ESL Faculty Gets Proposals Accepted into 2016 TESOL International Convention

This year marks TESOL’s 50th anniversary. TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Association has more than 12,000 members representing 156 countries and more than 100 worldwide affiliates. The annual TESOL International Convention is the largest professional development event for English language educators from around the world. Last year’s convention in Toronto boasted more than 6,500 attendees, 1,000 education sessions, and 100 exhibits.  It is also the most competitive conference for those vying to present. One out of four proposals is selected.

All three proposals submitted by NC State’s ESL faculty to the 2016 TESOL International Convention, 5-8 April in Baltimore, Maryland, were accepted. This is a remarkable accomplishment and a testament to the innovativeness and expertise of the faculty.

Here are the names of the presenters, titles, and a short description of their presentations:

Bethany Bradshaw and Juliana Pybus: Creating Effective Multimodal Composition Assignments for L2 Writers.”

Of particular use to teachers of second language writing, this presentation uses examples of student blogs, videos, and other multimodal projects to demonstrate a methodology and rationale for teaching multimodality in the L2 writing classroom. Participants will receive materials and advice for effectively implementing multimodal assignments in their own classrooms.

Carolyn Quarterman:  Essentials of Teaching and Learning Pronunciation

This pre-convention all-day workshop focuses on topics essential for effective classroom practice in the following areas: learner factors influencing pronunciation achievement; approaches to teaching pronunciation communicatively; high priority elements of speech that most affect intelligibility with a focus on the less well-understood suprasegmental features; and, in view of current classroom realities, systematic integration of pronunciation instruction into other skill areas and courses.

Jillian Haeseler: Beyond the Traditional Thesis:  Capstone Projects with a Purpose

This poster session illustrates a highly successful alternative approach to traditional theses, in which candidates develop tangible “products” based on theoretical concepts explored in their coursework. Such products have included curriculum design and materials, interactive websites, in-service training workshops, among others.  Graduates leave the program as creative innovators in their field.

By Jillian Haeseler, Director of ESL Program; posted by S.F. Sotillo