VicTESOL Symposium

Thinking Beyond the EAL Classroom

EAL learners have ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identities that interface with their educational and community lives. This symposium invites educators from the early childhood, schools and adult sectors to share the ways in which they think beyond the classroom to support the educational needs of EAL learners.

This symposium aims to stimulate thinking and promote connections between and beyond classrooms into and from the wider community.

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Keynote Speakers

Symposium Strands

Professor
Joe Lo Bianco

Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne

Associate Professor
Misty Adoniou

University of Canberra

Pedagogy
Leadership
Theory
Networks/Networking

Event Details

1 August 2016

8:30am – 4:00pm

The Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership
603-615 Queensberry St. North Melbourne, 3051

Ticket Prices

$70 – VicTESOL Member
$100 – Non-member

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Event Running Order

8:30am – 9:00am	Registration
9:00am – 9:15am	Introduction
9:15am – 10:00am	Keynote: Professor Joe Lo Bianco
10:00am – 10:45am	Session 1
10:45am – 11:15am	Morning Tea
11:15am – 12:00pm	Session 2
12:00pm – 1:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm – 2:15pm	Keynote: Associate Professor Misty Adoniou
2:15pm – 3:15pm	Panel: Building Communities Beyond the EAL Classroom
3:15pm – 4:00pm	Networking with light refreshment

Session Options

Session 1

Pedagogy	Robyn Babaeff, Monash University
Theory	Dr Russell Cross, University of Melbourne
Thinking Beyond the Classroom	Jan Malloy, Museum Victoria

Session 2

Pedagogy	Angela Cincotta-Segi, LaTrobe University
Theory	Dr Howard Nicholas, LaTrobe University
Leadership	April Edwards, Thomastown Secondary College
Panel Discussion	Early Careers & Networking, chaired by Mark Melican

For more detailed session information and speaker biographies, please click here.

You will be able to select which sessions you would like to attend during the checkout process.

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Keynote Speakers

Professor Joe Lo Bianco

Biography

Joseph Lo Bianco is professor of Language and Literacy Education in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. Currently he is completing a four year project in SE Asia on language – policy and peace building in conflict zones in SE Asia.

Recent publications include: Learning from Difference: Comparative Accounts of Multicultural Education, (Springer, 2016) and Conflict, Language Rights, and Education: Building Peace by Solving Language Problems in Southeast Asia.

Keynote Abstract

In this talk I will trace the role of teachers of language into the sphere of planning and policy. While teachers can be active as policy influencers in their role as citizens and specialists in language and learning, they are policy planners in a more specifically professional way. Sometimes called educational linguistics I will describe some ways in which teacher talk, teacher language modelling and other classroom and communication practices represent language planning as much as language teaching.

The aim is to support both individual teachers and teacher associations to think of themselves in leadership roles. As our communities become increasingly diverse in a cultural and linguistic sense, teachers and teacher associations need to become more aware and more assertive of the their unique perspective on the language development and therefore the social, personal and educational prospects of young learners and the resultant effects of new conceptions of citizenship, new forms of economy and new kinds of identity.

Associate Professor Misty Adoniou

Biography

Misty Adoniou is an Associate Professor at the University of Canberra, Australia. She is a past President of TESOL Greece and the Australian Council of TESOL Associations, and is currently on the Board of Directors of TESOL International. She was lead writer for the Australian Curriculum’s English as an Additional Language document and support materials, a contributing writer for the Literacy Continuum, and an advisor on Equity and Diversity in the Australian Curriculum.

Her current research activity is as co-investigator on a federally funded investigation of pathways into higher education for refugee background learners in Australia; lead investigator on an evaluation of language, literacy and multilingualism in the International Baccalaureate PYP and MYP programmes, and lead investigator on an evaluation of the off-shore and on-shore orientation programmes offered to refugees by the International Organisation for Migration and the Department of Social Services.

Keynote Abstract

Many of us enter the TESOL profession for the genuine joy of teaching English to EALD learners. The job, however, is much bigger than teaching English and the role of the EALD teacher is expanding to fit changing social and economic circumstances. In this presentation I outline the changing role of the EALD teacher, from being a teacher for our students to being an instructional leader for our mainstream colleagues and an advocate for our students and their families.

I talk about the ways we can take on these new roles by connecting to the larger TESOL community and migrant services and communicating our messages clearly to the public. Embracing our expanding role is key to ensuring our profession not only survives but thrives into the future.

Symposium Strands

Leadership

Formal leadership positions in EAL can be hard to find, and EAL leadership itself difficult to define. In this strand we will reflect on the nature of leadership and how it might present in the EAL context.

We will explore ways to take the lead, advocate for EAL students in various settings, guide other educators, and direct programs in order to effectively support the learning needs of EAL students, and discuss ways to connect with the broader community so as to facilitate successful engagement beyond the classroom.

Session 2 April Edwards, Thomastown Secondary College

Pedagogy

Effective teaching and learning conditions involve culturally inclusive practices. These practices recognize the range of knowledge, skills, experience and values which EAL learners bring with them to the classroom.

In this strand we explore how educators acknowledge what learners bring in ways that shape their teaching and also prepare their learners for additional language learning both within and beyond the classroom.

Session 1 Robyn Babaeff, Monash University

Session 2 Angela Cincotta-Segi, LaTrobe University

Theory

Practices in TESOL are underpinned by theories of language and language learning. These theories not only support effective EAL classroom practice but also explain the ways in which we, as educators, view our own personal, cultural, and learning and teaching journeys.

In this strand we will explore where and how educators engage with theories and what that means for their practices within the classroom.

Session 1 Dr Russell Cross, University of Melbourne

Session 2 Dr Howard Nicholas, LaTrobe University

Networks/Networking

Knowing what resources and services are available for EAL learners within the educational, local and wider community is valuable information for educators and benefits EAL learners. Finding out about resources can involve networking within and across a range of educational, professional and community organisations.

The symposium as a whole, and in particular this strand, aim to open up opportunities for EAL educators to network and explore the various TESOL and multicultural resources that are on offer within a range of contexts.

Session 2 Early Careers & Networking – Panel Discussion, chaired by Mark Melican

3:15pm – 4:00pm Networking with light refreshment

Panel Discussions

Early Careers & Networking

This panel offers an opportunity for presenters and audience to explore aspects of early career experiences. A number of new teachers to EAL will give a brief presentation of their experience of entering into the teaching profession focusing on the who and what that became supports and enablers to aide the transition from study to work, or in some instances from other work to EAL teaching.

Following the presentation there will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions, raise issues and offer suggestions as to what are some ideal models that educational institutions can put in place to best induct newcomers to the profession.

Speakers

Jessie Sambell New Arrivals Teacher
Justin Guiler AMES
Emma Lustig EAL teacher, Dandenong High School
Denise Rundel Free Kindergarten Association Children’s Services (FKACS) President

Panel Chair – Mark Melican

Building Communities Beyond the EAL Classroom

What are you doing about engaging with EAL communities?

Research shows that one of the most effective ways for assisting with the settlement of students and to assist with their language learning is to develop a relationship with that student’s community. Educational organisations, schools and in particular teachers, are in a unique position to be able to do this due to the direct contact they have with families. However questions do arise:

How do I do this?
What models are engagement are there already?
How do l work within the context of my school/organisation to achieve this?

This forum will provide some insights into projects which have successfully developed relationships with EAL communities. Speakers at the Forum will be able to explain the successes, the issues (and how to avoid them) as well as tips /strategies for you to use. Our aim is for this forum to provide information which will provide an impetus for teachers to actively seek out ways to implement projects at their workplace.

Speakers

Jenn Clark Manager, ASRC Schools Program
Mairead Hannan Head of Education and Careers, The Huddle
Anthony Brewergray EAL Teacher, Wodonga Senior Secondary College
David Ogden Dandenong High School
Howard Kelly Education Consultant

Panel Chair – Michelle Andrews

We look forward to seeing you there!

Click Here to Book Tickets

Please help spread the word

To help VicTESOL promote the 2016 Symposium, we would encourage you to download the flyer for this event and display it in your school staff room or in a public area of your institution.

Symposium Poster

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VicTESOL Symposium

Keynote Speakers

Symposium Strands

Professor Joe Lo Bianco

Associate Professor Misty Adoniou

Event Details

1 August 2016

8:30am – 4:00pm

Ticket Prices

Event Running Order

Session Options

Session 1

Session 2

You will be able to select which sessions you would like to attend during the checkout process.

Keynote Speakers

Professor Joe Lo Bianco

Biography

Keynote Abstract

Associate Professor Misty Adoniou

Biography

Keynote Abstract

Symposium Strands

Panel Discussions

Early Careers & Networking

Speakers

Building Communities Beyond the EAL Classroom

Speakers

Please help spread the word

Symposium Poster

Recent Member Resources

Professor
Joe Lo Bianco

Associate Professor
Misty Adoniou