Spokane Regional ESL Conference: Full Schedule

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10:15am PST

Extensive Reading Program for adult ESL students

Learn about the benefits of extensive reading and MReader program.

Speakers

Sarah Mortensen

ESL Instructor, Spokane Community College

My name is Sarah Mortensen. I am an English language instructor for adult immigrants and refugees at Spokane Community college. I have been working at the Valley Center, which is an offsite location for the college. I was provided with a collection of readers for my students, and... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 10:15am - 11:00am PST
Chief Garry Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, K-12 Settings, Teacher Educators, Developers of Materials/Curriculum, Bilingual Programs

10:15am PST

Regaining A Sense of Playfulness In the Classroom

Research from experts such as Peter Gray and Stuart Brown has shown the importance of play for children of all ages (including adults), to include in school environments. This presentation will seek to unpack how play can be integrated into the fabric of an ESL class, from teacher play to student assignments._x000D_

Speakers

David Martin

Professor, Washington State University

David Martin has been teaching for 21 years with about 15 in the ESL realm. He is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor in the English department at WSU, focusing on developmental and first-year composition. His research interests include ESL teacher identity trajectories, identities... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 10:15am - 11:00am PST
CDA Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, K-12 Settings, Teacher Educators, Administrators, Developers of Materials/Curriculum, Bilingual Programs, International Settings

10:15am PST

Refugee Connections Spokane: Programs and Services

Refugee Connections Spokane offers a number of programs and services, and is in the process of building new programs. This presentation will include some background on RCS, details on our programs and services, how to access them, and how to get involved in our organization's work.

Speakers

Kathryn Garras

Refugee Connections Spokane

Non-Profit Partners

Refugee Connections Spokane

Refugee Connections Spokane supports and empowers refugee and immigrant communities by providing services, fostering community bonds, and advocating for refugee and immigrant rights in the Inland Northwest.

Saturday February 26, 2022 10:15am - 11:00am PST
Tubb's Hill Park

11:15am PST

Teachers’ Attitudes and Perspectives towards World Englishes

This study examines the attitudes and perspectives of Filipino and Chinese ESL/EFL teachers on World Englishes through focus group discussions, open-ended questionnaires, and interviews.

Speakers

Alexander Tang

Adjunct Faculty, Seattle Central College

Alex Tang is an adjunct faculty member in the Basic and Transitional Studies Division at Seattle Central College. His research interests include but are not limited to: the use of L1 in the second language classroom, sociolinguistics, and less commonly taught grammar structures such... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 11:15am - 12:00pm PST
Tubb's Hill Park

Research

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, K-12 Settings, Teacher Educators, Administrators, Developers of Materials/Curriculum, Bilingual Programs, International Settings

1:00pm PST

What can we learn from learners' spoken errors?

The presenters will demonstrate features of a free online platform for providing oral corrective feedback after communicative activities. Current developments include machine learning to detect errors automatically, a searchable error corpus, speech-to-text transcription, and integrated practice activities for students.

Speakers

James Hunter

Director, TESOL Programs, Gonzaga University

James Hunter has taught ESL/EFL for over 30 years in the US, UK, Spain, Japan, and the UAE and is the director of TESOL Programs at Gonzaga University. He has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK, and his research interests include Second Language Acquisition... Read More →

Maria Elena Aviles-Baquero

Computer Science Student, Gonzaga University

Evan Henderson

Alexander Hollier

Jacob Ottens

Saturday February 26, 2022 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST
Comstock Park

Assessment

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, K-12 Settings, Developers of Materials/Curriculum

1:00pm PST

Academic Vocabulary in Discourse: Noun Groups and Nominalizations

Improve scaffolding of academic vocabulary by recognizing and bridging the complexity of noun groups and nominalizations in discourse. Presentation shows how authentic discourse can be visible and accessible to students at multiple levels in classroom interactions without oversimplifying or replacing academic language.

Speakers

Gregg Brekke

Assistant Professor, Whitworth University

Gregg is on the faculty of Whitworth University, where he serves as Director of English for International Students, and the TESOL Minor. He has taught English to learners overseas and in the U.S. for more than 30 years, including K-12, immigrants and refugees, and university students... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST
CDA Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, K-12 Settings

1:00pm PST

Using what you know: Embodied Oral Reading to Spontaneous Speech

This presentation demonstrates a haptic (using gesture and touch) method for assisting students in becoming more confident in using in conversation vocabulary or aspects of pronunciation, which they can probably do privately. It is also helpful for those with little opportunity to practice speaking in or outside of class.

Speakers

Bill Acton

Director, MATESOL, Trinity Western University

Bill Acton's research and publications over the last 50 years have been in the area of the role of the body in learning and teaching pronunciation, especially Haptic Pronunciation Teaching. He is Director of the MATESOL at Trinity Western University.

Yushu Qie

Trinity Western University

Suri (Yushu) Qie is an MA TESOL student of Trinity Western University. Her undergraduate work was in media communications. She has been doing research on haptic pronunciation teaching with professor William Acton.

Nina Volzhanina

Trinity Western University

Nina Volzhanina is a student at Trinity Western University in the MA TESOL department. Her previous experience consists of working with young learners in South Korea. During her masters, she became fascinated with the changes happening in the field regarding teaching speaking and... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 1:00pm - 1:45pm PST
Tubb's Hill Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, Teacher Educators, International Settings

2:00pm PST

Celebrate Norooz with me!

This workshop uses a combination of Socratic seminar and readers theater approach to involve students (including English language learners) in examining the Norooz (Nowruz) tradition. In this constructivist approach all students have opportunities to learn from each other and the instructor.

Speakers

Khodadad Kaviani

Professor, Central Washington University

Khodadad (Khodi) Kaviani is Professor of Education at Central Washington University, where he focuses on multicultural education, especially in elementary and middle grades. Khodi has a over 30 years of teaching and administrative experience. He earned his Ph.D. in Education and a... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Manito Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, K-12 Settings, Teacher Educators, Administrators, Developers of Materials/Curriculum, Bilingual Programs, International Settings

2:00pm PST

Do you hear what I hear? How teachers respond to errors.

Surprisingly little research has been conducted on the level of agreement between teachers as to what constitutes an error. This session reports on an investigation into the uniformity of responses to spoken learner language, measuring reaction time and confidence in grammaticality judgments.

Speakers

James Hunter

Director, TESOL Programs, Gonzaga University

Saturday February 26, 2022 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Comstock Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, Teacher Educators, Developers of Materials/Curriculum

2:00pm PST

Living & Teaching in Two Worlds: Academic ESL & Tutoring Whatever

This presentation highlights the unique relationships that were cultivated within and between two teaching and learning contexts: an ESL tutoring center and an academic ESL program.

Speakers

Marie Saint-Just

Gonzaga University

Saturday February 26, 2022 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
CDA Park

3:00pm PST

Community-Based: ESL Teaching Strategies for Immigrant Adults

This workshop will introduce and explore ESL teaching and tutoring strategies for engaging adult English learners in a community-based organization that serves Spanish-speaking day laborers.

Speakers

Suzanne Bottelli

Education Program Coordinator, Casa Latina

I am excited to share the Popular Education model and content-based TESOL strategies that we employ as part of Casa Latina's practical ESL program for Spanish speaking day laborers. Casa Latina is a community-based non-profit organization that advances the power and wellbeing of Latinx... Read More →

Saturday February 26, 2022 3:00pm - 3:45pm PST
Mirabeau Park

Instructional Strategies

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant Programs, Teacher Educators, Bilingual Programs

Spokane Regional ESL Conference

10:15am PST

Sarah Mortensen

10:15am PST

David Martin

10:15am PST

Kathryn Garras

Refugee Connections Spokane

11:15am PST

Alexander Tang

1:00pm PST

James Hunter

Maria Elena Aviles-Baquero

Evan Henderson

Alexander Hollier

Jacob Ottens

1:00pm PST

Gregg Brekke

1:00pm PST

Bill Acton

Yushu Qie

Nina Volzhanina

2:00pm PST

Khodadad Kaviani

2:00pm PST

James Hunter

2:00pm PST

Marie Saint-Just

3:00pm PST

Suzanne Bottelli

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