1. August is the Best Time for Michael Krauss’ Course!
Michael Krauss from Lewis & Clark College (http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss) is announcing his next course “Integrating the Internet into the Classroom” on August 4-22. (The form is available at the bottom.) If you are too busy enjoying the sun in August you have another opportunity in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009. ELO will be recruiting participants for 5 e-teacher courses that train English language professionals in the latest U.S. methods of English language teaching via distance education Assessment for EFL, Teaching Critical Thinking, English for Business, English for Law, Teaching English to Young Learners. Please submit your application forms and questions to Natalia Fomenko at fomenkonv@state.gov
2. Story-telling in Summer EL Camps
American Specialist Myrtis Mixon will visit five English Access Microscholarship camps in Russia and work with teachers and students there running a “Teaching tolerance through student-generated stories” module on June 25-July 14, 2008. If you are interested in learning from Myrtis, please ask for details: Kazan June 26-28 (POC Gouzel Nizhmetdinova demidov@hitv.ru ) Elista June 29-July 3 (POC Bosya Kornusova bossia@elista.ru), Novocherkassk July 4-5 (Larisa Filimonenko fillar@mail.ru ), Ufa July 8-11 (Vyacheslav Shvaiko vd51@yandex.ru) and Samara July 13-14 (Yuliya Markushina ioofs@mail.ru ). The goal of the program is to improve students’ English language proficiency, enhance the understanding of the U.S., and discuss the concept of tolerance for other cultures. The Specialist will also work on a collection of students’ stories compiled as a result of this program.
3. Exploring your Colleagues’ pbwikis is the Best Pastime in Summer
Your colleagues have created a number of pbwikis. Enjoy exploring them, think how you can create your own or use these during the next academic year. http://shapingthewayinmoscow.pbwiki.com/ was created by the participants of David Fays’ “Shaping the Way We Teach” course and it contains all course related readings as well as activities developed by the course participants. You can also use this as a model for your own course. http://uselections.pbwiki.com/ was created by a group of EFL teachers who are interested in elections terminology.
4. Call for Information for Next Year's EFL Events Calendar
Some of you have already sent information about forthcoming major conferences, among them the LATEUM Conference on October 1-3, 2008 at MSU, the All-Russia Research Conference “Innovations in On-Going Linguistic Education” on October 21, 2008 at Tambov State University and the All-Russia Conference “Student, Textbook, Teacher” on November 19-20, 2008 at MSU. We will be happy to add information about your events to the EFL Events Calendar and circulate it throughout the country.
5. The Atlantic article "Is Google Making Us Stupid"
Our computer guru Stefan Mizha finds this article very interesting and thought provoking. If the cons of the Internet prevail after you have read this article, points 6-10 of this Newsletter are not for you. J http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
6. British Council Call for Papers: “Bringing Technology into the EL classroom”
English Language Teaching Professionals interested in participating in Hornby Summer School are asked to complete an application form and return to it to Olga Barnashova olga.barnashova@britishcouncil.ru in the British Council Russia by the 27th of June, 2008. To download the application form and for further information on the Hornby schools go to: http://www.britishcouncil.org/russia-english-teaching-hornby-summer-school.htm
7. Dynamic English
This edition of eJournal USA, "Dynamic English," discusses forces that shape and change everyday English. From cultural and international influences, such as words that come directly, or in a changed form from another language, to popular media, including movies, music and sports, to changes arising from technological developments, the authors present examples of ways English changes daily. Other articles describe the process of language change, and tips for deciphering slang.
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0807/ijse/ijse0807.pdf
8. Lost Titles, Forgotten Rhymes: How to Find a Novel, Short Story, or Poem Without Knowing its Title or Author
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/lost/ What if you wanted to locate Robert Burton's masterful 17th century opus, The Anatomy of Melancholy? But wait: You can't remember his name or the name of the book. That's where you should know to click on over to this delightful and helpful reference guide created by Peter Armenti, Digital Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress. The intent of this guide is to "help readers identify a literary work when they know only its plot or subject, or other textual information such as a character's name, a line of poetry, or a unique word or phrase". The guide is divided into three separate sections: "Finding Novels", "Finding Short Stories", and "Finding Poems". Each section offers a host of resources that include general search engines, online book databases, library catalogs, listservs, message boards, and physical print resources available in many public libraries. This guide is rounded out by a selection of related resources, including a primer on how to find poems in the Library of Congress. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008.
9. Smithsonian: Science and Technology
http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/Science_and_Technology/default.htm
Browsing through the Encyclopedia Smithsonian can be a bit like spending
time with a friend: You'll rediscover some familiar stories, and you'll
probably learn something new at the same time. This particular part of the
Encyclopedia Smithsonian covers science and technology and visitors can
learn about Arctic wildlife, major "firsts" in aviation history, and bird
biology. The materials are drawn from different parts of the Institution,
including the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation and
the National Air & Space Museum. Visitors can also scan the left-hand side
of the page for alphabetically organized resources from aeronautics to
zoology. Overall, the site is a great way to access a few of the
tremendous resources offered by the Institution, and it may just inspire a
deeper search through some of their additional online offerings.
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008.
http://scout.wisc.edu/
10. One Song a Day
Sometimes the best way to motivate teenagers to learn English is to listen to their favorite songs and help them translate them. If you want to try it, here is a site for you.
http://perevod.pesenki.ru/
Application for Integrating the Internet into the Classroom Instructor: Michael Krauss, College of Lewis and Clark, Portland, Oregon Dates: August 4-22, 2008
Return to Natalia Fomenko at fomenkonv@state.gov by Monday, July 15, 2008
Your Name:
Your School/Organization:
Mailing address (home or school):
Email address(es):
Your job title:
- Do you have a computer with a good Internet connection at home?
If not, where will you do the coursework?
- Please describe your experience in using computers and the Internet. Include the number of years you have been using them, the applications you regularly use, and how you use the Internet. Also mention your degree of expertise in keyboarding and surfing.
- Have you taken online courses before? If so, which ones and when?
- Please describe how this course will benefit you, your students, and/or members of your ELT community.
- What is your topic of interest for project work during this course?
Priority will be given to those who intend to focus their course participation around topics related to American Studies in the EFL classroom or to topics that promote U.S.-Russian intercultural communication, cultural studies, or civic education.
- All selected participants are required to do presentations after they have completed the course in order to share what they have learned with colleagues and/or students. Please describe which activity you will perform, with what type of audience(s), and where/when, following your completion of this course.
- Please provide us with any other reasons that explain why you feel this course is right for you and/or why you feel you are qualified for sponsorship.
Candidates for "E-Teacher" course should be teacher trainers or teachers who are working, or plan to work, with one of the five subjects covered by the courses.They should be highly motivated individuals who are dedicated both to their own professional development and to sharing the knowledge gained with colleagues through workshops or professional presentations. In addition, candidates should meet the following criteria:
English language skills:
-- an advanced level of reading and writing, roughly equivalent to a minimum TOEFL score of 525
--general understanding of technical terms in English relating to computers and the Internet
--good command of the necessary vocabulary for each of the five topics
Computer fundamentals:
--regular access to e-mail and the Internet
--ability to navigate in Windows and create a Word document
--basic familiarity with the Internet and web browsers
--ability to type in English well enough to perform on-line tasks in real-time and to submit written assignments in a timely manner
If you meet the above-mentioned criteria and would like to apply for the course, please submit the following information by July 1:
- First name
- Last name
- Institution name
- City
- Mailing address
- E-mail address
- Contact phone number
- Course choice (first choice, second choice, third choice)
- Why are you interested in taking this course?
- How it will help you and your ELT community?
- Are you willing to share the knowledge and skills acquired as a result of the course?
- How are you going to do this?
