Welcome letter from the president
Dear Emerald Coast TESOL (ECTESOL) members and IEP, EFL, ESOL, Adult Education, and English as a Second Language educators, On behalf of the ECTESOL Officers and Board of Directors, welcome to the 2018-2019 school year. As you prime yourself to design your classroom for the first day of school, we encourage you to take time to reflect on the diverse professional network of support available locally. The ECTESOL is your local TESOL organization which intends to support you in your work to educate English Language Learners K12 and beyond through professional development, interaction and...
Read MoreGrowing ELL minds through gardening
Gardening not only produces delicious fruits and vegetables, but it can also yield some educational lessons for English language learners, according to two speakers at the recent Winter Conference at the University of West Florida International Center. Milagros Sessions and Leslie Cuyuch talked about their efforts with an ESOL service learning project at the J.H. Workman I.B. Middle School ESOL classes. The project included an organic garden, in-class aquaponics system, outdoor hydroponics system, outdoor classroom area and a special butterfly garden. Sessions and Cuyuch showed slides and...
Read MoreGoogle Suite offers much for teachers
Spring Hill College instructional designer Sandra Rogers explained and offered some expert advice about Google Suite during her presentation at the Winter Conference at the University of West Florida International Center. She discussed Google Docs, Forms, Sheets, and Classroom and show ways educators could incorporate them into classwork or help with administrative duties. She also chatted about Chrome browser’s “omnibox” which is similar to the traditional web browser address bar, but you can also use it like a search engine. Rogers also offered some tips and suggestions...
Read MoreLaCosta Latina, Studer Institute discuss community efforts
Grace McCaffery, editor of La Costa Latina and Shannon Nickinson, project manager for the Early Learning Center at the Studer Institute are working hard to make a difference in Pensacola as they explained to attendees at the Emerald Coast TESOL Winter Conference. Both women shared PowerPoint presentations about their respective companies and how they are working to make a difference in the community. McCaffery discussed the increase in the Latino population in Northwest Florida, briefly about immigration, and the history of the newspaper. She also talked about the paper’s circulation...
Read MorePresentation examines ELLs working independently
A packed room of educators listened to Arlene Costello and Mary Ann Kiss discuss their presentation “ELLs as Autonomous and Independent Learners” at the Winter Conference at the University of West Florida’s International Center. During the session, attendees learned about the study’s independent study contract for ELLs. The contract features a research format with purpose, learning objective, research question and more to help students conduct an organized research project. The pair also told attendees how they can help ELLs learn about academic language with a chart...
Read MoreKeynote speaker shares ELL data, encouragement
About 40 attendees listened to the Emerald Coast TESOL Winter Conference keynote speaker Chane Eplin on Saturday share key facts and data about English language learners in Florida. Eplin explained that a lot of research shows that it takes about five to seven years for ELLs to matriculate through the system and become proficient in English. However, recent data shows it can take 2.35 years in Florida. Eplin reminded the crowd that often ELLs are considered at-risk and not held to the same standards as other learners because of the language barrier. However, he said this discrepancy can be...
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