ESL MiniConference Online

Ronaldo's Fly By Eatery

2009-02-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

Check-out time was 11 a.m., and I just
came out to the Greenville-Pitt airport
early. At noon, I walked into their
nice little "Ronaldo's Fly By Eatery"
restaurant and ordered today's special,
chicken fillets, fries, and a sprite.
Great food, intriguing decor-a mural
that covers one wall, making it look
like the room is part of a quaint
downtown neighborhood where Burt
Lancaster is starring in the movie
at the local theater, "Airport."
The mural is quite well detailed
and continued up above, covering
the entire ceiling with a night
sky filled with stars, and a
surface above the entrance is
painted to look as if it is
a balcony. Out the windows
that fill another wall there
is a good view of the small
airport runway, etc..., outside,
wet today with rain. Nice to
find this smart little
airport restaurant here.
O.K., my plane leaves in
about one and a half hours.
Don't think I'll blog again
before take-off. -RBS

Wonderful memories of discussions of language

2009-02-22T03:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a number of photographs
that I took at TALGS 2009 on Saturday, February 21st.
http://drop.io/dxdkseh/blog
The TALGS folks at East Carolina University
were also taking photos and I expect that
between theirs and mine a person would have
a pretty complete set. I was using a Kodak 8.2.
A number of these photos will appear in
the coverage of the event in the spring
edition of the ESL MiniConference Online.
If I have seen a conference that embodies
the spirit and purpose of the ESL MiniConference
newsletter ( http://www.eslminiconf.net ),
this is it. Kudos to Dr. Lida Cope and her
diligent graduate students at ECU. OK, that's
the last entry for now. Next up for me are
the flights (3 different planes) back home.
Keep the faith,
Robb Scott
Editor, ESL MiniConference Online
http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html
Robb@eslminiconf.net

The group of linguists who made it all happen

2009-02-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

Here you can see Dr. Lida Cope,
mentor and adviser to the group
of graduate students (also
pictured) who organized TALGS 2009.
With the group is Dr. Jodi Crandall,
this year's plenary speaker.

The post-conference dinner at a local Japanese restaurant

2009-02-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

There was excellent hospitality and
comraderie at our table during a
delicious meal of Japanese food.
Everyone was celebrating a job
well done. Here are some photos
from the restaurant, both during
the meal and as we started to say
our good-byes.

Post-conference at Bates Hall

2009-02-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

The TALGS 2009 conference was a wonderful
success. At the end of the day, the crew
of ECU graduate students who organized
the event gathered for a photo with
Dr. Jodi Crandall, the invited keynote
speaker. There were 90+ attendees at
today's conference, and these members
of the East Carolina University community
did a superb job of giving participants
an unforgettable experience.

entry 1 / noon break

2009-02-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

It's lunchtime at the TALGS event, and this has
been a morning chocked full of engaging, interesting
content. I just got out of the plenary address by
Dr. Jodi Crandall, who presented models and
examples of ways that ESL teachers can
collaborate effectively with content teachers
in school settings from K-12 to higher ed
and adult ed. She let us know that all of
the growth in the U.S. workforce is going
to be from ELLs, and there is a key role
for ESL teachers to play in shepherding
these learners to instill knowledge and
awareness of post-secondary opportunities.
I'm going to have fun later today, and in the
days and weeks to come, preparing articles
to convey the key points from her plenary
and from all the sessions I am attending
here.

One thing to note is that the concurrent
sessions are just 30 minutes. This is a
great format. The speakers really have
to be on their toes, and they are talking
fast, and moving efficiently through their
powerpoints. You really get a clear sense
of what they feel is most crucial, and there
is no time to lose enthusiasm or interest.
I love this pace.

Friday PM: Arrival to Greenville

2009-02-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

It's a little after midnight and I am in
the hotel room contemplating a good night's
rest. I started my journey at 5:00 p.m. from
Manhattan, KANSAS, on a Great Lakes company
shuttle flight to Kansas City. In KC, it
was just up a short escalator to US Airways
and they were already boarding the flight
to Charlotte, NORTH CAROLINA. The plane
was full (Maybe the stimulus is already
working!?). We made good time in the air,
and I found the area near my gate well
ahead of the Greenville flight, so I
enjoyed BBQ Brisket with mashed potatoes
and mixed vegetables (including yellow
squash, broccoli, green beans, carrots,
and corn), plus a roll and a Corona.
They asked to see my license for the
beer--always a humorous moment. On
the plane from Charlotte to Greenville,
they asked for a volunteer to move from
up front to the far rear of the plane
because they were "nose heavy." I
got up and moved, carrying my 225 pounds
with me, so that was a change of 450
pounds and apparently enough for them
to get the plane off the ground. :)
The exercise program starts when I
get home. For real this time. I
can't believe I weigh enough to
be useful as ballast now.

I found one of the TALGS 2009 organizers,
Lamont Curran, East Carolina University
graduate student in rhetoric and linguistics,
and a friend of his waiting for me to
give me a ride to my hotel. They also
gave me a tour of the drive to campus
and through the downtown area where
lots of students go.

Lamont tells me there will be at least
130 people tomorrow at TALGS, a new
record in the sixth year of this
event. I am excited about tomorrow's
conference and will report and take
pictures to the best of my ability.

Great to be in North Carolina. This
is a very hospitable place.

Later,
Robb Scott
Editor, ESL MiniConference Online

Coverage of Other Sessions?

2009-02-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

I have selected the sessions that I will be
attending and reporting on for this blog,
and as chief reporter for East Carolina
TESOL and editor of ESL MiniConference
Online. If you check out the conference
site, http://core.ecu.edu/engl/talgs/conference/conference.htm ,
and find a different session you'd like to
learn more about, I will do my best to
get someone to report it for us, and
at the very least I will get handouts,
etc..., and a word with the presenter(s)
for you. Just let me know.

The sessions I will be attending at TALGS 2009

2009-02-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

East Carolina University

TALGS 2009

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009

9:00
Corpus Linguistics: A Real Approach to Language Teaching
Courtney Cunningham (Western Carolina University)

9:35
Making the Standards "Real" through Teaching Thematic Units
Kristie Barnhill (Snow Hill Primary Los Puentes Program)

10:25
Team Teaching by a Native English Teacher and a Korean
English Teacher in Korean Public Schools
EunHi Seo (State University of New York at Albany)

11:00
Languaging: Finding a Balance between Form and Function
or Pedagogical Filler
Forrest Caskey (East Carolina University)

11:35 Plenary
Sharing Our Expertise: Working with Mainstream Teachers
Dr. Jodi Crandall (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

What methods are most effective to successfully accommodate
English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. classrooms? How can ESL
teachers integrate mainstream pedagogies to meet the increasing
proportion of ELLs in public schools and universities? What standards
are already apparent in TESOL education, and how can teachers use
or move beyond these standards to build a more effective classroom?

1:45-2:45 Poster Sessions

A Vocabulary Intervention Research for Kindergarten ESOL Students
Michelle Cauthen with Dr. Ummuhan Yesil-Dagli (East Carolina University)

Learning Strategies of Non-Native Speakers of English at ECU
Celestine Davis (East Carolina University)

Effective Efficacy: Teaching English at a Business School
Saheefa Jaleel (University of Wolverhampton, UK)

First-Year Course Instructors’ Attitudes toward Teaching College Students Writing
Whitney Larrimore (East Carolina University)

Poe and Irving’s Approach to Nature: Stylistic Analyses
Felicia Pruteanu (Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools)

The Acquisition of Wh-Questions by Chinese-Speakers of English
Qi Wang (Ohio University)

2:50 Workshop
Practical and Fun: Interactive Activities for the ESL Classroom
Alexander T. Ibaraki & Maria E. Azpeitia (California State Polytechnic University)

3:35 Discussion
ESL from Scratch: Developing Services for International Students and Scholars
Nigel Caplan with Dr. Gigi Taylor (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

4:30
Spanning the Distance: Online Professional Development for Rural Teachers of ESL
Mary Cordova and Charetta Walls (East Carolina University)

5:05 - 5:45 Invited Discussion

Standards in TESOL: A Discussion Session
Dr. Jodi Crandall (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

This discussion session will focus on the use of standards in
TESOL-related education. As the former Chair of the Standards
Committee for TESOL for the past two years, I will begin by
briefly reviewing the four most recent standards projects that
TESOL has undertaken: ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students,
Standards for Teachers of Adult ESL/EFL Learners, TESOL/NCATE
Standards for P-12 ESL Teacher Education Programs, and the newest,
Technology Standards for Teachers and Learners. We can then discuss
experiences and issues related to the implementation of standards-based
instruction in ESL.

Editor Robb Scott plans to blog TALGS 2009

2009-02-07T18:25:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note here to announce that this
is where to find immediate reports and photos
from the TESOL Applied Linguistics Graduate
Students (TALGS) Annual one-day conference
in Greenville, North Carolina. Robb Scott, editor
and founder of ESL MiniConference Online, is
attending the event, has been asked to serve
as the chief reporter of the event for Carolina
TESOL, and will file quick blogs as well as
following up with a full package of articles
in the spring edition of the ESL MiniConference
Online (http://www.eslminiconf.net). I look
forward to a blogful experience.
Sincerely,
Robb Scott
Robb@eslminiconf.net
Editor