Hello Everyone,
This is your classmate Clint Taylor. If anyone is available on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10 to 11:50, please let me know.
As I mentioned in a previous response to a post, I've over-committed myself for the next 8 weeks.
If you are needing a place to pick up some service learning hours, I can recommend the LIFT program at Aldersgate United Methodist Church. It's on E. Park Row in Arlington--about 10 minutes away from UTA.
My class usually has 8 or 9 students--about 6 Spanish speakers, and 3 ladies from Vietnam. The curriculum is already planned, and the book covers all four skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.) In fact, L.I.F.T. stands for Literacy Instruction for Texas.
If you could help out at all, please let me know. Thank you!
M. Clint Taylor
taylorclint 'at' gmail.com
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Zubair Masood
Hello and Salaam,
I am Zubair, doing TESOL certificate, this is my second semester here, I have got M.A in Linguistics from Pakistan my home country. I have worked as an ESL instructor for about fifteen years for different language schools, where I conducted classes for adult learners. I can speak Urdu, English and have knowledge of Punjabi and Sindhi (regional languages) as well.I came to the U.S in 2000. I may go for terminal degree in the field if things go well.
I am Zubair, doing TESOL certificate, this is my second semester here, I have got M.A in Linguistics from Pakistan my home country. I have worked as an ESL instructor for about fifteen years for different language schools, where I conducted classes for adult learners. I can speak Urdu, English and have knowledge of Punjabi and Sindhi (regional languages) as well.I came to the U.S in 2000. I may go for terminal degree in the field if things go well.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Finding Service Learning Opportunities
Following up on the Partners' Match workshop in early December 2009, I have met with a member of the ELI staff to discuss working as a volunteer in a pilot project: The Conversation Club. This program is new for ELI, and it will be closely monitored to assess what, if any, effect it might have on facilitating speaking English among the various levels of ELI students. I will begin facilitating a conversation group on Monday, February 1, at 5pm.
Initially, the classes will last for an hour or so, once a week. Students from all levels of the ELI program - that is, all levels of familiarlity and proficiency - will be in the groups. Attendance - on the student's part - will be voluntary.
ELI staff overseeing and monitoring this program will be providing feedback throughout the semester, which will be very helpful. This should prove to be a great challenge to me .. to find ways to engage students from different countries and of varied levels of proficiency in English. I have planned to begin the first class with a) some light munchies .. always an ice breaker ... especially at 5 in the afternoon/evening, b) a little notebook for each student to encourage them to note questions and topices and things they'd like to talk about in the group, and c) my inflatable globe to use as a tool for introductions, and hopefully conversation starters.
This will be my first time volunteering for ELI, and I am looking forward to participating.
I also begin another conversation class at Arlington Reads! this Friday, January 29th. I have been a volunteer with Arlington Reads! since June of 2009, and I am looking forward to seeing some of my former group members.
Initially, the classes will last for an hour or so, once a week. Students from all levels of the ELI program - that is, all levels of familiarlity and proficiency - will be in the groups. Attendance - on the student's part - will be voluntary.
ELI staff overseeing and monitoring this program will be providing feedback throughout the semester, which will be very helpful. This should prove to be a great challenge to me .. to find ways to engage students from different countries and of varied levels of proficiency in English. I have planned to begin the first class with a) some light munchies .. always an ice breaker ... especially at 5 in the afternoon/evening, b) a little notebook for each student to encourage them to note questions and topices and things they'd like to talk about in the group, and c) my inflatable globe to use as a tool for introductions, and hopefully conversation starters.
This will be my first time volunteering for ELI, and I am looking forward to participating.
I also begin another conversation class at Arlington Reads! this Friday, January 29th. I have been a volunteer with Arlington Reads! since June of 2009, and I am looking forward to seeing some of my former group members.
Today's vs. Tomorrow's Reading- by Ruby
I would like to say that I completely agree with the author on that the purpose of intensive reading instruction is for students to develop reading skills and strategies gradually which can make their future readings easier. That is something new to me because I have been educated in Grammar Translation Method for more than half of my life. To me, learning English used to be endless reading and endless translation (into my native language, Mandarin Chinese). (Of course, since someday or another, I reached the point that I could read and comprehend whatever I read in English at the same time without translation anymore.) However, we focused on the contents, meanings and grammar so much that we have never thought about whether today's reading training can contribute to tomorrow's better comprehension or not. This is a precious moment when I got some epiphany about future reading instructions.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Intensive vs. Extensive Reading
Sharon Peters [I show up here as Theabroma]
Does anyone else associate intensive reading as what was done in English classes when different writings - especially novels, poetry, and essays were totally torn apart and picked to the bones with analysis and what one professor used to call "deep reading"? The description of it reminds me of deconstructing literature. We never did that, however, with news writing ... which can provide most important information, especially for an L2 at a certain level and above, but which can be wickedly tough to read due to use of acronyms, jargon, or wide-ranging vocabulary (especially in top-tier news like New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, etc.). It would seem that intensive reading of appropriately leveled, and topically focused articles would provide good text for intensive reading for L2 students.
Although it seems to be my luck that as I study readin' & writin' this semester, my service learning classes - so far - are all conversation, I still find that L2 students hunger for information on current events, and that their only real source is tv because reading a paper is so difficult for them. Seems newspapers & magazines - physical or on-line - would be an ideal source of material for intensive reading.
I welcome comments on this.
Wei-Fan Suen
Hello, my name is Wei-Fan Suen, I'm a TESOL certificate student in my 2nd semester.
Like some of you, I'm a crossover too from my 'real' profession in the high-tech industry, where I did a lot of interesting things in technology development for a period of time, and later moved on in various management positions. My educational background includes B.S. in Math, M.S. in Computer Science Engineering and an M.B.A. in business administration.
So why am I here? I consider myself extremely blessed in that I can take a break from work to focus on something long in the back on my head -- teaching English. As a native Chinese Mandarin speaker from Taiwan, and having lived over 20 years in the U.S., I feel I can contribute at certain degrees to many struggling L2 English learners. My rich experience in the business and with peoples around the world (over a million miles accumulated in my American Airlines frequent flyer program) could provide a broader learning/teaching context especially to students who desire to learn business English. For this semester, I am motivated to learn a whole lot more with respect to TESOL from both classes taught by Cindy on pedagogical phonology and methods and materials. If everything goes well, I should be able to finish the certificate by mid of summer. Given the permission from my wife, I hope to practice English teaching in China for a short period, or engage other ventures over there.
Like some of you, I'm a crossover too from my 'real' profession in the high-tech industry, where I did a lot of interesting things in technology development for a period of time, and later moved on in various management positions. My educational background includes B.S. in Math, M.S. in Computer Science Engineering and an M.B.A. in business administration.
So why am I here? I consider myself extremely blessed in that I can take a break from work to focus on something long in the back on my head -- teaching English. As a native Chinese Mandarin speaker from Taiwan, and having lived over 20 years in the U.S., I feel I can contribute at certain degrees to many struggling L2 English learners. My rich experience in the business and with peoples around the world (over a million miles accumulated in my American Airlines frequent flyer program) could provide a broader learning/teaching context especially to students who desire to learn business English. For this semester, I am motivated to learn a whole lot more with respect to TESOL from both classes taught by Cindy on pedagogical phonology and methods and materials. If everything goes well, I should be able to finish the certificate by mid of summer. Given the permission from my wife, I hope to practice English teaching in China for a short period, or engage other ventures over there.
Monday, January 25, 2010
AtoZphonics Website - Bobbi
The AtoZphonics website, at first blush, seems to apply only to children. The games are definitely for young children, and I assume the sound acqusition sequencing is based on acquisition steps for first-language acquisition by children rather than the sequencing for second-language acquisition by adults. That being said, the “Top Ten Phonics Rules” is an excellent reference for both instructors and adult learners. http://www.atozphonics.com/phonics-rules.html
Additionally, there are two checklists: Alphabet phonogram Checklist http://www.atozphonics.com/support-files/alphabetphonogramflashcards.pdf and the Initial Blend Checklist http://www.atozphonics.com/support-files/initialblendsfc.pdf which could definitely be used in adult settings.
There are many great resources provided for phonics, however, the games, etc. appear to require significant adaptation to be useful in an adult second language setting. One complaint is when you click on many of the links a message from Google appears indicating the link is broken so site maintenance could be improved.
Additionally, there are two checklists: Alphabet phonogram Checklist http://www.atozphonics.com/support-files/alphabetphonogramflashcards.pdf and the Initial Blend Checklist http://www.atozphonics.com/support-files/initialblendsfc.pdf which could definitely be used in adult settings.
There are many great resources provided for phonics, however, the games, etc. appear to require significant adaptation to be useful in an adult second language setting. One complaint is when you click on many of the links a message from Google appears indicating the link is broken so site maintenance could be improved.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Teaching Phonics- by Ruby
Hi, there:
When it comes to teaching Phonics (the relationships between writing system (alphabet) and pronunciation) to L2 adult learners, I have an idea. Long time ago in Taiwan, when my kids were babies, I bought several Phonics toys (with a keyboard and many Sesame Street characters) for them to practice English pronunciation. I found it very useful and very effective. Whenever they pushed one alphabet button, the machine would say the pronunciation of the alphabet as well as give an example starting with that sound. (There are many other functions and even all kinds of tests.)
Several years later when I was studying in the Dept. of English Literature & Language in National Kaohsiung Normal University (the 2nd best university especially for training high school teachers in Taiwan), I saw my UK SLA professor bring that kind of machine to class to show us how to do phonics. I consider that tool (available in Toyrus and Walmart) very convenient and useful, even to adult learners, just for your reference.
When it comes to teaching Phonics (the relationships between writing system (alphabet) and pronunciation) to L2 adult learners, I have an idea. Long time ago in Taiwan, when my kids were babies, I bought several Phonics toys (with a keyboard and many Sesame Street characters) for them to practice English pronunciation. I found it very useful and very effective. Whenever they pushed one alphabet button, the machine would say the pronunciation of the alphabet as well as give an example starting with that sound. (There are many other functions and even all kinds of tests.)
Several years later when I was studying in the Dept. of English Literature & Language in National Kaohsiung Normal University (the 2nd best university especially for training high school teachers in Taiwan), I saw my UK SLA professor bring that kind of machine to class to show us how to do phonics. I consider that tool (available in Toyrus and Walmart) very convenient and useful, even to adult learners, just for your reference.
Teaching the Alphabet- by Kari
As discussed in class, the techniques that would apply to teaching reading to L1-learning preschoolers don't seem like they would apply to teaching reading to L2-learning adults. I think, however, that an adaptation and combination of the following two teaching ideas from atozphonics.com/teachingalphabet would be useful for teaching reading to an L2 learner. (Click on title of this post for link to website.)
-Make an Alphabet Book. Give each page a letter of the alphabet, and stick in magazine pictures that begin with the associated letter sound.
-Make or purchase a wall hanging with 26 pockets. Mark each pocket with a letter of the alphabet and put inside items that start with the same letter.
As it takes a lot of time to gather pictures and items that start with certain letters, this seems like something a teacher could keep in mind all the time. Instead of pockets, the teacher could keep a few multi-pocket expanding filing folders or a box full of file folders. As he finds pictures in magazines, etc. of things that start with certain letters he can label them and store them away. So, as you teach your student(s) the alphabet you can go through the files and pull out pictures. With labels on the pictures, the student can then see the picture and the word and immediately know how to spell the word and what it means.
-Make an Alphabet Book. Give each page a letter of the alphabet, and stick in magazine pictures that begin with the associated letter sound.
-Make or purchase a wall hanging with 26 pockets. Mark each pocket with a letter of the alphabet and put inside items that start with the same letter.
As it takes a lot of time to gather pictures and items that start with certain letters, this seems like something a teacher could keep in mind all the time. Instead of pockets, the teacher could keep a few multi-pocket expanding filing folders or a box full of file folders. As he finds pictures in magazines, etc. of things that start with certain letters he can label them and store them away. So, as you teach your student(s) the alphabet you can go through the files and pull out pictures. With labels on the pictures, the student can then see the picture and the word and immediately know how to spell the word and what it means.
Jill McCarty
Hey Everyone! It's been fun learning about those of you who I don't know yet and hearing more about those of you who I do know. Thanks for sharing!
I just finished my MA in Linguistics here at UTA in December, but I am still working on my TESOL certificate, which is one of the reasons I am in this class. Though I have had a lot of coaching experience, I have had limited teaching experience. I learned a lot about teaching ESL (speaking and listening) and just overall teaching last semester in 5301. I taught a conversation class last semester for my service learning, and I am going to do one-on-one tutoring this semester. The girl with whom I hope to work with has specified interest in improving her reading and writing, so I am excited to put my new skills from this class to practice! :)
On a personal note, my family is my favorite! I have a wonderful husband named Josh, and a sweet 9 month old little boy named Cason. You will most likely see them around if you come to any Lingua activities! As far as school goes, I am applying for the PhD program here at UTA in hopes of continuing my research and education to hopefully obtain a future job teaching in a university. As far as hobbies, I love the outdoors (hiking, camping, running, mountain biking), sports (volleyball, gymnastics, football, basketball as well as others), and reading. I'm excited to get to know all of you better throughout the semester as we learn more about teaching reading and writing!
I just finished my MA in Linguistics here at UTA in December, but I am still working on my TESOL certificate, which is one of the reasons I am in this class. Though I have had a lot of coaching experience, I have had limited teaching experience. I learned a lot about teaching ESL (speaking and listening) and just overall teaching last semester in 5301. I taught a conversation class last semester for my service learning, and I am going to do one-on-one tutoring this semester. The girl with whom I hope to work with has specified interest in improving her reading and writing, so I am excited to put my new skills from this class to practice! :)
On a personal note, my family is my favorite! I have a wonderful husband named Josh, and a sweet 9 month old little boy named Cason. You will most likely see them around if you come to any Lingua activities! As far as school goes, I am applying for the PhD program here at UTA in hopes of continuing my research and education to hopefully obtain a future job teaching in a university. As far as hobbies, I love the outdoors (hiking, camping, running, mountain biking), sports (volleyball, gymnastics, football, basketball as well as others), and reading. I'm excited to get to know all of you better throughout the semester as we learn more about teaching reading and writing!
Sean Cooper
Hi, I'm Sean, and this is my second semester at UTA. I was MA Ling but I have been persuaded to switch over to MA TESOL.
Most of you know me and are tired of hearing my story (it's gotten stale), but here goes. I graduated from Oklahoma State with a BA in Liberal Studies (creating a major of equal parts linguistics and Japanese). I then went to Japan on the JET Program, where I worked in the sticks of north Japan for two years. There I developed an English curriculum for the local elementary school, learned how to drive in snow and how to snowboard, and became a rock star (in all seriousness, my band released an album on an indies label).
After that, I moved just outside Tokyo and taught English under private contract at several schools in the suburbs. After two years of that I am back to better myself in the pursuit of higher education. I have little experience in ESL but a lot in EFL, so if you want to know about English teaching abroad, Japan, etc. feel free to ask. I am currently involved in volunteer teaching at Arlington Public Library and substitute teaching at UTA's English Language Institute.
And lest you think I'm all about linguistics, I enjoy singing, snowboarding, traveling, and playing mahjong (the 4-player game, not the solitaire game).
Most of you know me and are tired of hearing my story (it's gotten stale), but here goes. I graduated from Oklahoma State with a BA in Liberal Studies (creating a major of equal parts linguistics and Japanese). I then went to Japan on the JET Program, where I worked in the sticks of north Japan for two years. There I developed an English curriculum for the local elementary school, learned how to drive in snow and how to snowboard, and became a rock star (in all seriousness, my band released an album on an indies label).
After that, I moved just outside Tokyo and taught English under private contract at several schools in the suburbs. After two years of that I am back to better myself in the pursuit of higher education. I have little experience in ESL but a lot in EFL, so if you want to know about English teaching abroad, Japan, etc. feel free to ask. I am currently involved in volunteer teaching at Arlington Public Library and substitute teaching at UTA's English Language Institute.
And lest you think I'm all about linguistics, I enjoy singing, snowboarding, traveling, and playing mahjong (the 4-player game, not the solitaire game).
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Kris Wright
Greetings classmates. I graduated with a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science and then worked for about 6 years as a software developer.
Then I moved to Japan to be an English Instructor and taught English via a video telecommunications multimedia interface called the Ginganet for 4.5 years. It was rewarding to help improve the lives of the students. Also, due to the nature of teaching over the Ginganet, I was able to interact with an incredible number of people. Each class was approximately three students and I had eight classes a day. This number (3 students times 8 classes a day) multiplied by 4.5 years equals the number of people I spoke with during that time, since I almost never had the same student for a second time (over 20,000 students). I did not originally plan on a career of English language teaching but with that number of students to interact with at all kinds of levels, I started to notice some students would have issues that other’s would not have, or some were attaining levels others were not, for different reasons at which I was interested to explore further. Underpinnings for these observations seemed to exist but I did not have the background in linguistics to explain well. Also, I have struggled with my own second language learning. In the end, I decided to go back to school at UTA to study the field more.
I work full time so I only take 2 classes a semester. My goal, at this point, is to return to language teaching and learning. Additionally, I really enjoyed 5301 when I took it a number of years ago and learned a lot from the instruction, so I am looking forward to learning and gaining a different perspective in 5302.
On a personal note, I am married and my wife, Gladys, is a student in the Art Department. As several of my classmates have expressed, we too feel as though we are working towards our degrees for the foreseeable future. My hobbies are salsa dancing, learning keyboarding, and playing video/board games.
Brent
I'm one of the undergraduates.
So my Plan 'B' was always to go to Japan or Korea to teach English. I kept hearing things about the JET program and ran the idea over with my aunt. She teaches ESL at OSU. Alright, she didn't exactly light up with wonderful things to say about the JET program at first. She emphasized the training she went through versus a normal university graduate's ability just to speak English. So that got me interested in actually taking a course on the subject. If I ever teach I'd like to do it well.
So my Plan 'B' was always to go to Japan or Korea to teach English. I kept hearing things about the JET program and ran the idea over with my aunt. She teaches ESL at OSU. Alright, she didn't exactly light up with wonderful things to say about the JET program at first. She emphasized the training she went through versus a normal university graduate's ability just to speak English. So that got me interested in actually taking a course on the subject. If I ever teach I'd like to do it well.
Liliana Hinojosa
Hello everyoneJ, my name is Liliana Hinojosa, I sit at the front of the second row. I’m currently working on my linguistics minor, I only need 3 classes (the ones I’m taking this semester) and I’ll be graduating this coming May. I love languages, I would love to learn as many as I can, even though I only know 2 L…. I grew up in Mexico, even though I was born here (long story…), my native language is Spanish. I returned to the US when I was 15 years old because I wanted to continue my studies here.
I’m currently a Spanish tutor, I love what I do, I like teaching others the language I know; feel free to ask me anything about Spanish, if I don’t know the answer I can always look it up…. J I took some education courses back in 2009, I believe teaching is such a wonderful rewarding job.
What else?... I think that’s about it, if you have any questions or anything, please let me know, my name is Liliana Hinojosa. I look forward working with you.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Bobbi Ansiaux
Hi All. While originally from California, where all my family still resides, I have lived in Texas so long that if not granted native status I should at least be granted naturalized status. I am currently on the “eternity” track for my TESOL MA. Being a CPA, with my own tax practice, an adjunct accounting instructor at Brookhaven, and commuting to UTA from Dallas for one course, my dance card is full this semester so at one course a semester, and 7 to go, I figure I will need a walker to get across the stage when I graduate. I hold a BA is in Inter-Departmental Humanities and a MS is in Accounting.
I have never taught English to native or non-native speakers, but my desire to do so I attribute to the non-native speakers in my accounting classes. Their achievements have inspired me to become involved in this field. I am looking forward to this course for hands-on experience and guidance in approaches to teaching reading and writing and the contacts it will provide within the Brookhaven community.
P.S. I have never "blogged" before .....
I have never taught English to native or non-native speakers, but my desire to do so I attribute to the non-native speakers in my accounting classes. Their achievements have inspired me to become involved in this field. I am looking forward to this course for hands-on experience and guidance in approaches to teaching reading and writing and the contacts it will provide within the Brookhaven community.
P.S. I have never "blogged" before .....
Clint Taylor
In January 1992, I began tutoring for the ESL program at Abilene Christian University. I was a junior at the time, majoring in Business. I continued to study business, but found teaching English very interesting and rewarding.
My wife is also a student at UTA. She's working on the PhD in Business, so we'll be around Arlington for the foreseeable future. I've lived in her hometown of Kaohsiung, Taiwan for 10 years. I'd be happy to share my experiences with anyone who is interested.
Since 2008, I've taught a couple of classes for UTA's English Language Institute (ELI). In case you don't know, people from all over the world are learning English here at UTA. These students are really nice and friendly. Since most of their classes are in Trimble Hall, it's really easy to see them and get to know them!
I'm really looking forward to this class. Even though I lived in southern Taiwan for a decade, I never learned the local language of Taiwanese (Southern Min). This class will provide me a great opportunity and motivation to learn about this dialect of Chinese.
My wife is also a student at UTA. She's working on the PhD in Business, so we'll be around Arlington for the foreseeable future. I've lived in her hometown of Kaohsiung, Taiwan for 10 years. I'd be happy to share my experiences with anyone who is interested.
Since 2008, I've taught a couple of classes for UTA's English Language Institute (ELI). In case you don't know, people from all over the world are learning English here at UTA. These students are really nice and friendly. Since most of their classes are in Trimble Hall, it's really easy to see them and get to know them!
I'm really looking forward to this class. Even though I lived in southern Taiwan for a decade, I never learned the local language of Taiwanese (Southern Min). This class will provide me a great opportunity and motivation to learn about this dialect of Chinese.
Lori Pierce
Hi everyone! I am finishing my 3rd year here at UTA in the Linguistics graduate program. I just finished my masters last semester and am taking courses (including this one) to complete my TESOL certificate. And, hopefully, by the end of this semester, I will be able to say that I have been accepted to the PhD program here as well. So, even more school for me!
I received my undergraduate degree from Texas A&M in English Lit with minors in Spanish & Math and tried my hand at teaching junior high Spanish for a couple of years before I realized that I'm not a very good disciplinarian. I did enjoy the teaching part, but some days in junior high, you do more crowd control than teaching. So, I decided to return to school so I could teach adults! And, that is what I have been doing this year. Last semester I taught a linguistics intro course for undergraduates, and I am teaching another section of it this semester. Like I said, I enjoy teaching, and I have realized in the past year that teaching adults is more for me.
I said this in class, but I am taking this class partially because it is required for the TESOL certificate, partially because I do enjoy teaching English (especially after the wonderful experience I had last semester with the woman I tutored), and partially because last semester I realized that many of the skills we learn could be transferred to teaching any subject, not just an ESL class. I think we should never stop growing as people or in our careers, so I love that these classes push me to be a better teacher and communicator in many areas of my life.
On a personal note, I have been married to a wonderful man, Mark, for a year & a half and have a 24 pound cat, Max, and an 85 pound Great Dane puppy, Flint.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sharon Peters
I was born down the road in Dallas ... and found it was a great place to be from. Lost my accent somewhere in New Haven, Connecticut and never found it again despite returning home to Texas. Language has always fascinated me which was how I wound up getting a BA in Linguistics and English at UT Austin. I kinda strayed from that path though, working as a newspaper editor and organizer for the Texas Farmworkers Union in the Rio Grande Valley. I also began teaching ESL there at a small college in San Juan, Tx.
Eventually, I returned to Austin, where I continued to teach English and an occasional Spanish class. And travel in Mexico anytime I got the chance. I continued studying and teaching cooking also ... something I had begun to do while living in New Haven ... I had discovered that eggplant imam, Linzer tortes, borshch and mole poblano were so much more interesting than meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Returning to Dallas, went through a culinary program at El Centro and worked as a chef at several Dallas restaurants, before returning to teach cooking again.
But I missed university and linguistics, so decided that that returning to study TESOL would be the best combination possible for love of language and love of teaching. I am currently trying to figure out how to add cooking to that mix ... I will complete my TESOL coursework this May, and the practicum in the Summer. Beyond that ???? I would like to teach outside the country, possibly in Latin America or Eastern Europe. But I am not ruling out more school.
I am excited about classes this semester. I will be doing a conversation class at Arlington Reads!, and hopefully will be able to find another service opportunity in a different program for additional experience. I look forward to spending some more time with people I already know and meeting the new students in my classes.
Eventually, I returned to Austin, where I continued to teach English and an occasional Spanish class. And travel in Mexico anytime I got the chance. I continued studying and teaching cooking also ... something I had begun to do while living in New Haven ... I had discovered that eggplant imam, Linzer tortes, borshch and mole poblano were so much more interesting than meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Returning to Dallas, went through a culinary program at El Centro and worked as a chef at several Dallas restaurants, before returning to teach cooking again.
But I missed university and linguistics, so decided that that returning to study TESOL would be the best combination possible for love of language and love of teaching. I am currently trying to figure out how to add cooking to that mix ... I will complete my TESOL coursework this May, and the practicum in the Summer. Beyond that ???? I would like to teach outside the country, possibly in Latin America or Eastern Europe. But I am not ruling out more school.
I am excited about classes this semester. I will be doing a conversation class at Arlington Reads!, and hopefully will be able to find another service opportunity in a different program for additional experience. I look forward to spending some more time with people I already know and meeting the new students in my classes.
Ruby Wang
My name is Ruby. My Chinese name is Yi-Ping Wang. I come from Taiwan. I am a dual MA student in Linguistics and TESOL. I have been studying in UTA for two and a half years, so this semester is my sixth semester in UTA. Before that, I was in Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi) studying TESOL. I am going to graduate with MA TESOL in May, 2010 and my MA in Linguistics in Dec., 2010. I am at the final stage for both degrees. After this semester, I only got one course left to take.
I started working as a TA of Mandarin Chinese in the Dept. of Modern Languages in UTA since last semester. If nothing is wrong with the program, I guess I would work as a TA of Chinese till I graduate with both degrees. If anyone of you is interested in Chinese language or culture, please feel free to ask me. I will be glad to share whatever I know about that. (My office: Hammond Hall R. 320)
I used to be a very experienced EFL teacher in Taiwan with more than eight years of teaching experience. Actually, I started teaching EFL to junior high or senior high school students at the age of 19 when I was an English (Literature)-majored college student in Taipei (National Cheng-Chi University). However, before I majored in TESOL and Linguistics (in National Kaohsiung Normal University since 2002), the only teaching methods I had been familar to were Grammar Translation Method and Audiolingual Method, the ways I had been taught by my English teachers in Taiwan for my whole life. What I have been studying and learning for TESOL (and Linguistics) during the past seven years (NKNU + Ole Miss + UTA) really changes my view of looking at the industry. I am going to start my volunteer ESL teaching in Arlington Reads on Feb. 2nd and the project will go on until Apr. 8th. By the end of the course, I will collect 60 working hours of teaching, but this time, no Grammar Translation Method or Audiolingualism anymore. Everything will be Communicative Approach. I think it will be a new journey for me to explore.
In the middle of April, I will wrap up my study in TESOL and put it into the portfolio and get ready to sail with my MA TESOL degree. My career goal is not teaching English. I will teach Mandarin Chinese in colleges in USA (hopefully in DFW area) for the rest of my life. I believe what I have been learning from TESOL and Linguistics has equipped me with the methods and techniques of teaching my native language (Mandarin Chinese) to Americans. If possible, I will keep on pursuing the Ph.D. in Linguistics, so that maybe some day in the future, I can teach Chinese Linguistics in some university in USA.
I started working as a TA of Mandarin Chinese in the Dept. of Modern Languages in UTA since last semester. If nothing is wrong with the program, I guess I would work as a TA of Chinese till I graduate with both degrees. If anyone of you is interested in Chinese language or culture, please feel free to ask me. I will be glad to share whatever I know about that. (My office: Hammond Hall R. 320)
I used to be a very experienced EFL teacher in Taiwan with more than eight years of teaching experience. Actually, I started teaching EFL to junior high or senior high school students at the age of 19 when I was an English (Literature)-majored college student in Taipei (National Cheng-Chi University). However, before I majored in TESOL and Linguistics (in National Kaohsiung Normal University since 2002), the only teaching methods I had been familar to were Grammar Translation Method and Audiolingual Method, the ways I had been taught by my English teachers in Taiwan for my whole life. What I have been studying and learning for TESOL (and Linguistics) during the past seven years (NKNU + Ole Miss + UTA) really changes my view of looking at the industry. I am going to start my volunteer ESL teaching in Arlington Reads on Feb. 2nd and the project will go on until Apr. 8th. By the end of the course, I will collect 60 working hours of teaching, but this time, no Grammar Translation Method or Audiolingualism anymore. Everything will be Communicative Approach. I think it will be a new journey for me to explore.
In the middle of April, I will wrap up my study in TESOL and put it into the portfolio and get ready to sail with my MA TESOL degree. My career goal is not teaching English. I will teach Mandarin Chinese in colleges in USA (hopefully in DFW area) for the rest of my life. I believe what I have been learning from TESOL and Linguistics has equipped me with the methods and techniques of teaching my native language (Mandarin Chinese) to Americans. If possible, I will keep on pursuing the Ph.D. in Linguistics, so that maybe some day in the future, I can teach Chinese Linguistics in some university in USA.
Kari Christopherson
Born of a mother from Israel and a father from Iowa, future home state of James T. Kirk, Kari was inspired by the cultural diversity present in her home and was encouraged by her parents to travel. After visiting Mexico during her senior year of high school and experiencing Spanish come to life, she decided to pursue a degree in Spanish. Upon graduating high school, Kari was also offered a student teacher position at her alma mater. She had previously thought that teaching was the last thing she would ever want to do, but junior year of high school she would have also never thought she would go on to study Spanish. Since she loves teaching and loves studying Spanish, she's getting used to surprises. While at UTA, Kari's love for language led her to the linguistics department. She plans to graduate in May with a bachelor of arts in Spanish with a minor in Linguistics. With her love of language, teaching and cultural interaction, Kari found the TESOL department and now plans to start working towards her graduate degree in TESOL in the Fall and perhaps continuing her study of the Spanish language by pursuing a doctorate in Spanish.
Cindy Kilpatrick
Hi all - I hope you are ready for an informative and hopefully fun semester! To get us started, let's make sure that we know one another. I'm Cindy, the professor, and I'm now starting my 2nd semester at UT Arlington. I've been an ESL/EFL teacher for many years, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala; in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea; in Dallas, Texas (at Brookhaven Community College), in El Paso, Texas (at UT El Paso and at El Paso Community College), and in San Diego, California (for graduate students at UCSD). I love teaching English, and I hope that you (grow to) love it too!
I did my PhD at the University of California, San Diego, completing my dissertation there last summer. My research focused on the logical problem of learning a subset in L2 phonotactics, and dealt with Spanish speakers learning new final consonant patterns in English, and English speakers learning new glide-vowel sequences in Spanish. This research continues to lead into new projects, and I'm also in the process of writing up parts of my dissertation for publication.
Even though I just moved from California, I'm a Texas girl at heart. I grew up in Mesquite, over on the other side of Dallas, and my parents and sisters still live in the metroplex. So this area has been home for me for about as long as I can remember. You'll probably hear my Texas accent peaking through quite regularly, if you haven't already.
Now, each of you should start a new post with your own mini-bio, and then if people have questions, they can comment on your new post. Please title the post with your first and last name so that we know who you are.
I did my PhD at the University of California, San Diego, completing my dissertation there last summer. My research focused on the logical problem of learning a subset in L2 phonotactics, and dealt with Spanish speakers learning new final consonant patterns in English, and English speakers learning new glide-vowel sequences in Spanish. This research continues to lead into new projects, and I'm also in the process of writing up parts of my dissertation for publication.
Even though I just moved from California, I'm a Texas girl at heart. I grew up in Mesquite, over on the other side of Dallas, and my parents and sisters still live in the metroplex. So this area has been home for me for about as long as I can remember. You'll probably hear my Texas accent peaking through quite regularly, if you haven't already.
Now, each of you should start a new post with your own mini-bio, and then if people have questions, they can comment on your new post. Please title the post with your first and last name so that we know who you are.
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