T ESO L
AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
P RO G RA M S FALL 2013
GREETINGS FROM THE ON-CAMPUS PROGRAM DIRECTORRICHARD ROBISON
INSIDE THIS ISSUE ON-CAMPUS PROGRAM
2
FIELD-BASED PROGRAM
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ONLINE PROGRAM
10
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPOTLIGHT
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BURMA STUDY ABROAD TRIP
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CONFERENCES & PUBLICATIONS
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CURRENT TESOL FACULTY Nancy Ackles, Ph.D. Melissa Barnes, Ph.D. Denzil Barnett, M.A. Gena Bennett, Ph.D. Greg Bock, Ph.D. Michael Chamberlain, M.A. Aliel Cunningham, Ph.D. Elizabeth Fang, M.A. Jody Fernando, M.A. Nicole Johnson, Ph.D. Abigail Kleier, M.A. Manar Metry, M.A. Diana Rojas, M.A. Stephanie Sanford, M.A. Jennifer Thomas, M.A.
To introduce this TESOL Newsletter, I would like to welcome not only recent graduates but also those longstanding alumni with whom we had previously lost email contact and who are now seeing this newsletter for the first time. I hope that you will enjoy reading news from your fellow alums as well as former faculty. This is, in fact, the eighth annual edition; if you would like to request back issues, let us know. I also want again to acknowledge the tireless work of Manar Metry, who is solely responsible for the careful editing and engaging layout that you see before you. Program News: Life is filled with transitions, and so are TESOL programs. As Mary details below, barring an unexpected turn of events, our fieldbased program, which began as a cooperative program with ELIC 18 years ago, will be changing to a somewhat modified format beginning in January 2015. Our TESOL Resource Library has also undergone a transition, as APU continues to grow. In order to make space for additional faculty offices, the library has lost its shelves near the department. As of August, the bulk of the ESL texts were being moved to Marshburn library, and the best of the teacher resources to faculty shelves. Another ending is perhaps not so sad. Many of you who graduated from the campus program remember the dreaded comp exams. Two years ago, we began a portfolio program to replace the comp exam, and students who have begun the program since 2011 no longer have the comp exam option. So this fall, we will be giving the final comp exam to the last eligible degree candidate.
learning. As the responsibilities of APU department chairs have expanded, and as I oversee three other programs besides TESOL, the dean cut my teaching load to five courses per year. But I do continue to teach TESOL courses, spread across all three TESOL programs – on campus, online, and field-based. In terms of conference activity, although I cannot compete with my colleagues and did not participate in as many presentations as last year, I still attained a P.R. of sorts: three presentations at one conference. And for the first time, I was slated to be in two different presentations at the same time, neither or which could be re-scheduled. So while I led a workshop on “How to lead effective meetings” (for which I seem to have become the regular), a colleague from Biola read my paper, “How Graduate TESOL Students Harmonize Their Faith with Their Teaching,” in the Christian English Language Educators Forum. The third presentation, “A Fresh Look at Articulatory Setting and Intelligibility” included two TESOL alumnae as copresenters, Dreah Stratton and Laura Jacob, who responded to the call that I sent out to many of you last fall. Their energetic contribution made the session a highlight for the twenty in attendance. And if our proposal is accepted, we will be doing part 2 at TESOL 2014 in Portland this March. Family Highlights: I was hoping this year to report on a thunderous celebration marking Mary Jo’s completion of a Psy.D. and the beginning of a second career, after 25 years as a home school
On a brighter note, the Azusa City Library Literacy program announced in last year’s newsletter has successfully completed its first year with plans to expand, and has proven beneficial both to city residents and to the TESOL program, thanks to the able and tireless leadership of Tasha Bleistein. In the coming year we are looking to expand student involvement to include hands-on assignments in the assessment class in addition to the teaching practicum. Finally, along the lines of program faculty news, I’m happy to announce the marriage last March of Tasha Bleistein to Edgar Arriaza. See Tasha’s greeting for details. Congratulations, Tasha! Personal activity: This fall marks the beginning of my 12th year as department chair, and I’m still
mom. However, her doctoral dissertation has gone as dissertations often do, taking longer than expected. So after completing her internship at the end of August, she will be focusing on completing her dissertation work this fall, and hopes to graduate
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GREETINGS FROM THE ON-CAMPUS PROGRAM DIRECTOR (CONTINUED) in December. Meanwhile, the post-doctoral fellowship to which she was accepted at a clinic in West L.A. will be postponed (until after the doctorate is completed). We were nonetheless not without graduations to celebrate. Our fourth daughter, Rebekah, marked the completion of her B.A. in English at the APU May Commencement, with all the local Robisons in attendance, and our youngest daughter Ruthe (two syllables) graduated from high school in June. After carefully considering her college options, Ruthe decided to set up shop at UCLA this fall, where she plans to major in history.
As for other celebrations, I have no third Robison family wedding to announce this year, though I am happy to point out that this is the third consecutive newsletter in which I announce a marriage in my greeting. (See above.) However, our oldest son Nathan and his wife Ada anticipate the birth of their first child in December. And we recently learned that our second daughter Sarah is also with child; she and her husband Jeff look forward to welcoming a new member to their family in April. Rounding out the family news, we recently welcomed home our oldest daughter Elizabeth, who spent six months in Kenya, applying her nursing
skills under the aegis of Empowering Lives International. Finally, I l o o k forward T o seeing many of y o u either in Chiang Mai in January, in Portland in March, or right here in Azusa whenever you have an opportunity to visit the campus. And in whatever your current situation might be, may God fill you with his peace and joy.
Rich
ON-CAMPUS ALUMNI UPDATE Mary Grams ’86 I continue to direct the Office of International Students & Scholars (ISS) at APU. In addition, I travel on occasion to assist with cultural development and debrief of American students in Europe or Asia who are doing APU study abroad. I keep my hand in teaching ESL periodically when special short term groups of faculty come to campus. I-Ming Lee ’99 Two years ago, I retired from I-Ning High School in Taiwan. Right now I am living in Seattle with my husband, Mark Yin, and my son, Brian Yin. Nancy Besson ’99 I am still teaching for the American Language Program, an IEP at CSU-East Bay. In December, I will be going to Cambodia and Taiwan on a short term mission trip. I will be doing some English teaching in different capacities.
Deborah Balmer ’94 I am currently completing my thesis for my PhD. I was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Waikato, New Zealand and my topic is health literacy, written patient texts, and text mediation in a hospital context. I live in Tauranga, NZ, with my husband and 9-year-old twins. Rohani Tahir ’98 I am now working as a Director/Head/ Principal of Nusantara Language Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The center is about a year old and most of our students are from the Middle East and Africa. We offer General English, French, Mandarin, Business Communication and Business English. TESOL students are welcome to come for 2 or 3 months to work at our center. We will provide accommodation but they have to raise the fares to come.
Chao-Jin (Emily) Chen ’97 I am a home mommy and live in San Diego. Since my child will be going to kindergarten, I was considering searching for a teaching job. So I applied for a part time ESL instructor at a local community college, but haven't got any reply yet. I plan to enroll in an online credential program for multiple subjects as of next spring. It seems to me that diplomas are not enough to get ESL jobs. However, an adult education certificate is required if one aims at teaching adults in an ESL setting. Keith Plummer ’98 My wife and I enjoyed a cruise from Italy to Florida in Dec. 2011. It may have been our last - since I was diagnosed on 2-2-12 with ALS. I thank God for His blessings every day. Here's wishing all of you good luck, good health, happiness, and God's blessing.
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ON-CAMPUS ALUMNI UPDATE - (CONTINUED) John Hayward ’99 I visited K ur d is tan w i th Me d es American University, but the project is now waiting for government approval before it c a n p r o g r e s s fu r t h e r . Meanwhile, still based in Cambridge, I am helping a small Christian charity that promotes sustainable development in Zimbabwe (www.seed-project.org).
Elizabeth Eagleton Fang ’03 This last year I have worked with both English language learners at Mt. San Antonio College, and English language teachers at APU and Concordia University. I look forward to continuing research on the community health/ESL program that Iraise Garcia, Tasha Bleistein and I presented on earlier this year.
Last August my family and I visited friends in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where we lived until 2003.
Hitomi Matsumoto Togashi ’03 I got married on May 3rd happily! I thank all the people who prayed for me. I continue teaching English. I have taken my students to Florida again this past summer. I wish to see you all someday soon!
Karen Harrison ’01 I moved to Oak View, CA and have been there since I became a fulltime instructor at Ventura College in 2004. I have been the dept. chair since 2007. We have completely rewritten o u r curriculum in the ESL dept. here at VC. I a l s o created a discipline for the Generation 1.5 students and other students who don't see themselves as ESL but yet continue to have difficulty with reading comprehension and writing in English. It's English for Multilingual Students (EngM). We wrote outlines for two courses: EngM 50AB -Vocational Reading and Writing, and EngM 51AB -A c a d e m i c W r i t in g an d Grammar. They have been full each time we have offered them. We are very excited to have something to offer this large group of students. Hui-Ju (Shelley) Lai ’03 I got a teaching job in a nearby county, on top of the mountain and it is a great job! It has been a thanksgiving summer. Grace and Love.
Rebekah (Horn) Anderson’ 06 I now live in Alexandria, Va. I have two children: Amaré Elyse, who “will be” 2 years old in October, and Job Marcellus, who is due November 4th, 2013. As both my husband and I were homeschooled, our plan is to homeschool our children. I will be a busy mom and teacher for the next 10+ years!
Daniel McCurry ’10 I married Stephanie Harris now McCurry last summer! I have been teaching at a community college in in Longview, WA for the past two years but just got a job at the University of Alabama in the English Language Institute. We are moving to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in summer 2013.
Apsorn Suwannsing ’09 I left the University where I worked at the end of June. I am now running a language school and translation services. All APU TESOL alumni are welcome to help international learners in Thailand. Marina Adamian ’08 Last year I was asked to teach a beginner Armenian conversation class at Burbank Adult School for nonArmenians. It was a success! The Glendale News Press had a nice article about our class, and the administration is excited to continue, another exiting adventure. I still teach at GCC, and received “exceeding standards” for my first evaluation. Also, in September 2013, I will be a grandmother; both my sons are having their first child two days apart from each other. Wow! Looking forward to an exciting year. Pictures will be available for next year's Newsletter :-)
On-campus alum Updates continue on the next page
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ON-CAMPUS ALUMNI UPDATE - (CONTINUED) Melina Hovsepian ’11 I live in Glendale, CA and have been working as ESL and Citizenship Instructor in International Rescue Committee (IRC) Los Angeles since January 2012. After graduating from APU in May 2011, I had different part time teaching jobs, but finally I got this job in January 2012. I got married on 1/27/2012.
It has been a very busy year, busy with work, married life and serving in our church as a worship leader, musician, young adults leader and Group Bible study teacher. I always remember APU and our great professors and I praise God for them because I believe that APU was the answer of my prayers. I was born in Iran in a Christian family; my father is a pastor. My parents have served God for more than 30 years and Persecution was a major part of their lives. I went to an Islamic university in Tehran and it was always my wish to live in a free country and attend a Christian school. Finding APU was one of the best things in my life. I thank God for this freedom and Christian Schools in the US. Now my sister is an undergraduate student at APU and Daniella (Silva) Smith ’12 I married Dallas Smith on May 25, 2013. We honeymooned in St. Lucia and had a wonderful experience! I am currently teaching two ESL classes at Chaffey College, and am also working as a Success Center Lab Supervisor at Citrus College.
Denise Gehring ’11 I have worked in the Library at APU since 2009. I have been promoted to Associate Professor and began a 3 year contract last September. My main responsibilities include leading the Technical Services department in the library and serving as librarian for the departments of Graduate Nursing, Global Studies, Sociology, and TESOL, Modern Languages, and the International Center/ ALCI. In my free time I enjoy showing my wirehair dachshund, Bentley, at various dog events. The attached picture is when he was awarded Best in Show a few months ago.
Anne Willis ’12 Currently, I am teaching English for ELS at the University of La Verne and will begin an ESL position at Hope International University in Fullerton in September. I am also writing an article about international students’ use of the Internet and social media for inclusion in a book entitled From Twitter to Tahrir Square: Issues in Social and New Media Communications.
Sung Eun (Susan) Yang ’11 In addition to directing 3 week VIA 2013 Summer English Camp and teaching 2nd grade l e v e l students and body worship activity in Beijing, I have been working at elementary school. My school is going to be enlarged and called Vision International School (VIS) instead of VIA as of Fall 2013. I'll be in charge of Elementary School of Affair. Lauren Maher ’12 I am currently an adjunct faculty member at APU, and in Fall 2012, also became Program Coordinator for the International Tutoring Center on-campus; I am enjoying the integration of my TESOL knowledge and administrative s k i l l s. A ddi t i on a l l y, in August, my husband, Steven, and I took our first major vacation since our honeymoon - a 10-day Alaskan adventure beginning in Anchorage and ending in Vancouver. Malcolm Favor ’13 Children are the future of our communities. I work as a Behavior Therapist for A Change in Trajectory. I teach and tutor children with autism to overcome social barriers. In my leisure time, I pursue my dream of motivating others through writing fiction and utilizing other modes of storytelling.
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GREETINGS FROM THE FIELD-BASED PROGRAM DIRECTORMARY WONG As you may have read in our 2012 Newsletter, I was in Hong Kong for the fall of 2012 as a Fulbright senior scholar conducting research on the collaboration of local and Native English speaking teachers. I thoroughly enjoyed living on the campus of Chinese University Hong Kong interacting with several l o c a l colleagues who provided me access to schools and helped me with data analysis. I also loved traveling all over Hong Kong on the MTR collecting data in eight schools. Just being in Hong Kong meeting the people, eating the food, and learning the languages was a true delight. In addition to my research, as a Fulbright scholar I had invitations to speak at sev en univ ers it i es an d oth er governmental agencies. From November through January I was invited to give 12 presentations in six countries: Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, and Indonesia. My Fulbright experience surpassed my expectations and I am so grateful to have been awarded the Fulbright and the five-month sabbatical. Although the research in Hong Kong was my focus, my trips to speak in Singapore, Indonesia and Burma were real highlights. I presented on assessing global competence at a conference at the National University of Singapore where I met Dr. Byram and Dr. Kramsch. In Indonesia, I delivered three presentations at Duta Wacana Christian University in Yogyakarta and got to meet with several faculty and administrators. The trip to Burma to deliver a presentation on the benefits of a Christian liberal arts education has left me with a keen desire to return to conduct research there. In fact I have recently applied for another Fulbright award that would allow me spend two (summer) months in Burma for three consecutive years conducting research on English language teacher education as part of the country’s recent reforms for capacity building in higher education. This spring I got to present my Hong Kong
Fulbright research at TESOL and AAAL in Dallas with two of my colleagues from Hong Kong. We received the TESOL award for the most Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues. Another honor was an invitation to give the plenary address at the CELT conference at Dallas Baptist University, which I recently wrote up and submitted to the debut issue of the International Journal of Christianity and ELT. Other writing projects include an article of my Fulbright study and a proposal for a third edited book on faith and ELT, this one exploring how multiple faiths such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity impact ELT.
the MA in just two years, instead of 2.5 years. If you have any questions about the FBP, let me know, but spread the word that the FBP is accepting applications!
A final important announcement is that Sam and I plan to lead a three-week summer study abroad trip to Burma/ Myanmar in 2014, teaching again at the Karen Baptist Theological Seminary in Yangon. It’s open to alum, so let us know if you would like to join us!
I have an exciting update on the Fieldbased program (FBP). The FBP has graduated over 200 MA TESOL students in its almost 20-year history and is a favorite due to its Thailand location and the hybrid f2f/online format, but it looked as though we were going to have to close it down due to low enrollment projections and the loss of our partner, ELIC, after the summer of 2014. However, we were able to make some adjustments and are happy to say it’s alive and well! Some of the changes are that soon online and campus students will be able to join the one-week f2f FBP courses offered in Thailand each January and at APU each July with the requirement to teach abroad waived. Another change is shortening the time to complete the degree. With two f2f courses and one online course offered each term, FBP students can complete
I have so enjoyed this year of travel, research, and publication, and look forward to ways I can involve students in these pursuits in the coming years, be it the Burma study abroad trip the summer of 2014, or further Fulbright research in Burma summer 2015 and beyond. It was great catching up with many of you at the conferences and I look forward to seeing more of you in Portland at TESOL, CELT, and AAAL in March, 2014! Keep the faith, and keep in touch.
Mary
Fulbright TEFL Awards Please consider applying for one of 60 Fulbright TEFL Awards. These TEFL opportunities do NOT require a PhD, but some require at least three years of college teacher training experience. http://fulbrightscholarblog.cies.org/2013/03/04/ fulbright-global-tefl-opportunities/
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FIELD-BASED ALUMNI UPDATE Joseph & Rebecca Paschal C’01 We live in MD, along with our three children. Joe is the Pastor of Outreach & Mobilization at our church. Wendy Kee C’02 My husband, Mike, and I have moved to Urumqi, China this past fall where I am teaching Chinese to university students. In addition to teaching, I have presented at several conference workshops and helped coach students who are taking part in speech competitions. This past spring, I took TESL 501 through the online TESOL program at APU to learn more about Language Learning and Technology. Carla Petersen C’02 During 2012-2013 academic year, I was an English Language Fellow (ELF) working at the University in Van, Turkey. The post earthquake year was challenging but overall students were encouraged in their conversational abilities. I will be headed back to Nebraska for the upcoming year to help my family and 4 year old niece who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Jesse Foster C’08 I am living in Kazakhstan with my wife Kabira and son Robert born in 2012.
Wen (Samson) Tang C’10 I am currently living in California preparing to return to China with ELIC. I got married in November and I will be traveling with my wife to live in China.
Krista (Quinlan) Bilova C’02 My husband and I welcomed another baby girl to our family on December 8, 2012. Her name is Alina Andreyevna Bilova. She and her sister, Eva keep me quite busy. I also returned to work in the spring. I continue to teach at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, WA. I got an Affiliate position in the Intensive ESL department which begins Fall Quarter 2013. This is a continuous contract with special assignment hours that will keep me quite busy in addition to taking care of my girls. I'll continue to also teach in the ABE ESL department too.
Matthew Showman C’04 Liao Sha and I still live in Changsha, Hunan, China. I still work for Kaplan-China. In July we welcomed our second son into the world, Amos Matthew Showman. We are contemplating a move, possibly permanent, to the U.S. in upcoming months as Amos has been tentatively diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis and would need treatment basically unavailable in China. Abigail Kleier C’06 I have spent the last year coming alive in a community of grace and soaking up resources for spiritual formation from the rich history of the Church as well as from current moves of God around the world. I am also enjoying my 3 little ones and the continued adventure of online teaching.
Linda Skye (Brown) Ganbaatar C’02 We are good, still back in Ulaanbaatar and working away. I am teaching high school and also have a new role as Dean of Foreign Teachers here. It was not something I was looking for but I pray I will be able to do a good job and serve our teachers and our school well in this role. (Prayers appreciated!) :-) Jennifer (Bajema) Copus C’03 I got married in June and now live in sunny Burkburnett, TX. Though I didn't know it then, my husband, Travis, was teaching ESL in Malaysia while
I was doing the same in Laos. We spent our honeymoon in Indonesia and are praying about language teaching opportunities there in the future. In my free time, I like to run and travel.
Brandon Butler C’06 After three years in the music business, I am now returning to the ESL field at Sangmyung University in Seoul, Korea.
Field-based alum Updates continue on the next page
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FIELD-BASED ALUMNI UPDATE - (CONTINUED) Larry Vander Spek C’03 I have been working in the Gulf for six years: Saudi Arabia, Oman and (now) Abu Dhabi in the UAE. After working at the college level for the past six years, I am working at a vocational technical school for secondary school-aged students. It was the first year of a new campus (Adveti STS Boys) and it was extremely challenging. We are one of the first schools to implement iPads as the primary learning tool in the Gulf. In my personal life I got married at age 48– and had my first baby at 49! Jacob Jarron Vander Spek is half Filipino and is the joy of our lives. We are very involved at a local church called Cornerstone International Abu Dhabi. I am leading a ministry at a workers camp – especially among Pakistani workers. God is doing a wondrous work there. We are currently on vacation in San Diego. Heidi Ruth C’10 I continue to teach English at the University of Posts and Telecommunications in Chongqing, China. Having completed my MA, I now have time to resume my Chinese language studies, and also plan this year to work with my national colleagues to publish a research paper. My "goddaughter" here recently had a baby, so now I am a proud grandmother. Here's a picture of me with my goddaughter Lisa, and her son.
Donelda Grubb C’06 After three years in Mongolia, Lord willing, I will teach at a language school in Ankara, Turkey for a second year. Time is spent in Tavla (backgammon) cafes discussing TRUTH with students. Studying Turkish is difficult but rewarding. Best day of the year was scootering in Cappadocia and getting lost several times in a dust storm.
David and Karen Rigsby C’06 We are still serving with ELIC at Yan Shan University in Qinhuangdao China. We are enjoying teaching and serving the students and teachers here. We have three kids: Spencer 5, Mia 3 and Benjamin 18 months old.
Bill McDonald C’07 My wife, Sue, and I have returned to Vietnam “on our own” after spending six years there with English Language Institute China. We created our own organization, Visiting Vietnam. We live in Thai Nguyên, and will continue teaching oral communication subjects, culture studies and semantics courses, and serve as research advisors.
Melea Bardal C’05 I am still happily living in north Minneapolis and splitting time teaching at a community college (1-3 classes/ semester) and at an adult learning center. I've just moved up from Level 1A at the adult school to Level 2, which means no more Hop on Pop readings. Big travel this year Iowa. Woo-hoo! (Do I need a passport for that?) Janese Carstens C’04 After resigning from my director position at MSU Billings, I have moved back overseas to teach English at a Christian high school in southern Thailand. I plan to stay until called to the next step in God’s plan for my life. Meanwhile, enjoying the beauty, the way of life, and the people of Thailand will be my main focus. Cara Rosson Good C’04 I spent the last year raising my adorable son Sammy, who was born in 2012. While adjusting to motherhood, I served as a private ESOL tutor in my home. In June, I received my teaching license, and my husband Chuck and I moved to our new home in San Diego for his job in the Navy. Emeshea Petty C’07 This past year I embarked on a new adventure in a new city. I am now studying for a Master's at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology as well as coordinating activities at the A.C.E. Language Institute at Seattle Pacific University. I am looking forward to the possibility of presenting at the Washington ESOL conference and seeking God's direction for the future.
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPOTLIGHT BY KRISTIN REIMER C’06 Back in January 2013, I met up with Dr. Wong and Dr. Bleistein at the Thailand TESOL conference in Khon Kaen, Thailand. After telling them what I had been up to since graduating from the field based program in 2009, Mary jumped in and said, “You should write something about that for our next alumni newsletter!”
So here I am now six months later, composing this article. I consider it a privilege to share with you my professional development journey and am sure many of you can identify with the experiences I will write about. While completing the field-based TESOL program, I was also a part of English Language Institute/China (ELIC), a teaching organization that places English teachers all over Asia. Towards the end of the M.A. program, I started to feel it was time for me to move on to something different so I made the decision in summer 2008 to leave ELIC and move back to the U.S. In the next few months, I found myself struggling to find any sort of meaningful employment, let alone something in the field of TESOL, and started to feel as if my life was going nowhere. I remember sending in job applications for TESOL teaching positions all over the U.S. and getting no response, not even an interview. What a challenging time that was! I am sure many of you have experienced similar situations as well. After two years of this, I decided to start looking for jobs abroad again, but wanted to try going on my own this time without a sending organization. I felt a little scared of the prospect of going out on my own, but also excited at the chance to try something completely different from what I had done before. I attended the TESOL conference in March 2010 in Boston and
interviewed for about 10 different positions, most of them overseas. After that, I was offered several positions and decided to take a job as an Academic Director at an English language school with the company English First (EF) in Shenzhen, China. I was really nervous about moving into a position of management as I still felt rather inexperienced, but it turned out to be a very good growing experience for me. Every week I had to lead a professional development session for my team of teachers and I often found myself going back to my notes and assignments from the M.A. TESOL program. I think during the year that I was with EF, I pretty much covered every topic from the courses I took at APU! During this year, I felt myself grow tremendously in my teaching abilities as well as management skills, and also gained a new found confidence in myself as a TESOL professional. In 2011, I moved to Suzhou, China to work at an international university called Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. My
first few months were a little overwhelming as I found myself immersed in a very competitive academic culture with colleagues who were far more experienced and qualified than I was, but I soon found that this also offered tremendous opportunity for growth professionally. As XJTLU is a very research focused institution, I was inspired to conduct some of my own research and see if I could go on to publish or present on it. After finishing the first phase of the research, I volunteered to give a presentation on it at one of our department’s professional development days. It was quite intimidating to stand in front of my colleagues and speak about what I had done for my project, but their positive feedback and encouraging response afterwards really gave me the
confidence to start applying to present at some international conferences. To my surprise, my proposal was accepted at four different conferences! I ended up giving the presentation at two different conferences- Asia TEFL in New Dehli, India in October 2012 and Thailand TESOL in January 2013. In addition, after the presentation I gave to my colleagues, I was approached by one of them to write an article based on my research for the first issue of our department’s academic journal called ETiC (English Teaching in China). I felt unsure whether I had the capability to write the article, but I thought I might as well try. My article was accepted by the editorial board of the journal and was published in their first edition. To conclude, I just want to say that while developing as a professional in the TESOL field can be rather intimidating at first, it is certainly something that any graduate of the APU M.A. TESOL program can achieve. I remember being in the fieldbased program and hearing my different professors talk about getting published or traveling to present at conferences and thinking, “no way could I do that!” I think the key, though, is to set some goals and then start moving towards those goals step by step. It’s also important to not give up at the first closed door but instead look for alternative paths to achieve what you want to do. For me, that meant going abroad again, but for you it may mean something different. I sincerely hope that this article about my journey has been an encouragement to you as you seek to grow professionally in the career of TESOL. If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you! My email is
[email protected]. Also, the ETiC journal is always looking for contributions from writers outside of XJTLU-their website is http://etic.xjtlu.edu.cn/ index.html. It’s a great place to start trying out your writing skills!
Kristin
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GREETINGS FROM THE ONLINE PROGRAM DIRECTOR TASHA BLEISTEIN month for me. I got married to the wonderful man that I had been dating for nearly three years. He patiently waited for me to finish my dissertation and even moved to California for me. In addition to the wedding in March, a short book that I wrote with Melissa Smith and Marilyn Lewis was published by TESOL.
Greetings APU Alum! It is hard to believe that a year has passed since my first update. This past academic year has certainly been one that is blessed with many opportunities to learn. Directing the online program has brought many learning opportunities as well as the blessing of interacting with spectacular students around the globe. I finally defended my dissertation (in November) and graduated with a Ph.D. in Intercultural Education from Biola University in May. I know you can relate to the relief that comes with completing a graduate degree! I was able to teach in Thailand in January and see some of the wonderful fieldbased alum. Mary Wong and I also managed to combine her Fulbright and my Ph.D. research into a quick presentation at Thai TESOL. March
was
a
One of the joys of this academic year was working with on campus and online students to teach community ESL classes focused on health. We worked with Azusa organizations that serve the city to provide free classes. Each community student was given a pedometer, had their
significant
blood pressure monitored, and was taught English and health content. The community students reported positive changes in their holistic health. Current MA TESOL students and recent alum were able to help teach. While teaching, the TESOL students had the opportunity to receive feedback from their professors and to grow in their professional practice. Recent alum (Iraise Garcia and Shannon Singh) were able to join not-so-recent alum (Elizabeth Fang and me) to share about the experiences at the LA Regional CA TESOL Conference. I missed seeing many of you at the TESOL Convention in Texas, since it was the same weekend as my wedding. I hope to see many of you in my home region for TESOL 2014 in Portland, Oregon. May the God of peace be with you all (Rom 15:5).
Tasha
Serving the Azusa Community Would you like to gain experience and enhance your resume while serving the c o m m un i t y su rr o un d i ng APU? If you are interested in participating, please email Tasha at (
[email protected])
The Azusa City Library Literacy Council has partnered with the APU TESOL programs to start ESL classes focused on the topic of health that are taught by APU MA TESOL students and alum. After the first year of classes, community students are reporting better health and improved English language skills.
Goal: Adults will improve their English skills as they learn new vocabulary, practice English grammar and conversations, and complete reading and writing exercises related to health topics such as nutrition, exercise, controlling blood pressure, and preventing diabetes. Each week students will complete activity logs to document their exercise routines, including how many steps they walk (measured by pedometers supplied by the program), their blood pressure reading (taken by APU nursing students), and any nutritional changes they make. The classes will be scheduled at varied times and locations to reach as many community members as possible.
Publications
Teaching Speaking In
an
increasingly
inter-
by Tasha Bleistein, Melissa K. connected world, English has b e c o m e t h e c o m m on Smith, and Marilyn Lewis
language for international communication resulting in a growing need for skilled TESOL teachers. This volume draws current language teaching theories and applications together into an approachable guide for TESOL teachers, making valuable information and practice applications accessible to teachers around the world in a variety of language teaching settings.
TESOL Int’l Association, 2013
Fall 2014 TESOL Book Catalog http://ww w.tesol.org/docs/ default-source/books/tesol-book
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ONLINE ALUMNI UPDATE Ting-Jie (Tina) Jin C’1 In addition to working as the ESL instructor for Elite Learning for the third year in Beijing, China, I got married and started my own family this year. My university classmate introduced us in 2012 and since then, things went well that we both wanted a true relationship in a marriage.
Song Hong C’4 APU's TESOL program opened a new door for me at my current school and I will be teaching two E.S.L. classes to international high school students starting this fall. I pray my new adventure at the E.S.L. classes will benefit my students academically and culturally. This past summer, I travelled and visited Washington State, Canada, and France with my family. Brandy Leach C’4 I am still living in Pageland, South Carolina. I am the Citizenship and ESOL instructor at South Piedmont Community College at the Monroe, North Carolina campus. Also, I am still managing Page Square apartments. My four-year old daughter Joselyn just started pre-K this year, and I am still battling lymphoma. I trust that God is still in charge of my life and the lives of those around me, so I am confident that all will remain well.
Priscilla Farris C’3 I have transitioned from teaching English in China back to the States. I will begin teaching ESL at Auburn University Montgomery in fall 2013. Autumn Hulke C’4 I have completed one year teaching at an Intensive English Program at Arizona State University. I look forward to teaching a variety of ESP and ESL courses this year. Previously, I have taught reading/writing, listening/ speaking, vocabulary and grammar courses. I love my students and their countries. I look forward to where God will take me overseas in the future. Chris Kane C’5 After graduating from the online MA TESOL program, I created a new drop-in center program for literacy and ESL students in my local community. I currently manage that program of 200+ students and tutors while also teaching ELL at the local community college and a nearby Hispanic community center. I live in Wisconsin with my wife and two dogs. Princess Small C’6 I teach accredited academic ESL courses at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. I am also designing and planning to lead the college’s first study abroad program to Kyoto, Japan next summer. Manuel Valencia C’6 I have been living and working in Osaka, Japan as an English teacher for the past ten years Last March, I changed my part -time elementary and high school teaching positions for a full-time cram school teaching position. I have two beautiful daughters, Sarah (3) and Naomi (1). This December, I am expecting another God sent child.
Colleen Schleh C’6 In August my husband and I returned to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where we have lived for 20 years. I will work in a new English cafe, teach in the Bible institute and local church, assist with national women's ministries, and participate in a leadership mentoring program. I am also anxious to explore EFL teaching opportunities in local language institutes.
Michael Paulus C’3 I was living in Abu Dhabi, UAE till the end of August, then moved to Al Ain, UAE to take up a position at UAE University. I was previously working in the Institute of Applied technology. I got married last summer in Alexandria, Egypt, and that has been a great adventure for me. In addition, we road tripped through Oman during the holiday season, and we are looking forward to a road trip we will be taking in the USA in September. Jennifer Preston C’6 I currently teach for the BRIDGE Program at the University of Maryland College Asia in Tokyo, Japan. Logan and I recently visited Thailand and Singapore, and will be traveling to New Zealand and Australia when Logan returns from deployment in Afghanistan. I have been studying Korean and hope to teach English in Seoul in the near future.
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STUDY ABROAD TEACHING TRIP
Study Abroad Trips
MYANMAR/BURMA SUMMER TEACHING TRIP JUNE 17 – JULY 8, 2014 Instructor & Host: MARY WONG, PHD. Global Studies, Sociology & TESOL Dept. APPROXIMATE COST FOR TRAVEL, MEALS, & APU FEES $3,500 OPTIONAL COURSES OFFERED FOR ADDITIONAL FEES: TESL 456 TEACHING PRACTICUM (3 units) $984 (undergrads only) TESL 557 REFLECTIVE TEACHING (3 units) $1,206 TESL 509 SPECIAL TOPICS (3 units) $1,395
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Due to the recent political and economic developments and rapid social changes, Myanmar (formerly Burma) is of great interest to students and scholars of all disciplines. APU students are invited to join faculty member Mary Shepard Wong (Professor Global Studies, Sociology, and TESOL Dept.) and her husband, Sam Wong (a native of Burma who speaks and reads Burmese), to spend three weeks in the “golden land” of Myanmar/Burma. Participants will spend two weeks in the former capital, Yangon, interacting closely with local Karen (an ethnolinguistic minority), teaching at the Karen Baptist Theological Seminary (KBTS), followed by a three-day trip to a destination such as Inle Lake, or Bagan, or a nearby beach to explore the life and culture outside the city. See Wu & Wong (2012) for the unique learning opportunities that await students on this trip inside Myanmar/Burma.1 ___________________ Wu, S. F., & Wong, M. S. (2012). “Forever Changed:” Emerging TESOL educators’ global learning and spiritual formation on a study abroad trip in Myanmar. In M. S. Wong, C. Kristjánsson, Z. Dörnyei (Eds.), Christian Faith and English Language Teaching and Learning: Research on the Interrelationship of Religion and ELT (pp. 47-65). New York, NY: Routledge. 1
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CONFERENCES PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS Presentations
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES
Carstens, J. (2013). From intimidation to motivation: Using Classroom observations for teacher development. Dallas, TX: TESOL International Convention. Garcia, I., Bleistein, T., & Fang, E. (2013). United for success: Community health ESL classes. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles CATESOL Regional Conference.
American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) http://www.aaal.org/
Robison, R. (2013). How to run effective meetings. Workshop for the TESOL Leadership Development Certificate Program. Dallas, TX: TESOL International Convention. Robison, R. (2013). How graduate TESOL students harmonize their faith with their teaching. Paper read in the Christian English Language Educators Forum, Harmonizing Faith and TESOL. Dallas, TX: TESOL International Convention.
Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD)
Stratton, D., Jacob L. & Robison, R. (2013). A fresh look at articulatory setting and intelligibility. Joint presentation. Dallas, TX: TESOL International Convention.
http://www.bu.edu/bucld/
Wong, M. S., & Bleistein, T. (2013). Native and nonnative teacher collaboration in Hong Kong and China. Khon Kaen, Thailand: Thailand TESOL Conference. Wong, M. S., Lee, I., Gao, X., S. (2013). Harmony, cacophony, or silence: Language teacher collaboration in Hong Kong. Dallas, TX: TESOL International Convention.
http://www.camtesol.org
Wong, M. S. (2013). Creating and Sustaining Research on Christian Faith and ELT. Plenary address presented at the CELT Conference. Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, TX: Christians in English Language Teaching Conference. Publications
CATESOL Conference
Annual
http://www.catesol.org/ Second Language Research Forum (SLRF)
Bleistein, T., Smith, M. K., & Lewis, M. (2013). Teaching speaking. Alexandria, VA: TESOL International. Bleistein, T., Wong, M. S., & Smith, D. I. (2013). A working bibliography: Faith and ELT. In M. S. Wong, C. Kristjánsson, & Z. Dörnyei (Eds.), Christian faith and English language teaching and learning: Research on the interrelationship of religion and ELT (pp. 235-266). New York, NY: Routledge. Brannan, D., & Bleistein, T. (2012). Novice ESOL teachers’ perceptions of social support networks. TESOL Quarterly, 46(3), 519-541.” Wong, M. S. (September 2012). Gender, identity, missions, and empire: Letters from Christian teachers in China in the early 20th and 21st centuries. Frontiers of Education in China, Special Issue, 7(3). Wong, M. S., Kristjánsson, C., & Dörnyei, Z. (Eds.). (2013). Christian faith and English language teaching and learning: Research on the interrelationship of religion and ELT . New York, NY: Routledge.
CamTESOL Conference, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/slrf/ index.php TESOL International Convention http://www.tesol.org Thailand Conference
TESOL
http://thailandtesol.org/
ALUMNI UPDATE WHERE ARE YOU? Send us an email or mail us an update. We would like to hear about you, and one of the easiest ways to do so is through our Alum Newsletter. Please fill out the information below and email it to the TESOL department at .
Alumni Update Name ———————————————————————–———————-————- Class Year ———–———————-——— Email ——-——————————————————————————————————–———————-————————————-—
sol/ alstudies/te du/clas/glob .e pu .a w w http://w AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
General Information (employment, hobbies, graduate studies, honors, etc.): —–———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Comments on family, job, community involvement, other: ————————————————— Weddings: ———————————————————————————————————————————–——
Dept of Global Studies, Sociology & TESOL
Births (include baby’s name and birthdate): —————————————————————————
901 E. Alosta Ave. Azusa, CA 91702
Conference Presentations or Publications:
Phone: 626/815-3844 Fax: 626/815-3871
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