2021 WAESOL Annual Conference: Full Schedule

WAESOL, the Washington state affiliate of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), is a professional, non-profit organization whose purposes are to:

Promote scholarship
Disseminate information related to ESOL
Strengthen instruction, teacher training, and research in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021; Online
Visit waesol.org for membership, conference information, and to learn more about WAESOL.

Recordings will be posted by November 1st.

Clock hours will be available for both the live conference and the recorded sessions. Please note: Clock hours can only be earned once for a particular session either during the live conference or as a recording.

10:30am PDT

World-Building and Storytelling: Collaborative Creative Writing in the ESL Classroom

Creative writing activities can help ELLs develop voice, style, and linguistic flexibility. Incorporating collaborative creative writing tasks into lessons can also motivate students, spark their interest in writing, and offer opportunities for exercising metacognitive and problem-solving skills. This workshop-style presentation will walk teachers through creative writing exercises in world-building, character creation, and story development, demonstrating structured activities that will empower students creatively and engage their sense of play as they develop their writing skills together.

Speakers

Audra Lord

Academic Director, ALPS Language School

Audra Lord is a teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESL) based in Seattle, Washington. She holds a Master of Arts in Linguistics-TESOL and a TESL Certificate from Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan). Audra has taught English in Wellington, New Zealand, Ayutthaya... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 10:30am - 11:15am PDT
Olympic Penninsula

Instructional Strategies, Workshop

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant

10:30am PDT

L2 Writing: An asset based lens promotes writing proficiency

L2 writing instruction benefits from L1 linguistic assets. This presentation describes a study of L2 writing that revealed errors and a high proficiency of complex verb tenses, and a capitalization pattern that reflected Marshallese noun classification. The localized study has instructional and assessment implications for all writers, including Pacific Islanders.

Speakers

Jill Pagels

Professor, Sam Houston State University

I recently completed my doctorate in literacy, with a bilingual literacy focus. This degree (Sam Houston State University 2021) compliments my MA TESOL (SHSU, 2013) and BA Linguistics (University of Arizona, 1985). Language, culture, and diversity have always fascinated me, as interaction... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 10:30am - 11:15am PDT
Cascades Range

Research, Research/Report

Target Audience k-12, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Dual Language Programs

10:30am PDT

Peace Education: Returning WWII Good Luck Flags to Japanese Families

We introduce “yosegaki hinomaru—group-written flags" with messages from men for WWII soldiers and “senninbari”—1000-stitch keepsakes women made. Participants engage in peace education, values clarification, conflict resolution, master narrative examination, and reflection while identifying ways to use this lesson, share lessons they teach, and validate culturally responsive teaching.

Speakers

LaVona Reeves

Professor of English, Eastern Washington University

Former WAESOL President and board member, LaVona Reeves is Professor of English at Eastern Washington University, where she teaches linguistics, literature, TESL, and gender studies. With Education, she launched a new online master’s degree in TESOL. She has also taught at the University... Read More →

Akira Nakagawa

Instructor, Osaka University of Commerce

Akira Nakagawa teaches English at Osaka University of Commerce. He earned the Master of Arts in English with a TESL Emphasis from Eastern Washington University, where he wrote a thesis on the suffering passive in Japanese and problems Japanese students face when they write in English... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 10:30am - 11:15am PDT
The Palouse

Trauma, Workshop | Mindfulness, Workshop | Social-Emotional Care, Workshop

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant

11:30am PDT

Interested in Publishing or Peer Reviewing with WAESOL Educator?

WAESOL Educator is the online publication of WAESOL. Participants will learn the process of manuscript submission and of the opportunity to become a peer reviewer. We encourage new and potential writers to attend. Join us to see how you can move forward in your development as a professional.

Speakers

Heidi Doolittle

Senior Lecturer, Gonzaga University

David Martin

Professor, Washington State University

David Martin has been teaching for 21 years with about 15 in the ESL realm. He is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor in the English department at WSU, focusing on developmental and first-year composition. His research interests include ESL teacher identity trajectories, identities... Read More →

Martha Savage

2021 Past President, WAESOL

Mary Martha Savage’s classroom experience spans k-12, adult/immigrant, IEP and MTSL graduate coursework. She is a frequent workshop presenter because…"I enjoy hearing the lived experience of others as we explore how to teach in more effective ways." She retired in June 2020 from... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 11:30am - 12:15pm PDT
Cascades Range

Exploring TESOL Career Paths, Workshop

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant

11:30am PDT

Critical Reading Strategies in the ESL Classroom

This critical qualitative research study explores the possibility of applying principles and practices of critical literacy to the teaching of ESL reading texts and offers ESL educators a variety of effective strategies to promote ESL students’ critical engagement with their texts, specifically to help them disrupt the commonplace.

Speakers

Jihyun Nam

Adjunct ESL Instructor, Shoreline Community College

Jihyun Nam is an associate faculty member of the ESL program at Shoreline Community College (SCC). He received an M.A. degree in TESOL & Applied Linguistics and a Ph.D. degree in Language Education at Indiana University at Bloomington. Prior to arriving at SCC, he taught pre-service... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 11:30am - 12:15pm PDT
Columbia Basin

Instructional Strategies, Research/Report

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant

12:25pm PDT

Employment-focused task-based instruction for adult refugee English learners (Drop-in Poster Session)

Adult low-literacy refugee background English students form a distinct learning group with their own strengths and struggles. This presentation will share the preliminary insights gained from a study that empirically tested employment-focused task-based English lessons designed for Syrian refugees in Canada. _x000D_
Keywords: refugee, limited literacy, ESL, task-based instruction, adult

Speakers

Monica Conners

MA Candidate, University of Victoria

Monica’s work serving vulnerable populations with varied previous educational experiences began in 2006. Gaps in her knowledge about how to best teach English learners with limited literacy in their first languages led her to pursue her master’s degree at the University of Victoria... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 12:25pm - 12:50pm PDT
Cascades Range

Instructional Strategies, Poster Session

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant

1:00pm PDT

Afternoon Keynote: Welcoming Washington: A Collective Effort to Support Afghan Arrivals

Washington state has a long history of welcoming people from refugee and immigrant backgrounds. Since 1979, more than 140,000 people have resettled in Washington’s local communities through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Supporting the integration of newcomers involves many different members of our communities. English as a Second Language Programs for kids and adults play a critical role in helping people to not only learn English but also supporting kids in schools, building community across refugee and immigrant groups, and gaining important knowledge and information needed for people to grow and thrive. Join me in discussing how Washington communities play a vital role in supporting our nation’s response to welcoming our newest neighbors from Afghanistan.

Speakers

Sarah Peterson

WA State Refugee Coordinator, Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, DSHS

Sarah Peterson is the Washington State Refugee Coordinator and oversees the Washington Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA). Before taking on this role in 2014, Sarah spent 15 years working with refugee and immigrant communities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sarah attributes... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Gathering Space

Policy and Advocacy

Target Audience k-12, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators, Administrators

2:30pm PDT

OET - The Newest English Test to be Accepted in Washington

OET [Occupational English Test] has recently been accepted in Washington as a means for foreign-trained nurses to prove their English fluency as part of their registration process. In this session, you will learn the basics of the test and how it could be an exciting new teaching opportunity for you.

Speakers

Rebecca Bush

Teaching and Learning Manager, OET [Occupational English Test]

Are you interested in learning more about teaching English to Doctors and Nurses hoping to work in the US and specifically in Washington State? I'd love to tell you more about the Occupational English Test (OET) which has recently been recognised by the Washington State Nursing Care... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
Columbia Basin

Exploring TESOL Career Paths, Informational Session

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators

2:30pm PDT

Teaching Sentence Structure to Language Learners: From Paper to Zoom

In this workshop, educators explore delivery methods, from paper to Zoom, for teaching sentence structure. With terms related to composing sentences, participants work in groups to analyze sentence structure exercises, and plan their own. A variety of related instructional materials are provided, with games to engage the students.

Speakers

Terry Knudsen

Instructor of English, Mukogawa U.S. Campus

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
Mt. Rainier

Instructional Strategies, Workshop

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators

2:30pm PDT

Writing Clear Instructions to Increase Equity for Multilingual Students

If you have struggled to explain complicated instructions to ELL students, or to help teachers write comprehensible instructions, join us to discuss abbreviating and simplifying instructions to make assignments more accessible for multilingual students. We will consider how students process language and how to organize information to facilitate student success.

Speakers

Jovilin Grunewald

ELL Teacher, Oak Harbor SD

I love talking about teaching language, and about ways to partner with Gen Ed peers to more comprehensively serve MLs. I'm interested in the cognitive processing aspects of language acquisition and memory, and, nerdily enough, in dead languages with interesting writing systems... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
The Palouse

Instructional Strategies, Informational Session

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators

2:30pm PDT

Creating Safe and Healing Learning Spaces for our New Neighbors

Come gain an understanding of 1) the global refugee crisis and the impact of forced migration; 2) the context of families arriving in WA from Afghanistan and many other countries; 3) trauma informed approaches to education and how to create a safe and healing learning space for newcomer students.

Speakers

Rachel Kurz

Senior Education & Learning Program Manager, International Rescue Committee

Rachel Kurz has over seven years’ experience in non-profit and program management, and ten years’ experience in international relief and development. She has predominately specialized in education in emergencies, responding to the Syrian refugee crisis from Lebanon, and currently... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
Mt. Adams

Issues of Equity, Informational Session

Target Audience k-12, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators, Administrators

2:30pm PDT

Examining ESL/EFL Teachers’ Attitudes and Perspectives towards World Englishes

This study examines the attitudes and perspectives of Filipino and Chinese ESL/EFL teachers on World Englishes through focus group discussions, open-ended questionnaires, and interviews. The results will help in identifying the gaps in language teaching, providing suggestions on inclusivity and asserting legitimacy of non-native English teachers as speakers of English.

Speakers

Alexander Tang

PhD Student, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

Alexander Fukin Tang is a doctoral student of Chinese Linguistics at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. His research interests include but are not limited to: the use of L1 in the second language classroom, sociolinguistics, and L2 identity development,. He is currently researching... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
Olympic Penninsula

Issues of Equity, Research/Report

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators

2:30pm PDT

Exploring Literacy in Afghanistan

This workshop will explore literacy in working with Afghani adult students. It will offer some Afghani student insight on the process of learning to read in English.

Speakers

Christina Mitma Momono

Christina Momono has been teaching ESL nearly 15 years at the Community Colleges of Spokane and Gonzaga University working with visiting international students, and immigrant and refugee students who have resettled in the United States. She has done workshops on sociocultural and... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
Omak River

Other, Informational Session

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant

2:30pm PDT

Want to Volunteer to Teach English?

Volunteer to teach English! In this session, participants will learn about the current functions of Barton English Language School (BELS), a community language school in downtown Spokane. Volunteers are trained and supported (online/in-person). Participants will learn a variety of ways to be involved. Current tutors will share their experiences.

Speakers

Becky Rempe

Director, Barton English Language School

Saturday October 23, 2021 2:30pm - 3:15pm PDT
Cascades Range

Other, Workshop

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant

3:30pm PDT

Embodied oral reading for enhancing English language teaching course content.

This presentation details a set of techniques, based on embodied (gesture enhanced) oral reading that supports learning of course content and pronunciation. The gesture plus touch (haptic) engagement is designed to enhance expressiveness, attention and memory for both form and content. Applicable for learners of all ages and proficiency levels.

Speakers

Acton Haptic Pronunciation

President, AMPISys, Inc.

Acton Haptic Pronunciation (www.actonhaptic.com and actonhaptic@locals.co) is the community of "hapticians," lovers of haptic pronunciation teaching. The parent company, Acton Multiple-modality Pronunciation Instruction Systems (AMPISys.inc.) was established in 2008. Haptic Pronunciation... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 3:30pm - 4:15pm PDT
Cascades Range

Instructional Strategies, Teaching Demonstration

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant

3:30pm PDT

Exploring Sight: Supporting ESL Learning

Why does vision supersede the other senses? What occurs during visual processing in the brain? How does the primacy of vision impact ESL teaching materials design? One teaching method (Visual Thinking Strategies) is highlighted.

Speakers

Michèle Pointel

Graduate Student, Gonzaga University

Some of my ESL interests are in the areas of immigrant & refugees, third language acquisition, multilingualism, and curriculum and materials design.

Saturday October 23, 2021 3:30pm - 4:15pm PDT
Omak River

Research, Informational Session

Target Audience k-12, Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant

3:30pm PDT

Re-humanizing the Online Class: Designing for Community and Identity Development

Creating an online class in which ESOL students are able to develop deep connections to the language and one another can be challenging. This report discusses recent research from a variety of disciplines and provides practical tips for combining visual and curricular design to create a dynamic, welcoming online environment.

Speakers

Angel Steadman

Tenure-Track Faculty, ELCAP, Highline College

Saturday October 23, 2021 3:30pm - 4:15pm PDT
The Palouse

Technology, Research/Report

Target Audience Higher Ed. Intensive English, Adult Refugee/Immigrant, Teacher Educators

3:30pm PDT

Effective Affective for Remote Learning Success

The session introduces an innovative perspective on how to integrate the affective with the cognitive domain in remote instruction. Educators can promote students’ engagement/retention in remote learning by embedding self-regulation and resilience-building skills in the curriculum.. Attendees will contribute expertise, practice skills learned in the session, and engage in self-reflection.

Speakers

Mihaela Cosma, Ed.S

Professor, Lake Washington Institute of Technology

Mihaela Cosma, Ed.S, is a visionary educator engaging adults in transformative learning towards the full expression of the human potential. She has 20+ years of experience in college BEdA – curriculum&instruction, and developing&managing programs. As a certified resilience/self-regulation... Read More →

Saturday October 23, 2021 3:30pm - 4:15pm PDT
Olympic Penninsula

Trauma, Workshop | Mindfulness, Workshop | Social-Emotional Care, Workshop

Target Audience Adult Refugee/Immigrant