ACTA is holding its annual general meeting on Thursday 2 April 2020, 7pm AEDT. Please contact the ACTA secretary if you wish to participate.

Email: Secretary [at] tesol.org.au

Website: https://tesol.org.au/who-we-are/#about-acta-2

ACTA is the national coordinating body for all associations of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) across Australia. Membership of ACTA comes automatically through membership of one of its constituent associations.

All members of TESOL associations are welcome to attend the AGM.

ACTA is made up of councillors from each state and territory association. Councillors, need to be nominated by state and territory TESOL associations. Only TESOL association councillors or their designated proxies are entitled to vote at the AGM.

ACTA Objectives

  • to represent and support the interests of teachers of English to speakers of other languages and dialects and their students
  • to ensure access to appropriate English language instruction for speakers of other languages and dialects
  • to encourage implementation and delivery of quality professional programs at all levels
  • to promote study, research and development of TESOL at local, regional, national and international levels.

Please click here for further information.

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Wednesday 4 March

Functional Multilingualism/Translanguaging are currently popular terms being researched, discussed and adapted to diverse learning settings. This webinar was a practical response to the current interest in Translanguaging, suggesting ways this might look in EALD classrooms and what teachers might consider when developing Translanguaging activities. With the intention of bringing students’ linguistic and cultural knowledge to the fore through redesigning Australian Curriculum and SACE task, four tasks, along with samples of student work, were presented and discussed.

Janet Armitage currently works for the South Australian Department for Education in the role of EAL/D Hub Coach supporting teachers in professional development that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EALD learners. Janet undertook action research in a large secondary school in South Australia where she was an EALD teacher and EALD & Languages Coordinator. She is also a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics with the University of South Australia and has been part of a team providing professional development to Languages teachers across the state.

Read the February VicTESOL eBulletin online now.
Click here to read online.

And if you would like to subscribe to receive future updates please click here.

Download (PPTX, 3.58MB)

Have you been allocated VCE EAL for the first time in 2020? Would you like some guidance and support from three experienced EAL teachers who have been in your shoes before?

Julia, Deborah and Rebecca joined forces to bring their extensive EAL teaching experience to VicTESOL members and guests with the aim of providing practical suggestions on how to transfer EAL pedagogy into the VCE context. An overview/breakdown of the current VCE EAL Study Design was included, in addition to tips on meeting the needs of our EAL learners within the VCE context. The aim of the session was to respond to participants’ questions directly.

This session was held at The Immigration Museum. Participants were also welcome to explore the exhibition spaces before the event from 4pm.

Presenters:
Julia Lippold is an EAL and TESOL specialist teacher and ‘teacherpenerur’ with over 14 years of TESOL teaching experience. She has taught in both the New Arrivals and independent sectors, and also in Korea. She began her formal teaching career at Blackburn English Language School in Melbourne and as a volunteer tutor working with refugees on Temporary Protection Visas. At Blackburn ELS, Julia worked as a Leading Teacher, Head of Senior School, and International Student Coordinator maintaining close links with the International Division at the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Julia currently teaches at Lauriston Girls’ School in the role of EAL Coordinator (Years 7-12) where she has had an integral role in establishing the EAL program. Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) with Honours, a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary), a Master of Public and International Law and a Graduate Certificate in Literary Classics. In addition to teaching, she supports staff in accommodating the needs of EAL students and delivers staff professional learning workshops. Julia is a member of the Executive Board of the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA), an affiliate of both VicTESOL and VATE, is actively involved in the VCAA F-10 EAL Curriculum for Victorian Schools Consultation Review, is a member of the VCAA VCE Examination Development EAL Reviewing Panel, and is the founder and creator of Zealous English. Julia is passionate about teaching EAL and creating user-friendly resources for both teachers and students.
Rebecca (Bec) Gillies has over 11 years’ experience teaching EAL students, most recently at VCE level. Originally focused on a corporate career, Bec completed a Bachelor of Business Studies (Marketing), then worked in Japan before travelling extensively. Her experiences living and working in different cultures have given her an insight into the challenges and rewards of language acquisition. Holding a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary), Bec has taught in both the Government and Independent sectors, commencing her second career in the New Arrivals Program at Blackburn English Language School in Melbourne. Bec currently teaches EAL at Korowa Anglican Girls’ School where she has developed curriculum and resources for Years 7-12. In addition to teaching, she supports students and colleagues to ensure EAL learners achieve to the best of their ability, regardless of their English language competency. Bec is an active member of VicTESOL and VATE.
Debra Icely has taught in public schools in Victoria for over 30 years, with 20 + years at Princes Hill SC- teaching yrs 7-12 EAL students in a mainstream school setting. Debra has presented at VicTESOL PL sessions on VCE EAL, VATE EAL Teachers’ Days & VATE/VicTESOL Student Revision Lectures. She has been a member of the VicTESOL committee for several years & has previously chaired the VCE EAL sub commitee of VicTESOL.

Registration is now open for the future-oriented seventh biennial ACTA Conference, Pushing the Boundaries, being held in Brisbane from 29th September – 2nd October 2020, in the heart of Brisbane at the Hilton Hotel.

Conference presentations will focus on the theme, Pushing the Boundaries, and speakers will highlight innovations in the theory and practice of teaching English to speakers of other languages in Australia and globally.

The conference strands are:
· New approaches and ideas in TESOL pedagogy
· New developments in linguistics/applied linguistics
· New insights and perspectives on student support and well being
· Changing systems, structures and policies in a TESOL context
· English in a global context

The call for papers is now open. With a wide range of presentations, such as oral presentations, workshops, poster presentations, table top and forums, TESOL practitioners are encouraged to submit a paper. Special Presenter rates apply.

Please visit the website for further information and like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ACTAConference/ for updates.

Sign up for our super early bird rate for ACTA (VicTESOL) members, valid until 28th February 2020.

Glynis Rose & Rosemary McLoughlin Tuesday 11 February, 4-5:30 pm, Online event In this session, Glynis and Rosemary provided feedback on student performance in the 2019 VCE EAL exam, including…

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Please be advised that the VicTESOL office is closed from COB on Friday 20 December 2019 until Monday 13th January 2020.  The Professional Learning Coordinator will return to work on Monday 20th January 2020.  Emails will be responded to as soon as possible once we return to work after this holiday period.

Read the December VicTESOL eBulletin online now.
Click here to read online.

And if you would like to subscribe to receive future updates please click here.

Read the November VicTESOL eBulletin online now.
Click here to read online.

And if you would like to subscribe to receive future updates please click here.

Shivali Nayak, ABC Education
Thursday 21 November

The digital age presents some new and interesting learning opportunities for EAL learners. How can teachers harness the power of digital resources to engage students in the classroom and provide them with self-learning opportunities? ABC Education Learn English creates innovative digital content for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Find out how you can use these support materials in your classroom to complement EAL teaching and learning in this free online webinar.

Shivali Nayak is the senior content producer for ABC Education Learn English. She has led the development of creative digital content on a range of topics such as everyday English, weather, grammar, commonly confused words and daily conversations. Learn English is the ABC’s educational resource for people learning English as an Additional Language. Learn English has close to 5 million followers on social media, making it the ABC’s largest Facebook community.