April 2013
Volume 1, Issue 3
TESOL Kuwait
News
Highlights:
First Annual Conference 2
Board Elections in November 3
ELS Grand Re-opening 4
Members’ Forum 5
4th Quarter Open Meeting 6
On March 20, 2013, Executive board members: Yvonne Johnson
(President), Camille Bondi (Membership), and Jeffrey McDevitt (Assistant
Newsletter Editor) attended the Affiliate Leadership Workshop at the TESOL International Conference and English Language
TESOL Kuwait Attends TESOL International
Member Spotlight: Jeanette Al Sabah
“A nation's growth anddevelopment is contingent on a highly educated and motivated workforce. Communication skills are a valuable resource in today's global economy. It is important that educators continue to implement effective instructional practices that support English language learners to enhance their
communication skills. The collaborative efforts of educators around the world through learning
organizations such as TESOL can have a
Expo. This workshop provided the Board
Members a chance to meet with and get advice from the other 108 Affiliates from around the world. This pre-conference workshop was directed toward the effective running of and Executive Board and helped the attendees to
realize areas in which our new organization could improve, including definition of roles, communication, and sustainability.
On Friday, March 22, 2013, Johnson and McDevitt attended the Affiliate Assembly and received the official Certificate of Affiliation from TESOL International (pictured left). In addition, the affiliates were asked to provide insight as to how TESOL International governance could best support its affiliate organizations in reaching their goals.
profound effect on the educational practices of devoted educators.” –Jeanette Al Sabah
Middle School Asst. Principle American International School (AIS)
Jeanette Al Sabah has been a member of the
educational community in Kuwait for 18 years. She began her career in Early Childhood Education as a preschool teacher then went on to teach at the
Elementary School level as well as providing ESL support classes in the
evening. She earned her B.A. in Elementary
Education at Atlantic Union College (South Lancaster, MA). She also has a M.S. in Management and Administration of
Educational Programs from
NEXT OPEN
MEETING
Mark your calendar for
the next open meeting:
May 4, 2013.
Read more about it on
page 6
.
Continued on page 4TESOL Kuwait News
Page 3 of 7
Help steer the future of TESOL Kuwait! Run for an Executive Board position this fall!
Dear Readers,
It is great to see the growing interest in TESOL Kuwait and the rapidly increasing number of members. We are extremely excited about our affiliation certificate that was received during the TESOL International conference in Dallas. Many of our board members attended in order to develop our organization. As for our newsletter, we have added a new section to
demonstrate our diversity. We have added a Member Spotlight section to introduce members to the
At the First Annual Conference of TESOL Kuwait, we will be holding elections for the following board positions: President President Elect Secretary Treasurer Membership Officer For information regarding roles and responsibilities, please see our Constitution and Bylaws located on the website
(www.tesolkuwait.org)
TESOL Kuwait Elections: November 2013
A great way to get involved and connect with other teachers in the same area of interest in TESOL is through an interest section. Active interest sections may host an event, facilitate networking and discussion (in person and on the net), maintain a web area on the TESOL website, advise on issues relating to their field, publish periodicals, or referee relevant conference proposals for the annual conference,.
TESOL Kuwait Interest Sections
rest of our community. If you are interested in being in this section please feel free to contact us through our provided emails and we would love to add you to our next newsletter. What we urge you as avid readers of our newsletter and anxious members of our organization is to participate in the Members’ Forum. We pose aquestion in every issue to be answered in the next issue. This is a way for teachers to connect and share ideas. We would love to receive more
responses to be able to get a feel of the different ideas and perspectives we have of teachers around the
country. We will be having a booth in our next open meeting so be prepared to answer our question that is included in this issue. We look forward to seeing you in our next open meeting and please do not forget to visit our booth to share your answers. -Rasha Fahim Newsletter Editor
If you would like to nominate someone (or self-nominate) please contact our
Members-at-Large Representative: Mohammad Etadali
[email protected] In addition, we will need to form a Nominating
Committee. If you are willing to serve on this committee, please notify Mohammed Etadali.
The Executive Board of TESOL Kuwait meets on a monthly basis throughout the
academic year. The newly-elected board will decide the dates and times of meetings that best meet their schedules.
Currently, TESOL Kuwait has one active interest section for Teacher Development and is helping to provide the workshops for the open meetings. If you wish to join this interest section or you are interested in forming a new interest section, contact the co-chairs via email: Susan Hamade
[email protected] or Ilene Winokour
Letter from the Editor
On April 10, three TESOL Kuwait board members, Margaret Combs, Jeff McDevitt, and Yvonne Johnson attended the grand reopening of ELS Language Centers in Salmiya. The new
language school is located above the Géant
supermarket in Salmiya, and offers modern vibrant classrooms, a variety of courses and excellent learning facilities for
students of English. ELS is
ELS Reopens in Kuwait
Nova Southeastern University.
This is her third and final year as the Chair for the International
Administrators Network (IAN) – an organization that organizes and promotes professional development, including the PEAK conference, for teachers in Kuwait. Jeanette has presented at the PEAK conference several times. Themes of her presentations included distance
education/teacher
Jeanette Al Sabah (continued from pg. 1)
A nation's growth and development is contingent on a highly educated and motivated workforce.
part of a wide network of language schools in the USA and abroad, stretching as far as Australia, and has been operating for over 50 years. The President and CEO of ELS International, Mark Harris, visited Kuwait for the opening and spoke about the importance of learning languages for cross-cultural
understanding.
The event was especially memorable for TESOL Kuwait International Affiliate
certification options for individuals living in Kuwait and the implementation of professional learning community protocols. She is currently working on her doctorate in
Organizational Leadership with a minor in Human Resource Development. Her goal is to continue to work with educators to promote professional development for the educational community in Kuwait and the greater Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Her commitment to the quality educational programs
in Kuwait comes from a desire to have a positive impact on the community. As a member of TESOL, she hopes to promote the information exchange that occurs with quality professional
development opportunities for educators.
If you have a suggestion for someone to include in our next member spotlight, please contact the newsletter editors: Rasha Fahim and Jeff McDevitt [email protected]
Caption describing picture or graphic.
First Annual
TESOL Kuwait
Conference to
be held at GUST
next November.
Register online, or
submit a proposal
to present at the
conference by
visiting our website
and clicking on the
tab for
“Conference”
www.tesolkuwait.org
Advocacy Rep. and Webmaster, Margaret Combs, who was previously employed by ELS as Director from 1996 to 2002. President, Yvonne Johnson, also worked for ELS as an instructor at the Military School of Languages and the Kuwait Joint Command and Staff College as well as teaching occasional classes at the language center itself. They reminisced with ELS Academic Director, Melissa Woods, who attended our last open meeting in March alongside colleague, Magda Rogala.
Back row (left to right): Magda Rogala
(ELS teacher), Melissa Wood (Academic Director), Mark Harris (President & CEO of ELS Language Centers), Margaret Combs, and Jeffrey McDevitt.
Front Row (left to right): Yvonne
TESOL Kuwait News
Page 5 of 7
“Corrections need to be part of the students’ grades, but the way we look at is that they are in the learning process. They are learning how to revise so we give them specific assignments with error corrections: 1. with some standard texts; 2. with authentic student writing as peer evaluators, which is more difficult. The initial focus should be on good content before going into revision and corrections. The most important thing, though, is that teachers must be consistent with their correction and revision techniques. You need to teach the students how to revise before they get into their own writing. If you value it as an Instructor and a department, then the students will do it.” -Sandy Stein
(Reading/Writing Coordinator, AUK)
“A Rubric should be created with corrections a percentage of the grade. However, corrections should not be a significant part of the grade. The main focus of the rubric should be on content development. Content should definitely be the main focus when instructing English Language Learners.” -Debra M. Hoffer (Oral Communications Coordinator, AUK)
“Corrections should affect students positively. Even if I don’t have a positive comment I need to give something positive before I give them the negative comment. Writing is a process so the whole process should be taken into account when grading not just the mistakes. The emphasis should be put on the final product.” –Maaly K. Jarrah (Oral Communications Instructor, AUK)
This issue’s question:
How do you grade correctness in student’s
writing?
Next Forum’s Topic:
For the next forum, we would like to know how much of the students’ native language are you allowing them to use with each other and why? Email your response to the newsletter staff.
If you have a suggestion for the next forum or wish to contribute other short teaching related articles, contact the newsletter staff:
Rasha Fahim & Jeffrey McDevitt
Members’
Forum
TESOL Kuwait seeks to be driven by its members. We want the newsletter to become an extension of this. Therefore, we invite you to submit items for future newsletter content. The Members’ Forum is a place for current members of TESOL Kuwait to ask and answer questions, provide commentary, essays, poetry and helpful stories concerning
anything related to teaching. We hope to get submissions related to assessment, classroom management, teaching in the Gulf, and learning strategies and resources, but we are open to what members can provide. The newsletter is published quarterly with issues in January, April, July, and October
Please limit longer submissions to 500 words.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the newsletter staff. Rasha Fahim: Editor
[email protected] Jeffrey McDevitt: Assistant Editor
Workshops Offered at Next Open Meeting
Choose ONE of the following
Writing Difficulties and How to Assess Them (MS/HS/University)
Mohamed El Sheikh Saeed Bin Al Aas Intermediate School
Activities to Promote Reading Development (Those with students in early stages of Language acquisition)
Dr. Mirna Safi Bright Minds Creative Learning Center
Critical Thinking for all Subjects (Elementary/Primary Ed.)
Tahira Muhammad International Academy of Kuwait An Exercise in Understanding Preferences in
Group Work-PLC Protocol (All)
Jeanette Al Sabah International Administrators Network
Project-Based Learning in an Engineering Higher Education Environment for ESL Students
(High School/University & Academic Admin.)
Tony Geara Australian College of Kuwait
Writing Objectives and Assessment Questions Using Blooms Taxonomy (All)
Herman Daniels Australian College of Kuwait Toastmasters Demo Meeting for TESOL
Members (All)
Don Prades Camille Bondi
American University of Kuwait Australian College of Kuwait NO FUSS GRAMMAR (All) Susie Lennox Gulf University for Science and
Technology Helping Adult ESL-Learners Efficiently
Decode a Reading Text (MS/HS/University)
Sosil Simokian Bassem Al Kassem
Box Hill College-Kuwait
Examining Errors in Reasoning (HS/University)
Jon Pils Specialized Solutions - Workplace Training and Development
Invitation to 4
thQuarter Open Meeting
The next open meeting will beheld at Box Hill College Kuwait on Saturday, May 4, 2013 from 10:00am to 12:00 noon. The College is located in Abu Halifa. Click on the map for directions. The day will begin with a short 20 minute meeting to update
members on various activities. Then, participants will attend one of ten workshops offered. Following the workshops, we will have refreshments and a chance to mingle with other TESOL
Please RSVP for this open
meeting by May 2, 2013 via
email:
[email protected]
Kuwait members.
Please email your RSVP to [email protected] with your preferred workshop or with questions by May 2, 2013, to help us plan the event.
Note that in order to have
certificates printed on the day, you will need to check in by 9:45 for the workshop you wish to attend. This is a free event for TESOL Kuwait members; membership signup is available at the venue.
Invitation to TESOL Kuwait’s 4
thQuarter Open Meeting
Where:
Box Hill College Kuwait
When:
Saturday, May 4, 2013
10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Cost:
Members – Free
Non-Members – 5KD
Participants can join TESOL Kuwait on the day of the meeting or online: http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/QH8r0297MA4bY8L9R9g2iS
RSVP:
Send email to [email protected] by May 2,
President: Yvonne Johnson
Membership: Camille Bondi
Newsletter:
Editor: Rasha Fahim
Assistant Editor: Jeffrey McDevitt
Interest Sections Co-Chairs: Susan Hamade
Ilene Winokour
Advocacy: Margaret Combs
Members-At-Large: Mohammad Etadali
Historian: Ibtissam Othman
Scholarship: Lisa Waite-Trago
Treasurer: Claire Hamilton
Advertising: Reena Mathew
[email protected] Photos from last open meeting at ACK (9 March. 2013):
https://twitter.com/ACK_Live/status/310326598324858880 TESOL: Kuwait on the International Teaching Map (1 Dec. 2012):
https://www.gust.edu.kw/content/tesol_kuwait_international_teaching_map “Kuwait on the International Teaching Map” Arab Times (5 Dec. 2012)
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/Portals/0/PDF_Files/pdf12/dec/05/30.pdf
“Teachers Exploring
Practice for Professional Learning”
Bilkent University School of English Language
Ankara, Turkey June 17-18, 2013
http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~tresearch/
TESOL Job Opportunities in Kuwait
Global LT, a language training company, is in need of an ESL tutor in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The student is an adult female whose native language is Spanish and she would like lessons twice per week on weekday mornings for 1-1.5 hours a lesson. The student would like to meet at her home in Salwa. Some books and materials are
provided. If interested please submit your resume and hourly rate to [email protected]
TESOL Kuwait in the News
TESOL Kuwait is a professional organization for anyone involved in teaching non-native speakers of English in an English medium environment. Although many of our members teach English, membership is not limited to English teachers. We hope to
About Our Organization…
TESOL Kuwait
Contact Your Board Members:Visit our website:
www.tesolkuwait.org
If you see articles written about our organization in any publications, please feel free to forward the information to the newsletter staff. This will help ensure that all our members are able to read it.
have more involvement from subject area teachers in order to provide focused professional development opportunities.
Our membership consists of professionals from in and around Kuwait.
Beginning in November 2013, TESOL Kuwait will be collecting membership dues for all members. Dues will help us to provide better professional development opportunities to our members.
Contact current members to see how you can become involved or become a member.