A Brief Report on Language Teacher Education Conference

Hi all,

The Fourth International Conference on Language Teacher Education organized by the Centre for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota (UofM) was held in Minneapolis, MN, from June 2-4, 2005. I was really impressed to see a considerable number of presentations having their focus on NNES professionals, not to mention UofM’s beautiful campus, the Mississippi River, and downtown Minneapolis! Our own Chair-elect, Karen Newman, was there as well and presented a paper with her colleagues.

For your information, I have listed the titles of the presentations on NNES issues.

Best.

Amir H. Soheili-Mehr
OISE/University of Toronto


Teaching Strategies for Non-Native Language Teachers
Beatriz Fantini, School for International Training

Promoting Collaborative Discourse in Language Teacher Professional Development
Karen Newman, Indiana University, Bloomington
Sibel Ariogul, Indiana University, Bloomington
Martha Nyikos, Indiana University, Bloomington

Chinese EFL/ESOL Teachers’ Perspectives of Offshore Professional Development
Heather Richards, Auckland University of Technology
Clare Conway, Auckland University of Technology

The Professional Identity of Immigrant Non-Native ESL Teachers
Amir H. Soheili-Mehr, OISE/University of Toronto

Changes in Experienced [Korean] EFL Teachers’ Beliefs through MA TESOL Programs
Su-Ja Kang, University at Buffalo, SUNY

International Team Teaching in Teacher Training Programs
Barbara Beers, University of Minnesota
Elena Stetsenko, University of Minnesota

Go Straight to Jail: Expanding Our Role as Teacher Educator
Betsy Parrish, Hamline University

Internationalization Begins at Home: Domestic Collaboration for International Teacher Education
John Plews, University of Alberta

American English Only: Korean Non-native-English-Speaking Teachers’ Attitudes Towards English Varieties
Hohsung Choe, Indiana University, Bloomington

Prospective Teacher Efficacy and the Practicum in an EFL Context
Derin Atay, Marmara University

Supporting NNES Teachers Who Work with Diverse K-12 Students
Antoinette Gagne‛, Amir H. Soheili-Mehr, et al., OISE/University of Toronto

Theory and Practice: Non-native Graduate Students Reflect on Their Teaching in Foreign Language Classrooms
Shih-hsien Yang, National Formosa University

The PhD Game!

For all of you PhD students out there! Take a look! :)

http://www.livejournal.com/community/gradstudents/99481.html?#cutid1

Amir

If students can learn who is the better teacher, why can't employers?

FYI,
Amir


Bias against non-native teachers has no justification, says Michael Fields
Friday June 24, 2005
Guardian Weekly

Local teachers should not be discriminated against because of their ethnicity. Local and native-speaker teachers should be seen as equals, and hiring should be based on qualifications. Every teacher has his own style and strengths, and the natural advantages of local teachers, such as their ability to speak the language of the students fluently, shouldn't be dismissed as less important than having a teacher with a native accent. Hiring should be based on informed policy. Local teachers are getting a lot less than they deserve, and students are missing opportunities for a better education.

Full text at: http://education.guardian.co.uk/tefl/comment/story/0,15090,1513004,00.html