prtesolgram march 2012

P R T E S O L - G R A M ! APRIL 2012

! !PUERTORICOTESOL.ORG! 1PAGE

PRTES L-GRAMThe official publication of the Puerto Rico Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

V o l . 3 6 I s s u e N o . 1

The Central American and Caribbean Basin TESOL Affilliates

Puerto Rico TESOL Welcomes



This is a year of g r e a t decisions. It’s an elec5on year both in Puerto Rico and the U.S . The

students who entered the school system at the turn of the century graduate from high school this year. The class of 2012 will enter college carrying smart phones and iPads loaded with apps. They are technologically endowed with a cornucopia of soBware and websites that are capable of searching and using informa5on in unprecedented ways. We are connected: phones, social networks, Skype, YouTube, TwiHer and many, many more. Harvard and MIT have joined to form edxonline.org which will provide online educa5on to the world for free. Educa5on faces more changes and challenges than ever before.

This year PRTESOL is hos5ng the Central American and Caribbean TESOL organiza5ons during our Annual Conven5on in November. We look forward to sharing and networking with our colleagues from Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and other countries. Begin making your reserva5ons to aHend the conven5on November 16 -‐ 17 at the Intercon5nental Hotel in Isla Verde. For the first 5me, TESOL Interna5onal will conduct a Symposium in Puerto Rico to explore the topic “Facilita5ng Learning through Student Empowerment”. This scholarly event will be precede the PRTESOL conven5on.

Editor’s

CornerPRTESOL-‐GramTable of Contents

Editor’s Corner: ........................................................................2

Dr. Evelyn Lugo,

2012 PRTESOL President.............................................................. 4

ArDcles

President’s message............................................................... 4

TESOL Symposium................................................................... 5

Blogging for TeachersProf. Cynthia PiHmann........................................................... 6

Teaching ESL with Social Media Tools Dr. Eric Otero............................................................................. 7

Surrealism on Two PointsProf. Mildred (Siuko) García............................................. 8

Puerto Rico Governor Aims to Make Island Fully Bilingual by 2022 ................................................................. 10

Teaching Tips: Three ideas using slide presentaDonsProf. Carmelo Arbona ......................................................... 11

Book Review Dr. Josue Alejandro .............................................................. 12

PRTESOL CHAPTERS IN ACTION ...................................... 16

TESOL ConvenDon, Philadelphia in Pictures .............. 18

The Verbing of America ..................................................... 20

Digital tools 'to save languages'Jonathan Amos ..................................................................... 21

Maurice Sendak Dies at 83Margalit Fox, New York Times .......................................... 22

Recommended websites ................................................... 23

IntegraDng Culturally Relevant Literature: A Validated Strategy in the Teaching of EnglishProf. Manuel Hernandez Carmona ................................. 24

PRTESOL Awards and Scholarships ............................... 25

TESOL InternaDonal AssociaDon 2012 ConvenDonProf. Ilsa López-‐Vallés, Recipient of the PRTESOL 2011 Travel Award .......................................................................... 27

PRTESOL ConvenDon: InformaDon and Forms .....31-‐35

PosiDon Statement on Teaching English as a Foreign or AddiDonal Language to Young Learners ................ 29

Calendar of Events .............................................................. 30



DR. EVELYN LUGO, PRTESOL PRESIDENT 2012

As members of a globalized English language teaching field, we are i m m e r s e d i n t h e challenges of meeJng the different needs of our

diverse populaJon around the world. I am part of those educators and my commitment is to contribute to the advancement of TESOL and in parJcular to Puerto Rico TESOL in the quest to support the development of influenJal educators that have decided to work with world-‐wide English Language learners.

As PRTESOL President 2012, I seek to prov ide professional experiences that will enrich our educators’ opportuniJes to have a voice and to engage in innovaJng professional development acJviJes. I strongly believe in emb r a c i n g t h e Jme o f establishing effecJve and solid communicaJon among our members and in developing relaJonships with all promising allies and organizaJons not only in Puerto Rico, but also with TESOL affiliates around the world. As President, my priority is to reach out to PRTESOL members that for some reason or another have been a liVle distant from our organizaJon. It is my quest to reunite with all of you and have you acJve during the professional development events at our Regional Chapter Conferences and EducaJonal AcJviJes.

This year PRTESOL 2012 goes InternaJonal! We will have a joint conference with Central American and Caribbean Basin TESOL affiliates. The ConvenJon theme is "Journey into English as a Global Language: Embracing Diversity”. It will be

held November 16-‐17, 2012 at the InterconJnental Hotel and Resort, Isla Verde.

In addiJon, Puerto Rico TESOL will host the first TESOL InternaDonal Symposium on November 15, 2012. The purpose of the Symposium is to share with our InternaJonal speakers, their experJse in the teaching of English to speakers to other l anguages . I t w i l l a l so be he ld at the InterconJnental Hotel. Isn't this a great opportunity to share with colleagues on their quest to teach English from a global dimension?

Our colleagues in Puerto Rico and the internaJonal parJcipants will place our Island in the mirror of the global village. The purpose is to

set the spark of sharing issues related to the field of language t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g situaJons from mulJcultural backgrounds and share the diverse roles and idenJJes of English language users.

I am mo r e t h a n enthusiasJc and moJvated to make this year, the year of establishing alliances that will enhance our ELT field in Puerto Rico, but most importantly, my

priority is to reach out to all our teachers and let them know that Puerto Rico TESOL is their voice. My desire is that our ESL educators on the Island become members of PRTESOL to affirm that it is a pride and a commitment to enhance the image and the quality of our ELT professionals in Puerto Rico. !

I s t r o n g l y b e l i e v e i n embracing the 5me of establishing effec5ve and solid communica5on among our members and in developing rela5onships with all promising allies and organiza5ons not only in Puerto Rico, but also with TESOL affiliates around the world.


PUERTORICOTESOL.ORG! 5

PRTESOL 2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS DIRECTORY

EXECUTIVE BOARD Dr. Evelyn Lugo -‐ PresidentProf. Estela Márquez -‐ Vice-‐presidentDr. Josué Alejandro -‐ Immediate Past President

EXECUTIVE BOARD NONVOTINGAuda Pérez -‐ ExecuDve Secretary

Janytsie Mora -‐ Membership SecretaryDr. Gladys Pérez -‐ Treasurer

APPOINTED POSITIONS NONVOTINGCarmelo Arbona -‐ PRTESOLGRAM Editor

Eric Otero -‐ WebmasterJorge Figueroa -‐ Website colaborator

Victor Coira -‐ Publishers Liason (Pearson)Manuel Echevarria -‐ NominaDons Chair

Chapter Presidents 2012Metro Chapter -‐ Rosa Emma MejiasNorthern Chapter -‐ William AliceaWestern Chapter -‐ Hiramys SanDagoSouthern Chapter -‐ Edward TorresEastern Chapter -‐ Jorge Figueroa

Central Chapter -‐ Vivian Rivera Maysonet

REPRESENTATIVESDr. Myriam Caballero -‐ Elementary EducaDon

Inocencia Nieves -‐ Secondary EducaDonDr. Naomi Vega Nieves -‐ Higher EducaDonZoila Latoni -‐ Private School RepresentaDveJennifer Lopez -‐ Student RepresentaDve

PRTESOL-‐Gram is a periodical service to English language educators and administrators published by

Puerto Rico TESOL, P. O. Box 366828

San Juan, PR 00936-‐6828.

Newsleger Staff Editor: Carmelo Arbona

CirculaDon: 1,000Ar5cles on English-‐language teaching, theory, and educa5on are welcomed. Submissions must be in MSWord format, double-‐spaced, no longer than five pages, and should follow APA or TESOL Quarterly style. All entries are subject to edi5ng for style, space, and other professional considera5ons. Copyright NoDce Ar5cles may be reproduced for classroom use. Quota5ons up to twenty-‐five (25) words are permiHed if credit to the author and the TESOLGRAM are included. In other situa5ons, wriHen permission is required.

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TESOL SYMPOSIUM: FACILITATING LEARNING THROUGH STUDENT EMPOWERMENT

Thursday, 15 November 2012InterconDnental Hotel, Isla Verde

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Featured Speakers• Kimberly A. Johnson, PhD• Dr. Leni Dam• Charles Hall, PhD, Dr. h.c.

Symposium Host and Closing-‐Session FacilitatorDr. María Antonia Irizarry, former Dean of the School of EducaJon and advisor for curriculum and teaching in the TESL Graduate Program, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus

OVERVIEW Worldwide, university graduates are faced with one of the biggest transiJons of their lives: leaving the rouJne of school to face the “real world.” English language learners (ELLs) tend to confront this challenge with an even greater concern: finding work in an English-‐speaking context. This 1-‐day symposium guides educators in empowering their university and adult learners. English language educators interact with leading experts in the field and learn about collaboraJng with colleagues, fostering learner autonomy, and guiding ELLs through the complicated steps to becoming professionals in their chosen fields. ParJcipants learn systemic approaches and a wide variety of pracJcal strategies and techniques to more effecJvely meet the needs of their students. This TESOL Symposium precedes the 39th PRTESOL ConvenJon and the 11th Central American & Caribbean Basin Regional Conference, Journey Into

ConJnues on page 9

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Blogging for TeachersProf. Cynthia PiVmann

University of Puerto Rico, Rio PiedrasCollege of General Studies/English Department

“Students are different today.” As teachers, how many Jmes have we heard that statement? Countless Jmes! We also ask ourselves: How is it possible to succeed in our language and literature goals if we can’t keep the students’ aVenJon? One important way to moJvate students is to join them in the cyber-‐age. Contemporary readers and writers respond well to projects on the internet, and we need to take advantage of this fact. One way to jump in and swim with the cyber-‐Jde is to begin a blog porpolio project. You may ask: Do I have to know about blogs to use them in class? The answer is, “No, you don’t have to know but now is the Jme to learn!” Just go to a weblog site such as blogger.com and create your own blog for pracJce. It’s easy. You will learn how the moment you click on the “Create Your Blog” buVon and follow the self-‐explanatory steps. If you get stuck, find someone who loves social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace or TwiVer, and they will help you figure it out. Also, if you have a Facebook account, you’re going to have an easy Jme starJng your blog.

10 Helpful SuggesJons for ImplemenJng a Student Blog Project

1. Unify the host system and require everyone to use the standard templates offered. I suggest blogger.com because it is user-‐friendly and is hosted by Google.

2. Require the students to make a Gmail account for class and insist that they use their real name on these email accounts.

3. Create a class on NiceNet.org so that there is a locaJon to post a link to the blog and everyone has access to it. NiceNet is a free internet classroom like Blackboard but extremely user-‐friendly. It’s a great tool for organizing online communicaJon with your class and providing addiJonal acJviJes, links to reading material, and documents.

4. Decide on evaluaJon criteria and integrate these into the blog’s purpose. I like to give

credit for appearance, quality and quanJty. Appearance means it has photographs, hyperlinks to other sites, and also creaJve aspects such as color and font because I like to encourage creaJvity. Quality is related to content and ediJng. QuanJty is the number of post and the i r length . For a semester length class, I require

10 posts/entries with about 250 words for each post. (100 points for the completed project.)

5. Clarify the locaJon of key informaJon. Require that the students place the class informaJon on the sidebar of the blog so that you have their names and informaJon handy.

6. Excite your new writers by permisng public blogs. It’s fun for students to know that anyone in the world can read their blog and it makes their ideas valuable.

7. Encourage ongoing ediJng and modificaJon. Allow them to enhance their post with

Contemporary readers and writers respond well to projects on the internet, and we need to take advantage of this fact. One way to jump in and swim with the cyber-‐5de is to begin a blog poroolio project.



YouTube videos related to content or music to give their ideas a mulJmedia boost.

8. Require students to comment on each other’s blog. I suggest that you form small groups to encourage bonding and allow them to edit each other’s work.

9. Construct final reflecJon quesJons to aid students in understanding what they have gained from the blog project. These can be posted as the final entry.

10. Schedule presentaJons of the blog. Work around implementaJon problems for oral presentaJons of the blog, when you don’t have internet access in the classroom. Ask the students to print and bring in the first page of their blog with a favorite blog post, which they will show and share with the class.

My university students love their wriJng blog porpolios, which are assigned as an online type of reading response journal. Blogs moJvate them to learn English and develop fluency. I require a minimum word length because someJmes students are overexcited about the image and hyperlink features and under-‐excited about the wriJng! However, when they realize that their opinions are going to be read by anyone who finds their blog, it encourages them to become beVer writers. Recently, students have told me that they like their blog projects because, “It feels like me” and “I know people out there will see my creaJvity!” I encourage you to implement a blog project in your classroom. It’s a fun way to inspire our cyber-‐age students.

hVp://cynthiapiVmann.com/

Oasis WriJng Link(TM)

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Teaching ESL with Social Media Tools

Dr. Eric OteroInter American University, Bayamon Campus

PRTESOL Webmaster

Social media tools are changing how we currently live and see the world. Ranking at the very top of popularity are Facebook and TwiHer. Ranging from a very short paragraph in Facebook to a couple of sentences max on TwiVer, social media gives people the power to share knowledge and events at a local and global level.

It is a fact that you either love them or hate them since very few people adopt a neutral posiJon on this maVer. Those who dislike them think of these posts as trivialiJes and mindless thoughts. While those who favor them say that they are full of depth and awareness of our current sesng. Whatever your stand, there is no doubt that Facebook and TwiVer offer an interesJng way to innovaJve and change the way you teach. Transforming the tradiJonal schoolroom to a virtual classroom environment where you expand out to the world with a vast range of resources, students can interact with the teacher, other students, and people outside the classroom. Time has very liVle restricJons; since they can engage in ether a synchronous or asynchronous mode of communicaJon.

From creaJng classroom dialogue and conversaJons, assignments, correcJng grammar, to tracking an event, a profession or even a famous person; the social networks offer the opportunity to interpret the wriVen language, publish and engage in authenJc language situaJons. As a teacher, you will need to create a personal and two or more other ConJnues on page 9

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Surrealism on Two PointsMildred (Siuko) García

Art Professor, AtlanDc University Many people don’t realize how much movements or tendencies in the arts are intertwined and more so if they happened in the early part of the twenJeth century. To illustrate this the librarian at AtlanJc University College in Guaynabo, Mr. OJs Mendoza, was very happy to include an art exhibit on the subject for the week dedicated to the celebraJon of libraries in Puerto Rico.

Mixing art and literary genres is what it's all about if we are to acheive some kind of aVenJon from our students. So many of them are enjoying the exhibit and are entering the premises just to talk about the work being displayed, which also includes books, videos and pamphlets.

When we read about writers such as Jean-‐Paul Sartre and Frank Kaua and their LaJno counterparts, Gabriel García Marquez and Alejo CarpenJer, among so many others who enjoyed Surrealism and Magical Realism, we can readily understand all the experimentaJons that are taking place today and in the films our children love to watch like "Avatar" from director James Cameron.

In the exhibit, we also put up small signs that inform the public how to differenciate the techniques.

For example, we included surrealist Andre Breton's automaJsm which deals with whatever springs into the mind to not prejudice any incoming thoughts with any reason. We tried it in my class on a literary level and on an arJsJc level, and the results were so interesJng! It was amazing how a palm tree turned into dripping water which fell into a cup that an octupus was holding! I especially enjoyed displaying the drawings and talking about them with my other classes.

I also suggested trying Max Ernst's froVage method which is taking an object instead of a brush, and creaJng a composiJon with it. (In froVage the arJst takes a pencil or other drawing tool and makes a rubbing over a textured surface. The drawing can be lew as is or used as the basis for further refinement.)* It will amaze you what a sponge, a leaf, or a piece of aluminum can do when soaked in water and played with on a surface!

I also enjoyed cubomania which consists of taking a photo and cusng it up in cubes and pusng them in a haphazard way unJl an image is achieved something you like. Other techniques include the exquisite corpse technique, collages, paint splaVer, transformaJons, and reflecJons and so many others.

Max Ernst. L'Ange du foyer ou Le Triomphe du surréalisme. 1937



Generally, these excercises are very enjoyable and can reveal a lot about yourself or your students. The surrealists loved to delve into the unkown and many, like Salvador Dali, were great admirers of Sigmund Freud. My students invesJgated the methods of great arJsts such as M. C. Escher, Remedios Varo, Rene MagriVe, Leonora Carrington, Frida Kahlo, Peter Blume, Octavio Ocasio, S. Fukuda and so many more. So take out a p iece o f paper and s ta r t experimenJng! You and your students have nothing to lose and everything to gain.*Editor’s note.

Teaching ESL with Social Media Tools (conDnued)

accounts for academic use only. At the beginning, teachers can use class Jme to create student accounts, follow, post twits, likes, etc, unJl students feel comfortable with the media. PrompJng them iniJally will help them feel skilled and comfortable.

To conclude, I hope I have illustrated the potenJal of social media in the classroom. This technology is self-‐moJvaJng and thrives on producing authenJc language situaJons. Gesng skilled is actually very easy, and there are literally hundreds of tutorials on Youtube and Google. So give Facebook and TwiVer a shot. They can enrich both your classroom and personal life.

English as a Global Language: Embracing Diversity, 16–17 November 2012.

For more informaJon on the 39th PRTESOL ConvenJon and the 11th CA & CB Regional Conference, please visit: hVp://puertoricotesol.org, or email the organizaJon at [email protected].

Who Should Agend?• University professors and facility members • Adult educaJon teachers• All educators involved in helping students

succeed at the postsecondary level, including helping students become lifelong learners empowered to succeed in their chosen professions

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Puerto Rico Governor Aims to Make Island Fully Bilingual by 2022

Published May 08, 2012 by Fox News LaJno

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/05/08/puerto-rico-gov-aims-to-make-island-fully-bilingual-by-2022-1214335843/#ixzz1uKS7E6Y2Puerto Rico's governor hopes to do what more than a century of U.S. ciJzenship has failed to accomplish: teach Puerto Ricans to speak English as well as they do Spanish.

Gov. Luis Fortuño, who has been menJoned as a possible Republican vice-‐presidenJal candidate, has proposed an ambiJous, and what criJcs call far-‐fetched, plan to require all public schools to teach all courses in English while sJll offering Spanish grammar and literature classes.

The U.S. territory has had a long and contenJous relaJonship with the English language, and many Puerto Ricans are skepJcal about embracing it, fearing they will lose a key part of their idenJty and find themselves a step closer to statehood, a status that only about half of islanders have backed in recent polls.

The governor wants Puerto Rico to become the 51st U.S. state, but he says his plan is about economic necessity, not poliJcs.

"Bi l ingual ism opens doors and provides opportunity to our children so they can shine and become successful in a labor market that is increasingly compeJJve and globalized," he said.

Only 12 of the island's 1,472 schools offer an all-‐English curriculum of the sort envisioned by Fortuño, while 35 other schools offer some courses in English, such as math and physical educaJon, said EducaJon Secretary Edwin Moreno.

"The main idea is to have a Puerto Rican who can communicate in Spanish as well as English," said

Moreno, who acknowledged that he himself has an imperfect command of English.

Moreno is overseeing an iniJal $15 million project to install a bilingual curriculum in 31 schools starJng in August and to reinforce the English-‐Spanish curriculum already in place in the 35 other schools. Plans for adding the rest are sJll hazy, but the governor says he wants all public school students to be bilingual within 10 years.

Among those rejecJng the plan is the Puerto Rico Teachers AssociaJon, whose president, Aida Díaz, said that while she supports bilingual educaJon, the noJon of teaching all courses in English is extreme.

"This is wrong," she said. "This leads us to subsJtute our own language for a secondary one. It should not be that way."

All public schools are currently required to teach English from kindergarten through high school, and 9,000 teachers are devoted to that, but about 96 percent of the island's 3.9 million people speak Spanish at home, and some 2.8 million Puerto Ricans do not consider themselves fluent in English, according to the U.S. Census.

That puts Puerto Rican children — and fellow U.S. ciJzens on the American mainland, as well — behind many Europeans in second-‐language skills.

According to a 2006 European Community study, 56 percent of Europeans say they can conduct a conversaJon in more than one language. About 90 percent in the Netherlands and Germany say they can do so. Only about a quarter of mainland Americans can hold a conversaJon in another language, some studies indicate.

Former EducaJon Secretary Gloria Baquero said the biggest problem in Puerto Rico is the lack of good English teachers.

ConJnues on page 11

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Teaching Tips: Three ideas using slide presentaDonsProf. Carmelo Arbona

While you are giving your slide presenta5on, situa5ons arise when you need to write something on the board, but you don’t want to exit the s l ide presenta5on. Here are some things you can do. First, if you are projecJng to a white board, you don’t have to turn off the projector or exit the presentaJon. If you sJll have the lights on in the room, all you need to do is to hit the B key (B for black). This will “turn off” the projector light. Now you are free to write on the board or show any other item, have a discussion, or do some other class acJvity. As soon you are ready to return to the slide presentaJon, press the B key again and there you are right where you were in the presentaJon. If the classroom lights are off and you’re going to write something on the board, just press the W key (W for white). In this case, the presentaJon is interrupted, but the projector light remains on allowing the class to see the board. Another useful Jp I have used many Jmes helps review or refer to a key slide. Let’s imagine your presentaJon includes a chart of the parts of speech. While you’re giving your class you want to review the chart. All you need to know is the number of the slide. First observe what slide you are on at the moment. Let’s assume it’s slide #28. Then, just press the number of the slide with the chart; let’s say #5 and press enter. Now you are showing the chart. To resume your presentaJon, just insert the number of the slide where you lew off, #28 and enter. These Jps will work with Power Point or with Keynote.

"Their accent as well as their command of the language is not the best," she said. "They know the grammar, but the spoken language is not their strong point. So we have a lot of English teachers who end up speaking Spanish in class because the children don't understand them."

One soluJon is to prepare teachers through immersion or exchange programs in the U.S., something that has been done intermiVently, she said.

Baquero said she and other educators support Fortuño's plan but warn it will be hard to implement: "Many people resent the imposiJon of language and associate any aVempt to improve their English with poliJcal moJves."

Fortuño's proposal comes just months before voters face a two-‐part referendum in November to help decide the island's poliJcal status.

The first part of the referendum will ask if voters want a change in status or prefer to remain a U.S. commonwealth. The second part will ask voters to choose from three opJons: statehood, independence or something in between called sovereign free associaJon.

GOP presidenJal candidate MiV Romney has suggested that English be the official language for all U.S. states but has said there should be no language precondiJon on Puerto Rican statehood.

English actually dominated Puerto Rican public educaJon during the first half of the 20th century. From 1900 to 1948, all high school subjects were taught in English, unJl the island's first democraJcally elected governor, Luis Munoz Marin, ended the pracJce.

"The learning of English was associated with a very real thrust by the U.S. government to Americanize Puerto Rico," said Carlos Chardon, an anthropologist and former educaJon secretary. "A great majority of persons associated English with statehood."

Continues on page 17



Book Review by Dr. Josue AlejandroTeaching English as an InternaDonal Language: IdenDty, Resistance and

NegoDaDonPhan Le Ha

New PerspecJves on Language & EducaJon, MulJlingual MaVers LTD (2008)

Phan Le Ha’s very informa5ve and eye-‐opening book is about auto ethnography, a term probably new to many readers. A Vietnamese who is a Western-‐trained educator of English, she uses this approach to interview herself and several other Vietnamese teachers trained in Australia in the teaching of English as an internaJonal language. The research in this book is based on the self-‐interview as a Western -‐trained English educator and with the input of other teachers of the same ethnographical background.

She begins by establishing the concept of a Vietnamese teacher and the importance of morality and ethics for educators in this country. Several philosophers and educators are quoted to emphasize her point in how important morality is for Vietnamese teachers and how they view themselves in relaJon to Western teachers. She quotes on page 5: “…also strongly argue for the role of morality and ethics in ELT, urging teachers of English to take morality and ethics into serious consideraJon in their teaching.”

She states that educaJon in Vietnam is to help people to become good ciJzens in terms of both knowledge and morality. Therefore teachers are assumed to be moral guides or role models. This approach caught my aVenJon since the theme of our 2011 PRTESOL ConvenJon was based on ethics and moral values. It reminds me of how teachers, the same as in Vietnam, at one point had a very high and noble status in society. Ha also says that there is a vital role for culture in the struggle to teach English as an internaJonal language.

She menJons her love of the language and her passion in teaching but at the same Jme realizes that there are writers and scholars of English who have trouble using the language of the “enemy.” There was an acJve learning of English to protect their country from being culturally invaded, to understand their stronger enemy but above all to appreciate the language. This aspect made me ask up to what point is our own learning and teaching of English involved in assimilaDon?, or is it integrated into the global economy? or does it appropriateexternal values and customs? How much of it is for integraJve purposes, for instrumental purposes? How does it affect our enthusiasm and passion in our teaching English as a second or addiJonal language?

To understand the passion she has for the language, she narrates her first encounter with English; (her parents would use it to communicate between themselves to mask their intenJons), but they also were teachers of English themselves. Ha loved the language for various reasons; from a personal level, family level, from a local level to a naJonal level, and from a naJonal level to an internaJonal level. Ha tells about her wriJng development in English from the start unJl she appropriates the language to become an English writer from the heart and not just to negoJate her Self and the Other dichotomy (Self and Other referring to how she views the colonial issue vs the post-‐colonial one). Again she defines a good teacher: “ …a good teacher was one who was able to offe r pup i l s bo th know ledge and mora l development.”(p. 18) On the other hand, she is quite clear in the importance of her first language: “However, I have never let myself overuse English against my mother tongue, Vietnamese.”(p. 19)

She establishes her posiJon in relaJon to what is discussed in the book. Ha states: “Teaching is not merely the work of the brain. It is the work of the heart, the work of the soul, and it cannot be separated from the educaJon of good ciJzens.”(p. 21) This point is very criJcal in my view since we have to go beyond our strategies, techniques, and knowledge to affect the lives of our students in many ways and in every angle of the curriculum we are using. Ha



understands the need for a more global concept of English, that is, English as an internaJonal language. She declares: “This concept of language used interculturally without being the property of any one naJon emphasizes the need for interpreJve/conceptual tools that are not products of any single culture.”(p. 23)

We know that as a consequence of globalizaJon how emerging countries are appropriaJng English as the medium of communicaJon for trade, commerce, intercultural communicaJon, etc. This is changing the way English is being used around the world and how the inner circle as described by Kachru is displaced as the only standard bearer of English.

Ha enters the issue of language, culture and idenJty. On page 25, she says: “Language acts as a means through which idenJty is communicated, extended, confi rmed , cons t ru c ted , negoJated and reconsJtuted.” S he d i s c u s s e s how t h e Vietnamese argue these issues and how the Western theorists view them. As one example she refers to some theorists of language: “…Saussure’s remarks that if one wants to discover the nature/truth of language, one should at first view language in terms of what it shares with other similar systems. Language and culture are thus viewed as signs and this takes into account the psychosocial premise, which is closely connected with the humaniJes. Nguyen Lai proposes the rather provocaJve argument that, as a means to progress from culture to civilizaJon, language is an open act and in spite of this openness it is not necessarily easily foreignised or de-‐rooted as many scholars fear.” (p. 28)

In relaJon to language, Ha explores various expert views on it. They pinpoint the inextricable relaJonship between language and culture. She states on page 29 the following: “…the ways in which we express thought in wriJng are very

strongly influenced by our experiences with discourse generally and wriVen text specifically and the related convenJons that govern each of these within our own social and cultural contexts.” She also states that language itself never stays alone and is never meaning-‐free. Again she poses the contrast of the view of language and culture between Vietnamese and Western approaches: “… also agree upon the inJmate relaJonship between language, culture and idenJty, but tend to develop their perspecJves from and are influenced by the naJonal culture and naJonal/cultural idenJty as one united element and a core sense of wholeness, which each Vietnamese should maintain and develop. In contrast, the Western scholars focus more on the individual without referring to naJonal culture as something out there but something individuals construct as they go on and interact with members in the same community.” (p.31)

Other theories of idenJty, the West, mobility, transnaJonality and hibridity are menJoned and explored. In relaJon to the We s t a n d t h e We s t e r n knowledge in postcolonial theories, Ha goes on to say

how the West views itself superior to the Orient and how this affects the percepJons and leaves out the Orient voices to speak of their opinion on educaJon and poliJcal issues. She poses the following: “The West’s former civilizing mission has been transformed into the mission of democracy, freedom, and human rights to bring to light the outlaw peoples who go against these Western noJons. Colonial thinking is sJll acJve but operates in different ways, the ways that make many follow the West and look up to it as the only example of development and civilizaJon.” (p. 35)

Many of these i ssues are sJl l debated subconsciously as we teach our students the value of learning and using English as a Second/AddiJonal language. We just happen to negoJate these concepts and are able to carry on with the value and appreciaJon of the language. Ha explains

“ . . . t h e s e a s p e c t s o f transna5onality, cultural hibridity are actual reali5es that we face in one way or another.



that these aspects of transnaJonality, cultural hibridity are actual realiJes that we face in one way or another. She portrays them through the input of theorists, language scholars and her own introspecJon. RealiJes such as transnaJonal, hybrid teachers that hold firm to a culture but also were trained in another culture in the teaching of English have some input to share that must be explored nowadays. On page 42 she says: “ This way of understanding transnaJonal idenJJes suggests that idenJJes are constantly constructed and reconstructed along the lines of simultaneous embeddedness in more than one society.”

Ha devotes various topics and subtopics to the concepts language, culture and idenJty. She balances the concepts explored and argued by both Western scholars and Vietnamese educators and thinkers. She argues that there is a sense of belonging, a sense of naJonal/cultural idenJty that differenJates one people from others. She then explores the input of other teachers also trained in the West. For this part she uses other conceptual tools, such as idenJty fastening and unfastening. IdenJty fastening is the work that individuals do to claim insider status for themselves and for others. IdenJty unfastening happens when individuals move form one cultural context into another where the norm and rules for membership are different. She concludes: “ IdenJty is mulJple, dynamic and hybrid. Yet it is also something like a core, a root based on which new values are constructed. It is the very core that unites members of a society under one idenJty called naJonal idenJty.”(p. 69)

Another topic she explores is the poliJcs of English as an internaJonal language and English language teaching. An aspect I found interesJng is when she argues that the use of English does play an important part in both one’s des ire to communicate with the world and one’s will to preserve one’s idenJty. We also have seen the issue of tesJng when she quotes another language scholar who argues that tesJng is value-‐laden in many ways. She argues that tesJng compares

students to others and in fact reflects the real world surrounding the student, instead of being just about the content being tested. English is becoming also a gate-‐keeping tool in the society, parJcularly with employment and educaJonal opportuniJes. I see this as another aspect of the language use for instrumental value as we also have it in Puerto Rico.

Other aspects she argues and I agree are when she says that English users may be beVer served by proacJvely taking ownership of its use and its teaching. English users, parJcularly non-‐naJve speakers of English will then be the main agents in the ways English is used, is maintained, and changes, and who will shape the ideologies and beliefs associated with English as an InternaJonal Language. (EIL) She quotes Liu, D. who argues that studying another culture does not mean embracing it or following its socio-‐cultural customs, nor does it mean losing one’s own culture. We at PRTESOL firmly believe this aspect, and we state that we have the experJse to advise in language policy and planning.

This book also delves into aspects of naJve versus non-‐naJve speakers, communicaJve language teaching versus lecturing and the conflict of values when compared to Oriental cultures. Ha’ s posiJon is that it is necessary to listen to the voices of teachers of English from different contexts to have a beVer understanding of how ELT is conducted differently according to contexts. She offers the fo l lowing suggesJons : “…together w i th encouraging and valuing users’ appropriaJon of English, TESOL workers also need to promote an EIL pedagogy in which the teaching and learning of EIL should involve valuing and nurturing the expression of other cultural voices in English, making explicit the values that support judgments about good English and individual ability, and helping students to construct idenJJes as owners, meaning makers and authorized users of EIL.” (p. 102)



In terms of idenJty formaJon Ha understands and argues in favor of the human side of the concepts of idenJty formaJon of Vietnamese teachers. She menJons a sense of responsibility, love and kindness to students, enthusiasm for the profession and awareness of moral responsibility to young generaJons. She menJons teachers who perceived their moral guide role as introducing students to literary works or reading passages that carried moral lessons, and from those lessons, students would be directed to good behavior. These concepts are then evaluated from interviews she holds with other Vietnamese teachers trained in Australia. Ha says of them: “…these Vietnamese teachers of English seemed to have succeeded in providing their students with the knowledge they wanted without alienaJng them from their familiar home culture. In other words, they had taken into consideraJon both the culture of the target language and the culture of the students.”(p. 121)

The author enters other areas such as idenJty formaJon, the teacher and the poliJcs of ELT, and then delves into specific cases of other Vietnamese teachers. At one point she declares the importance of the ESL teacher knowing the first language of the learner: “One more advantage of sharing the same mother tongue with students is that it helps teachers understand beVer difficulJes faced by students when learning L2, since teachers themselves have experienced those. They thus have empathy and understanding for students. One example of difficulJes in learning L2 is pronunciaJon, and teachers tend to know what kind of mistakes students owen have, such as l-‐n, s-‐sh. They thus have soluJons for teaching pronunciaJon. An example on teaching wriJng is that teachers know when students write by thinking in English and when they write by translaJng from Vietnamese.” (p.137)

This parJcular statement struck me since it has been my experience in teaching wriJng, and I am sure it has been of others. Another statement she makes is related to teachers of English in her context versus teachers of other subject maVers. “Within their

cultural surroundings, they constructed their own idenJty, which was different from teachers of other subjects. The difference rested in their ability to make their lessons interesJng, their sense of humor, and their own discipline and order. Their culture consJtuted its own set of pracJces, while their language visualized, conveyed, sensed, illustrated and constantly constructed these pracJces.” (p.158) As a pracJJoner I am constantly influenced by my culture while at the same Jme teaching English as an addiJonal language. Thus we are constantly negoJaJng our culture with the culture of the target language to make it interesJng and appealing to our students.

Another final reflecJon Ha menJons is related to a quote from another linguist in relaJon to the role of values in the teaching of English. “… the role of morality and values in ELT, which… has been neglected and lew out of the TESOL field. ParJcularly for English to become an internaJonal language which serves its users effecJvely and morally, that teachers as moral agents are vital to the negoJaJons, mediaJons, appropriaJon, resistance, and reconsJtuJons of values and idenJJes.” (p. 185)

Finally, this book helps us teachers of English to face our profession from the aspect of being moral guides, idenJty formaJon agents, self-‐idenJty and the great responsibility we have with our students as role models. To me it has been a moment of reflecJon upon my years and development of teaching English as a second/addiJonal language. Ha’s style is that of constantly quesJoning herself about her role as a teacher of English, about being Vietnamese, and about being a ciJzen of the world. Her wriJng is lengthy, introspecJve and very intellectual. She quotes from other sources to present the concepts she wants the reader to consider and then interviews herself in relaJon to these concepts. It is a new perspecJve on language and educaJon we probably will have to look over and over again as we pursue this wonderful and most noble of professions.



Vivian Rivera Maysonet, President As seen above there’s a new logo and name, the Central Chapter. Central Chapter announces its Regional Conference on September 29, from 7:30 to 3:30 at Thomas Alva Edison School in Caguas. the theme: “Igniting the Passion to Teach: Inspiring the Desire to Learn”. F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n : p r t e s o l -centralchapter.blogspot.com or email: [email protected] We look forward to having you as a member in our new and innovated Central Chapter.

Rosa Emma Mejias, PresidentHello Metro Chapter Members!Don’t miss the Fourth Storytelling Contest on October 5 & 6 at Universidad Sagrado Corazón. Teachers and students from all levels are invited to participate. Check our website for more information and registration forms. PRTESOL Metro Chapter BoardRosa Emma Mejías CeperoMetro Chapter Presidenthttp://metro.prtesol.angelfire.com/

William Alicea, President

Northern Conference was a unique set of

workshops for all those who attended.

Hiramys Santiago, President

PRTESOL CHAPTERS IN ACTION



http://metro.prtesol.angelfire.com

http://metro.prtesol.angelfire.com



Edward Torres, PresidentThe PRTESOL Southern Chapter Conference which took place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, was a success! I thank the Southern Chapter board for its support and assistance. I thank the members of our chapter and guests from other chapters who aVended our conference. We are pleased because our expectaJons were met, and we had a very producJve day. If you missed our April 28 Conference, come and join us at the 2012 PRTESOL Summer InsJtute on Saturday, June 9, 2012, at PUCPR, Ponce campus. The Southern Chapter will host and coordinate this event. Hope to see you on June 9! Visit hVp://southern.prtesol.angelfire.com/

Dr. Jorge Figueroa, PresidentAs the Puerto Rico TESOL Eastern Chapter President I welcome you to our web site. In here you will find important informaJon about our chapter acJviJes and of course about Puerto Rico TESOL.

As an English educator, I feel honored to be part of Puerto Rico TESOL and of the Eastern Chapter. By joining our chapter you will be part of a great group of professionals pursuing excellence in the teaching of English as a second language.Vis it the Eastern Capter website hVp://www.eprtesol.org/#!

Puerto Rico Governor Aims to Make Island Fully Bilingual by 2022 (From page 11 continued,)In 1991, Gov. Rafael Hernández Colón went further by declaring Spanish the island's sole official language. The law was repealed a couple of years later by Gov. Pedro Rosello, whose first official act was to make both English and Spanish the official languages, a law that stands to this day, even if only a few places have street signs in English.

Puerto Ricans, however, remain reluctant to learn English, said Jaime Morales, a public school teacher in the northern town of Toa Baja who is fluent in English.

"They are not interested," he said. "Because honestly, it's hard to learn the language."

Morales said he supports the idea of a bilingual curriculum but doubts it will become a reality unless teachers are properly trained, parents get involved and the educaJon system improves.

"The main problem here is that you have a community that does not have good command of Spanish," he said. "If they are deficient in Spanish, how do you pretend they are going to become fluent in a second language?"

Based on reporJng by the Associated Press.

Read more: hVp://laJno.foxnews.com/laJno/news/2012/05/08/puerto-‐rico-‐gov-‐aims-‐to-‐make-‐island-‐f u l l y -‐ b i l i n g u a l -‐ b y -‐ 2 0 2 2 -‐ 1 2 1 4 3 3 5 8 4 3 /#ixzz1uKRg1QWu

Editor’s note:See related article PosiDon Statement on Teaching English as a Foreign or Additional Language to Young Learners by TESOL International on page 29. PRTESOL Board will publish its position statement in our next issue.

http://southern.prtesol.angelfire.com

http://southern.prtesol.angelfire.com

http://www.eprtesol.org/#




http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/05/08/puerto-rico-gov-aims-to-make-island-fully-bilingual-by-2022-1214335843/#ixzz1uKRg1QWu










PRTESOL delegation to the International TESOL

Convention in Philadelphia, PA.



The Verbing of AmericaThe verbing of AmericaIs getting out of hand,

Yet many nouns are also verbs,Like toast and rake and land.

When I first heard hospitalize,I thought it was a crime;

Why don't we apartmentalize?We will -- just give us time!

If when we change a noun to verbTo come up with our `verbing,'

Why can't I, when I'm using herbs,Refer to it as herbing?

For if I call myself a cook, The verbal form is cooking;And if I give someone a look,

It's also known as looking.I give a gift

But I'm not gifting.You get my drift,Or am I drifting?

I get a billBecause of billing,

But taking pillsIs never pilling.

I place a pin,And I am pinning.

Play a violin --Is it violining?

But play a fiddle,And you're fiddling;

Or is this gettingMuch too piddling?Planting some seedsIs always seeding,And pulling weedsIs surely weeding;If drawing blood

Is always bleeding,Why does a flood

Not lead to fleeding?I'm wined and dined

But never beered.

I've eyed someone,But never eared!Turn on a light,

And I am lighting.Turn on a lamp,

And it's not lamping.If I can verbalize

A needle,And egging on

Can mean to wheedle,And I am doodling

With a doodle,When I cook pasta,

Can't I noodle?With all these punctuation marks,I'm doing quite a lot of dotting;

But if I were to use a dash --Don't you agree that I am dashing?

But comma-ing and period-ing?And yet I can italicize

And sometimes must capitalize.I Anglicize -- but Germanicize?

Or Swedicize, or Gaelicize?With this I could go on and on,

Really ad infinitum;Whether I lick these word problems,

I sure cannot beat 'em.Our language is an enigmaIn how its words are used;

And that is why, in verbing nouns,We ought to be excused.

Thanks to Jessica Kestner, who found this in St. Paul Pioneer Press



Language in the News BBC News website

18 February 2012 Last updated at 10:18 ET

Digital tools 'to save languages'By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Vancouver

Facebook, YouTube and even tex5ng will be the salva5on of many of the world's endangered languages, scien5sts believe.Of the 7,000 or so languages spoken on Earth today, about half are expected to be exJnct by the century's end.

GlobalisaJon is usually blamed, but some elements of the "modern world", especially digital technology, are pushing back against the Jde.

North American tribes use social media to re-‐engage their young, for example. Tuvan, an indigenous tongue spoken by nomadic peoples in Siberia and Mongolia, even has an iPhone app to teach the pronunciaJon of words to new students.

"Small languages are using social media, YouTube, text messaging and various technologies to expand their voice and expand their presence," said K David Harrison, an associate professor of linguisJcs at Swarthmore College and a NaJonal Geographic Fellow.

"It's what I like to call the flipside of globalisaJon. We hear a lot about how globalisaJon exerts negaJve pressures on small cultures to assimilate. But a posiJve effect of globalisaJon is that you can have a language that is spoken by only five or 50 people in one remote locaJon, and now through digital technology that language can achieve a global voice and a global audience."

Harrison, who travels the world to seek out the last speakers of vanishing languages, has been describing his work here at the annual meeJng of the American AssociaJon for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).With NaJonal Geographic, he has just helped produce eight talking dicJonaries.

These dicJonaries contain more than 32,000 word entries in eight endangered languages. All the audio recordings have been made by naJve speakers, some of whom like Alfred "Bud" Lane are among the last fluent individuals in their naJve tongues.

Mr Lane speaks a language known as Siletz Dee-‐ni, which is restricted to a small area on the central Oregon coast. "Linguists came in and labelled our language moribund, meaning it was heading for the ash heap of history; and our tribal people and our council decided that wasn't going to happen. So we devised a plan to go forward to start teaching our dialect here in the Siletz Valley," he told the meeJng.Mr Lane has sat down and recorded 14,000 words for the online dicJonary. "Nothing takes the place of speakers speaking to other speakers, but this bridges a gap that was just sorely needed in our community and our tribe."

Margaret Noori is an expert in NaJve American studies at the University of Michigan and a speaker of Anishinaabemowin, which is the sovereign language of over 200 indigenous "naJons" in Canada and the US. These communiJes are heavy users of Facebook."What we do with technology is try to connect people," Prof Noori said. "All of it is to keep the language."

Dr Harrison says not all languages can survive, and many inevitably will be lost as remaining speakers die off. But he says the new digital tools do offer a way back from the brink for a lot of languages that seemed doomed just a few years ago.

http://siletz.swarthmore.edu/




http://www.facebook.com/pages/Noongwa-e-Anishinaabemjig-People-Who-Speak-Anishinaabemowin-Today/33864210537?ref=ts






He told BBC News: "Everything that people know about the planet, about plants, animals, about how to live sustainably, the polar ice caps, the different ecosystems that humans have survived in -‐ all this knowledge is encoded in human cultures and languages, whereas only a Jny fracJon of it is encoded in the scienJfic literature.

"If we care about sustainability and survival on the planet, we all benefit from having this knowledge base persevered."Jonathan.Amos-‐[email protected] and follow me on TwiVer

May 8, 2012Maurice Sendak, Author of Splendid

Nightmares, Dies at 83By MARGALIT FOXNew York TimesMaurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children’s book arJst of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, saniJzed world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and haunJngly beauJful recesses of the human psyche, died on Tuesday in Danbury, Conn. He was 83.

The cause was complicaJons of a recent stroke, said Michael di Capua, his longJme editor. Mr. Sendak, who died at Danbury Hospital, lived nearby in Ridgefield, Conn.

Roundly praised, intermiVently censored and occasionally eaten, Mr. Sendak’s books were essenJal ingredients of childhood for the generaJon born awer 1960 or thereabouts, and in turn for their children. He was known in parJcular for more than a dozen picture books he wrote and illustrated himself, most famously “Where the Wild Things Are,” which was simultaneously genre-‐breaking and career-‐making when it was published by Harper & Row in 1963.

Among the other Jtles he wrote and illustrated, all f rom Harper & Row, are “ In the Night

Kitchen” (1970) and “Outside Over There” (1981), which together with “Where the Wild Things Are” form a trilogy; “The Sign on Rosie’s Door” (1960); “Higglety Pigglety Pop!” (1967); and “The Nutshell Library” (1962), a boxed set of four Jny volumes comprising “Alligators All Around,” “Chicken Soup With Rice,” “One Was Johnny” and “Pierre.”

In September, a new picture book by Mr. Sendak, “Bumble-‐Ardy” — the first in 30 years for which he produced both text and illustraJons — was issued by HarperCollins Publishers. The book, which spent five weeks on the New York Times children’s best-‐seller list, tells the not-‐altogether-‐lighthearted story of an orphaned pig (his parents are eaten) who gives himself a riotous birthday party.

Mr. Sendak’s work was the subject of criJcal studies and major exhibiJons; in the second half of his career, he was also renowned as a designer of theatrical sets. His art graced the wriJng of other eminent authors for children and adults, including Hans ChrisJan Andersen, Leo Tolstoy, Herman Melville, William Blake and Isaac Bashevis Singer.

In book awer book, Mr. Sendak upended the staid, centuries-‐old tradiJon of American children’s literature, in which young heroes and heroines were typically well scrubbed and even beVer behaved; nothing really bad ever happened for very long; and everything was Jed up at the end in a neat, moralisJc bow.



https://twitter.com/#%21/BBCAmos

https://twitter.com/#%21/BBCAmos

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/margalit_fox/index.html?inline=nyt-per

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/margalit_fox/index.html?inline=nyt-per

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/maurice_sendak/index.html?inline=nyt-per

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/maurice_sendak/index.html?inline=nyt-per

http://books.google.com/books/about/Where_The_Wild_Things_Are.html?id=M-CocWLBGB4C




http://books.google.com/books/about/In_the_Night_Kitchen.html?id=1kYQS41HGnkC




http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/01/books/books-of-the-times-139237.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/01/books/books-of-the-times-139237.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4X_NhIs_GU




http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/21/should-parents-fear-bumble-ardy-maurice-sendaks-new-book/

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/21/should-parents-fear-bumble-ardy-maurice-sendaks-new-book/



Former PRTESOL presidents

2012 PRTESOL Board of Directors

Recommended websites

Great websites for kids -‐ Here’s a page sponsored by the ASSOCIATION FOR LIBRARY SERVICE TO CHILDREN, a division of the American Library AssociaDon, that has a wide selecJon of sites for children. Go to hVp://gws.ala.org/ to find excellent sites in literature and language, arts, math, animals, sciences, reference, etc. Click on the Literature and Language tab and you’ll find website links under the categories of Authors and Illustrators, Expanding the classics, Favorite children’s stories, Language learning, learning to read, WriJng by children, and even a secJon in Spanish called Lugares en español para niños.

SimpleK12 -‐ Teacher Professional Development

If you need some training on using technology in the classroom or for your own personal skills, this sitecan help. A collecJon of over 300 video clip tutorials is available to you for every aspect of technology in the classroom. hVp://www.youtube.com/user/Simplek12Team/videos?view=0You can also get Jps via email from this address [email protected].

EnglishClub Site Of The Month April 2012 ~

Listen and Write

Listen and Write is a dictaJon site for language learners. Start by creaJng a login so that you can save your scores. Take a test to see what your listening level is. Note that your typing must also be good to get a high score! There are three different modes to use. Full mode requires you to type in each word that you hear. Quick mode allows you to just type in the first leVer of each word. Blank mode is a fill in the gaps exercise. Most of the recordings are from Voice of America or YouTube. There are currently 7 categories to pick from including news, interviews, and TED talks. Click on

the Hint buVon if you can’t get the next word. Choose Auto Repeat if you want the sentences to be repeated. You may need to try a few different dictaJons before you get the hang of this site. www.listen-and-write.com

iTunesU -‐ That’s U for university!

Who says you can’t take a course at Oxford or Harvard?

Go to iTunes and at the top right of the banner menu you’ll see iTunesU. Open the drop-‐down menu and you’ll see a list of subjects including language, history, literature, etc.

Select one and you will discover an enormous variety of college courses available in mp3 formats for you to download to your iPod or your computer to listen to at your convenience.

The podcasts for the most part are free. You can listen to one topic or you can suscribe and receive the enJre list of topics. Also, each one has a link to a corresponding website with more materials related to the course.

http://gws.ala.org

http://gws.ala.org

http://www.youtube.com/user/Simplek12Team/videos?view=0






http://www.listen-and-write.com/

http://www.listen-and-write.com/



IntegraDng Culturally Relevant Literature: A Validated Strategy

in the Teaching of EnglishBy: Manuel Hernandez Carmona

IntegraJng culturally relevant literature is a validated strategy in the teaching of English in Puerto Rico. However, everyday poliJcs, crime, the economy and other naJonal and internaJonal issues have taken the front seat of the discussion at local media roundtables. GlobalizaJon and advanced technological gains conJnue to posiJon English as a universal resource of communicaJon and socioeconomic development. Focusing on the academic needs of students is making an academic difference in the teaching of English. The effecJve use of culturally relevant literature is the bridge that will help students connect with pathways of success in their academic quest. A c c o r d i n g t o informaJon provided by the Department of EducaJon in Puerto Rico, more than 80% of public schools in Puerto Rico are in “Plan de Mejoramiento Escolar” (Improvement Plan). The Content Standards and Grade Level ExpectaJons (official Department of EducaJon standards) of all subject areas were revised, and since 2007 public school teachers have been c reaJng academic environments founded in academically sound based curriculum produced by teachers from the public schools and local scholars in all the content subject areas. Nonetheless, the Puerto Rican school populaJon conJnues to diversify at a rapid pace, and students must be met with a clear present vision in terms of what to do and how to approach their academic needs. The longest bridge in Puerto Rico is en route to Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. It is one of the most exhilaraJng drives in Puerto Rico. Culturally relevant literature makes that exhilaraJng connecJon to the teaching, appreciaJon and

literary analysis of the American and BriJsh classics. The link of one towards the other not only makes sense but also provides the needed context and helps students to make a personal connecJon first before making the more formal drive to the academic literary highway later. In the English classroom, English as second language (ESL) students in Puerto Rico feel a lack of personal involvement, and there are no bridges to connect their cultural interests to English language development. As an ESL teacher, I remember teaching Romeo and Juliet to a group of high level ESL students at James Monroe High School in the Bronx, New York. I myself could not understand the student’s lack of personal interest in the classic. As much as I prepared them for the literary event, they could not make the connecJon between their

A m e r i c a n i m m i g r a n t experience, and the “star-‐crossed lovers” depicted in the tragedy. In Puerto Rico, classroom textbooks from K-‐12th grade are generally filled with characters, sesngs and situaJons that are distant from students’ everyday experience.

How can students interact with their wriJng when their choices of literature are far away from their day-‐to-‐day reality? Sustained research has validated culturally based literature as pivotal in the iniJal stages of “learning to read.” Prior knowledge helps students to construct bridges to make predicJons and outcomes about the poem, story, essay or drama read in the English classroom. In a “learning to read” environment, pleasure and enjoyment form the iniJal jump-‐off point for further literary development. When students construct meaning from a personal standpoint, their engagement with reading develops smoothly, and academic success is just a step away. IntegraJng culturally relevant literature incorporates Puerto Rican authors as well as others of LaJno origin that are published in the current

When students construct meaning from a personal standpoint, their engagement with reading develops smoothly, and academic success is just a step away.



textbooks available in the English classrooms in Puerto Rico. During the current academic year (2011-‐2012), I have coordinated a Pilot Program Jtled, IntegraAng Culturally Relevant Literature in the English Classroom. Three English teachers (one K-‐6th, the other 7-‐9th and the 10-‐12th) worked with the current English textbooks, idenJfied culturally relevant stories and established bridges to engage students and foster listening, speaking, reading and wriJng skills. The graphically portrayed and validated results (pre-‐post exams) have demonstrated sustained and increased academic results in parJcipaJng students. The government has spoken out on its interest to promote effecJve and validated strategies in the teaching of English. The ongoing Pilot Program has confirmed the validity of integraJng culturally relevant literature and its outreach to develop English language skills and improve academic results at the same Jme. To meet the demands of globalizaJon and advanced technological gains, the academic needs of students in Puerto Rico must be addressed without delay. The pilot program and an Island-‐wide impact can make a difference in the teaching of English and provide students with gateways of success as well.

PRTESOL Awards and Scholarships PRTESOL has available for its members various awards and scholarships. These are some of them you can apply or compete for. If you know a PRTESOL member who qualifies encourage him or her to parJcipate. For more details for applicaJon or nominaJon, contact Dr. Naomi Vega, [email protected] or visit our website puertoricotesol.org

Awards by ApplicaDon: Due Date September 20, 2012

1. PRTESOL Scholarship Grant to Support ConDnuing EducaDon in TESOL. One award will be granted for the studies towards a master’s degree and one for doctoral levels studies

AWARD: Two $300 cash award

2. PRTESOL Award to Promote Excellence in ESL Teaching Programs

One cash award of $300 to be used in the purchase of educaJonal resources for the ESL classroom.

3. PRTESOL Award to Recognize Recent Research ContribuDons to the TESOL Field

4. PRTESOL Travel Grant to Agend the TESOL ConvenDon 2013

❖ Awards by NominaDon DUE DATE: September 20, 2012

1. PRTESOL Award for LifeJme Service in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (Dr. Marie E. Aloise Life Time Achievement Award)

2. PRTESOL Outstanding ESL Educator Award





TESOL InternaDonal AssociaDon 2012 ConvenDon

Ilsa López-‐VallésRecipient of the PRTESOL 2011 Travel Award

The 2012 TESOL InternaJonal ConvenJon held in Philadelphia from the 28th-‐31st of March proved to be an intellectually sJmulaJng and socially oriented experience. More than 7,000 English educators of all levels converged at the ConvenJon Center of Philadelphia to enjoy an array of educaJonal workshops. The venue proved to be geographically convenient as there were several hotels within the proximity of a couple of blocks. The offerings included teaching ideas on linguisJcs, grammar, vocabulary, phonology, findings of ESL research, development and teaching of online courses, running effecJve meeJngs, technology, interference of Spanish in the learning of E n g l i s h , p r o g r e s s i v e assessment, EFL employment around the world, among others.

At registraJon, each member was given a bag containing several handy office items and a 2 3 2 -‐ p a ge c o nvenJon p ro g ram t h a t p ro v i d ed abstracts of both the Jcketed and free sessions. As a first-‐Jme aVendee, I parJcipated in a welcome event that had several iniJaJon acJviJes that required interacJon with other members. There were many booths in the Exhibit Hall of book representaJves, who promoted and marketed their products. Most significantly, job seekers enjoyed the opportunity of flocking into the job marketplace secJon of the Exhibit Hall to fill out as many applicaJons as they wished. On-‐site interviews were conducted by recruiters for immediate on-‐spot hiring. The secJon had been previously prepared with a dozen computers for easy on-‐line job search at TESOL’s website: www.tesol.org/jmp. Surprisingly, there were posiJons available for English teachers all around the globe.

Moreover, the plenary sessions were conducted by invited keynote speakers who shared their valuable lectures with hundreds of aVendees of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds. Among the s p e a ke r s w e r e M i am i D a d e -‐ C o u n t y ’s superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, who was recognized as one of the top ten Tech-‐savvy superintendents in the United States in 2011, and Dr. ChrisJne Coombe, a foreign/second language educator from Dubai’s Men’s College, and 2011 TESOL president who presented her views on teacher effecJveness. Both Mr. Carvalho and Dr. Coombe delivered compelling speeches that managed to capture and retain the audience’s aVenJon. Of parJcular interest was Mr. Carvalho’s enthralling address on the high-‐profile coverage of Colombian high school student and valedictorian,

Daniela Palaez, 18, who faced deportaJon as an illegal US res ident . Mr. Carva lho’s indefaJgable effort to stall the deportaJon order proved to be successful. Ms. Palaez was granted a two-‐year reprieve and will be allowed to march wi th her c lassmates on g r a d u a J o n d a y . H e r benefactor, however, will conJnue to work to keep the deportaJon order from ever going into effect.

Awer aVending the marathon of workshops, which started at

7:00 am Jll 5:00 PM, members were free to explore the city. One of the most popular aVracJons, the Liberty Bell was on the agenda. Located between 6th and Market streets, the impressive Jn bell, cast in 1752, stands three feet high and weighs 2,080 pounds . The be l l became a symbo l o f independence in 1847. In addiJon, one could not leave Philadelphia without heading to south side to savor the scrumpJous Philly cheese steak sandwich, a Philadelphia delicacy.

All in all, the organizing commiVee of the 2012 TESOL InternaJonal ConvenJon ought to be commended for a well-‐coordinated event, the choice of challenging sessions and the on-‐site services available.

Ilsa López-Vallés and Dr. Evelyn Lugo

http://www.tesol.org/jmp

http://www.tesol.org/jmp



PosiDon Statement on Teaching English as a Foreign or AddiDonal Language

to Young Learners

Policy changes mandaJng the earlier introducJon of English in foreign language sesngs are increasingly being implemented worldwide. Although research has suggested that age may have an effect as to the way a language is learned, age alone does not determine success in learning a foreign language. As various sociocultural contexts, government policies, and historical language pracJces will all impact the success or failure of a language instrucJonal program, there is no single best way to implement an English as a foreign or addiJonal language (EFL/EAL) program for young learners. Rather, effecJve EFL/EAL teaching for young learners s t a r t s w i t h a c l e a r understanding of the following factors and how they relate to one another.

P r o g r a m p l a n n i n g , content , and learner goals: T ho s e i nvo l ved i n teaching EFL/EAL to young learners should have a clear understanding of the program’s objecJves and goals, as well as the extent and structure of the program. What students should know and be able to do should be clearly outlined and established along with how that is to be measured. Where academic-‐level proficiency is desired, there should be long-‐term strategies for conJnued support and arJculaJon between educaJonal levels. The program should have a learner-‐centered approach, and materials should be selected in accordance with the age of the children, the length of the program, its objecJves, and the learning environment. Teachers, trainers, and teacher associaJons should all be partners in program development, and planners should be flexible in regards to methodology.

Effec4ve teachers: As stated in TESOL’s PosiAon Statement on Teacher Quality in the Field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (June 2003), naJve speaker proficiency in the target language alone is not a sufficient qualificaAon for such teaching posiAons; the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) is a professional discipline that requires specialized training. Therefore, qualified ESL and EFL educators not only should demonstrate wriSen and oral proficiency in the English language (regardless of naAve language), but also should demonstrate teaching competency. Teachers should have training in teaching EFL/EAL, as well as in the ways young students learn. EffecAve EFL/EAL teachers

should themselves be successful and experienced language learners. Just as important are teachers’ personal aYtudes toward conAnued educaAon a nd l e a r n i n g a nd t h e i r willingness to model language learning for the students with whom they work. Where applicable, EFL/EAL educators should receive the necessary degree, licensing, validaAon, or cerAficaAon as determined by

their insAtuAon, country, or region from qualified EFL/EAL teacher educators.

Programma4c and ins4tu4onal support: Depending upon the program model and methodology employed, insJtuJons need to be able to provide the type and level of resources necessary to support the program. Support materials should be designed for both teachers and students with the appropriate cultural context of the country in mind. The culture of the EFL/EAL young learner should be regarded as a valued and respected resource that informs decisions regarding approaches, techniques, acJviJes, learning styles, curriculum design, and materials whether the young learner is in his/her naJve cultural sesng or in a mixed-‐culture sesng in

...na5ve speaker proficiency in the target language alone is not a sufficient qualificaAon for such teaching posiAons; the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) is a profess ional d isc ip l ine that requires specialized training.



Posi4on Statement on Teaching English as a Foreign or Addi4onal Language to Young Learners (con4nued) a classroom in a country where English is spoken as a naJve language. InsJtuJons should provide resources for young learners to be able to portray their cultural values within English-‐speaking contexts, whenever possible, with the sole purpose of strengthening their own cultural idenJty at the same Jme as they are exposed to EFL/EAL learning experiences.

AddiJonally, resource materials should be provided in sufficient quanJJes so that teachers can do their work well and producJvely. Community and home support for the program should be encouraged, as well as conJnued professional development for teachers, as it is an essenJal part of effecJve teaching. What is most important to understand about these factors is that they need to be defined for and understood within the local educaJonal and cultural context. In addiJon, while the three factors are related, there is not necessarily a direct correlaJon among them. Just as there is no one way to teach a language, there is no one program or model for all educaJonal contexts. Finding the right balance among these three factors is a key part of delivering an effecJve program.

ResourcesBlock, D., & Cameron, D. (Eds.). (2002). GlobalizaAon and language teaching. London: Routledge.Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Edelenbos, P., Johnstone, R., & Kubanek, A. (2006). The main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching of language to very young learners. European Commission.Holliday, A. (1994). Appropriate methodology and social context., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Holliday, A. (2005). Oxford applied linguisAcs: The struggle to teach English as an internaAonal language.McCloskey, M. L., Orr, J., & Dolitsky, M. (Eds.). (2006). Teaching English as a foreign language in primary school. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Approved by the Board of DirectorsOctober 2003 Revised October 20091925 Ballenger Ave., Suite 550, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 USATel +1-‐703-‐836-‐0774 ● 888-‐547-‐3369 USA ● Fax +1-‐703-‐836-‐7864 ● E-‐mail [email protected] ● Web hVp://www.tesol.org

BACK TO SCHOOL IN AUGUST

August 25, 2012

Eastern Chapter

Conference

Looking for the L in TESOL:

Leadership

Universidad del Este , Carolina

September 15, 2012

Northern Chapter

Conference

It’s a Small World After

All

Interamerican University,

AreciboSeptember 29, 2012

Central Chapter

Conference

Igniting the Passion to

Teach: Inspiring

the Desire to Learn

Thomas Alva Edison School,Caguas

October 12&13 2012

Metro ChapterActivity

Storytelling Contest

Sacred Heart UniversitySan Juan

November 15, 2012

TESOL International Symposium

Facilitating Student Learning Through

Empowerment

Intercontinental Hotel Isla Verde

November 16-17, 2012

39th PRTESOL Annual Convention

& The 11th Central American and

Caribbean Basin Regional

Conference

Journey into English as a Global Language: Embracing Diversity

Intercontinental HotelIsla Verde



http://www.tesol.org

http://www.tesol.org



Puerto Rico TESOL 39th Annual Convention and the 11th CA & CB Regional ConferenceCentral American and Caribbean Basin TESOL Affiliates

Journey into English as a Global Language: Embracing DiversityIntercontinental Hotel Resort and Casino, Isla Verde, PRwww.puertoricotesol.org email: [email protected]

INVITATION TO EXHIBIT

Puerto Rico TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) is an affiliate of TESOLInternational, a professional educational association with an extraordinary presence through itsover 90 worldwide affiliate organizations. PRTESOL’s mission is to develop the expertise of itsmembership and all others interested in English language education in Puerto Rico. The annualConvention and Exhibit brings together ESOL professionals from Puerto Rico, Central America,the Caribbean, the United States, and other countries to attend and present in-depth sessionsand workshops on topics of current interest in the field of English language education.

This year we will host our 39th annual convention in conjunction with the 11th Central Americanand Caribbean Basin Regional Conference. We invite you to consider participating as oneour exhibitors. This year we will offer 40 exhibitor spaces for companies such as yours topresent your textbooks, teaching aids and resource materials, software products, computerequipment, educational programs, and services that appeal to an audience of public and privateschool teachers, university level professors, curriculum developers, administrators, as wellas interested parties in English language education in Puerto Rico, Central America and theCaribbean.

I have included guidelines for exhibitors and the Advertising and Exhibit contract for 2012. Iwould appreciate that you submit your contract and presentation proposal with payment byJune 15, 2012. Please see attached documents

We look forward to working with you and promoting your products and services during ourannual event. Feel free to contact our Treasurer, Dr. Gladys Pérez Cordero at 787 594-5012 [email protected] for more information.

Cordially,

Evelyn Lugo Morales, Ed D TESLPRTESOL President 2012Tel 787 [email protected]

http://www.puertoricotesol.org

http://www.puertoricotesol.org








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PRTESOLP. O. Box 366828 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-6828

NonprofitOrganization US Postage

PAIDSan Juan, PRPermit 3329

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prtesolgram march 2012

Documents