Professional Development Day

English At Large's own Irene Walcott summarizes our Professional Development Day. Pictures included!

English At Large Newsletter (January 2014)

Professional Development Day Summary

By Irene Walcott

English At Large held our Professional Development Day on October 23, 2013. The mission of English At Large is to provide immigrant adults the instruction and support they need to improve their English language skills and change their lives. The mission of the day was to give voice to the personal stories, cultural identities, hard work, dedication, and relationships that create a space for effective learning.

We started the morning with a panel of 4 learners who spoke about their experiences with immigration and English language learning. Fatima Cid, Maria Carolina Scherrer, Yan Xu, and Kitty Guo all have very unique stories and backgrounds, and yet still share some similar experiences as immigrants and English language learners. Without English proficiency they felt unable to engage completely in their neighborhoods, schools, even families and lacked the confidence they needed to ensure their needs and those of their loved ones were being met. As their English improves, they are pursuing (and achieving) personal and professional goals, actively contributing to their communities, and knowledgeably and effectively advocating for themselves, their families, and their friends.

We moved into a discussion about cultural identity and acculturation, facilitated by EAL’s Executive Director Qingjian Shi, who is herself an immigrant from China to the United States. To feel separate and “other” is extremely isolating and, unfortunately, very common for individuals entering into new and different cultural surroundings, as EAL learners must do. To understand and respect that a learner’s social identity goes far beyond immigrant or refugee, it takes an open mind, curiosity, meaningful exchanges about values and ideas, and the willingness to embrace a variety of cultural traditions and different ways of life. This is fundamental to EAL’s mission and approaches to English language instruction.

After lunch we transitioned into our Tutor Panel, during which 4 one-to-one tutors shared their best practices in teaching English. Duke Oakes, Sandra LaPerche, Carol Hollingshead, and Paula Medlin have employed and created extremely effective methods of language instruction. Just a few of them include: using photos as discussion prompts, taking exact learner transcripts, creating audio recordings of themselves and their learners reading aloud, emailing each other throughout the week, and using iPad apps and other current technologies. Beyond these concrete methods, a common thread in the work of all 4 panelists is that they took the time to get to know their learners: who she is to her family and community and who they are to her, what her life was like and what it is like now, her personal and professional goals, the continual life changes she experiences, and what her very specific English language needs are based on all of this information.

We thank everyone who made Professional Development Day 2013 at English At Large possible. It was a day of thoughtful and productive communication during which everyone joined the conversation!

ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
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