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TESOL NEWSLETTER
October - November 2011
FROM JAMES STAKENBURG
As the months turn cooler and the days shorter, you may think of heading south. Our featured country is Argentina - a wonderful mix of South America and Europe and a country where lots of work is to be had. This newsletter we return to our featured updates on past course participants, featuring Marcella, who has just headed off to China. We also have some great ideas on using cell phones in the classroom - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Summer at Rennert was busy, as always, with a Teaching Business English course, as well as Rennert's TESOL course and SIT's TESOL course all running. We currently have an extensive SIT TESOL Certificate course and a Best Practices in TESOL course
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Not warm, but fond memories for me of a trip from southern Argentina
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running, with another Young Learners and a Practicum course coming up this month.
We also welcome Noreen back to Rennert as one of your licensed trainers. Noreen used to work here, but recently spent three years in Central Asia running a teacher training program at a university there. We're happy to have her back.
Meanwhile, delve into the world of TESOL - gain some new ideas and some inspiration.
Enjoy.
212-867 8700
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Where are they now?
This month's feature on previous participants is Marcella, who did the TESOL course in September - December, 2009.
After finishing her course at the end of 2009, Marcella took a few months off to head to Italy for an extended vacation. Upon her return a few months later, she applied for for a job at Rennert and became one of the many teachers working here who have taken the SIT TESOL course. After teaching General English for some time., Marcella was asked to teach TOEFL Preparation classes as well, and she became one of Rennert's main TOEFL teachers.
Last summer, Marcella decided that she wanted to delve deeper into the filed of TESOL and enrolled at SIT for their MA TESOL course. Choosing the 'summer' option, Marcella took this summer off and headed to Brattleboro for the first stage of her Masters program. She was very impressed by the strong focus on reflection that is a cornerstone of SIT's philosophy. In the methodology course, she found she had a significant advantage due to the certificate's practical focus and her subsequent teaching experience.
Returning to NYC in August, Marcella found herself going a little stir-crazy in the City, and when I forwarded her a job opening in China, she started to look into it. The position was teaching in a prestigious private school in northern China. the school there is affiliated with a private school in St Louis, so after 2 phone interviews, they flew her down south for a face-to-face interview. Less than 2 weeks later, Marcella found herself on a plane, bound for China.
For the next year, she will be in charge of the English program at the school there, as she completes the practicum for her Masters degree.After that, who knows. Her dream is to move to Italy with her husband. Given all that's she's done in the past 2 years, it seems very likely that this dream will be fulfilled.
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TESOL Jobs
Argentina
Argentina offers lots of work and lifestyle opportunities for English teachers, with a culture that is both recognizably European and uniquely South American. You will find no other country quite like it on the entire continent.
Claudia Guershanik, an Argentine that has lived and taught English and Spanish in New York, London, and Buenos Aires:
"Although Argentina is a Spanish-speaking country, English plays an important role in business and this has created a strong demand for EFL teachers. It was extremely easy for me because of my experience and qualifications. Within hours of sending my resume I was being called to have an interview. Having a university degree and/or a TESOL qualification will help you to get a well-paid job. And if ... (click here for more)
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ESOL Teaching Ideas It's impossible to cover every type of activity in the course, so this is a (hopefully helpful) forum for sharing additional ideas. If you have any great ideas/ activities etc that you would like to share, please email me Using Cell Phones as Learning Tools Last month I did a Professional Development session here at Rennert on ways of using the different functions of a cell phone to enhance learning. For those who couldn't make it, here are some of the ideas we discussed:  Weston Bennett, TESOL Convention, New Orleans, 2011 http://www.pontydysgu.org/2009/11/25-practical-ideas-for-using-mobile-phones-in-the-classroom/ 1) PHONE - Telephone role plays (1/2 class goes outside room) e.g. on vacation/ leaving messages/ MTA lost and found/ calling Coned or the bank etc.
- Setting up audio tours e.g. one group is working on a guide to places of interest in their town where at each point of interest there is a notice "to hear the story ring this number".
- 'Telephone' - Ss share cell numbers > put Ss in places they can't hear each other > call one S and say a sentence > they call another and repeat sentence > continue until last student calls T back.
- "Where are you?" game > send Ss to different parts of the building > Ss work in pairs > one S directs the other to where s/he is.
2) TEXTING Click here for more ideas.
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Explore Rennert on Facebook
Rennert's TESOL program has a Facebook page. "Like" us and you can see course photos, join discussions, read interesting articles on TESOL, get teaching tips, meet new friends and more.
Recent postings include: - advice about the upcoming NYS TESOL Convention - an interesting article on culture - a blog on the current Best Practices in TESOL course
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Free
Professional Development Workshops
at Rennert
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WL-SIT TESOL Certificate Alumni in New York can attend Rennert's free in-house professional development workshops for for the rest of their career.
Professional Development sessions are held each month.
This month's topic is "Analyzing grammar to decide what to teach and how to teach it" and all SIT @ Rennert alumni will be emailed with the course details.
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Observing ESL
It's very common for people to wonder exactly what happens in an ESL classroom.
"How can you teach English without also speaking the students' language?"
"How is a communicative language class similar to, or different from, my own language learning experiences?"
"Will I enjoy teaching as much as I think I will?"
To take some of the mystery out of this, we welcome those interested in becoming teachers to come and observe classes at Rennert. Participants on the course as well as alumni of the course also have standing invitations to observe classes any time. This is a really great opportunity for new or experienced teachers to gather extra ideas and techniques. And if you are thinking about becoming an ESL teacher but aren't quite sure if it's the right thing for you, this is a great chance to see what it's all about.
If you are interested in coming in and watching a class, just give me a call or send me an email.
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Teaching Business English Certificate course
Last month we spent a wonderful week exploring the world of Business English, looking at lots of practical ways to respond to the specific needs of Business English students and to teach lessons specific to their needs.
Tish, who took the course, is already teaching private lessons here in NYC. And we wish Andre well as he returns to Brazil after many years away.
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Vicuna
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