Conferences

AZTESOL 2018 State Conference This Weekend

Online registration has ended for the AZTESOL 2018 State Conference at Mesa Community College’s Red Mountain Campus on October 12-13. On-site registration will be available at the door on both Friday and Saturday.

Conference Program

The online program for this year’s AZTESOL State Conference, held October 12-13 at Mesa Community College Red Mountain Campus, is available now.  You can browse sessions, learn more about presenters, connect with other attendees, and add events to your own personal calendar. Simply go to https://aztesol2018.sched.com/signup and create your account.

Sign into https://aztesol2018.sched.com on the day of the conference for the most up-to-date information and the ability to give feedback on each session.

Sched is mobile friendly! Save the URL in your smartphone’s browser for easy access during the conference. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

Click here to view the preliminary conference program and schedule. You can download the program as a PDF file and save it to your device.

Keynote Speaker

Jayme Adelson-Goldstein, Author of the Oxford Picture Dictionary and Consultant with Lighthearted Learning

Featured Speakers

  • Dr. Shane Dixon, Instructor and MOOC Developer with Arizona State University Global Launch
  • Kelly Neckels, 2017 Arizona ELL Teacher of the Year
  • Kate Van Roekel, Teacher Education and Training Coordinator, Literacy Connects

Conference Location

Mesa Community College, Red Mountain Campus
7110 East McKellips Road
Mesa, Arizona 85207

Campus Map– If you click on the room you are looking for it will light up on the map. Free parking is available in Visitor Parking and Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.

Accommodations

[Click on the name of either resort below to be taken to its website]

1. Arizona Golf Resort & Conference Center
425 South Power Road
Mesa, Arizona 85206
480.832.3202

Accommodation Available for Friday, October 12, 2018.
Reservation listed under “AZTESOL – 2018 Annual Conference.”
Special conference rate (Single or Double): $109.00 plus Tax

Directions from Arizona Golf Resort to Mesa Community College – Red Mountain Campus: Link to Google Map (or see below).

2. Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort
6302 East Mckellips Road
Mesa, Arizona 85215

Accommodation Available for October 12 & 13, 2018.
Special conference rate:

  • $116 (Studio) plus Tax
  • $145 (1 Bedroom Suite) plus Tax

Reservations may be made by phone at 1-877-502-7058. Please be sure to use Group Code 64-30. Reservations must be received by the resort no later than September 12, 2018.

Directions from Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort to Mesa Community College – Red Mountain Campus: Link to Google Map (or see below).

 

General

AZTESOL Supports State Senate Bills

AZTESOL has released a position statement in support of state legislative bills HB 2281 and HB 2435, which would allow English learners to spend two hours of their school day focusing on learning English and enroll in dual language programs. Despite passing nearly unanimously in the House and receiving bipartisan support from the entire Senate Education Committee, the Senate President is single-handedly refusing to let the bills come to the floor of the entire Senate for discussion or a vote. Click here to read our official position statement and sample drafts of e-mails that you can send to your state senators to let them know that you are paying attention to this important issue.

External org.

Teacher Self-Efficacy Survey

Michael Karas, a PhD student at  Western University, is investigating English language teachers’ confidence in their abilities to complete various English teaching tasks (self-efficacy) and invites you to complete an anonymous 20-30 minute online survey.  At the end of the survey, you can also volunteer to be interviewed over Skype, but this is completely optional. If you are currently teaching English, or are enrolled in a teacher education program and wish to participate, please access the survey using this link:
https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cV15yphV9ObuuIB
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Karas or Dr. Farahnaz Faez (click on the name to open your e-mail client and get their e-mail address).

Conferences

Our archives are going digital

Old photo albumAZTESOL is converting photos of its past events to an all-digital format and posting them online. You may remember flipping through our photo albums at a table in the lobby at many of our state conferences. To better preserve these images and make them available to the entire AZTESOL community, we are scanning those old snapshots and adding them to our Flickr page. We don’t have pictures of every conference, and some of the photos are showing their age (you may see parts of sticky labels that won’t come off anymore without damaging the images), but various board members and volunteers have helped us amass an impressive visual record over the years, and we want to share our long history with you.  Check out our conferences going back to 1976 by clicking on the links on our Past Conferences page. We’ll be posting more photos over the next several months, so be sure to revisit our site soon.

External org.

Teaching ESOL Students About Their Rights

The Boston College Center for Human Rights and International Justice has compiled a free set of teaching materials called the ESOL Know Your Rights Tool Kit. The resource is composed of four units: Basic Human Rights; Knowing Your Rights in a Car Stop; Protecting Families in Case of Separation; and Understanding the U.S. School System. Each unit is appropriate for intermediate-level classes; the first two units also include versions for beginners. Units feature multiple, independent lessons with corresponding teacher’s guides, student handouts, and frequently-asked legal questions (FAQ) sheets. To explore or download the units, visit this website: https://goo.gl/forms/ItlRMqxBRmxy8uKx1 

General

Do you teach American culture?

If you are currently an English language teacher and are at least 18 years old, you are invited to participate in a global survey about how American culture is taught to students. Bryan Meadows, an associate professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, is surveying the content of culture teaching in the English language classroom when American culture is the topic of instruction. To take the 10-minute survey, click here. (You will see and need to agree to a disclaimer statement prior to the actual survey questions.) For more information, click here to contact Prof. Meadows.

General

Returned mail? Please resend

pigeon-with-letterDue to a postal service miscommunication, AZTESOL’s post office box in Yuma was not accepting mail during the months of April and May this year. If you sent us any snail mail during that time and it was returned to you, please send it again (or contact us through our website). We are now able to receive mail again normally at our PO box address. We apologize for any inconvenience.

TESOL

AZTESOL awards free TESOL memberships

TESOL logoCongratulations to the following AZTESOL members who have each received a free one-year membership to our affiliated parent organization, TESOL International Association:

Mehtap Acar
Michelle Beach
Rebecca Haag
Chelsea Moreno
Nicole Schmidt

Check our website again early next year for the announcement and invitation to apply for these complimentary memberships that TESOL International makes available to us annually as their official affiliate for the state of Arizona.

General

New Community College SIG

AZTESOL is forming a Special Interest Group (SIG) for community college teachers! If you teach ESL or a related subject at any community college in Arizona, or if you are interested in discussing issues of importance to this sector of our field and networking with other community college ESL teachers and administrators, we want to hear from you. Please visit this site on the web to show your interest in the AZTESOL Community College SIG and to keep informed of events, opportunities, and other news relevant to this group.

Arizona Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.