Sunshine State TESOL of Florida (SSTESOL), a state affiliate of TESOL International Association, is hosting the Southeast Regional TESOL Conference 2019 in Orlando, Florida on November 5-9 at the DoubleTree by Hilton (across from the Universal Studios).[...]The strands to which the proposals are being submitted are: K-12, adult education/ESL, EAP/IEP, teacher education, technology, advocacy/policy, or... Continue Reading →
International Phonetic Alphabet on GBoard
This should expedite transcription exercises in pronunciation lessons. Goodbye copy/paste online keyboards. https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/beh6v4/gboard_now_supports_ipa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x
What do you call someone who speaks only one language …?
Europeans have a perception of people from the U.S. as monolinguals. You can add this to the list of things about which the United States should make you ashamed (as though the 45th were not enough). A popular stereotype of Americans traveling abroad is the tourist who is at a loss when it comes to... Continue Reading →
English Speaking and Presenting: How to stop using filler words like ‘um’ and ‘uh’ in your speech — BroadyELT
Running through several practice runs is the best way to eliminate filler words from a presentation, but if you're someone who suffers from severe performance anxiety, that might not be enough. https://youtu.be/P9FBMNOxLHo This topic is relevant for almost all language users, especially when we present and speak in front of groups. [...]My additional personal tip:... Continue Reading →
New Mexico will pass bill requiring TESOL training for teachers
Rebecca Blum Martinez, the director of the bilingual and ESL program at the University of New Mexico, said having every educator qualified to teach English learners makes sense in New Mexico. It’s the same requirement California has because of its large number of immigrant students. What’s more, she believes PED is undercounting the number of... Continue Reading →
Punctuating “So”
https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/bc7a2y/should_there_be_a_comma_after_overnight/ The distinction between "so" to mean "therefore" and "so" to mean "in order that" often goes unmentioned in ESL books, yet the two words require different punctuation. "So" the conjunction that expresses an expected result is a coordinating conjunction (one of the words comprising the mnemonic FANBOYS), and requires a comma to precede it,... Continue Reading →
Examination of Aptitude & Vocabulary on L2 Writing in Chinese College Students Highlights the Importance of Receptive Vocabulary
The article "Exploring the Relationship between Language Aptitude, Vocabulary Size, and EFL Graduate Students' L2 Writing Performance" in TESOL Quarterly by Yingli Yang, Ya Sun et al. of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China examines the relationship between language aptitude and L2 writing performance. The study tested sixty-seven Chinese grad students... Continue Reading →
Email Etiquette
Observing appropriate email etiquette is a perennial problem at the International Academy. Teach students to write effective emails with Grammarly's post on best practices for writing effective emails: Every email has the same basic structure: Subject line, greeting, email body, and closing. But as with every written form of professional communication, there’s a right way... Continue Reading →
Microsoft Class Notebooks in the Communications Classroom
An early-view article in the TESOL Journal by Pamela Everly examines how Microsoft's learning management platform the OneNote Class Notebook (ONCN) can facilitate speech activities in a listening/speaking or communication focused classroom. Pamela says the following: ONCN's capacity for handling multiple data types, providing individualized content, and delivering multiple computer‐assisted pronunciation technologies on demand increased... Continue Reading →
