NJ Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/
NJ Bilingual Educators

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Elementary Bilingual

Highlighting Conference Elementary Workshops and More

By Maggie Manson

This year’s NJTESOL/NABE Conference which took place on May 24th and 25th at the Regency Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick had a lot to offer a diversified audience.  Attendees were encouraged to attend anything from early childhood workshops all the way through college.  

At the SIG (Special Interest Group) meetings a variety of issues were discussed.  Educators got to meet to talk about some of the most prominent issues in their districts as well as the things that were working well.  During the two Elementary SIG meetings, educators found themselves trying to help fellow educators with issues such as a lack of materials and/or a lack of direction.  Some discussed what cut-backs had done to their districts.  Overall, we realized that throughout the state of New Jersey each district had its own method of implementing bilingual education.  A variety of curricula were being used state-wide.  Some individuals came seeking advice about which curriculum worked best in each of the districts.  Overall each individual walked away with something different.  Some made the realization that their districts weren’t so bad after all and were heading in the right direction while others were hopeful that change would come their way. 

April Ponticello and Elizabete Mazzeo, both from Perth Amboy, worked jointly to show some of the activities they have expedited within their classroom while team teaching in a sheltered classroom.  The workshop was mainly geared to K-2nd grade.  The two teachers had many visuals to offer their audience.  Together they demonstrated a variety of strategies/methods they used within the classroom. Those that attended had many positive comments about the duo and their ideas. 

Marybeth De Costanzia and I, also from Perth Amboy, presented a workshop on how to implement literacy through science.  Although this workshop was geared to K-4 elementary teachers, it could be modified and used with older students.  Even though strategies were discussed using a variety of topic areas the emphasis was not on the topic itself, instead it was on the method which was used to expedite the lesson.  Many who attended were not elementary teachers.  Towards the end of the workshop we had received a lot of positive feedback based on the information presented.  Several teachers used similar methods and enjoyed sharing what worked and didn’t work in their own classrooms.  Everyone walked away with innovative ideas to implement in their own classrooms.

On Tuesday evening we didn’t just have an international buffet dinner, but we also had the privilege of listening to the keynote speaker, Nancy Cloud.  Nancy Cloud is the co-author of “Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: A Teacher’s Guide to Research-Based Practices”, (Heinemann, 2009).  Dr. Cloud shared important research findings related to the teaching of reading and writing to ELLs.  During the evening, a variety of awards were presented to numerous individuals. 

As a pre- and post-dinner treat we had the pleasure of being entertained by elementary teachers Emma Redondo Chicharro and Kim Siracusa.  Neither of these teachers are professional dancers; they are educators who happen to be very talented.  Ms. Siracusa has been teaching art for seven years and has been teaching in Perth Amboy for the past three.  Along with being a teacher, she is also a professional fabric artist who has her work on display regularly at the Main Avenue Galleria in Ocean Grove, NJ Her other passion is dance.  In 2006, she decided that Middle Eastern Dance was what she truly loved.  Kim has been performing this type of dance for the past five years.  Ms. Redondo had informed me that she started dancing at an early age when her mom had taken her to both ballet and Flamenco dance classes.  She dropped ballet and continued to learn Flamenco.   In 2002, she teamed up with Ms. Siracusa.  Together they formed the Flamenco y Ole Dance Team and currently provide afterschool classes to young girls who are interested in learning these types of dances.  During the conference dinner, the two danced individual numbers, as well as a joint piece to the song “Viento de la Arena” by the Gypsy Kings. [See our photo gallery.]

Although we changed venues, this year the conference was a true success.  It had a well diversified variety of workshops to attend and many vendors to visit and talk to.  For those who attended Tuesday night’s dinner we got to celebrate the true life successes of several of our state’s students.  But we can look forward to next year’s conference being just as successful, if not more! 

Maggie Manson is the Bilingual Elementary SIG Representative. She teaches in Perth Amboy.

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Secondary Bilingual

Topics from the Special Interest Groups Meeting

By Janet Kaback

This year’s ESL/Bilingual Secondary Special Interest Group meeting was held at our annual conference in New Brunswick.  Christina Namendorf and I thank you for your attendance and participation because YOU help to keep us informed, as we do for you. The Tuesday meeting was standing room only and many hot topics were raised.

Some of the issues discussed were the AHSA, End of Course Exams (EOC), Special Needs Testing Modifications, the correlation of scores between the HSPA and the AHSA, the testing manuals and instructions provided, NJ ESL requirements and how minority language responses were scored.

Questions and Issues that were raised:

• End of Course Exams are offered only in English, thus, if they are really testing the content knowledge of the students and not their English language abilities, shouldn’t the exams be offered in the students’ native languages as well?
• Measure of Progress and HSPA- How are they graded and correlated?
• NJASK Spanish version- The manual was poorly written: need to specify that ESL modifications permit use of translation dictionaries. As it is currently written, no dictionaries are allowed. If the test is administered by a person unfamiliar with the ESL modifications, the students do not get to use the dictionaries.
• Students are over-tested with the ACCESS, AHSA, HSPA.
• Is there a way to test special needs bilingual students in their native languages?
• The state code requires a minimum of 1-2 periods per day for a total of 150 minutes minimum per week of ESL instruction. However, as there is no standard period/block length in NJ, this varies per district.
• Is there a way to codify/correlate the ACCESS and HSPA scores through NJSMART via an Ed Analyzer or spreadsheet? Can this be provided?
• Minority responses had to be translated into English and stapled to the regular test in order to be scored.

I would also like to extend my deepest thanks to Christina Namendorf, the former Secondary ESL SIG rep. It was a pleasure to work with Christina.

Janet Kaback, Secondary BIL SIG representative, is a bilingual (Spanish) social studies teacher at East Side High School in Newark, NJ.

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Early Childhood Updates

Ideas For Summer

By Karen Nemeth

The great thing about the NJTESOL/NJBE conference is that it leads us right into summer with some great new ideas and resources.  This year the Early Childhood Special Interest Group met on both days.  We discussed what the New Jersey Bilingual Education Code says about serving ELLs/DLLs [English Language Learners/ Dual Language Learners] in preschool.  Some people still think districts are not expected to serve preschool children, but we shared that preschool is addressed in the code more than 8 times. Here is a quote from page 7 of NJ Bilingual Education Code: “All district boards of education shall also provide appropriate instructional programs to eligible preschool LEP students based on need according to the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Expectations: Standards of Quality (2004). These standards are guidelines for good practice and are intended for districts that provide preschool programs.”

One of the most pressing concerns brought to our meetings was about supporting student transitions from preschool to kindergarten.  Sandee participated in the development of the new NJDOE Kindergarten Guidelines which were just released this year with recommendations for teaching ELLs.  They are available at this site along with the NJ DOE Preschool Implementation Guidelines.

Here are some additional sources for free professional development you can find over the summer:

www.colorincolorado.org
www.earlychildhoodwebinars.org

And now we’d like to take this time to introduce the new Early Childhood SIG coordinator:  Monica Schnee!  Sandee and Karen have completed their terms.  Now it’s time to move forward under Monica’s leadership.  

Sandee, Monica, and Karen will be working on the NJTESOL/NJBE Fall event at Stockton College on October 22.  With a focus on new strategies for using technology to teach ELLs/DLLs of all ages, this will surely be a worthwhile professional development opportunity!  More information will be available soon!

Have a great summer!

Karen Nemeth 
Sandee McBride

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ESL Elementary

Starting Over in New Brunswick

By Noreen Drucker

The NJTESOL/NJBE 2011 Conference is over.  From my perspective, it was a raging success. I enjoyed the different kinds of workshops and presentations, from those involving the latest research to those involving the latest initiatives from the Department of Education. I learned a lot and met some very interesting people from all over the state.

Our new venue was beautiful and exciting. It was time for a change. We had outgrown the facilities at the Garden State Exhibit Center and the lure of a conference in a college town was enthralling. With a clientele of people from all over the state, we had to choose a central location. Of course, there are always trade-offs and compromises in life as well as conferences, but rest assured that your Executive Board worked relentlessly to make everything as pleasant as possible.

Parking was tough; it always is in a city. But the city also offers so much more- a downtown area to explore at lunchtime or after the conference, a choice of hotels and public transportation.  A few people came by train and a small number of people car- pooled. The town lots filled up fast and the lines were enormous. Maybe next year each of us can make a serious commitment to car pooling. Just think- if there are two people in every car, we can cut the number of cars coming in by 50%. Everyone could find a spot and the environment would thank you for it.

I was delighted to see such a range of presentations and highly qualified presenters. There were technology offerings for almost all grade levels, interactive workshops and presentations dealing with WIDA. Even though I couldn’t go to all of them, I now know that there are Power Point presentations available on line for at least two dozen of them.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I ran two SIG meetings for elementary ESL teachers. Teachers shared ideas, exchanged stories and provided assistance for problems all of us are dealing with. In one of the sessions, a teacher explained how her district has a report card aligned to the WIDA CAN DO objectives. She promised to send it in to the hot topics list. I can’t wait to see it.

And let’s not forget the food. It was simply marvelous! As a person following a gluten free diet, it was a welcomed change from the sandwiches and pasta that was the standard fare at the previous hotel. Not only was coffee and tea available throughout the conference, but cold drinks and bottled water were as well. Recently renovated, the hotel was sparkling and the staff was extremely accommodating in every sense of the word.

I hope everyone enjoyed the conference as much as I did. Now, it is time to relax, sit back and enjoy the summer. See you at NJTESOL/NJBE 2012!

Noreen M. Drucker, Elementary ESL SIG Representative

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ESL Middle School

Continuing the Journey

By Tina Kern

The end of the school year is frenetic! 

My mind is spinning and my computer is on overload with the documents that are being integrated into the hard drive. I am anticipating the files representing my new students for the coming year that will be sent to my school’s office shortly.   Simultaneously, I am pondering the journey my present students will take on the next phase of their education. They have changed since our introduction and we have grown – all of us.  A new set of teachers will complete their journey as they sojourned with me for what seemed a millisecond.  Will the new teachers of our exited students understand the complete child that comprises our ELLs?  Will they recognize how their backgrounds have shaped their attitudes toward education and how their personal stories are as diverse as they are?

As I complete file information and prepare for the students entering and leaving the school, I am forced to concentrate, yet I reflect on the individual students and the faces behind the numbers. Who are these students who comprise the ELL population in my school?  How did I prepare them for the following year?  How much information and skills will be retained?  Who will really read books and continue the voyages into worlds of fiction and non-fiction that they began in class?

Meanwhile, the aura and excitement that envelops me after our NJTESOL/NJBE conference is dimming, yet not forgotten.  This year was awesome – with a pulse and excitement that permeated the halls everywhere (and the food was really good, too).  As usual, I regret that I don’t personally get to sit in on the sessions and drink in the information from our presenters as you do.  Though my time is well spent, I would like to have an avatar to do my executive board member work as I surreptitiously flit from workshop to workshop.  Educators never cease to learn and that is reflected in the positive energy and atmosphere of our conference.  Hopefully, our members will turnkey information to colleagues who regrettably could not attend.  Also hopefully, we will share our enthusiasm and knowledge with regular classroom teachers that need to hear what we say in order to help educate our ELLs.

Even today, as I walk the halls I still hear outrageous misinformation from teachers frustrated by the amount of time our students sometimes need to achieve success in the regular classroom. Our students are pivotal numbers on standardized tests now and their progress is followed carefully as it impacts on the entire district’s population.   It is very difficult for me, though, when an educator seemingly turns a deaf ear on the research and experience we implore him/her to acknowledge, before complaining about the student.  He/she doesn’t appreciate how culture affects the whole child and enriches, not diminishes, the student.  Also, a student born here in the United States to parents that speak another language exclusively in the home is starting his education equal to the immigrant child who has no comprehension of English.  We must provide support for, and information about, these students, too, as they navigate our school system. We must continue to provide staff development in order to create a compassionate atmosphere for our ELLs. I will continue to advocate and educate: June and September are pivotal months for communicating with others on behalf of our students. Similarly, the summer is a great time to read, compile information, and prepare for the next year. 

Now it is our job to soften the bumps as our students travel the road ahead by communicating with the next counselor/teacher and disseminate not just the numbers in the test results, but the faces behind the files that we are sending.  After you reach out to the next school, follow up with emails.  A common thread in our profession is the caring and intense purpose that permeates our classrooms. We go beyond the curriculum and take that extra step that often makes the difference between an education and an educational experience.  And we are reborn in the knowledge of that one student who comes back and says that we changed his or her life — the student that one day might be the one standing before our members during our annual dinner and receives one of our awards, or the student that that gets accepted to college and acknowledges how we helped them when they were an ELL, or the student who one day comes back to school for parent conferences for their child and we recognize how their journey has gone full circle as they speak to us – in English — about their future and the future of their child.

Thanks to the members of our SIG that enriched our meetings. Additionally, thanks to our members who provided the energy and dedication that made our conference another success.  It was an absolute pleasure to meet you personally and I look forward to our continued dialogue on the Internet.           

Tina Kern is the representative for the Middle School ESL SIG. She teaches in the Morris School District.

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Higher Education

The Question of Placement

By Marianne Hsu Santelli

Thank you to all who joined us for the Higher Education Mini-Conference (HEMC) held at this year’s NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference. Thirteen excellent HE workshops were held on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. 

The HE SIG (Higher Education Special Interest Group), The Question of Placement Part I: Assessment and Outcome Evaluation Models, was facilitated by Howard Pomann (UCC: Union County College), Bill Jiang (BCC: Bergen Community College), Elena Nehrebecki (HCCC: Hudson County Community College), and Harold Kahn (BCC). On Wednesday, May 25, Jerry Paris (NJIT: New Jersey Institute of Technology), Nancy Silvestro (PCCC: Passaic County Community College), and Heidi Lieb (BCC) facilitated Part II: Placement and Retention Models.

In Part I, Bill Jiang, Harold Kahn, Howard Pomann, and Elena Nehrebecki discussed assessment. It is important to note that some programs had integrated skills while others had separate classes for each language skill.

At HCCC, assessment was ongoing and based on the model for final assessment. Level success is determined by passing the level Test in Writing and another one of Reading, and satisfying the paired course requirements. A portfolio option for writing and reading is available to support student skills when test scores misrepresent a student’s actual proficiency. In these cases, instructors can petition for their students by submitting portfolios, which were based on the descriptors for entry into a next level.

The Final, or exit assessment, consists of the holistically scored tests of Writing and Reading, which determine student readiness for mainstream English courses.

At BCC, there was an exit exam at the higher levels; students who failed could repeat the test. When students passed the level 3 writing exams, they were able to take English composition courses. When they passed level 3 reading, all college courses were open to them. Jiang and Kahn noted that many students failing the L2 reading test was more of a linguistic issue than one of literacy; a language issue needs time to perfect. On the other hand, literacy issues require more than just time. Jiang and Kahn also noted that about 40% of BCC second language learners already possessed college degrees and had come to learn English.  At the lower levels, class instructors, with the aid of a level-wide final exam, determined a move from one level to another. There was a greater failure rate at the lower levels. At the upper levels, exit exams in reading and writing were the determining factors. At these levels approximately 75% moved on to a subsequent level.

At UCCC, there were 6 levels of instruction and a two-semester composition course (ENG 111/ENG112) equivalent to ENG 101. Students in the ESL program were identified through application questions, an interview, and by an in-house advanced placement test. Course assessments were made through quizzes, tests, mid-terms and final exams, and projects and presentations. Program assessments were made via Level 6 LOEP Reading, a Final Holistic Writing, and data on retention and GPA of Level 6 completers and ENG 112 completers.

In Part II, Jerry Paris, Nancy Silvestro and Heidi Lieb reported on results from the New Jersey ESL/Bilingual Administrators Council survey conducted for the spring 2009, (seven 2-year colleges, eight 4-year colleges). There were many changes to ESL placement instruments, most often linked to implementation of ACCUPLACER in 2009.  Generally, there were two kinds of ESL programs: 2-3 levels of ESL at four-year institutions and 5-6 levels at two-year institutions.

Methods for placing second language learners into ESL levels varied and depended on whether the institution was a 2-year or a 4-year school. The most common method of identifying second language learners was by students’ answers to questions either at admissions or at testing.

Multiple criteria to identify ESL placements were used in almost all programs with about two thirds of responding institutions replying that they relied on electronic instruments as part of an ESL placement process. Essays were part of the placement process in all programs, except one where the essay was the sole placement instrument. All 15 respondents used an essay or writing sample; most used human—not machine—scoring and it was the ESL program and/or ESL director who set cut-off scores. Only three institutions included non-ESL placement procedures.

Satisfaction with current placement procedures varied and depended on whether control of the procedures rested with ESL chairs/department coordinators or with testing directors outside the ESL program; in the former situation, there was satisfaction with the procedures but in the latter there was some dissatisfaction. None of the three institutions using a non-ESL placement instrument was satisfied with their instrument, which in two cases was Accuplacer.

Five institutions had generation 1.5 activities in place, but only 3-4 institutions had specific programs targeting generation 1.5 students.

In an effort to retain students at BCC, Heidi Lieb discussed activities tailored for the large Korean student population whose productive skills in speaking posed problems for them in classes and for faculty as well. Through a focus group, the Speech Department found that Korean students felt that: 

• American faculty should be more flexible with grades, and students wanted more opportunities to improve their grades;
• Students attributed their lack of success in speaking and writing to the Korean education style;
• Students felt frustrated and intimidated because some students dominated conversations seemingly without their being embarrassed of being wrong.

Immediate results of the focus group were a workshop on culture of the American classroom for students, and two workshops for instructors: one on the Korean language and one on Korean culture.

Recommendations to help retention were: for students, a workshop on American classroom culture as a regular part of the curriculum, and continuing efforts to involve Korean students in the college community; for instructors, more workshops and discussion to increase cultural and linguistic awareness and sensitivity.

Issues of placement, evaluation, assessment and retention will continue to generate discussion as student demographics continue to change; but we have begun the discussion. How we approach these issues and what we do with our findings is a grand opportunity for the future.

I have reported on the HE SIG session, but there were other terrific sessions. I want to thank you for making the Higher Education Mini Conference a success: presenters who put together workshops or sessions, participants who attended and discussed, and the HE SIG panelists: Bill Jiang, Harold Kahn, Heidi Lieb, Elena Nehrebecki, Jerry Paris, Howard Pomann, and Nancy Silvestro.

This is my last column for Voices. I leave excited that higher education will have greater presence and better voice through the new collaboration at the NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conferences.

Marianne Hsu Santelli has been the Higher Education SIG Representative. 

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Teacher Education Special Interest Group News:

The Annual SIG Meetings and First Annual Graduate Student Forum

By Gail Verdi

As the Teacher Education Special Interest Group representative, I want to thank all of the faculty, teachers, and student leaders that participated in the events that our SIG hosted during NJTESOL/NJBE’s 2011 Spring Conference, “Creating Global Learning Communities for ELLs.” 

Teacher Education Special Interest Group Meetings

The TE SIG also hosted a few presentations.  On Tuesday, Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth (NYU), Anthony Pittman (Kean), and Timothy Ebsworth (CNR) responded to the documentary “Waiting for Superman” by Davis Guggenheim on behalf of English Learners who speak English as a Second Language and Standard English as a Second Dialect.  Drs. Eisenstein Ebsworth, Pittman, and Ebsworth focused on the “myths” or “assertions” laid out by Guggenheim concerning what we need to provide a good education:

1. Money doesn’t solve all the problems American schools face.
2. America is an under-educated superpower.
3. There are too many bad teachers in the system, and it is impossible to get rid of them because of tenure.
4. Charter schools are better than public schools
5. Tracking kids is unfair – especially when it is based on arbitrary factors like neatness, obedience, politeness, and,  of course, lack of language skills.

The panel and audience deconstructed Guggenheim’s assertions and responded to them by noting the following:

1. We need money to hire well-trained bilingual, ESL, and [mainstream] teachers trained to work with struggling native English speakers.  We need money to lower class size. We need money to provide professional development for mainstream teachers working with native and non-native speakers of English with special needs (Cultural/Social Pragmatics, Sheltered Instruction, Integrated Units including Essential Questions).
2. America is not under-educated when you consider poverty.  Poverty for both native and non-native students is the most significant variable when considering school success. 
3. Teachers accused of incompetence have the right to a hearing according to due process.  The real question here is how are these teachers assessed.  For teachers of English learners, test scores cannot determine how effective a bilingual, ESL or mainstream teacher is unless we consider how students improve over time.
4. Charter schools are not better than public schools.  A quality education should not be the outcome of a lottery.  We all know that there are great public schools.  Statistics show that English language learners, given the proper support, can help produce test scores that raise the levels of Annual Yearly Progress. 
5. Tracking is complicated.  Placing students in classrooms with appropriate supports systems can help move students towards proficiency of both language and content.  However, placing students in classrooms where they don’t receive the support they need will continue to fail.  For English learners this often happens when they exit bilingual or ESL classes.  They continue to need support (Sheltered Instruction) and scaffolding to help them develop academic language and content skills necessary to succeed. 

On Wednesday, our Teacher Education Special Interest Group hosted another session to continue our exploration of the theme of Superheroes in L2 Education. During this session faculty from Rutgers, Kean, and Stockton College revisited David Guggenheim’s assertions listed above and add some additional insights:

1. Unions are not against innovations, they are against bad ideas from people who are not teachers.
2. Taking poverty into consideration when discussing the notion that America is under-educated, we must also consider the cultural capital students from middle-class families bring with them when they enter the classroom. If you come from a family that is born in this country, and have acquired the cultural capital that enables you to understand how the system works, you are more likely to succeed. 
3. When discussing the assertion that we keep bad teachers because of tenure, we need to also consider how school leaders (principals) impact teacher success.  What can school leaders do to ensure that teachers are effective and the students are learning?  Similarly teacher education programs have to assess whether we are training mainstream teachers to work with diverse student populations. 
4. The participants in this discussion also made some recommendations for future collaboration:
   1. Consider becoming involved in the International Language Teacher Conference being held in Washington, D.C.
   2. Review and become more familiar with TE Programs across the state.
   3. Work on the ESL Policy Statement from the Teacher Education standpoint.
   4. Work on the Graduate Student Forum for the 2012 NJTESOL/NJBE Annual Conference.

Sorrentino, J. (2011, May).  Waiting for Superman: What it means for you and your child. Retrieved from https://education.com/print/waiting-superman-means-parents/.

Weber, K. (Ed.).  (2010). Waiting for Superman: How we can save America’s failing schools.  New York, New York: Public Affairs.

The First Annual Graduate Student Forum

This event was well attended by faculty and graduate students from Kean, Rowan, Rutgers, and Stockton Universities.  Students at both the Master’s and Doctoral levels presented the results of their research.  Students still working on their research indicated that being able to observer their peers present their work helped them in two ways.  First, they were able to get a sense of how a research study is organized and how to collect and analyze different forms of data.  They were also able to see how to present research.  All of the graduate students in attendance as audience members indicated that they look forward to participating in this event when they complete their studies. 

For our inaugural event, we had two graduate students from Rowan University, Marybeth Hegel and Jennifer Murphy, who discussed a co-authored project they are working on titled: Embracing Technology in the ESL Classroom: Creating engaging and challenging standards-based ESL lessons using multiple technologies.  We also had Sandra Nahmias, a graduate student in Kean’s TESOL Program, who presented the results of her thesis: Derivational Morphology as an Instructional Tool to Enhance the Depth and Increase the Breadth of Vocabulary Knowledge in Third Grade English Language Learners, and Sonia Nobre, a student in the Bilingual Education Program at Kean discussed: The Effects of Teaching Math Content to ELLs Using Technology.  We were also fortunate to have our first doctoral candidate form Rutgers University, Sora Suh.  Sora’s study focused on The Social Functions of Code-switching in a Korean family.

For the graduate students that presented, this was a celebration of their scholarship and an acknowledgement of the hard work they put into their research projects.  What was even more impressive was that faculty were present to provide productive feedback as critical friends and supporters.  All of the participants indicated that they walked away from this event feeling as if they had something important to say about teaching English learners.  I think we all agreed that these studies will add to the field of second language acquisition research.  We want to recognize the graduate students that presented their research and thank them for taking part in NJTESOL/NJBE’s First Annual Graduate Student Forum.  We also hope that faculty will continue to encourage graduate students to participate. 

Gail Verdi is the Teacher Education SIG Representative.  

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