Read the November 2023 VicTESOL eBulletin online now.
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Read the September 2023 VicTESOL eBulletin online now.
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And if you would like to subscribe to receive future updates please click here.
The VicTESOL Committee has notified ACTA of its decision to resign VicTESOL’s membership. The Committee has taken this difficult decision as the activities and requirements of ACTA membership are not in line with VicTESOL’s current resourcing priorities. VicTESOL will continue working hard for its members, responding to the needs of EAL teachers from all levels. We will also seek to maintain our relationships with other TESOL associations, state and national, to ensure continued collaboration, advocacy and resource sharing for the benefit of our VicTESOL members and the communities we serve.
2023 VicTESOL Symposium
Unpacking of Keynote and panel sessions
Facilitated by various VicTESOL Committee Members
Summary
Following the keynote video presentation and panel discussion, symposium participants broke into groups to unpack the ideas and concepts presented. This acted a teacher-sharing and networking session, facilitated by VicTESOL committee members, where participants worked in small, multi-sectorial groups to discuss their learnings and how this applied to their context.
Groups captured their discussion using a shared Padlet page, guided by the following questions:
1) Reflect on your own learning-to-teach experiences – what was the most memorable experience and why?
2) What do you see as the relationship between theory and practice?
3) Consider a memorable student you have taught in the past – describe what his/her learning ‘looked and felt’ like, and why?
4) How do you think professional learning has shaped or continues to shape your knowledge and practice?
5) How prepared were you for the classroom? What did you learn once you were a practicing teacher that you didn’t in your ITE?
6) How important are mentors and experienced colleagues to the development of you as a teacher?
7) What does a dialogic approach mean for you in your practice? Within/between schools/ different institutional settings/sectors?
8) Is the transition between ITE and the classroom different for different sectors – eg schools vs adult?
After the Padlet activity, the small groups then reported back to the facilitator and larger group, which enabled a rich discussion that drew on a wealth of experience and knowledge. It was a valuable opportunity to explore the formative experiences of everyone’s early teaching careers. VicTESOL extends their gratitude to the participants for sharing their expertise and experience and their contributions to this resource.
Resources
Meeting the needs of English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in the VCE Vocational major and Victorian pathway certificate.
VicTESOL Symposium 2023.
Friday 13th October, 2023, The Academy of Teaching and Leadership
Presenter: Sarah Douglas, Leading Teacher: EAL/Literacy/Numeracy, River Nile School
Summary
This session introduced how schools can cater for EAL learners within the VCE vocational major (VM) and Victorian Pathway Certificate (VCP). Drawing from principles of applied learning and informed by VCAA EAL curriculum the session covered ways to effectively plan for EAL learners based on VCAA language levels. The session demonstrated both how language can be developed through the VM required units; Literacy or VCE English, VCE VM Numeracy or VCE Mathematics, VCE VM Work Related Skills and VCE VM Personal Development Skills. This included focusing on key vocabulary required for each unit scaffolding text and language to support English language development and utilising principles of communicative language scaffolding. The session also unpacked the ways VM units can be designed to be culturally responsive to EAL learners such as including relevant topics for leaners cultural context including health, financial and civic literacy, and the use of authentic assessment tasks.
The session provided practical examples of how EAL learners can be catered for within the VM pathway and the ways in which teachers of VM can user understanding of learners’ language progression to inform units that support language development.
Resources
Meet the Assessors Online 2024 29 February 2023, 4:30pm – 6:00pm, Online Summary In this online event, co-chief assessors Jenna Gomes and Glynis Rose, and experienced assessor Michael E Daniel…
This content is available for VicTESOL members.
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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
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
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,…
This content is available for VicTESOL members.
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‘Engaging Learners’ for teachers working in the SEE program November 15, 2023 from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm, Virtual Event Summary In this presentation, we all benefited from the breadth…
This content is available for VicTESOL members.
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