KATESOL is the professional organization in the state of Kansas for ESL teachers and others who work with English language learners from Pre-K to 12 as well as adult and college intensive English programs. One challenge for KATESOL has been to organize the annual conference so that topics and issues of relevance to all constituencies are reflected in the conference program.

The 2004 KATESOL Conference, March 12-13, in Hays, Kansas, will come very close to achieving this goal. In addition to a number of sessions of interest to adult educators and those who teach in intensive programs at universities, there are also presentations of relevance directly to public school teachers and administrators, as well as teacher educators.

It is hard to imagine anyone who has not heard of Dr. Stephen Krashen, who speaks at Friday's opening ceremony, on the evening of March 12th. Dr. Krashen's research and tireless efforts on behalf of language learners are an inspiration to every ESL, foreign language and regular classroom teacher, instructor and professor.

In addition to Dr. Krashen's Friday plenary, there will be a presentation by Dr. Andy Tompkins, the Kansas Commissioner of Education. Dr. Tompkins will report on the academic performance of English language learners in Kansas public schools, based on data from state assessments. He will also invite KATESOL members to collaborate with the state in working to enhance the educational experiences of the growing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse children in Kansas.

Saturday's keynotes and concurrent sessions run all day, starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m. Every time slot includes one or more sessions of direct relevance to public school community members.

At 9:00, Dr. Rebecca Kopriva will deliver a keynote address, "Assessment of ELLs." Dr. Kopriva is the Director of the Center for the Study and Analysis of Validity and Evaluation (C-SAVE) at the University of Maryland. Dr. Kopriva's keynote address will be followed by back-to-back ELL assessment workshops, at 10:00 and 11:00.

Also at 9:00, James Mayfield-Smith, of Pearson Learning Group, will present on "Kansas standards, non-fiction texts and guided ESOL reading," sharing explicit comprehension strategies for grades 3-8 ESOL guided reading programs.

At 10:00, Dr. Bill VanPatten, of the University of Illinois-Chicago, presents a keynote address, "The fundamental similarity hypothesis and the contextual difference hypothesis," where he will argue that the processes of child first language acquisition and adult second language acquisition are not fundamentally different from each other. Dr. VanPatten is the Director of the Basic Spanish Language Program at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and author of many very popular Spanish-learning as well as language education textbooks.

Read Dr. VanPatten's Achievement Profile Interview on ESL MiniConference Online!

Also at 10:00, Dr. Kevin Murry and Dr. Della Perez, of Kansas State University, will present a session, "ALCANCE: Reaching out to rural educators of ELLs," highlighting data which documents a proactive institutional response to the emerging challenges of cultural and linguistic diversity in Kansas.

Another 10:00 session will feature Dr. Nancy Kraft, of the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center, presenting "Meeting NCLB mandates for parents of ELLs," giving an overview of NCLB, with provisions for parents of ELL students and strategies for effective parent involvement.

At 11:00, Dr. Salim Sehlaoui and Dr. Kim Kreicker, of Emporia State University, will present "Islam and Muslim students in Kansas schools," providing information on Islam around the world, as well as information about the challenges Muslim students face in Kansas schools.

Another 11:00 session, with Dr. Socorro Herrera and Dr. Della Perez, both of Kansas State University, is titled "Sheltered instruction: Working to ensure no child is left behind." This session will examine how Sheltered Instruction coincides with No Child Left Behind legislation to provide a model of instruction, driven by national standards and current research in the field of second language acquisition.

Also at 11:00, Peggy Hull, of Dodge City Community College, will speak on "Letting our learning inform our teaching," sharing insights she has gained from reflecting on her own continued language learning experiences, and how these reflections, seen through the lens of current language learning research, can help tailor instructional approaches. Although Peggy Hull works in adult ESL, her session topic is equally relevant for public school educators who want to enhance their sensitivity to the language learning challenges their students face.

Read Peggy Hull's Achievement Profile Interview on ESL MiniConference Online!

Another 11:00 session is "Maximizing communication in the interpreted interview," by Dr. Katherine Langan, of Sterling College. Drawing on the experiences of all participants as well as interpreting theory and practice, Dr. Langan will examine the issues underlying communication problems in the interpreted interview and provide strategies for enhancing communication between primary interview participants.

Yet another 11:00 session, directed by Ana Garcia and Lorena Dickerson, of the United States Department of Education, is titled "NCLB-Title III language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant students." These presenters will provide an overview of the accountability requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and information regarding the State Educational Agency, and Local Educational Agencies' responsibilities under NCLB-Title III education of limited English proficient students. Required and authorized activities, as well as the rights of parents and school responsibilities for parental notification requirements under Title III, will also be discussed.

Both the lunchtime keynote address, by Jacqueline Boyd, a teacher educator at Haskell Indian Nations University, and the panel discussion on the conference theme, "Advocating for Language Learners in the Era of No Child Left Behind," will be equally relevant to the work of public school educators and adult or IEP instructors. Ms. Boyd will discuss "An American Indian Perspective on Diversity and No Child Left Behind." The keynote panel will include participation from Stephen Krashen, Joy Reid, Bill VanPatten, Jackie Boyd, Rebecca Kopriva, and facilitator Lupe Martinez, from Metro College of Denver.

At 2:15, Dr. Joy Reid, of the University of Wyoming, will give a keynote address, "Ear learners and learning styles," in which she will discuss how ESL teachers can bridge the gap between learning style preference and successful language learning. Dr. Reid is the author of numerous ESL classic texts on the teaching of composition. She is retiring after this spring, following a distinguished career in which she has contributed immensely to the knowledge base of the TESOL profession.

Read Dr. Reid's Achievement Profile Interview on ESL MiniConference Online!

Also at 2:15, Nancy Cooley, of Glencoe West Applied Group, will present "The English-Yes! Reading Program," with cooperative learning activities based on adapted selections from classic and contemporary authors of many cultures. Participants will receive a teacher's guide book for teaching strategies, and this session is aimed primarily at middle and high school teachers.

Another 2:15 session will feature Ana Garcia and Lorena Dickerson, of the United States Department of Education, presenting for a second time "NCLB-Title III language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant students." These presenters will provide an overview of the accountability requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and information regarding the State Educational Agency, and Local Educational Agencies' responsibilities under NCLB-Title III education of limited English proficient students. Required and authorized activities, as well as the rights of parents and school responsibilities for parental notification requirements under Title III, will also be discussed.

Also at 2:15, Dr. Tatiana Sildus, Melinda DeGruson, Susan Harris, Courtney McCartney and Connie Torres-Wier, all of Pittsburg State University, will speak on "Making content comprehensible for all students: The classroom perspective," providing an overview of basic principles of content modification for English language learners, and discussing with participants ways to relate these principles to their own classroom situations. Dr. Sildus is president of the Kansas Foreign Language Association.

At 3:15, the main session is the 2nd Annual Roundtable of ESOL Endorsement Program Directors, with participation from seven out of the eight institutions of higher education in Kansas which offer programs leading to the Kansas ESOL Endorsement. This meeting is a key component in an on-going process of communication and collaboration among the different programs in the state, to ensure that program content is relevant to the needs of endorsement candidates and to enhance interchangability of coursework among the programs. Melanie Stuart, ESOL Program Consultant for the Kansas Department of Education, will participate in the roundtable discussion, which will be facilitated by Edith Palmberg, of Olathe Public Schools.

Another 3:15 session, with Olivia Ruiz, of Pearson Learning Group, is "Building fluency and comprehension through content and technology," which will explore the importance of fluency and its relationship to comprehension, and also provide strategies to help students learn to read and comprehend social studies and science content through technology.

Also at 3:15, Mary Giles, of Harvard University, will present a second session, "Mind my manners!: Culture and student etiquette," will explore ways that ESL teachers can help students to prevent, process and even enjoy cultural differences in etiquette as part of their education, both in school and in their social lives.

Also at 3:15, Alejandro Sanchez-Aizcorbe, of Fort Hays State University's Modern Language Department, will present "Spanish vowels and English vowels: Opposite worlds?," suggesting that students whose mother tongue is English should be trained in the contextualized production of Spanish dipthongs and triphtongs, so as to avoid frustration and improve their acquistion of the Spanish language.

These Saturday sessions make it clear that public school community members--teachers, administrators and advocates--will find a lot of useful information and refreshing exchanges at KATESOL 2004. In addition to the academic sessions, there will be poster sessions on display all day long, including the following titles:

"Our confusing world," by Mary Head, of Blue Valley School District, presenting a PowerPoint featuring ESOL students explaining ESL, cultural adjustment issues and second language acquisition as well as ways to accomodate their needs in the regular classroom.

"Statewide survey of ESOL-endorsed teachers: Results and discussion," by Dr. Kim Kreicker, of Emporia State University, will provide a snapshot of Kansas teachers' perceptions of the endorsement as a tool for improving ESOL instruction in Kansas.

"Free access to Pronunciation Power software via Internet online," by Debbie J. Lee, of Pronunciation Power, Inc., will allow participants to go online and try out the company's products for beginning to advanced English language learners of all ages.

"Say what? What did you say?," by Rebecca Mantonya, of Auburn-Washburn USD 437, will show examples of student work from the Say what? What did you say? unit developed by the presenter.

"COMPRENDER: Teaching reading comprehension to ELL students," by Dr. Della Perez, of Kansas State University, will provide strategies and techniques that promote reading comprehension of ELL students in monolingual English speaking classrooms to meet the NCLB goal of increasing the reading scores of ELL students on standardized reading comprehension tests.

"Collaborative ESOL teacher education: A model for success," by Dr. Salim Sehlaoui, of Emporia State University, will provide data on Emporia State's collaborative teacher education model for ESOL training to teachers and staff in heavily impacted school districts across the state.

"The Newcomer Center program: successes and challenges," by Irene Simonenko, of the Newcomer Program at the Omaha Public Schools Career Center, will share successful and challenging aspects of experiences working to help late-arriving students to learn English in order to "catch up" with other students in Omaha Schools' high school ESL programs.

Complete conference information, including registration forms, is also available online at: http://www.fhsu.edu/katesol/spring2004 .

Article by Robb Scott
Robb@ESLminiconf.net

2004 ESL MiniConference Online