Multilingual authors ‘standing taller’ in arts-rich translanguaging spaces
15 February 2024, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, Online

Summary

In this professional learning webinar, Dr Julie Choi and Dr Rafaela Cleeve Gerkens introduced us to some of their recent work around translanguaging in collaboration with community organisation Kids’ Own Publishing. They began with a discussion around what teachers might already do in their own classrooms to bring students’ home language into their learning. They then provided us with some practical and visual examples of a 6-week case study that involved year 4 EAL students participating in a bookmaking experience. Julie and Rafaela discussed how to foster students’ identities as resourceful multilingual writers and the importance of using arts-rich experiences. They also allowed participants to reflect on any challenges they have encountered when drawing on plurilingual strategies. The evidence highlighted how translanguaging and playful multimodal opportunities can support and lead language interactions where students can build their identities in the classroom. Thank you to both Julie and Rafaela on a very informative and useful session!

Recording

Resources

Download (PDF, 18.69MB)

TQ article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/tesq.3279

Kids Own Publishing: https://kidsownpublishing.org.au/

NGV at the VicTESOL AGM
Monday 4th December, 2023 from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm, Virtual Event

Summary

Leah Santilli from the NGV took attendees of the 2023 VicTESOL AGM on a virtual tour of some the NGV’s collection. She showcased the strong relationship between VicTESOL and the NGV by talking about some of the wonderful events we have been involved in together this year. She also gave attendees the opportunity to be students, and try out some activities analysing different artworks.

Many thanks to Leah and her team for all their work putting this together, and we look forward to working with you again in the future!

Recording

Resources

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Steering the Agentic Vehicle: Exploring English as an Additional language (EAL) Teachers’ Professional Agency since the 2021 Victorian EAL Curriculum Reform November 22, 2023 from 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm,…

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Online LMERC Resourcing Event

September 6 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Virtual Event

Summary

Participants had the opportunity to learn about Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) and the resources and assistance available.

Recording

Resources

Resources to Come

 

LMERC Resourcing Event

Thursday, 11 May 2023 from 4:30pm – 6:00pm,
Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) library, Level 1, 189 Faraday Street, Carlton

This presentation was delivered by Ruth Woolven at the LMERC Resourcing and Networking Event on 11 May 2023. The library holds an extensive collection of over 25,000 resources in all formats for educators across all sectors and at all levels, early childhood to adult. At the session, the attendees were able to browse the resources, sign up for membership to borrow the resources and network with the other participants!

Download (PDF, 5.9MB)

Using Chat GPT to support EAL teaching and planning

Introducing a new series of three videos from VicTESOL on using Chat GPT to support EAL teaching and planning. Join us as we explore how to use Chat GPT to create a range of educational materials that are tailored to the needs of EAL learners. In these videos, we will show you how to create a worksheet, a differentiated model text, and a science unit for EAL learners on the topic of climate change. Watch and learn as we demonstrate how Chat GPT can help you to provide engaging and effective learning experiences for your EAL students.

Please note the above description was generated by Chat GPT!

Using Chat GPT to create a worksheet

Using Chat GPT to create a differentiated model text

Using Chat GPT To create a unit of work

2022 VicTESOL Symposium
LWA and LMERC at the 2022 Symposium

Alfredo Landeros and Ruth Woolven

LWA

LWA were pleased to share a table with LMERC (Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre) at the VicTESOL Symposium on Friday 11th November 2022. It was great to showcase with LMERC resources that related to second language acquisition and language teaching methodology for all levels, from early years to adults.

The AMEP 3 new resources: the English Ready Booklets, AMEPOnline, and the Digital Literacies Framework, Guide, and companion Teaching Resources were of great interest to symposium participants and the participants are looking forward to their publication on the Australian Department of Home Affairs website (Adult Migrant English Program page).

Languages & Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC)

The Symposium provided me with a wonderful opportunity to meet so many EAL educators and the sessions were very informative. Being new to LMERC, I enjoyed chatting about what we provide and what is important to you. We appreciate any suggestions/recommendations for resources.

LMERC is a specialist resource centre for educators across all sectors with both digital and physical resources to support EAL teaching and learning. This includes academic and practical teacher resources; culturally inclusive fiction and non-fiction; games and storytelling kits and realia (puppets, masks, clothes and toys).

We regularly provide bi-lingual dictionaries and picture books, readers and other resources to support your students in schools across Victoria. If you need any resources, you can visit us in Carlton, email for suggestions or look through our catalogue and request items. We have a growing collection of ebooks and audio books that you can access through the catalogue.

We send a newsletter once a term with information about our new resources, professional learning opportunities and relevant articles. Please email if you would like to receive the newsletter.

Telephone: (03) 9349 1418
Catalogue: lmerc.softlinkhosting.com.au
Opening hours: weekdays 9am-5pm, including school holidays

How to Join LMERC and select Register in the top right-hand corner

How to get to LMERC

Edwin Creely, Katrina Tour, Peter Waterhouse & Elizabeth Keenan Thursday 4 November, 4-5:30pm, online  https://youtu.be/PTUJFmc2CWA During the session participants contributed to these documents in their discussions. Flipped Learning : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iINgmm2ub4pkS-nG_OsXAYP0H9r_L0GUUgvhuAirBtg/edit?usp=sharing Hybrid…

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Download (PDF, 1.49MB)

Wednesday 25 August, 2021, 4-5pm

Explore Immigration Museum’s digital resources and content that can expand learning experiences for EAL learners. Museum resources include migration stories, cultural stories, and objects, timelines and personal stories investigating a myriad of Australian identities. This professional learning program was designed for EAL and classroom teachers. Resources can be adapted to suit a variety of subjects, including Humanities, English, Civics and Citizenship. Presented by Immigration Museum Educators in collaboration with VicTESOL.   

Gurmeet Kaur is the Education Program Producer at Immigration Museum and is an experienced former classroom teacher of English and Humanities. She has also worked on international programs such as Teach for Bangladesh and researched intercultural education in schools across Japan, Australia, and UK. Gurmeet studied International Relations and History at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences before completing her qualifications in Education. 

VicTESOL, the state association for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) & Multicultural Education, held our annual Symposium on Tuesday 31 August. This was live online event from 4-5:30pm AEST.  For this event, we had a panel of speakers, experts in TESOL and multicultural education and related fields who discussed what they see as implications of the COVID pandemic for the field of teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL) in Victoria and Australia.

They discussed what TESOL might look like in the next few years and in the longer term as a result of what we are currently experiencing. With the pausing and slowing of some programs during the pandemic, is there a chance that TESOL and other programs may change?  Is there a chance that while there are no new arrivals that existing programs and services will be affected, not only in the short term, but also in the longer term? How might this look? What might be some of the advantages of possible changes? What might be some less positive consequences of change during and post COVID? What can we do to prepare ourselves for ensuring we maintain and build on the quality of EAL and associated learning and support that has been established over many, many years?

You can view the recording of the event here:

Panelists:

Jessica Bishop, Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne)

Margaret Corrigan, CEO of Carringbush Adult Education and President of the Australian Council of TESOL associations

Dr Susan Creagh, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Education, The University of Queensland

Associate Professor Russell Cross, Language and Literacy Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Carmel Guerra, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Multicultural Youth

Mark Melican, Principal of Blackburn English Language School

Matt Rodger, Senior Schools Support Officer – RESP Education & Early Years Program Practice & Sector Development, The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture

Chermaine Thomas, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS)

The panel was chaired by Dr Shem Macdonald, VicTESOL President and Lecturer at La Trobe University.

To view the collated comments of participants from the registration process, see below. Participants were asked to identify one positive and one negative coming out of their experience of working in the TESOL field during the pandemic. .

Download (PDF, 122KB)

During the session there was great engagement in the chat and Q&A. We have collated and edited the responses which can be viewed here:

Download (DOCX, 38KB)

The recent issue of TESOL in Context contains an editorial related to the topic covered in today’s session. It is referred to within the symposium event.

Teaching and learning English in the age of COVID-19: Reflecting on the state of TESOL in a changed world

To access this, click here:

https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/tesol/article/view/1427

Many thanks to all who were involved in this event.