researchers advocate reading for pleasure in both ABE and ELL classrooms. In an article in a Department of Education report titled Focus on Basics, J. Storey and T. Modleski are quoted as finding that reading for pleasure “ ʻprovides a terrain on which to dream,ʼ with fantasies that both reflect and counter ʻthe very real problems and tensions in [peopleʼs] lives.ʼ ”

We believe this to be true for English language learners, as well as native English speakers. Perhaps the best evidence of this came from a student who wrote to us after reading Flor: “It describes with details for each part of the story. When Iʼm reading I can see in my mind all pictures in Florʼs life. Is strange, but I feel very emotion in my heart because Iʼm very sensible (sensitive) and I feel happy and sad through the chapters. Maybe I have the opportunity to know many women who are living the same situation as Flor.”

When students read for pleasure, it generates genuine discussion. They become excited about the conversations they are

having and forget that English is challenging. During reading, they build on vocabulary they know and learn new vocabulary,

often even determining possible meanings of words through the contexts of the passages. During discussion, they collaborate with other students to determine bigger meanings/themes in the story. They make connections between the book, themselves, their cultures, and the world. They become “members of the club” (Krashen 2003), building community as they participate in the exclusive world of English speakers.

For example, after reading the first chapter of the second story we wrote about a Turkish woman named Senem, our multilevel students shared their own stories. Many students were very sympathetic toward one woman who said she had a child as a compromise with her husband; like Senem, she wanted to continue her busy career. Another woman said she wanted three children, but wasnʼt strong enough to have more than two. This may seem like a conversation that is too personal for the classroom. Our students felt comfortable discussing it. However, only the teacher will know if her class can handle personal discussions. Itʼs essential that teachers reinforce that students should not talk about anything that makes them uncomfortable, and that they can leave the classroom if someone else wants to discuss something they think is too personal.

We believe promoting this sense of community and fellowship in a book club aids in lowering the “affective filter,” a block that Krashen hypothesizes keeps input from reaching Noam Chomskyʼs “language acquisition device” in the brain (Dulay, Burt, and Krashen 1982). Once the affective filters of our students are lowered, they are open to


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comprehensible input in our multilevel and beginner classes.

As previously discussed, research strongly supports reading for pleasure as a primary tool for improving reading comprehension, g rammar, and pass i ve and ac t i ve vocabularies among primary and secondary school students (Nagy, Herman, and Anderson 1985; Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding 1988; Foertsch 1992).

CREATING BOOK CLUBS

This includes free voluntary reading (FVR) and sustained silent reading (SSR) (where students select their own reading material and read silently for a specified portion of each day or class period). In The Power of Reading, Krashen reviews the results of 41 studies of FVR, in which 38 supported the idea that this practice results in improved reading comprehension. In addition to the studies cited in To the Teacher (see p. x), two other studies of school-aged children learning English as a foreign language showed free voluntary or shared reading to be beneficial (Elley and Mangubhai 1983; Elley 1998). The students in these studies outperformed children being taught English by traditional methods in tests of reading comprehension, vocabulary, oral language, grammar, listening comprehension, and writing.

Although there are fewer studies advocating reading for pleasure as an important component of an adult ELL curriculum, at least three studies (Gradman and Hanania 1991; Mason and Krashen 1997; Lao and Krashen 2000) support reading for pleasure. The 1991 study showed that pleasure reading resulted in learning new words without “trying to” and also increased scores on the TOEFL® (paper-and-pencil test).

The comprehension strategies in our book club model are based on research performed in the 1980s on the cognitive strategies that proficient readers use to interpret what they read. This body of research has become known as the “proficient reader research” (Keene and Zimmerman 1997). It showed that proficient readers thought about their own thinking during reading and used a consistent set of seven or eight strategies while doing this thinking (Keene and Zimmerman 1997).

A book club of teachers formed by Coloradoʼs Public Education Coalition (now Public Education Business Coalition, PEBC), of which Keene and Zimmerman are a part, realized that “by being metacognitive (literally to think about oneʼs own thinking)—we could actually deepen and enhance our comprehension of the text.” They then set out to study teachers across the country to see if the comprehension strategies were being systematically taught in classrooms to help children become better at thinking about their reading and therefore more proficient. They did not find any programs that were teaching chi ldren how to comprehend, which goes beyond knowing how to read (i.e., decode). Since then, Ellin Oliver Keene, Susan Zimmerman, and other elementary and secondary educators have developed effective methods of introducing the strategies to improve students ʼ comprehension. We have adapted these methodologies to our adult ELL classroom. These strategies are described in detail in Chapters 3–8.

Materials

Some educators have asked us whether adult students like the childrenʼs books. Yes! There is never as much laughter as when we are reading a funny picture book with detailed illustrations, such as Guess What?


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by Mem Fox. Whether the books are touching, sad, or educational, our students are fond of them. Who doesnʼt like to be read to now and then? Our students also enjoy reading books in groups, and they often check books out to take home and read to their own children, grandchi ldren, nephews, and nieces. However, we do move on to adult books; we want our students to read for their own pleasure and English improvement, not just to enhance their reading experience with their children.

There are many suggestions for books to use in the ELL and ABE classroom in the chapters that follow. All the childrenʼs books are for ages eight and under. Reading levels for other books are included in the text or the appendixes.

Advantages for Family Literacy

Family literacy is an important component of many ABE and ELL programs, and a book club can help promote family literacy. As adult learners become competent readers in English, they can begin to enjoy fiction, newspapers, magazines, and other reading materials at home, acting as reading role models for their children. It has long been proven that children who see their parents reading are better readers; the value of parents as role models for their childrenʼs reading skills cannot be overstated.

As parents themselves learn to ask questions, create images, and make connections to what they read, they can assist their children in making these connections, too. In our class, we introduce parents to good childrenʼs literature and model reading-aloud techniques, encouraging parents to read with their pre-school children to interest them early in the wonderful world of books. As an extra benefit, the parents are able to practice their English.

Advanced Students

For more advanced students, particularly those in community college classes, we suggest the instructor investigate using the many high-quality books mentioned on lists for middle school and high school students that are available at local libraries. Award winners—such as recipients of the Newbury Prize (awarded to books of fiction for middle-school-aged children), the Pulitzer Prize, and the American Library Association Booklist Awards—are good choices. See Appendix B for book suggestions. Internet sources with good summaries also abound (see Appendix B).

The addition of a book club to our multilevel ELL classes has been an extremely rewarding process. It is a reflection of our philosophy that reading for fun is an important component of a well-rounded English language program. The book club is definitely not a fill-in activity or an answer to, “What can I do on Monday?” Several class periods may be needed to get a book club going, and periodically it may be necessary to reteach certain concepts or strategies. The addition of the comprehension strategies makes our book club much more than a read-and-discuss activity. Our book club explicitly emphasizes the instruction of strategies on how to understand what is being read, skills that serve our adult ELL students in many ways outside and beyond our classroom. The book club is the best way of promoting reading for pleasure and authentic conversation among adult ELL students that we have found.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence to us that the book club is valuable to our students comes from them. In a year-end program evaluation, more than half our students mentioned reading for the book club as one of the elements they especially liked about our class. One student said of the book club: “Itʼs good for comprehension for life.”


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Writing About the Holidays Dr. Olena H. Saciuk

Inter American University of PR San Germán Campus

Days come and days go, and some provide opportunities for assigning interesting or motivational topics for journaling. Holidays have always provided topics for writing, but some days are not holidays per se, but they can also be used. Some of these can be for developing critical thinking by asking students to give an opinion; some can be for getting-to-know oneself by relating oneʼs life to the topic; still others can inspire or provide reflection or maybe just amuse.

One such “holiday” is August the 8th. “Garfield, the self-assured, lazy comic strip cat, has a popular buddy with an unusual name. Odie first joined the ʻGarfieldʼ comic strip on August 8, 1976. Odie is not very bright, and he is often fooled or tricked by Garfield,” as are other animals or humans. Bring in a Garfield strip, or even without it, ask students to write about Garfield and why he is such a popular comic strip character to this day? (Dahlstrom, 97)

October 15 is National Grouch Day. It got its beginning on April 9, 1879 when William Claude Dukenfield was born in Philadelphia. He became the well-known actor of the 20ʼs, 30ʼs, and 40ʼs, W.C. Fields who created the grouch character saying such things as, “ʼAnybody who hates children and dogs canʼt be all badʼ” (Dahlstrom, 127). The National Grouch Day is dedicated to people who complain, are never satisfied, and are grouchy a lot. They are also called sourpusses or grumps or soreheads. Ask students to write about the grouchiest person they know. What does this person do or say? Are they sometimes grouchy? When or why?

Thanksgiving Day didnʼt officially start with the Indians at Plymouth Rock! “In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed that the first national Thanksgiving Day would be held on November 26” (Dahlstrom, 144). The Episcopal Church thought that “the first Thursday in November would be a good time to give thanks each year” (Dahlstrom, 145). Few celebrated it at all until “President Abraham Lincoln proposed that Thanksgiving be celebrated on the last Thursday in November” (It was celebrated that day for 76 years until, “In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day one week backward” (Dahlstrom, 145). This was to give people time to shop for Christmas after Thanksgiving. The tradition of Christmas shopping after Thanksgiving has been changed, not officially, but by businesses to October!! Before they go off for Thanksgiving, ask your students to list 20-25 things for which they are grateful. It can be a random list or you can ask them to put things in categories, such as favorite foods, favorite activities, or that they have like eyesight, mobility, health. They can have fun creating charts for the various categories and even gluing in pictures of some of the items or drawing them, thus giving them a chance to be creative. (You might guide them to also thank God for living in a free country, and I ask my students to give thanks to God and remind them that in Puerto Rico we still can say that we are thankful for all these gifts from God, unlike in the States, where the ACLU can sue a school or have a teacher fired for any mention of God in a public school.)

Christmas can be a time for many activities such as writing a Holiday Haiku. Cate Baily suggests you have students do it in the following 3 Steps:

" 1." Think: Brainstorm a list of words and phrases about a scene you want to describe.


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" 1." Write: Experiments by writing what you may want to express. Remember, you canʼt tell a whole story in three lines. A haiku gives the reader a brief glimpse.

" 2." Count: Hereʼs the challenging and fun-part. Each line has to have an exact number of syllables. Syllables are beats in words. The word “syllable” has three beats: syl-la-ble. Hereʼs the haiku pattern:

Line 1: 5 syllables Line 2: 7 syllables Line 3: 5 syllables Making it work will take some trial and error.

Christmas outside, snow coats trees inside, tinsel, angels, lights dress the evergreen (Scholastic Scope, 13)

I personally, just ask students to write three lines, to begin each line with a capital letter, and to write about Christmas in Puerto Rico, including the food and other traditions of the island. I do not ask students to do the syllable count unless they want to do so; however, I want them to be creative and evocative of the season. They can bring in their haikus and rewrite them on colored

construction paper on shapes that are found on a Christmas tree, like round balls or Xmas tree shapes, with their name below the haiku. These can be decorated or just have the haiku on them and be used to decorate the room or a bulletin board before the holiday vacation period.

One of my students wrote:

If you have enemies, Reconcile. Christmas is peace. As you can see, holidays can be used for a variety of journaling assignments. They are good vocabulary builders, as well as bringing to the studentsʼ attention information about events, famous people, or historical facts that can enrich them. Moreover, these can be combined with drawings or decorations, which even the upper graders can enjoy, so go ahead and ask your students to write about the holidays, and you can write with them, so you all can share your ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Bibliography

Baily, Cate. (2001). Holiday Haiku. Scholastic Scope, December 10, 2001.

Dahlstrom, Lorraine M. (1990) Writing Down the Days: 365 Creative Journaling Ideas for Young People. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

A student doesnʼt care what a teacher knows, until he or she knows how much the teacher

cares.


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The Violence of English as a Second Language

By Kevin George Kelly

Growing up in New York, I would often meet people and hear “Kevin Kelly, thatʼs a very Irish name”. It wasnʼt until my teenage years that I became aware of the irony of that statement, because my name is Kevin, my fatherʼs name was John, and his fatherʼs name was Robert; and these are all English names. My people were conquered many times over before finally being stripped of our language and names by the British. The concepts of native culture and language maintenance are relatively new, so Irish Gaelic was pushed almost to extinction. This was done through an intensive British colonization intervention that was spearheaded by its persecution of the educated Irish and the use of the English language as a tool of colonization. As of the 16th century, books in Ireland were written in English, but Irish authors were able to keep their identity and culture by writing works that incorporated their cultural identity and values.

As an adult, I find myself in the role of an English teacher on the island of Puerto Rico. I am often questioning, quietly to myself, my role and the role of my peers in English language acquisition and native language maintenance. Is it necessary to be proficient in English to live a happy life in Puerto Rico? Not long ago I would have answered absolutely yes, that English is the language of global commerce, and the only way to get ahead in this global world is to be fluent in English. The problem with that answer is it sounds eerily similar to the American dream- what about the Puerto Rican dream? Should parents have a voice in the public schooling of their children? Is thirteen years of forced second language learning for non-university bound students a violent act? I have met many people in Puerto Rico that have jobs, support their families,

appear very happy, and do not speak English. The English language itself is not violent, but the use of it as an instrument for colonization is a violent act.

Language played a key role in the colonization of Hawaii, as well as the driving force behind the near eradication of the Hawaiian language. As of 2000, there were less than .1% of Native Hawaiian speakers residing in Hawaii. English has also been used as an instrument for colonization here in Puerto Rico too. The U.S. began using English as a means of colonization shortly after the acquisition of the island in 1898 and the Official Languages Act of 1902 made English the official co-language with Spanish. Education was to be the device of attaining proficiency in English, and the mandate was given to the educational system that the students must learn Engl ish. Short ly thereafter, English teachers on the island were given extensive mandatory training in English and they were required to pass competency examinations in English. Those teachers that passed the competency examinations and were deemed qualified to teach English were given raises of $10.00 per month. Over the next four and a half decades there were several Commissioners of Education, but the policies increasingly favored the use of English as a medium of instruction at earlier levels as time went on (Pousada 1999).

Puerto Rico opened a new chapter in its relationship with English in 1949. On January 2, 1949, the first elected governor of Puerto Rico took office and immediately appointed a Commissioner of Education that was adamant about Spanish being the medium of instruction in the classroom. The reform policy of Commissioner of Education Mariano Vilaronga mandated that Spanish be the medium of instruction in the classroom of all public schools and English be taught as a foreign language subject; this is the policy that


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remains in effect today (Angrist, Chin, Godoy 2008) . Despite being taught as a foreign language subject, the Department of Educat ion in Puerto Rico has spent considerable time and money developing comprehensive content standards in English for all grade levels. The Department of Education subsidizes Masters Degrees for English teachers, at times paying the entire amount, and provides pay increases for public school teachers with tenure that have obtained Masterʼs Degrees in teaching English as a Second Language. Despite the focus on English by the Commissioners of the Department of Education and their extensive planning over the past five decades; Puerto Rico remains a monolingual island. The people of Puerto Rico have a lower proficiency in English than any other current or former U.S. colony; and a study by Angrist, Chin, and Godoy reveals no increase in English proficiency in the island in the last fifty years (Angrist et al). The argument could be made that Spanish, being a prestige language, can withstand the loss of one more Spanish speaking state; but what about the continuous assault on Spanish that is referred to as Spanglish?

Recently I had my lowest English proficiency university classes conduct an exercise on Spanglish as a way to show them how many English words they already knew. The exercise proved to be more fruitful than I could have imagined, as one pair wrote down 66 English words used in Puerto Rico on a daily basis, and they did this in less than 10 minutes. The words that I was unaware of included beauty, barber, cherry, strawberry, and blower. When I asked the students about the word Peluqueria, very few of them were familiar with it. Residents in Puerto Rico are exposed to English on a daily basis in schools, on the Internet, in the form of non-linear print, on TV, in music, and in movie theatres. There exists a low English proficiency and a societal

resistance to English in Puerto Rico, but the constant barrage of English is resulting in negative ramifications for the native language.

A quick review of standardized test scores at schooldatadirect.org for primary and secondary public schools in Puerto Rico revealed 1224 out of 1501 schools with scores lower than 65% for Spanish reading comprehension. The amount of resources dedicated to native language instruction appears to be significantly less than the amount dedicated to second language instruction. This is resulting in a pedagogical perfect storm, where students lacking reading and writing skills in their native language are being forced to attempt to acquire a second language. As long as this continues, both the students and the native language will suffer; and Puerto Rico will remain a monolingual island.

This contribution is not meant to condemn the teaching of English in Puerto Rico. My intention is to continue the discussion on native language maintenance that Dr. Pousada started many years ago. As English teachers in Puerto Rico we receive no training or instruction in native language support, and it is too easy for us to forget the history of prestige languages, and languages with “greater prestige”, in the Caribbean.

Bibliography:

Angrist, J., Chin, A., & Godoy, R. (Feb 2008). Is Spanish-only schooling responsible for the Puerto Rican language gap? The Journa l o f Development Economics, 85(24) pp 4, 11-12.

Hinton, L. Hale, K (2001). The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice. Academic Press.

http://schooldatadirect.org/

http://schooldatadirect.org/


! PAGE 14

# •# Pousada, A. (1999). The Singularly Strange Story of The English Language in Puerto Rico. Milenio. 3, 33-60.

Martinez Schettini, Milagros, 2007. A qualitative study exploring the perceptions of ESL college students about the concept of identity. Doctoral Dissertation. School of Education. University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.

Dissertation Abstract

The. conflict of language and identity has led to a broad array of conflicts coming from factors that induce malfunction in learning and using the English language in Puerto Rico. Here, this conflictive issue was examined based on literature associated to theories where identity of ESL learners was the focal point. Identity was explored conveying a border pedagogy method which contains information of particular areas of interest and information found in the borders of other disciplines, in this case, history, psychology, sociology, and education, embedded with personal, social, and cognitive factors significant for academic practice.

This phenomenological research was based on the perceptions of bilingual college students and it focused on descriptive data based on the experience of 16 ESL college students, ages 21 to 32. Students' accounts were analyzed to explore what identity truly is and to investigate the configurations that are part of the Puerto Rican's bilingual experience. Wolcott's model served to organize the data within three categories; description, analysis, and interpretation (D-A-I). This D-A-I model was supported with the CAQDAS, QSR NVivo software as a tool to enhance analytical procedures.

Five research questions guided the relations and patterns about phenomena, which were identified in categories, diagrams, and models contained in a project holding the data about student's perceptions in three phases: interviews, wri t ten logs, and graphic representations. The analysis of data regarding participants' experiences confirmed identity as a cognitive process that occurs in a slow manner and involves individual essential features and collective behaviors that take place from early childhood to early adulthood. This illustrates identity as a multifarious process that occurs in the individual in which cognition plays an important role of self formation and identification.

It is suggested that further research be done regarding perceptions of identity. It should include other contexts and settings of Puerto Rico's bilingual experience. Although the purpose of this study was to examine student's perceptions and answer the research questions, the exploration of emergent topics should be examined using other models of data analysis. It was also recommended to broaden the scope of this phenomenon by merging discourses of other disciplines.

Tell me and I will forget,

Show me and I will learn,

Involve me and I will

understand

Teton Lakota

(Indian saying)


! PAGE 15

Improved Writing Instruction for Teaching English as a Second

Language in the P-12 Classroom

Susan N. Piper, Ph.D. University of South Alabama

Rationale and Purpose

Among other difficulties faced by English language learners (ELLs) is the effective command of written communication. To learn how to better instruct ELLs in writing, it is helpful to consider the instructional methods and accommodations that are employed in the writing classroom. The purpose of this research was to better understand what, from the day they enter the English language classroom situation, may be done to better instruct ELLs through guided and effective writing practice to inform better use of test data, better use of classroom resources (including instructors), and more effective use of the limited time ELLs have in the language classroom.

Methods

I observed teacher-student and student-student interaction in these classes for ten weeks. I was able to take notes on what takes place from the time the teacher makes an assignment to the time a student considers a writing assignment complete. My notes gave me insight into how teachers interact with the whole class and how they scaffold instruction for ELLs, both in the large group setting and individually. Additionally, I examined the written products from the ELL students in these classrooms. I also evaluated the placement tests taken by these students upon first entering the school system, looking specifically at three students who had entered the country within two weeks of beginning the study. I interviewed the teachers and students

to gain more insight into the thoughts that motivate instruction and the concerns about and command of English that influenced the written product. Following my analysis and observations, I conducted member checks by sharing my findings with the cooperating teachers and students for corroboration and to fill in any gaps.

Throughout the process I noted that all the teachers used handouts for the mainstream classroom with special notes pages for ELLs. They also all utilized peers and helpers to guide ELLs and placed ELLs into inclusive writing groups to ensure that they were able to produce a piece of writing. For sixth and seventh grade students, classroom teachers provided cloze-style handouts for more ease in note taking. Eighth and ninth grade teachers also provided copies of notes for ELLs, as well as placing the notes on their websites so that they might be accessed by students from home.

To a lesser extent teachers used scaffolding techniques to move students from less difficult to more difficult writing tasks. Such scaffolding techniques included giving specific samples and examples, as well as providing visual cues and definitions for clarification. Teachers also used a small to large task mentality by allowing different levels of specificity in writing, depending on the level of fluency, with the expectation being that specifics increase as fluency increases. All teachers employed some level of retelling or restating as a guide for students. In many instances the teachers immediately restated or clarified their instruction. In other cases they summarized or reworded information and instructions following instruction. All used some type of visual

aide when relevant, as well as body language and gestures. Additionally, all teachers provided written communication of instructions


! PAGE 16

and information. Generally such information would have been written on the board or simply stated orally for the mainstream student. This reinforcement for ELLs is key to ensuring that classroom input is compre-hensible to the ELL student.

Occasionally I observed miscues and misunderstandings that had taken place and had gone unnoticed by the teacher. While this is certainly possible for any student, it is more prevalent with second language learners. One of the benefits of further training for teachers of ELLs is in helping them be more aware of items that will be misunderstood and instructions that will be unclear so that they may perceive needs prior to giving instruction. I also noted that more support is needed in the areas of sentence structure and idea development. Additionally, students need to be made more aware of the expectations of written composition, in that they need more scaffolding for going between the smaller task of writing sentences and short paragraphs to mov ing in to fu l l l eng th essays and compositions. Ultimately, some of the observations I made demonstrate that there are many contexts and much prior knowledge we expect of middle school and junior high school students that ELLs may not possess. A building of prior knowledge and common knowledge for students, as well as being aware of which standards students might not bring into the classroom, will help teachers better inform and prepare students so that such things do not hinder the academics of the writing process.

A close analysis of the student writing portfolio showed gains in writing fluency throughout the year. When comparing the writing portfolio items to both screener tests and last yearʼs spring fluency tests, gains in writing fluency were also observable. Since the beginning of this school year these ELL students have received more specific and

direct instruction in writing. Interviews with teachers revealed that they did not make effective use of assessment results and that they did not use writing portfolios to specifically inform instructional practices for ELLs. Given more time to observe instruction and written products, some parallels could be made between the two. Furthermore, additional time would permit the use of assessments and portfolios to better guide instruction.

For this study I reviewed writing portfolios and writing samples. I looked at writing samples from the start of the school year and samples for each week following. I also reviewed teacher lesson plans for the ten week study. The lesson plans showed evidence of specific accommodations to meet the needs of ELLs, such as scaffolding instructions and adding clarifications for new concepts. Teachers also included visual prompts and examples of writing products, as well as translated instructions. Classroom observation revealed that students whose teachers shelter instruction for ELLs showed observable gains in their writing fluency. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) is used as a model for lesson planning and sheltered instruction (Echevarria & Graves, 2003). Several studies have shown a high level of success in middle school classes where teachers implemented the SIOP model of sheltered instruction. According to researchers in the field of second language instruction, “The SIOP is a research-based observation instrument that has been shown to be a valid and reliable measure of sheltered instruction” (Guarino, Echevarria, Short, Schick, Forbes, & Rueda, 2001). The results of this study support my current theory that informed classroom observation, analysis of test data and writing samples, and student and teacher interviews all aid in the development of higher quality, needs-focused writing instruction.


! PAGE 17

A new theory also emerged from the data. From evidence I observed in the twelve weeks at the start of the school year, it seems that use of best practices for ELLs aids in the second language literacy of students who are semi-literate in their first language. One of the ninth grade students observed was reported as never having learned to read or write in her first languages, Chinese and Taiwanese. At the start of the school year she was identified as a special needs student. During the study she had learned to read over fifty words, and she had learned that letters form words, words form sentences, and sentences form paragraphs. She had also advanced from writing letters and words to writing whole sentences and sounding out words to write them. Another 7th grade student, identified as illiterate in Spanish and non-fluent in English, had demonstrated gains during the study by decoding smaller words and phrases. While no sweeping claims could be made in regards to second language instruction and special needs students who are not fluent in their first language, looking at the classroom practices that worked for these students might serve to inform instruction for students in similar situations. I theorize that second language instruction for English language learners who are less than fluent in some or all aspects of their first languages may still be candidates for Eng l i sh language fluency g iven the appropriate level of instruction.

References

Guarino, A.J., Echevarria, J., Short, D., Schick, J., Forbes, S., & Rueda, R. (2001). The sheltered instruction observation protocol: Reliability and validity assessment. Journal of Research in Education, 11(1), 138-140.

Echevarria, J. & Graves, A. (2003). Sheltered Content Instruction: Teaching Students with Diverse Abilities, Second Edition. Allyn & Bacon.

Redefining Culture in the ESL Classroom

David Sallay Qatar University

Abstract

The first real challenge to discussing culture is defining it, as a variety of definitions exist. On their own, none of these definitions seems complete, but when synthesized together, the classroom teacher will have a more complete understanding of the complexities and tensions that exist between society and individuals. The next step is for the teacher to apply this definition in a way that will overcome and not foster stereotypes. The simplest way to do this is to provide the students with multiple narratives. However, since it is impractical for the teacher to cover every conceivable narrative, it is essential that the students develop their critical thinking skills by defining the cultural border, asking hypothetical questions, participating in the writing process, and taking part in class discussions.

The first real challenge to discussing culture is defining it, as a variety of definitions exist. Nevertheless, both educators and academics agree that all of these definitions at least have some value when taken on their own. When synthesized and combined, however, they can produce a fuller definition and understanding of culture.

These definitions can be simplified into two groups: ones that look at society as a whole and ones that look at minorities and individuals. Common definitions that look at culture at a society level include ʻBig Cʼ, ʻLittle Cʼ (Kramsch, 1993), the Kluckhohn Model (Kluckhohn & Stodtbeck, 1976), and the 3 Pʼs (Galloway, 1999). Views that look at a sub-culture or individual level argue that society


! PAGE 18

(Redefining Culture, David Sallay from previous page)

level definitions are often shaped by those in power to reflect an artificial ideal that leaves no room for minorities or the marginalized elements of society (Atkinson, 1999). The tension between society and the individual should be clear at this point. While individuals can rebel against their society, they are still shaped by their own culture. Since both entities are fluid and changing, the only weakness in any of these definitions is when teachers present them as static and unchanging.

As such, teachers need to become more aware of how they define and teach culture, and then modify their definition. It is not enough to teach about art if you don't make the connection to the individuals who created it and use it. It is not enough to talk about the majority group, but to discuss minorities as well. It may be useful to think of culture as a spectrum, with society on one end and individuals on the other. Teachers need to make sure they are teaching all the points on the spectrum, thus illustrating the complexity of culture. One way to accomplish this is to tell multiple stories, or multiple narratives (Sallay, 2008).

For example, if an instructor were presenting a lesson on an American holiday, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, he or she could possibly bring in a movie to illustrate the culture. However, chances are this video would only show one narrative, likely from a white, middle-class perspective. The teacher could supplement this video with other media that could show how minorities or other groups, such as Hispanics or Blacks, celebrate the holiday. In doing so, the teacher is acknowledging the tension between society as a whole and the groups that make it up.

The end result of this would hopefully be fewer stereotypes.

Nonetheless, it is impossible and impractical for the teacher to address every single element of a culture in class. What the teacher can do, however, is help develop their studentsʼ critical thinking skills so that when they are presented with a new product or practice, they will not immediately fall back upon a stereotype. Galloway (1999) discusses the importance of helping the students discover the boundary between where their culture ends and where the target culture begins. Such activities require the student to first think critically about their own culture before experiencing the new culture on its own terms.

Another useful activity is presenting the students with some media, a product, practice, or perspective, and then have them come up with questions they would ask individuals from that culture. It is, of course, important that whatever artifact is presented that it be chosen wisely. Scott and Huntington (2002) performed a study that had groups of university students learning French come up with questions after being presented with either a fact sheet or a poem about Côte d'Ivoire. The group presented with the fact sheet came up with questions that illustrated cognitive rigidity and stereotyping, whereas the poem group illustrated greater cognitive flexibility.

Ultimately, students should take the information from the multiple narratives, determining the cultural boundary, and questions that they would ask and apply them either to writing or a class discussion, which have been found to be the most beneficial activities for developing critical thinking skills (Tsui, 2002). As students take this cultural information and put it through the entire writing


! PAGE 19

process, including revisions and workshops, they will be forced to think about it in different

(Redefining Culture, David Sallay from previous page)

ways. When they discuss it as a class, they will be able to question each other, as well as acknowledge what they do and donʼt know about the culture.

In conclusion, teachers should first become aware of how they currently define culture and strive to redefine it in their classroom to include the entire spectrum of individuals and society. Then teachers should plan activities that reflect this new definition by providing their students with as many different narratives on the spectrum as possible. Since it is impractical for teachers to discuss every single product, practice, or perspective, it is necessary for them to also develop their studentsʼ critical thinking skills, so that when confronted with something new or difficult to understand, they will know how to approach it, instead of merely creating a new stereotype.

# References# Atkinson, D. (1999). TESOL and culture.

TESOL Quarterly, 33(4), 625-654.

# Gal loway, V. (1999) . B r idges and boundaries: Growing the cross-cultural mind. In M. A. Kassen (Ed.), Language learners of tomorrow: Process and promise (pp. 151-199). Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.

# Kluckhohn, F. R., & Strodtbeck, F. L. (1976). Variations in value orientations. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

# Kramsch, C. (1993). Language study as border study: Experiencing difference. European Journal of Education, 28(3), 349-358.

# Sallay, D. (2008). Using media and materials to teach culture in the foreign language classroom. Unpublished m a s t e r ʼs t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dept Education.

# Scott, V. M., & Huntington, J. A. (2002). Reading culture: Using literature to develop C2 competence. Foreign Language Annals, 35(6), 622-631.

# Tsui, L. (2002). Fostering critical thinking through effective pedagogy: Evidence from four institutional case studies. The Journal of Higher Education, 73(6), 740-763.

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo "Through enthusiasm, attitudes and ideas, or lack of these attributes, A teacher communicates messages that are sometimes more important Than the subject matter itself. " --- Author Unknown ---"In years to come a child may forget what you taught them, But will always remember how you made them feel." --- Author Unknown ---"In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and highest responsibility anyone could have." --- Lee Iacocca ---


! PAGE 20

COMMUNICATIVE METHOD ACTIVITIES OF MAJOR INFLUENCE

USED BY BASIC ENGLISH STUDENTS AT UNIVERSIDAD

NACIONAL DEL SANTA. CHIMBOTE-PERU

Dr. Betty Risco Rodríguez.

The purpose of the present research was to know the communicative method activities of major influence used by Basic English students of the third cycle of the Universidad Nacional del Santa.

The objectives of the research were t o d e s c r i b e a n d i d e n t i f y t h e communicative-method activities of major influence in the learning process of Basic English in order to propose them to teachers of the other subjects of the English language specialty.

The descriptive method was used in the research and the sample was formed by twenty-five students who were registered in the Basic English course. The results showed that out of fifteen activities proposed to the students, the four activities of major influenced were working in pairs or in small groups, listening and taking notes, reading articles on specific topics, using video materials and role playing; which means 44%, 40%, 28% and 24% out of the total sample.

Finally, we concluded that the communicative-method activities of the major influence in the learning process of basic English such as: working in pairs or small groups, listening and taking notes, reading articles on specific topics, using video materials and role playing should be used by English teachers to put them into practice in other English subjects, and they can also be used inside or outside the classroom.

What Is a Teacher?

" A teacher is someone who sees each child as a unique person

and encourages individual talents and strengths.

A teacher looks beyond

each child's face and sees inside their souls.

A teacher is someone with a special touch and a ready smile, who takes the time

to listen to both sides

and always tries to be fair.

A teacher has a caring heart that respects and understands.

A teacher is someone who can look past disruption

and rebellion, and recognize hurt and pain.

" To teach is to touch a life forever." --- Author Unknown


! PAGE 21

PRTESOL CHAPTER NEWS

Metro Chapter Goes Green

by Pilar Vázquez, Metro Chapter Vice-president

It was a beautiful day on October 3, 2009 with clear blue skies, but a vibrating green feeling was in the air at the Bayamon Campus of Inter American University. In tune with the current environmental concerns, PRTESOL Metro Chapter celebrated its annual conference Green Approaches to Language Learning on that day. The Metro Chapter board wanted to offer teachers, an opportunity to strengthen their commitment to protect the environment, and pass it on to their students by integrating a variety of “green” activities into the ESL classroom. Teachers from all levels attended the conference: from Higher Ed to elementary school. Moreover, many ESL education students from different universities and parents from the Home Schooling Association also attended.

The morning began with the first plenary session Recycling, Conservation of our Resources and Teachersʼ Commitment by Dr. Osvaldo Rosario, Chemistry Professor from UPR, Rio Piedras. Dr. Rosario provided thought

provoking data and information regarding worldwide environmental issues, as well as, our local island situation. Concurrent workshops then followed.

Prof. Noemi Rosario, ESL educational consultant and retired English professor presented the workshop The Dynamics of Working Together: The Bridge. This cooperative learning activity engages learners to develop confidence in their ability to use English in a group context. Consequently, participants explored the multiple-language skills addressed. The participants of this hands-on experience acquired diverse perspectives on learning ESL together. This innovative activity is also very appropriate to use in any group scenario where participants need to work together in sharing ideas, distributing responsibilities, following instructions, and working within a time frame to complete an assigned task.

Another very successful workshop was Going Green: Using Puppets for Oral Communication. Prof. Belinda Valentino Quiles, English Professor at Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Bayamon Campus presented elementary school teachers with entertaining learning activities to promote oral communication while going green. Puppets are excellent teaching tools that work effectively at all levels and their use in the ESL classroom enhances the teaching-learning process. The participants enjoyed themselves by constructing cost effective puppets using recyclable materials. Teachers can develop oral skills while instructing and involving students in recycling and conservation.

The workshop Direct Impressions of Nature in Monotype and Mixed Media offered by Prof. Ada Rosa Rivera, art professor at Inter American University, Bayamon Campus,


! PAGE 22


Metro Chapter Goes Green (CONT)

provided attendees a hands-on experience in creating artistic impressions of elements from nature. Teachers used leaves, twigs among other natural elements, to make artistic impressions on paper. They then creatively tied them to make beautiful booklets. Teachers can incorporate and apply this artistic activity to their ESL classroom to promote environmental awareness and creativity in vocabulary and writing activities.

Agronomist Eliacim Caraballo, from Mayaguez Campus, UPR, offered the very informative workshop Self Watering Gardens. Teachers learned how to plan, plant and take care of contained gardens. They can now plant similar gardens at home and in their classrooms with students. Plant seedlings were given to the attendees.

Technological Tools for a Green Classroom was the final plenary session offered by Dr. Eric Otero, English Professor Inter American University at Bayamon. Electronic resources that save time and money while reducing the clutter in a classroom were presented. Software and hardware alternatives that make ESL classrooms environmentally friendly were also discussed. Different Internet sites were discussed that help to cut down the consumption and waste of paper.

Among the exhibitors was a student association from Inter American Bayamón, CECIA. Their exhibit offered information concerning the environment. The students offered to visit their teachersʼ schools and offer conferences addressing environmental issues. In addition, students from Inter American University, Bayamon Campusʼ Honor program collaborated as ushers. Our gratitude goes out to them.

The conference concluded with the participants going home with a renewed commitment to the environment, green ideas to incorporate into their teaching, many raffle prizes, an environmentally friendly bag full of goodies, and a CD with all of all of the workshop presentations and electronic resources. The Metro Chapter board would like to extend our gratitude to the participants, presenters, exhibitors, sponsors, and Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus for contributing to the success of our conference.

Eastern Chapter Annual Conference Report

Building an English Learning Community# The PRTESOL Eastern Chapter Reg iona l Conference was held on September 9, 2009, at the UPR, Humacao Campus.

# Our keynote speaker was Prof. Anibal Muñoz, who teaches at UPR, Humacao, The title of his plenary presentation was ENGLISH LITERATURE FOR THE PUERTO RICAN CULTURE. Prof. Anibal Muñoz exposed his ideas about the inclusion of Puerto Rican writers


! PAGE 23


Eastern Chapter (continued)and literary works that reflect the Puerto Rican culture. He emphasized the cultural issues that can lead our students to reflect on their ident i ty and help them visual ize the importance of learning about their culture.

# To complete our intensive professional development activity, there were several concurrent sessions on a variety of relevant topics, such as technology integration, diversity in the classroom, and content-based instruction. Dr Jorge Figueroa and Prof. Daniel Mercado offered an online discussion directly from Penn St. University with the on-site participants on the use of Web 2.0 in the ESL classroom. Dr. Michelle Nieves offered a workshop on the construction of tests based on standards and level expectations. Prof. Anibal Muñoz also offered a workshop on the benefits of using Microsoft Movie Maker in our English classes. In the afternoon, Prof. Daniel

Mercado and his participants worked on the construction of rubrics.

# One of the accomplishments of our conference was that approximately 17 participants renewed or became Eastern Chapter members. The University of Puerto Rico in Humacao provided Continuous Education credits for those interested. The sponsors of our activity were McGraw Hill, Pearson, Cengage, and Viajes Educativos A. Our activity ended with fun-filled raffles and great gifts.

Submitted by Dr. Evelyn Lugo Morales

Eastern Chapter President 2009

WESTERN CHAPTER

Spelling Bee at UPR - Aguadilla (CORA)

on MAY 2, 2009


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