Electronic Village Online

The CALL Interest Section is proud to announce its new online sessions, made possible by an Interest Section Special Project Grant. If you can’t come to the conference, now the conference can come to you--before and during the TESOL Convention (with TESOL DISCUSS), and after TESOL (with TESOL FOLLOW-UP)!

This session follows along with the TESOL conference and some of the discussions are held in conjunction with Interest Section Academic Sessions, InterSection Sessions, or Strands.  TESOL DISCUSS starts two weeks before the conference and continues for one week after the conference. 

The following sessions will be offered

Professional development in Adult ESL -- Adult Education Interest Section (AEIS)--Moderator: Tommy B. McDonell

Teaching Academic English to Engineering Students --English for Specific Purposes Interest Section (ESP)--Moderator: Yuefang Cheng

Business Writing -- English for Specific Purposes Interest Section (ESP)--Moderator: Laurel Reinking

Native Speaking Teachers versus Non native Speaking Teachers Abroad -- Non Native English Speaking Teachers (NNEST) with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Interest Section--Moderator: JoAnn Miller

Stress and Intonation -- Speech/Pronunciation (SPR) Interest Section--Moderator: Sandra Browne

This discussion forum will go online immediately following TESOL 2001 and features the following sessions:

International students and NNE master's students in MA-TESOL programs in the US--co-sponsored by the TE-IS and the NNNEST Caucus--Moderator: Elza M. Major

Academic Assistance for ESL Writers --Teacher Education (TE) and ESL in Higher Education (HE) Interest Sections--Moderator: Lynne Diaz-Rico

Writing for Multimedia -- Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Interest Section--Moderator: Marianne Phinney

To self-register for these online sessions, visit http://www.blackboard.com/ between February 1 and March 6.  Enter "EV2001" in the left-hand side, in the slot labeled "Find a course" and click "Go." Then select the course(s) that you wish to participate in, click Enroll in Course and fill in the requested information. Type showme (one word, no caps) as the access code. 

             The EV ONLINE team
             Christine Bauer-Ramazani (cbauer-ramazani@smcvt.edu)
            Susan Gaer (sgaer@yahoo.com).
             Thomas Robb (trobb@cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp) 

TESOL DISCUSS sessions:

Professional development in Adult ESL

In this TESOL Discuss session all facets of professional development in the adult education arena will be discussed. Bulletin board discussions and chat groups will discuss such issues as certification process, professional development models including peer coaching, workshop and team teaching, and online training. Participants from the academic session will be invited to post summaries of their topics along with an online discussion that will follow the academic session.

You do not need to be a computer expert to participate in this session as a moderator will be online to help you. You only need to be online with an interest in professional development.

Teaching Academic English to Engineering Students

This group will begin with a brief discussion of H.G. Widdowson's communicative theory and its application to the teaching of academic English. The group will then read and discuss the text "Power Engineering" and review and discuss a lesson plan for it.

NS Teachers vs NNS Teachers Abroad

Many non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) throughout the world find themselves in positions of inferiority and suffer discrimination. Even if they are equally prepared as a native English speaking teacher (NEST), they are the last hired and the first fired and they systematically receive lower salaries

In order to give interested teachers internationally the opportunity to take part in this discussion, we propose to have a TESOL DISCUSS session in which interested professionals from either the EFL-IS community or the NNEST Caucus community will have an opportunity to communicate with the speakers and each other about the topics raised. We would post summaries from the speakers at the beginning of the session and invite them to participate in the discussion.

Business Writing

This session will be for instructors not specifically knowledgeable in the content area working with an ESP writer who might not even be familiar with the genre needed to effectively communicate her message. In her book, Text, Role, and Context: Developing Academic Literacies, Cambridge University Press, 1997, Ann M. Johns argues that "we can prepare students for approaching challenging academic texts and tasks by asking them to review what they already know [about genres] and to assess current rhetorical situations in light of that knowledge" (p. 20), and that "practitioners [can] use 'homely' discourses to introduce students to concepts of genres and to the social forces that influence situated texts" (p. 38). Facilitators will discuss the question: "What is your own experience in teaching new genres to your students, genres with which you, yourself, might not be familiar? "

Stress and Intonation

The SPRIS (Speech and Pronunciation IS) will address the issue of AE word stress and intonation in both their STRAND sessions at TESOL and at the ACADEMIC SESSION. Pronunciation experts will discuss the problems facing teachers in in teaching NNSs to produce intelligible AE pronunciation.

For more information visit the SPRIS e-list web site at http://www.tesol.org/.

Academic Assistance for ESL Writers

In this session, which is linked to the TE/HE InterSection topic (Addressing University-Level ESL Students' Writing needs), we will discuss the various theoretical, pedagogical and educational policy perspectives that have been employed by educators at the university level to develop the writing skills and enhance the academic performance of English language learners. Participants will share challenges and successes, and analyze/reflect on the key issues and concepts that have affected curricular/instructional decision-making in the attempt to address the discourse needs of English learners. This forum explores ways in which supportive learning environments for EFL and non-traditional ESL students in higher education can assist them in improving their written composition. 
Objectives: 1. Participants will use course documents to educate themselves on the key issues raised in the academic support of English language learners' writing; 2. Participants will use a threaded discussion board to share anecdotes, ideas, and pool ideas pertaining to their profession practices; 3. Participants will volunteer articles, essays, or samples of student writing to enhance the pool of professional documents available at this site.

TESOL FOLLOW-UP sessions

Building Intercultural Connections in a Virtual Environment

TESOL online This forum will examine the potential and reality of building intercultural professional and personal connections between teacher trainees, teacher educators, and others involved in ESL through the virtual community (listservs, bulletin boards, chat) and online programs and courses.

 

International students and NNE master's students in MA-TESOL programs in the U.S.

This online discussion forum is co-sponsored by the TEIS and the NNNEST Caucus and will go online immediately following TESOL 2001. Initial topics posed for discussion may include some of the following:
 

Writing for Multimedia

This session seeks to bring together CALL developers, materials writers, teachers, and publishers to share experiences and discuss the challenges of writing effective multimedia programs for CD-ROM and the Web. Suggested topics include the nature of interactivity, multimedia authoring options, and working effectively as part of a development team.