Tuesday 21st July 11.00am-12.45pm
MYAN is excited to invite you to their National Youth Panel led by young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds exploring the new normal during and beyond COVID-19.
This session was a practical workshop to assist teachers to modify programs and scaffold learning to assist EAL students to access the Victorian Curriculum across all subject areas. Participants learnt about engaging EAL learners, scaffolding essential vocabulary and making appropriate modifications to learning and assessment tasks.
The session began with a short presentation from Ruth Hibburt. The presentation focused on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of differentiation. The powerpoint presentation is available above. A recording of the presentation will be available shortly.
This presentation was followed by expert teachers from GELC working with participants in small groups to guide them through making appropriate adjustments to a work sample for their EAL learners. Participants were asked to send in a work sample such as lesson plan, unit planner, assessment task or worksheet they are currently using or are planning to use in Term 3 so that GELC staff could formulate recommendations tailored specifically to participants’ needs. This part of the session was not recorded.
This session was aimed at primary and secondary school teachers. Prior to this event, participants were asked to read pages 32-36 of the article ‘Catering for EAL/D Students’ Language Needs in Mainstream Classes: Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives and Practices in One Australian Setting’ (Toni Dobinson & Sylvia Buchori).
* Recommended reading: Dobinson, T. J., & Buchori, S. (2016). Catering for EAL/D Students’ Language Needs in Mainstream Classes: Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives and Practices in One Australian Setting.. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2).
Ruth Hibburt is a highly accomplished teacher with over 12 years experience teaching in Victorian Secondary Schools 7-12 and English Language Centres P-10. She specialises in teaching the academic language of Mathematics and Science through planning, engagement, curriculum development, assessment and reporting for EAL Maths and Science P-10. Ruth is a positive change maker in education and an expert in building skills and confidence with teachers and students. She has taught over 3000 students from a diverse range of social backgrounds and learning needs. Ruth currently works in Victorian schools as a Network Numeracy Improvement Teacher.
The GELC staff are all qualified specialist EAL teachers with many years experience in delivering English language programs. GELC programs develop the English language knowledge and skills for students to access the Victorian curriculum across a range of subjects areas including maths, science, humanities and ICT. GELC staff also work in a coaching and mentoring capacity with mainstream classroom teachers to scaffold learning appropriately to meet the needs of EAL students.
Here is a presentation by Premila Veerasamy and Hsah Mu Hen Tun (Geelong English Language School) that covers some further content relating to the discussions from this professional learning event:
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A PRESENTATION OF ONLINE EDUCATION RESOURCES FOR ALL STUDENTS OF ALL
AGES & BACKGROUNDS
Wed 10th June, 4.30pm AEST
TasTESOL has organised a free presentation by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra showcasing their fabulous online educational resources. Using Zoom, they will look at 4-5 pictures related to the theme of multiculturalism and identity and discuss how they could be used in class (for all ages).
The presentation comes highly recommended by our colleagues in ATESOL, ACT:
“The brilliant thing about the NPG is that the program can be designed in collaboration with their staff. There could be a focus on different themes, e.g. Indigenous Australians and their stories, women, Tasmanians, people in/from remote places, musicians, Australian history, democracy and more!”
PLEASE RSVP TO contact.tastesol [at] gmail.com AND THE LINK WILL BE FORWARDED TO YOU LATER.
Put the date on your calendar now!
Read the May VicTESOL eBulletin online now.
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And if you would like to subscribe to receive future updates please click here.
Skye Playsted Thursday 14 May 2020 When we think of the term ‘culture’, it can be easy to focus on concrete elements such as art, music, clothing or food. However,…
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ELTons would like to invite you and your networks to nominate those from across the English language teaching community around the world who inspire you and others. You can find out more and make a submission on the ELTons website by Friday 29 May, 23.59 (UK time).
Now more than ever, it’s important to recognise and celebrate people who have made a lasting and extraordinary impact on teaching and learning. Who do you think should win the ELTons award for outstanding achievement in English language teaching?
Nominations for the British Council ELTons Outstanding Achievement Award are encouraged from all nationalities, cultural or ethnic backgrounds, genders and first languages, and can include well-known leaders to typically unsung heroes.
We would like to hear who for you has:
- Made a significant contribution to further English language teaching.
- Helped shape the English language teaching profession or industry.
- Had an impact on a wide audience.
Click here to visit https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/eltons-outstanding-achievement-award-2020 for further information.
The ideas compiled here are from teacher comments and discussions during a number of professional learning sessions that VicTESOL has run since the move to online and remote learning began. The teachers who participated were from primary and secondary schools and from the adult education sector.
Like the teachers in this session, we hope the ideas and resources in this list help you to also feel more confident about supporting EAL learners remotely. This list includes the positives (what’s working), some challenges, tips, strategies and resources. We hope you find them both useful for, and affirming of your experiences and practices. Thank you to all the participants for sharing their ideas and to the session facilitators for compiling them.
Online discussion forum and mini-presentations
Tuesday 5 May & Thursday 7 May, 4:00-5:45pm
- Clare Blackman & Jessie Sambell (Blackburn English Language School)
- Emily Tucker (Carringbush Adult Education)
- Nathan Chong (Brunswick English Language Centre)
- Jennifer Peck (Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre- LMERC)
VicTESOL provided an online space for teachers to come together to discuss their experience of teaching and supporting EAL students remotely during the COVID-19 crisis.
The session began with a number of mini-presentations with presenters sharing what they have implemented so far and their reflections on the experience of remote teaching and learning. This was followed by small group discussions between participants in which there was an opportunity for participants to share their experience and also hear what other teachers are implementing, sharing tips and advice for future learning. Librarian Jennifer Peck from the Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) then presented some of their multilingual and EAL online resources.
Click here to access the information shared by Jennifer Peck from the Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC).
Click here to view the ideas and the resource list compiled from teacher comments and discussions during these professional learning sessions.
Click here to join the teacher discussion forum on Facebook ‘LBOTE Families and home learning’. Click here to access further information on the VicTESOL website about this discussion group.
Click here to access information relating to the Department resources.
To download an edited PDF of powerpoint:
To download the resource links page:
Victoria Butterfield, Voula MacKenzie, Heena Sharma, Panayiota Kai
The Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program of the Victorian School of Languages (VSL)
Tuesday 28 April, 4-5pm
Online Webinar
Are you faced with the challenge of teaching your EAL students online during the COVID-19 crisis?
This session provided practical strategies for teaching EAL online, followed by a Q and A session with a panel of expert primary and secondary EAL teachers who work with the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program.
Participants learnt tips and strategies for the effective use of videoconferencing to teach EAL learners. Examples were shown of how engaging lessons can be conducted online for F-10 EAL learners at all levels.
This professional learning session focused on working with EAL students who have access to videoconferencing software at home.
About the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program [VNAP]
The Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program supports new arrival EAL students using video conferencing sessions delivered through a distance education model at the Victorian School of Languages (VSL). The Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program (VNAP) is specifically for newly-arrived EAL learners in remote country schools who cannot access an English Language School or English Language Centre.
Victoria Butterfield is co-coordinator and a teacher in the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program (VNAP). She is a highly accomplished EAL teacher who has taught in English Language Schools and Centres in Victoria for the past twelve years. Since 2017, Victoria has taught in the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program to support newly-arrived EAL learners and teachers in regional Victoria.
Voula MacKenzie is an experienced EAL, Information Technology and Humanities teacher, who has taught in Victorian secondary schools, English Language centres and most recently at the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program (Distance Education) hosted at the Victorian School of languages campus in Thornbury. Since 2014, Voula has led the development of the Virtual EAL program, which began as a pilot project, and is now an established program with 65 students throughout rural Victoria. Voula co-coordinates the program.
Heena Sharma is a generalist teacher specialising in EAL. She has worked in government Primary schools for over 15 years and in collaboration with Panayiota Kai teaching EAL. Heena Sharma joined the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program team in 2017.
Panayiota Kai is a generalist teacher specialising in Languages and EAL. She has taught in government Primary and Secondary schools for over 20 years. Panayiota has worked as an EAL Coach, trained EAL Leaders and offered PD on EAL issues. Panayiota has been part of the Virtual EAL New Arrivals Program as Curriculum Co-ordinator since 2015.
