Download the Entire KATESOL Newsletter for May 2003 (PDF Document)

 

PRESIDENT’s corner

     Hello and farewell to all in KATESOL land.  This is my last President’s Corner of this term, as I turn the position over to Chris Renner on 5 June 03 at the General Members meeting 5:30 pm, 5 June 03, in Wichita at the Joint State Conference.  I want to say a big thank you to all the board members and general members for all your assistance and support during my term as President.  A special thanks, is in order, to the departing board members for their contributions to our organization over their terms in office.  A special welcome is extended to our three new officers, as they take up their duties. 

     We had a very good conference on 5 April 03 in Hays, with twice the participants as last year’s conference in Hutchinson.  It was also a historic event, as this was the first time to have the Round Table presentation, with the major universities from our state, along with the KSDE, represented at one table.  This allowed us to comment on and discuss problems and issues that affect our students, our new up coming teachers, and all the teachers working on ESL endorsements, with these representatives.  Over all, there seemed to be almost too many presenters for us to choose between, as it became hard to decide which session to attend. 

     I am looking forward to our Joint State Conference and to see as many of you as possible in Wichita on 4-6 June 03.  We will set the date for next year’s conference at Hays in March or April 04.  Any new business will be brought up and discussed as needed. 

     Again thanks to all and hope to see you in June.  Have a good summer.

 

Your KATESOL President, Donald E Blackman

 

 

 

Book Reviews

 


 

Longman Basic Dictionary of American English

Pearson Education Limited

 

     The Longman Basic Dictionary of American English is an excellent dictionary for young learners.  I teach in a special education classroom of fifth and sixth graders.  I also have some ESOL students at the same levels.  Several of these students have used this dictionary in the last week and have found it to be very user friendly.  The definitions are written simply, but with enough detail for understanding.  There are a few pictures throughout the book, but the best ones are the series of pages in the center of the book.  There are several theme pages in full color dealing with  such things as animals, space, and prepositions.

     I would recommend this dictionary to any elementary teacher and any ESOL or SPED teacher.  I look forward to getting more of the dictionaries for my students.

 

Reviewed by Pam Hernandez

Goodland Schools USD352

 

 

 

Book Review Call!

If you have checked a book out from the KATESOL Library, or if you took a book from a publisher’s table at the Spring Conference, and have yet to submit a book review, please share with us all by writing one and sending it to the KATESOL Newsletter editor.  If you can please send via e-mail.

 

 

Newcomer Phonics

Kaye Wiley

Pearson Education Limited

     This phonics book is put together by units over different aspects of phonics, such as short vowels.  Each unit consists of matching sentences to pictures, fill in the blank, a short story, and a review page.  The pages are colorful and have bright cheerful pictures, some drawn and some photographs.  The directions are easy the read and follow.

     I have used this book for a week with my ESOL and SPED students and they really enjoy it.  They are able to complete the pages on their own or with minimal help.  I would recommend this book to any introductory class of ESOL or SPED students.

 

Reviewed by Pam Hernandez

Goodland Schools USD352

 

 

New Parade – 4

Mario Herrera and Theresa Zanatta

Pearson Education Limited

     This book is divided into units based on everyday activities or knowledge.  There are units about health, eating, days & dates, and dinosaurs to name a few.  Each unit has several activities such as fill in the blank, reading a short passage or drawing something.  The pages are bright and colorful.  The directions are very easy to read and follow.

     I have used this book the past week with my ESOL and SPED students and they have been able to complete the activities with little or no instruction from me.  They seem to enjoy the activities and are increasing their vocabularies and knowledge bases.  I would recommend this book to anyone with lower level learners.

 

Reviewed by Pam Hernandez

Goodland Schools USD352

 

 

Report from KATESOL Spring Conference

Robb Scott

 

     The Kansas Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (KATESOL) celebrated its 20th annual spring conference on Saturday, April 5th, in Hays, Kansas, hosted by the Department of Special Education/ESOL at Fort Hays State University. ESOL educators from across the state converged on the Fort Hays campus for a full day of workshops, presentations, publishers' displays and the opportunity to network and share ideas with colleagues from as far away as Goodland, Kansas, and

Kansas City, Missouri.

     Steve Wolf, Director of Migrant/ESOL for Great Bend's USD #428, and Robert Vinton, Director of Migrant/ESOL for Dodge City's USD #443, were two of the distinguished attendees at the KATESOL Spring Conference. Great Bend covered costs for any teacher in USD #428 wishing to attend the event, and the exciting work being done at Great Bend's Riley Elementary School with "Success for All" was mentioned in several sessions. Dodge City Public Schools have embarked on an ambitious project to get every general education teacher in the entire district endorsed for ESOL. The presence of Wolf and Vinton at KATESOL 2003 reflected the importance of ESOL issues in Kansas schools today and KATESOL's role in promoting the interests of English language learners in the state.

     Sending her congratulations to KATESOL members for their continued efforts on behalf of English language learners in Kansas was Betty Soppelsa, the first president of KATESOL (1982-83), who now serves the NAFSA Association of International Educators as Deputy Executive Director, in Washington, D.C. Her congratulatory letter can be viewed on the KATESOL Web site.

     Many publishers contributed books to give away to teachers attending this year's KATESOL event in Hays. And one publishers' representative, Dorothy Hagan, a native of Dodge City who now lives in Missouri, was present to share new materials from Hampton-Brown and Big Books by George with conference attendees. Many books were also given away as raffle prizes at the noontime keynote dinner, as well as later at a general gathering in the hallway after the final session of the day. Outgoing KATESOL Second Vice-President Joyce Drydale, of HOKSBA Literacy Missions in Wichita, Kansas, organized the conference program and outgoing KATESOL Member-at-Large Mary Head, of Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas, organized the publishers' displays. Continuing KATESOL Secretary/Treasurer Bernice Altenhofen, ELL Coordinator for Junction City Schools, USD #475, handled pre-registration and on-site registration for the nearly 50 attendees this year. Continuing Member-at-Large Carol Thompson, of Wichita, helped with on-site logistics on the second floor of Rarick Hall, where concurrent sessions and publishers' displays were held. KATESOL Newsletter Editor Howard Pollock, of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, also attended this year's conference. Outgoing KATESOL President Don Blackman, of Garden City, presided over the events of the day, including the keynote address and the annual KATESOL business meeting.

     Morning sessions included Nancy Kraft, Director of the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center, www.kpirc.org, speaking on "No Child Left Behind: Strategies for Initiating Home and School Partnerships with LEP Families." Don Blackman spoke on "Understanding Mennonite Culture and Learning," where he shared approaches he has used to teach first language literacy as a support for second language learning. Robb Scott, Assistant Professor of Special Education/ESOL at Fort Hays State University, and newly elected First Vice-President of KATESOL/BE, shared information from his visit to the recent NJTESOL/NJBE conference on culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional learners. Scott's  presentation was titled "Do We Need A Bilingual Special Education Endorsement in Kansas? Recommended Practices for CLD Pre-referral Procedures." Other morning sessions included Bernice Altenhofen's workshop on "Integrated Vocabulary Activities." Altenhofen described how activities familiar to ESOL teachers have been integrated into the reading program of general education regular classroom teachers who have ELLs, not only benefiting those students but also their English-speaking peers. Rudolph Bustos, a licensed social worker, school psychologist and guidance counselor, Adjunct Professor of Special Education at Fort Hays State University, spoke on "Hispanic Migrant Children and Health Care: Speaking the Languages of Healing." Bustos explained the strong correlation between a child's health and social status and his or her ability to learn. Another morning session was Mary Head's "Special Voice of America Activities," in which she demonstrated and then gave participants a chance to practice using VOA Special English news broadcasts, vocabulary and grammar activities and teacher and student generated quizzes, all accessible at www.quia.com/pages/bvvoa.html.

     Dr. Placido Arturo (Art) Hoernicke, Chair of the Special Education/ESOL Department at Fort Hays State University, gave welcoming remarks at the Keynote Lunch, held in the South Dining Hall of the Fort Hays Memorial Union. Dr. Hoernicke said that Fort Hays was very happy to be hosting the KATESOL Spring Conference, and he encouraged teachers to call, e-mail or fax their senators and representatives in Washington in support of the "Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, also called the "Student Adjustment Act," which would allow children of undocumented immigrants to go to college, become legal residents and work in the U.S. legally.

     Dr. Hoernicke introduced Keynote Speaker Dr. Socorro Herrera, of Kansas State University, who along with her students from K-State's "Project Besitos," Bilingual Education Students Interacting to Obtain Success, www.k-state.edu/besitos, treated KATESOL conference participants to an unusual and unforgettable Keynote Address. These young men and women presented an engaging array of dramatic readings from their own and others' experiences as immigrants in Kansas schools. At the end of this presentation, Dr. Herrera asked each of these young people, currently working on their teaching degrees and licenses through K-State, to tell why they chose a teaching career and what had helped them overcome difficulties as they struggled to adapt to a new culture and language while growing up in Kansas. Their answers were eloquent and moving reminders of how crucially important the work of ESOL educators and all teachers can be in the lives of our students.

     The Besitos project at K-State provides full-tuition four-year scholarships, to get a teaching degree at K-State, for graduating high school seniors who speak at least one other language in addition to English. Dr. Herrera mentioned in concluding her keynote address that there are still slots available for the entering freshman class of fall 2003. The e-mail for more information is: besitos@k-state.edu. Project Besitos is a federally funded Title III grant which supports a Career Ladder Project. This project will certify/endorse and sponsor students to earn a B.S. in education and become qualified, bilingual/ESL endorsed teachers.

     Following the keynote, outgoing KATESOL President Don Blackman presided over the Annual KATESOL Business Meeting. The first and most remarkable order of business was consideration of a motion to meld KATESOL and the now defunct KABE (Kansas Association of Bilingual Educators) into a single  organization, KATESOL/BE. After lively discussion of the pros and cons, an overwhelming majority of members present voted in favor of the motion and the name is now KATESOL/BE, contingent on a check of the KATESOL by-laws to ensure the correct procedures are being followed. One of the best arguments put forth in favor of this change, by newly elected KATESOL/BE President Chris Renner, of Emporia State University, was that members of KATESOL/BE will benefit from resources of both NABE and TESOL. It was also decided at the business meeting, by unanimous vote, that the 2004 KATESOL/BE Spring Conference will be held at Fort Hays State University. Additionally, Janet Booth, an ESL teacher in Olathe, was nominated and elected by unanimous vote to fill the Member-at-Large position being vacated by Mary Head.

     Afternoon sessions included Kristin Grayson, of Emporia State University, demonstrating "Language Learning Through Arts Integration," to show how the teaching of the core curriculum and target language through music, visual arts and physical movement strengthens the acquisition of language, language structures and comprehension of content areas. Gina Halksworth, a student in the Masters of Liberal Studies (M.L.S.) degree at Fort Hays State University, with an emphasis in ESOL, www.fhsu.edu/mls, presented data from her ongoing masters project, "Building a Program for Delivering ESOL Services in a Rural Kansas School." Yuhua Tsui, from the University of Kansas, presented on "Reading Strategy Usage and its Relation to Reading Performance of Students at the Lower Level of Proficiency." Another afternoon session was Joyce Drydale's "Communication Activities" workshop on games, role-playing and hands-on activities for practicing English skills in a non-threatening environment.

     This year's KATESOL Spring Conference also provided a venue for Directors of ESOL Endorsement Programs at institutions of higher education in Kansas to meet and discuss their needs and the needs of Kansas schools and teachers. Participants in this roundtable discussion were:

Dr. Paul Markham, University of Kansas

Dr. Art Hoernicke, Fort Hays State University

Dr. Socorro Herrera, Kansas State University

Dr. Abdelila Salim Sehlauoi, Emporia St. University

Dr. Anh Tran, Wichita State University

Ms. Melanie Stuart, Kansas Dept. of Education

     Roundtable participants discussed the new English Language Proficiency state assessments for English languages learners in Kansas schools, as well as the new content test for teachers who complete ESOL endorsement programs after July 1, 2003. Participants also expressed concern for the first-language needs of English language learners, including the need for school libraries to provide more multilingual reading materials for children. Melanie Stuart, from the Kansas Department of Education, reminded panelists and the audience of teachers and administrators that the ELL population in Kansas is growing at three times the rate of other states, so the work of ESOL educators will be more important than ever.

     Audience members asked panelists to explain how their different ESOL endorsement programs address the legal rights of English language learners; where funding could be found for non-endorsement enrichment ESOL coursework for teachers in schools, particularly in second language acquisition; and what the prognosis is for the growth of bilingual, multilingual and dual language programs in Kansas.

 

The Keynote and the Roundtable can be viewed with streaming video online for free at http://www.fhsu.edu/katesol/video.htm.

 

 

Minutes of Annual KATESOL

Business Meeting  04-05-03

 

     The annual meeting of the KATESOL membership was held on April 5, 2003 at FHSU. The meeting was called to order by Don Blackman at 1:00.

     The treasurer reported that the balance in the account is currently approximately $6, 800.  (Detailed report in attached.  Actual balance is $6,858.82)   Bills for this annual conference are not in but it is anticipated that they will run between $1200 and $1500.

     Old business included a follow-up discussion of KABE joining KATESO.  Christopher Renner moved that KATESOL combine with KABE - now defunct- as proposed over one year ago, that KATESOL become a member of both the TESOL and NABE organizations: as such, KATESOL changes it’s name to KATESOL/BE.  Kathi Firns/Hubert seconded the motion.   Mary Head amended the motion that this be done as long as the process was not in violation of the by laws.  Robb Scott further amended the motion that if the vote is in violation of the bylaws that the matter be addressed as the by laws state. The motion carried.

     Other old business included a discussion of terms of office.  Board members reported that the current board was not in favor of extended terms. 

No further action was taken.  Para Training was the final topic under Old Business.

     Discussion indicated that there are still concerns in this area especially surrounding the new para test and that KATESOL will continue to look for ways to support paras in this area.

     Under New Business, Mary Head reported on her trip to TESOL.  Edith Palmberg also attended.  It was suggested that KATESOL look into applying for Speakers Grants from TESOL in the future.

     The location of next year’s spring conference was discussed.  The pros and cons of a permanent place for a yearly conference vs. movement around the state were discussed.  Robb Scott moved that FHSU be the host for the 2003 Spring Conference.  Pearl Taylor seconded.  The motion carried.

     Joyce Drydale made a motion to pay 250.00 into the scholarship fund.  Kathi Firns-Hubert seconded.  The motion carried.

     New officers elected for next year include Christopher Renner, president and Robb Scott 1st Vice President.  Angela Rawalt was elected member at large but has informed the board that she can no longer accept this responsibility.  Edith Palmberg nominated Janet Booth to replace Angela on the board.  Robb Scott seconded the motion and it carried.

     The meeting was adjourned.

 

Minutes submitted by: Bernie Altenhofen – Secretary/Treasurer