 | From the President |
| 1999-2000 TexTESOL III Board |
| 1999 TexTESOL III Regional Conference Highlights |
| A Poem for TexTESOL III |
| Hot Links: The Texas Education Agency Website. |
| Two Excellent ESL Web Sites |
| Conference Kudos |
| Teaching Techniques: An Excellent Activity with Little Slips of Paper! |
| Calendar |
| Call for Contributions |
| TexTESOL III Membership Form |
By Alex Baez, Southwest Texas State University
Dear TexTESOL III Members:
I GOT ALL CHOKED UP when TexTESOL III President Susan Murphy
"turned the gavel over" to me at the 1999 TexTESOL III
Fall Conference, Saturday, Sept. 25, 1999 at St. Edward's
University (see Rebecca Herman's article about our 1999 Fall
Conference in this newsletter). I realized then that I was losing
a terrific TexTESOL III boss, colleague, and partner. But our
friendship will continue, and Susan plans to take on several
TexTESOL III tasks in the coming year, such as helping us plan
for the 23rd Annual TexTESOL State Conference in 2001!
Those of us on the old Board send you, Susan, a big THANK YOU for
being such a wonderful leader. You helped us accomplish so much
during the last 18 months and we wish you the best of luck in
your always-exciting endeavors!
I am very excited about our shiny new TexTESOL III Board (and
please see below for how to contact our board members):
REBECCA HERMAN, our new First Vice President, is a busy ESL
teacher at both Del Valle ISD and Austin Community College.
Rebecca has been our newsletter editor since 1998, and I know you
have all enjoyed her easy-to-read and informative newsletters.
Rebecca has a math and music background, served as a Peace Corps
Volunteer in Malaysia, and earned a Ph.D. in Foreign Language
Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Rebecca brings
to the Board outstanding ideas and first-rate organizational
skills.
JOHN DUKE continues to serve as Second Vice President, a post he
has served in since 1998. John has a background in Russian and
Slavic languages. He spent six years teaching and studying in
Russia. In St. Petersburg, he served as director of the U.S.
Information Agency English Teacher Education Program and was an
Assistant Professor at St. Petersburg State University. You all
know John's bright smile behind the registration table at our
conferences!
MARY LOU PRICE is our new Secretary.
Mary Lou has previously served on the Board as Advocacy
Representative since 1998. Mary Lou has taught college-level
French, has lived in the Philippines and in France, and earned
her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught
in ESL Services at the University of Texas at Austin since 1992,
where she enjoys teaching grammar, reading, and test preparation.
Mary Lou continues to bring boundless energy and good ideas to
the Board.
TERESA BAKER is our new Treasurer, and we welcome her as a
newcomer to the TexTESOL III Board! Teresa earned an MA in TESL
from the University of Illinois and has subsequently taught
courses and designed materials in grammar, oral skills, TOEFL
preparation, reading, writing, and English through current
events. She also presented at TESOL International in 1998 and
1999, and co-authored an article for TESOL Journal in 1997.
Teresa is currently the Assistant Coordinator of ESL Services at
the University of Texas at Austin. Welcome aboard, Teresa!
JOHN MADDEN, our new Webmaster, is also new to the TexTESOL III
Board. He teaches in the AEP, ELP, and test preparation programs
in the International Program at the University of Texas at
Austin. He has taught ESL, Spanish, and English in the Texas
public schools and worked as a reporter and photographer. John
served in the Peace Corps in Kenya, where he taught ESL and
learned Swahili. He holds degrees in English and Journalism from
the University of Illinois, and an MA in Foreign Language
Education (TESOL) from the University of Texas at Austin, where
he is now a doctoral student. John brings a wealth of computer
and Internet experience to the Board. Welcome, John!
JOHN SCHMIDT continues to serve on the Board as TESOL Liaison
Officer. John is known as "the godfather of TexTESOL
III" because he co-founded and has been continuously active
in our organization for 20 years. He has served as President and
First Vice-President of TexTESOL III. John earned a Ph.D. from
the University of Texas at Austin in Foreign Language Education.
John teaches ESL, ESP (Business English), and American Culture at
the Texas Intensive English Program here in Austin. John has also
been involved with TESOL International, MexTESOL and TESOL
Russia. He brings to the Board a wealth of information about
TexTESOL III's history, as well as about the TESOL International
organization. An invaluable Board member of TexTESOL III!
FRANK CRONIN continues to serve as Delegate-at-Large for TexTESOL
III. Frank teaches ESL, Developmental Writing, and Study Skills
at Austin Community College. A native of Pennsylvania, Frank has
lived in Texas for 25 years. His MA in ESL comes from the
University of Texas, Austin, built upon a BS in Linguistics, also
from the University of Texas. He has a wonderful son, Jonathan,
16, who is an avid fan of jazz music. Frank brings to the Board a
strong commitment to his profession and wonderful ideas.
CHARLOTTE GILMAN is a new Delegate-at-Large and was a Past
TexTESOL III President. She received an MA in Foreign Language
Education from the University of Texas at Austin. At the Texas
Intensive English Program since 1969, Charlotte has served as an
instructor, a supervisor, and an assistant coordinator. She has
also taught and trained teachers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Morocco,
Azerbaijan, and Mexico. She presents regularly at local, state,
and international TESOL conferences and wrote On Stage with
English: Spotlighting Two-Word Verbs (ALTA).
GREG THOMPSON, a new Delegate-at-Large of the TexTESOL III Board,
has taught ESL since 1983 in adult, workplace, and refugee
programs. He has trained ESL tutors since 1992, has written a
computerized ESL record-keeping program, and has produced eight
films on English grammar for ESL At Home With English, the
popular ESL television show, has been seen in Austin for the past
11 years. Greg holds a BA degree in history and mathematics and
an MA in linguistics. He has lived in Germany, Egypt, India, and
Viet Nam. Currently teaching at Austin Community College, Greg
was TexTESOL III's "1999 Teacher of the Year in Adult
Education," and was honored by the organization at its 1999
Spring Awards Brunch: "TexTESOL III Celebrates Teaching
Excellence," held in April at the Doubletree Hotel. Welcome
aboard, Greg!
NEWSLETTER EDITOR REBECCA HERMAN will continue this post until
January, 2000, when Alice Chu takes over.
IF YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE who is interested in becoming the TexTESOL
III Advocacy Representative, please contact President Alex
B‡ez, or send your nomination to the Board at our mailing
address. The Advocacy Representative duties include gathering and
distributing information about laws and regulations affecting ESL
teachers and students, acting as liaison with the TESOL Advocacy
and Government Relations Coordinator, and planning action on
behalf of advocacy-related issues.
HERE'S A LITTLE BACKGROUND about me, President Alex B‡ez. I
have a background in publishing, journalism, advertising and
public relations. I lived in New York City for 17 years; ten of
those years I worked for UNICEF at the United Nations. I hold an
MA degree in ESL from the Division of Bicultural-Bilingual
Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I have taught
ESL in the Austin area for the Texas Intensive English Program,
Austin Community College, and Even Start; I currently teach ESL
in the International Program at Southwest Texas State University
in San Marcos. I am also a teacher trainer for Texas A&M
University-Kingsville. I am honored to serve as President of
TexTESOL III, and I am honored to work with a Board of such
distinguished ESL professionals.
BY THE WAY, we welcome visitors to our
monthly Board meetings. Board participation is fun, tasty (free
snacks!), and interesting. You'll meet lots of interesting people
and learn more about our membership, our sponsoring publishers,
our presenters, and TESOLers from around the world. Become
involved in how you would like to see our organization evolve,
who should be invited to speak at our events, and where to
recruit more participants like yourself! You will be where the
ESL Action IS! Meetings take place at the Texas Intensive English
Program building (Dexter Hall, 1103 West 24th St., Austin, TX
78705) on Monday evenings, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. See our website
for the exact dates:
http://www.textesol.org/region3/
Looking forward to seeing you!
President
Alex Baez
Southwest Texas State University
Fax: (512) 479-6475
First Vice-President
Rebecca Herman
Del Valle ISD
Fax: (512) 386-3655
Second Vice-President
John Duke
The University of Texas at Austin
Work: (512) 471-2480
Johnduke@mail.utexas.edu
Secretary
Mary Lou Price
The University of Texas at Austin
Work: (512) 471-2486
mlp@mail.utexas.edu
Treasurer
Teresa Baker
The University of Texas at Austin
Work: (512) 471-2483
tm-baker@mail.utexas.edu
Interim Newsletter Editor
Rebecca Herman
Del Valle ISD
Fax: (512) 386-3655
Webmaster
John Madden
The University of Texas at Austin
Work: (512) 471-2480
jmadden@mail.utexas.edu
TESOL Liaison
John Schmidt
Texas Intensive English Program
Work: (512) 477-4511
john.schmidt@worldnet.att.net
Delegate-at-Large
Frank Cronin
Austin Community College
Work: (512) 223-4889
Fcronin645@aol.com
Delegate-at-Large
Charlotte Gilman
Texas Intensive English Program
Work: (512) 477-4511
cg9002@tiec.org
Delegate-at-Large
Greg Thompson
Austin Community College
Thompson@austin.cc.tx.us
By Rebecca Herman, Del Valle ISD, Austin
The highlight of our Fall 1999 regional conference was, of
course, our scintillating plenary speaker Jean Zukowski-Faust,
from Northern Arizona University. Jean honored us with an
afternoon workshop, as well. Here are some highlights of her
presentations.
In her plenary address, "Adding Sparkle to One's
Repertoire," Jean Zukowski-Faust explained her principles of
Positive Directioning(. These principles involve attending to the
subtleties of language choice and body language, and to the
perhaps unintended effects of our communication. The goal,
naturally, is to examine our style of communication to focus both
on clarity and on developing a conscience about the emotional
effect we have on others (language learners, in this case). These
are some of her principles that were presented at our conference:
| You cannot not communicate. |
| Body language carries meaning. |
| Learning comes out of confusion. |
| Speaking is directional information. |
| A mind has different levels of awareness. |
| A communicative act can be multi-level. |
| People think in metaphors. |
| The mind accepts stimuli and tries to make sense of them. |
| It takes longer for the mind to process negatives and passive voice. |
Jean emphasized that we should phrase our speech in positive,
constructive ways that "seed" the likelihood of
obtaining a positive outcome. For example, instead of saying
"Buy a lottery ticket! You can't lose!," say "Buy
a lottery ticket! You might win!" Develop a sense of the
effect our words have on others through "positive
directioning." Teachers are influencing human beings and
shaping personalities in the target language. Students will
develop a personality in the target culture by adopting our
language choice and body language. We are not simply conveying
information but instilling personalities. Take care!
In her afternoon workshop, Jean Zukowski-Faust presented a
variety of ways to "Keep On Talking!" One paired
conversation activity used techniques for keeping a conversation
going, naturally to provide more practice for learners. For
example, one scenario says:
Learner: Mom, can we move?
Mom: _____
a. No, of course not. We live here and work here.
b. You think we should leave?
Clearly, choice b. ("You think we should leave?") would keep the conversation going better than the other choice.
Another technique Jean recommended was
using riddles to motivate students to attend to their language
choice. Answers need not be predetermined. For example, "A
man comes to town on Friday, stays three days to complete his
business, and then leaves on Friday. Explain." The
explanation is open to interpretation.
In summary, Dr. Zukowski-Faust urges teachers to become aware of
the immense responsibility we have to instill a personality that
is good, not merely to teach language that may be used for ill.
Furthermore, since teachers already extract elements of good
teaching from a variety of methods, we should not hesitate to
openly preserve whatever we feel works. Avoid deadly traditions
that kill the joy of learning. In the current teaching emphasis
toward process, not product, Jean recasts teachers as
"deliverers" of good values, careful thinking, and
peace-oriented personalities.
By Jean Zukowski-Faust, Northern Arizona University
Written specifically for the occasion of the TexTESOL III 1999 Fall Conference
There are some teachers in Texas of TESL
Who teach bilingual, intensive, and VESL,
They use techniques old and new
Plain, outrageous, tried, and true
They're courageous, for they fear no redressal.
These heroes are Texas ESL Teachers
As such they're exceedingly far-reachers
They use "I'll say, you repeat!
Y'all just stay in your seat!"
In a Rebirth of professional features.
They teach exciting always creative curriculum.
A garden of choices methodological to pick from.
Backward build-up or role-play
In a noisy or Silent Way,
These teachers never wallow in the humdrum.
They teach speaking and listening as the oral skills
They teach the simple, the challenging, the no-frills
They eschew all malformed selectics,
Texans are informed eclectics!
With repertoires, high standards, and strong wills.
If they could teach grammar with limericks, they'd use 'em,
If they could teach new words with crosswords, they'd abuse 'em.
But one thing is for certain
When they bring down the curtain,
The students have learned, for their teachers enthuse 'em.
Some of their methods might seem somewhat outlandish.
They dance, they sing, and realia they brandish.
But they use what they use with the knowledge
They're entitled, for they've all been to college.
What might seem strange to some is quite simply... outstandish.
Texas Education Agency Web Site
By Mary Lou Price, The University of Texas at Austin
Did you know that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) web site has a
wealth of information available to educators and the general
public?
The TEA web site is:
Here are highlights of some of the
material available on this web site along with direct links to
the information.
An update on the most recent proposed changes to the State Board
of Education rules concerning the assessment of Limited English
Proficient students:
http://www.tcbee.org/legal.htm
Information on curriculum:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/tea/curric.html
Information on TEKS:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/
Information on TAAS, end-of-course exams, and other testing
issues:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/release/index.html
Educators' Guides to TEKS-Based Assessment:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/guides/educator/
Downloadable copies of released TAAS tests from 1997-1999:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/release.htm
State laws and State Board of Education regulations regarding
public education:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/tea/law.html
By Mary Lou Price, The University of Texas at Austin
There are many excellent ESL web sites these days. These two are
particularly useful. Both have many useful activities for
students of all levels as well as links to other useful sites.
Check them out yourselves or just pass on the locations to your
students, who will undoubtedly return to them over and over.
1. Karin's ESL PartyLand:
2. The English Zone:
By Susan Murphy, Past President of TexTESOL III
The University of Texas at Austin
Based on the written evaluations and
oral feedback regarding TexTESOL III's "Focus on the
Future" Fall Conference of September 25, the majority of
conference participants gave the event a "two thumbs
up." Here are a few of the comments.
| Best conference so far |
| The catering was divine |
| Excellent |
| Please do this again |
| Well-prepared speakers |
| Zukowski-Faust was wonderful |
| Lunch was fabuloso |
| Wonderfully organized |
| Presentations were as good (or better) as those at the national conference |
We also received thoughtful suggestions
to make future conferences even better. Some suggested that we
set aside more time in the schedule to visit the exhibitors' hall
and have more exhibitors. A few commented that more precise
directions to the Ragsdale Center would have been useful. Even
though some participants liked conferences starting at 10:00
a.m., others wanted the event to start even earlier. One
suggestion was to make the conference last more than one day.
Have more featured speakers and fewer concurrent sessions was
another comment. Sending out pre-registration confirmations was
another suggestion passed along to us.
Several participants wanted to have more sessions related to K-12
teaching. We on the TexTESOL III Board would have loved nothing
better! The fact is that there simply weren't many presentation
proposals geared to public school teachers. As part of the
Proposal Committee for the 1997 State Conference held in Austin,
I remember a similar situation where there were relatively few
papers submitted by K-12 teachers or administrators. As a result,
we received some written feedback concerning the lack of
presentations related toward K-12 teaching. I'm mentioning this
cause-and-effect situation for two reasons. First, I don't want
TexTESOL members feeling that the Board has make a deliberate
decision to not include presentations for K-12 teachers. Most
importantly, we on the Board want to encourage public school
teachers and administrators to share their expertise with their
fellow and future K-12 educators.
If you've never presented before but you have some hands-on,
tried-and-true teaching techniques, find another teacher or two
and put together a team presentation; presenting in pairs can be
more fun and less work than doing it "solo," especially
for the first time. Your colleagues will surely appreciate your
efforts, skill, and especially your handouts!
One Activity With Little Pieces of Paper
By Mary Lou Price, The University of Texas at Austin
Categorizing with Stickies at the Board (Grammar; Vocabulary; Reading)
Large stickies (e.g., Post-It NotesĘ)
can be used to help students to categorize items. They're
especially useful for grammar classes, but they can be used to
categorize just about anything. In this activity, all of the
students come up to the board and work as a group to arrange and
rearrange items according to pre-set categories. This gets
students moving and working as a group.
Method:
Example:
Classifying time expressions:
Categories to write on the board:
Used primarily with the present perfect Used primarily with the simple past Depends on the context
Sample expressions to put on the stickies (and the answer key):
Yesterday; ago; last week (simple past) So far; lately; since I arrived (present perfect) Today; this week; recently (depends on the context)
Adapted from the TexTESOL III Fall 1999 Conference presentation "15 Activities With Little Pieces of Paper," presented by Beverly Ingram, Letha McIntire, Mary Lou Price, and Carolyn Thompson.
Dec. 27-30, 1999.
Modern Language Association of America (MLA). Annual conference,
Chicago, Illinois. Contact MLA, 10 Astor Place, New York, New
York 10003-6981. Fax 212-477-9863.
E-mail: convention@mla.org
March 11-14, 2000.
American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). AAAL 2000
Annual Convention, "Crossing Boundaries," Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. Contact AAAL, PO Box 21686, Eagan,
Minnesota 555121-0686. Tel. 612-953-0805. Fax 612-4331-8404.
E-mail: aaaloffice@aaal.org
Web: http://www.aaal.org/
March 14-18, 2000.
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
Annual conference (including pre- and post-convention institutes,
and publisher and software exhibition), "Navigating the New
Millennium," Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Contact
TESOL, 700 South Washington Street, Suite 200, Alexandria,
Virginia 22314. Tel. 703-836-0774. Fax 703-836-7864.
E-mail: conv@tesol.edu
Web: http://www.www.tesol.org/
November 2-4, 2001.
TexTESOL State Conference: "2001: An ESL Odyssey." 23rd
Annual TexTESOL State Conference; Doubletree Hotel (IH-35),
Austin, Texas, USA. Contact: TexTESOL III, 1103 W. 24th St.,
Austin, TX 78705.
Web: http://www.textesol.org/region3/
If you would like to contribute an article to this newsletter, please contact the newsletter editor, Rebecca Herman, at Rherman@del-valle.k12.tx.us.
Please send your contributions by e-mail as a text-only document of up to 500 words. If this is not possible, you may send a hard copy to the TexTESOL III office:
Newsletter Editor
TexTESOL III, Dexter Hall
1103 West 24th Street, Austin, TX 78705
You may contribute to any section, including book reviews, research, teaching tips, literature reviews, job announcements, and the calendar. If you would like to volunteer to read books and review them for our newsletter, please contact the editor at the above e-mail address. Our newsletter is published at least four times a year.
If you would like to volunteer to read books and review them for our newsletter, please contact the editor at the above e-mail address. If you would like to contribute a book that you think should be reviewed for publication, you may donate (not loan) a book to be reviewed to the above mailing address, along with your recommendation that it be reviewed for this newsletter.
(Print this form out and mail it with your dues to the address below.)
Name:
Phone and/or Fax nos.:
Street address:
(city, state, zip code)
Affiliation:
E-Mail address:
Please tell us what you would like to see TexTESOL III do for you! Suggestions are always welcome!
Annual membership dues:
Regular $12 _____ Student $8 _____ Joint $18 _____
Please make check payable to TexTESOL III Membership and mail with registration form to:
TexTESOL III, 1103 West 24th Street, Austin, TX 78705