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Ryan Breisch, Executive Director, Literacy Council of Reading-Berks INC.How the Literacy Council Becoming and ESL Powerhouse in Berks County,Room 217BEnglish Forward is an innovative, research-based training system and curriculumdesigned to give teachers the tools to bring the real world into their classrooms andprovide students the knowledge they need to navigate their communities and dayto-day life. Participants will hear a brief history of how English Forward came tothe Literacy Council of Reading-Berks, how volunteers are identified and recruitedto participate in the program, and how English Forward is being used to engage thecommunity and Beginning Literacy ESL students in their first 60-100 hours ofEnglish-language instruction.Focus: Adult EducationDaniela DeGregorio & Woonji Yeoh, Wilson CollegeUsing Songs Effectively in ESL classes, Room 217CUsing music in ESL classes is beneficial for developing English skills, creating nonthreatening classroom environment, encouraging creativity, and bringing fun tolearning. This presentation demonstrates how songs can be used effectively in ESLclassrooms. The presenters will provide specific examples of songs and engage theaudience in song activities.Focus: Primary/Secondary Education, Intensive English ProgramsAmanda Brunson & Jackie Whitney, University of DelawareImplementing Universal Design for Learning to Support Students withDisabilities, Room 217DThe purpose of this session is to raise awareness about ESL students withdisabilities, to explain Universal Design for Learning, and to provide concretestrategies for implementing UDL in the classroom. The audience will learn howthey can make their ESL classes more accessible in order to benefit all students.Focus: Academic English Programs, Intensive English Programs/Private LanguageTeaching ProgramsFIRST 20-Minute Session: 11:55-12:20Sarah Rawls, Lu Han, Linlin Wang, & Catie Duffield, ESL Instructor andGraduate Student, Temple UniversityMeeting the Needs of Chinese ELs: Experiences at USTC, Room 200ABUnderstanding challenges and useful strategies that students, teachers, andinstitutions have teaching/learning English to Chinese STEM students is helpful inimproving English teaching in EFL contexts. An action research was conductedanalyzing three teachers’ teaching journals, self-reflection essays, and focusedgroup meeting notes to address these aspects.Focus: Academic English Programs, Graduate/Post-Graduate Academic andProfessional Programs, Intensive English Programs/Private Language TeachingProgramsJhane Campbell, Graduate Student, University of DelawareBuilding Fluency in East Asian International Students’ Speech, Room 217AThis session addresses how educators can improve fluency in international Asianstudents with weak speaking abilities. Often, these students are shy, rely on theirnative language, or stay silent as a result of this weakness. Participants in thissession will gain strategies for encouraging students to speak more fluently.Christine Maine, Graduate Student, University of DelawareFREE Digital Tools and Applications to Enhance Communication for ELsand Their Families, Room 217BAdvances in technology are opening multi-lingual tools for accessing information.These are “GAME CHANGERS” for our English Learner (ELs) and for us. Thispresentation is a quick introduction to free digital tools available to help our ELsand their families access communication.Focus: Primary/Secondary Education, Academic English Programs, Adult EducationMegeara Glah Mabry, Program Manager, Temple UniversityMoving Past Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation to Assessing ELs’Understanding of Content, Room 217CWriting is often used as a reading assessment tool, but for students who struggle towrite in English, this serves as a double assessment--both of their readingcomprehension and their writing abilities. Better assessment tools can ensure ourstudents’ English writing level does not influence our assessment of readingcomprehension.Focus: Secondary EducationHannah Lair, Lecturer in English Composition, Penn State UniversityHarrisburgFreedom through Structure: Re-envisioning the Rhetorical Situation,Room 217DStudents of varied cultures and educational backgrounds populate the universitywriting course, often presenting challenges to instructors tasked with academicwriting objectives: how is one to meet each student where she is? This sessionexplores a method for creating common academic and social ground in theclassroom through the emphasis on structure. By re-envisioning the rhetoricalsituation and re-framing Anglo-American writing structures, both instructors andstudents can achieve a sense of agency while adhering to academic requirements.Focus: Academic English ProgramsSECOND 20-Minute Session: 2:00-2:45Elvis Wagner, Associate Professor of TESOL, Temple UniversityTechnology’s Impact on Language Assessment, Room 200ABTechnology is changing how L2 proficiency is assessed. This presentation examinesthe current role of technology in high-stakes English proficiency tests (i.e., TOEFLiBT, IELTS, PTE, DET), the advantages and disadvantages of technology inassessment, and explores how technology might dictate changes in languageassessment in the near future.Focus: Academic English Programs, Adult EducationDodi Zain, University of ArkansasAn alternative model of teaching grammar in context, Room 217ATeaching grammar for ESL/EFL settings is still considered essential by manystudents and teachers despite its boring nature. The presentation will present analternative model of teaching grammar in context by incorporating the principles ofCommunicative Language Teaching with additional elements of fun activities.Focus: Academic English Programs, Intensive English Programs/Private LanguageTeaching Programs

Focus: Academic English Programs, Intensive English Programs/Private LanguageTeaching ProgramsFangyan Cao & Yao Lu, University of DelawarePractical Teaching Strategies to Increase Student Engagement andInteraction, Room 217BThis session addresses how educators can assist students to engage and interactmore in their classes. Teachers can benefit from implementing strategies thatcreate a student-centered and dynamically involved learning environment. By theend of this session, participants will understand and have three strategies: TVseries, drama, and music.Focus: Adult EducationSharon Haseman, ESL InstructorThrough Their Eyes: How Students with Limited and Interrupted FormalEducation and Trauma View the Effectiveness of a College BridgeProgram, Room 217CThis research explores the perceptions of adult English learners regarding a bridgeprogram designed to ensure their college readiness. Participants in this researchare SLIFE (students with limited and interrupted formal education) who areeligible to apply for refugee status, and have also experienced trauma.Focus: Academic English Programs, Adult EducationJohn Andelfinger, Director of Institutional Advancement andAccreditation, Holy Family UniversityEasily Adopted and Adapted Strategies for Incorporating Sound in theWriting Classroom, Room 217DThe presenter will share diverse ways in which sonic practices can be integratedinto an undergraduate writing class for multilingual writers. The presenter willbriefly share his journey towards incorporating sonic writing practices and providedetails about what was effective and ineffective in classroom practice.Focus: Academic English ProgramsSECOND 40-Minute Session: 2:35-3:20Jill Swavely, Professor, Temple UniversityIs it plagiarism or just inexperienced borrowing?: How to notice and buildupon ELs’ textual borrowing skills, Room 200ABPresenters will explain an analysis of textual borrowing practices in essays writtenby 102 English learners in 7 local high schools to illustrate these students’emergent understandings of using source texts in their written essays. Then, thepresenters will share practical instructional strategies for building upon theseemergent understandings.Focus: Secondary Education, Academic English Programs, Intensive EnglishPrograms/Private Language Teaching ProgramsNonie Bell, Jackie Whitney, & Jim Weaver, Instructors, University OfDelaware ELIMeasuring ELL Success, By What Scale?, Room 217AAccurate and valid assessments are vital milestones of progress that help ELLsdirect their own learning. Three IEP instructors will present the benefits anddrawbacks of their differing approaches to assessment informed by SLA research.Michael Fields, Assistant Professor, University of Delaware ELIPrinciples of Assessment and Improving Assessment Design, 217BThis presentation reviews principles of language test design and suggests ways toimprove the quality of teacher-made tests. Concepts to be reviewed include constructdefinition, construct underrepresentation and construct-irrelevant variance, muddiedmeasurement, direct testing, and correct format for testing different language skills.Focus: Adult Education, Academic English ProgramsNaif Masrahi, Ph.D. Student, University of New MexicoImpact of CLT in Improving Speaking Skills: A Case Study of Attitude in aSaudi EFL Context, Room 217DThis presentation reports on the results of a study on the attitudes of EnglishLanguage instructors towards adopting the Communicative Language TeachingApproach in developing the speaking skills of Saudi EFL learners. The presentationaddresses the study’s methodology, outcomes, challenges and recommendations forfurther studies.Focus: Academic English Programs, Adult Education, Graduate/Post-GraduateAcademic and Professional Programs, Intensive English Programs/Private LanguageTeaching ProgramsTHIRD 40-Minute Session: 3:30-4:15Kathrine Lobo, ESL Teacher, Day Middle School, MassachusettsThe 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners, PreKthrough Grade 12, Room 200ABThis will include the rationale for The 6 Principles, as well as the application.Participants will discuss how to best implement The 6 Principles from the perspective ofboth an administrator and teacher.Focus: Primary and Secondary EducationKenneth Cranker, Assistant Professor, University of DelawareExtended Reading with Life Lessons: The Longevity Project, Room 217AExtended reading is long reading that may be above student reading level. It isused in an Academic Transitions program to quickly pull students up to auniversity reading level. Attendees will learn how employing The Longevity Projectin an integrated-skills context improves

Temple University Plenary Title Facilitating and Fostering Preparedness Using the 6 Principles Using Songs Effectively in ESL Classes Daniela DiGregorio & Susan Featro Plenary Description TESOL professionals are facilitators of learning, that not only includes language but also culture and survival skills for life in the 21st Century. Developing