TIME TO REGISTER ----EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS ON SEPTEMBER 11TH
Ohio TESOL and the Lau Resource Center are proud to present the Ohio TESOL 2019 Conference. With over a hundred sessions, dozens of exhibitors, and approximately 800 attendees, Ohio TESOL is one of the largest TESOL regional affiliate conferences in the Midwest.
Ohio TESOL 2019 will be held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on October 11th and 12th, 2019.
According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, half of the nation’s students have experienced serious childhood adversity. While English learners experience the same adversities as their peers, many are also refugees who fled crises in their homelands and/or are undocumented or are citizen-children of at least one undocumented parent and live in chronic fear of being deported. These realities represent a challenge to most educators, especially because so many of us have not had formal training to work with such students and their families. In contrast to looking at what is missing in the lives of these children, we will focus on the assets they bring and how we can create a strengths-based classroom-learning environment that is based on the assets of student-teacher and student-student relationships; promoting students’ voice in shaping their learning; connecting instruction to students’ lives; and providing predictable routines and practices that support students’ strengths.
New! Book Signing: Jasmine Warga
Friday, October 11th: 11:40-12:10 PM
Ohio TESOL is proud to sponsor a book signing for Other Words for Home by YA author, and former teacher, Jasmine Warga. As tensions escalate in Syria, 12 year old Jude and her pregnant mother are sent to America and begin to try to navigate a new life with Jude’s uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio. From her experiences in ESL class, to her struggle making new friends, to the racism she endures when deciding to wear a hijab, Jude’s story resonates as truth for so many of our own students. Written in highly accessible prose for the middle grades reader, this novel is a necessary addition to diverse classroom libraries, especially those in Ohio.
New! The Gathering
Friday, October 11th: 4:40- 5:30 PM
Join us at the Gathering!
Join the Ohio TESOL Board members for The Gathering: a networking event with cash bar. Guests will have the opportunity to meet their Interest Section Representatives and connect with others in their field. Come out to make new friends and talk about the conference!
Saturday
Featured Speaker
Dr. Leslie C. Moore, Associate Professor of Teaching & Learning and Linguistics at The Ohio State University, is active in the fields of applied linguist and a linguistic anthropologist, with an interest in social and cultural patterns of learning, language development, and learning traditions amongst multilingual communities. She has conducted research in family, community, and formal and informal education settings in both Cameroon, Ohio, and the Netherlands. Her research has been funded by Fulbright, the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. Most recently, Leslie has partnered with COSI and other children’s museums around the country to study informal science learning programs and practices for preschool dual language learners, their families, their community organizations, and the early childhood professionals who serve them.
New! Saturday Afternoon Workshops
Saturday, October 12th: 1:00-4:00 PM
For the first time ever Ohio TESOL will be offering workshops on Saturday afternoon. Workshops are free for all conference attendees! Descriptions of the workshops are below:
Center of Science and Industry (COSI) and The Ohio State University
Workshop Title: Hands-on and Inquiry-based science with English Learners
Science education that is hands-on and inquiry-based can be highly effective with English learners of all ages. In this workshop, informal science educators from the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) partner with language education researchers from The Ohio State University (OSU) to lead an exploration of science teaching and learning through hands-on inquiry and how this approach can be (made to) be successful for English learners. The workshop begins with an overview of COSI’s outreach programming and their new Diversity Initiative. This introduction is followed by description and discussion of COSI’s continuum of teaching methods: exposition, discussion, demonstration, guided discovery, guided inquiry, and open inquiry. Workshop participants then experience hands-on learning by engaging with activities and materials provided by COSI. Following reflection on and discussion of these experiences, we consider the benefits and challenges of guided discovery, guided inquiry, and open inquiry for English learners and their teachers. What affordances does hands-on science have that can be leveraged to support English learners’ language and science learning? How do we support English learners in learning activities in which the language, concepts, and strategies unfold out of emergent activity that is directed as much as possible by the students? We encourage participants with any level of science education experience to join us. Come ready to play!
Ohio New African Immigrants Commission (NAIC)
Workshop Title: English Learners in the Classroom and Community: Responding with Best Practices
According to the most recent and available census data, African immigrants call 69 of Ohio’s 88 counties home. This means second-generation multicultural students are attending K -12 schools across the state, needing anything from trauma informed services to quality English courses, not to mention their parents and older siblings. This workshop of skills building and information by the New African Immigrants Commission will explore how teachers, administrators, and individuals interacting with African immigrant heritage students and parents can better connect with this underserved demographic. Participants will leave with tangible skills that empower their mission of ensuring that both high-performing and struggling learners succeed. The interactive workshop will enable participants understand the history and mandate of NAIC, evaluate their own organization’s ability to address underlying needs of African immigrant heritage population, and acquire practical tools with which to connect with students and parents of African immigrant communities in order to empower families and communities. Highlights of the Commission’s Inaugural report as well as information on the five committees of the NAIC [Legal, Educational & Cultural, Health, Social Services, and Workforce Development] and how to get involved will also be presented.
US Together
Workshop Title: The Illustrated Path
Educators are also advocates. Every day educators find themselves advocating for their child and fighting to ensure the highest level of education. In order to advocate effectively for youth, knowledge is key. US Together will facilitate an interactive workshop focused on creating a more in depth understanding of the struggles that ELL families face on a daily basis. Step through the doors and into an immersion activity in which educators have to try to move their way through an activity entirely in a different language. Moving from a sympathetic understanding to a more empathetic understanding of what ELL families and students encounter, educators will then have the opportunity to learn more in depth the different immigration statuses such as immigrant, refugee, asylum seeker, aslyee, and understand the legal aspect of each. Central Ohio’s refugee population and the process of refugee resettlement will also be included. Barriers will be addressed that ELL families face when accessing schools and in depth discussions will take place regarding the sharing of best practice when working with ELL students and families. In the end, you will hear from New American families who have themselves experienced the schooling systems and learn from them. Understanding the children that sit in our chairs means understanding where they came from. We can’t wait for you to come and learn along with us!
EL Cadre
Workshop Title: Celebrate, Embrace, Restore
“If you ever feel like you’re just one person trying to change something, I promise there are hundreds, thousands, if not millions of people out there who feel the same way as you, who want to make a difference.” Saira O’Mallie
The EL Cadre, sponsored by the Ohio Education Association, invites you to celebrate excellence in education, embrace collaboration with colleagues, and restore your passion for advocacy. This group of phenomenal EL educators from across the state of Ohio is planning a workshop that you do not want to miss! We will update you on current advocacy efforts at the student, school, and legislative levels. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! We will discuss ways to support English Learners and the educators who serve them. You will have the opportunity to engage in four different break-out sessions that cover best practices as well as current challenges in the field. Strategies and resources for engaging English Learners, their families, and our communities will be distributed. We will learn from English Learners, Educators, and other EL Advocates. Finally, we will recognize some EL Advocacy Champions from across the state of Ohio! Participants will leave feeling invigorated and refreshed. Information regarding free professional development opportunities for EL teachers will also be distributed.
