OKTESOL Newsletter

VOLUME 34, NUMBER 1

SPRING 2014

From the Presidents Desk

By Dan Rueckert
Hello again OKTESOL members. As always, the one consistent thing in the
world is change. As we move into 2014, our OKTESOL board has in some
ways changed and in other ways stayed the same. Our elected president,
Rus Kiser, has accepted a job offer to be the Academic Director of ELS at
Clemson University. While this was a well deserved and exciting
opportunity for Rus, it has also taken him out of Oklahoma, so we have
accepted his formal resignation as President of Oklahoma TESOL.

The one consistent

thing in the world is
change

As the past president of Oklahoma TESOL, I have assumed the

responsibilities of acting president of Oklahoma TESOL. So, as we enter
another year, I am still serving as president. Before resigning, Rus Kiser
appointed an incoming president to OKTESOL, who is Stacy Brown. This
way, we do have two of the three presidential offices filled. Stacy will be
eligible to submit her name for election into the presidential position at our
fall conference.
We wish to extend our gratitude to those board members who have
graduated off of the board this past year. We have seen a lot of changes.
Graduating from our board were Vice President Jamie Buckmaster,
Secretary Shawna Conway, Newsletter Editor Briana Hefley-Shepherd,
Higher Ed Chair Marki Alexander and IEP Chair Mary Martin-Rivas.

We are excited by
the new perspectives
and energy

We would like to welcome our new board members, Vice President Janice
Willson, Secretary Terri Lore, Newsletter Editor Andrea Bryant, Higher Ed
Chair Gail Nash, IEP Chair Nancy McWhirter, Life Long Learning Chair
Michelle Gray and our newly appointed K-12 chair Candy Nunez.
We are excited by the new perspectives and energy that our new board
members bring to our organization. I can assure you that after meeting
with them, that I am looking forward to serving alongside them during this
coming year. We have big plans for this coming year. We have set the
dates for our upcoming conferences. Spring Fling will be held April 12 at
Oklahoma Christian University. Our Fall conference will be held on October
24 and 25th at a yet to be disclosed location. We are also considering other
social outings that will allow us to connect throughout the year.
This is your organization and we want to be of service to you. Our contact
information is posted in this newsletter and on oktesol.com. Please feel free
to contact us with any questions of concerns that you may have.
Best regards,
Dan Rueckert

OKTESOL 2014 Spring Fling Information

OKTESOL invites you to present or at least to be present at our annual
Spring Fling. The Spring Fling is a FREE morning workshop that will be held
on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University (OC): April 12, 2014. OC is
conveniently located on Memorial Road, just west of I-35 in Edmond/OKC.
Registration will begin at 8 AM with refreshments and an opportunity to visit
with members of your Special Interest Group. Presentations will begin at
9:00 and conclude by noon.

Spring Fling: A
FREE morning
workshop on
April 12, 2014
at Oklahoma
Christian
University

You wont want to miss this opportunity for professional development and
networking. Please consider sharing your experience and knowledge by
responding to the Call for Presentations as detailed in this newsletter. We
hope to see you in April at OC for OKTESOLS SPRING FLING!
Dr. Gail Nash
Spring Fling Planning Committee Chair
Gail.nash@oc.edu

State Approved Accommodations for ELL Students, Grades 3-12

With testing on the horizon in K-12 schools, it is important to stay current
on the latest state approved accommodations for ELL students on Oklahoma
Core Curriculum Tests. This is the first year the new reading law for 3rd
graders will affect students, we know students in the 5th and 8th grades take
the writing test that affects their drivers license and students at the
secondary level are under tremendous pressure to succeed.
Accommodations help us better assess and determine the performance level
of the students who are limited in English proficiency. For questions not
answered on the state website, your best contacts are your district
facilitator(s) or the state contacts. English Language Learners are protected
by both federal and state laws and the accommodations are important to
consider. Verify both with the state and your district to ensure you employ
the recommended accommodations most appropriate for your students.
Testing in general is stressful for students, but it can be especially stressful
for ELL students. If you have any questions or needs, please feel free to
contact us at OKTESOL. There are many resources available to students and
teachers.
be sure to
check for
specifics on
each test being
administered

Below are a few of the links to related information on the state website.
However, be sure you check for specifics on each test being administered,
watch for updates and most importantly, check with your district. Some
students are exempt from taking certain tests if they have been here a
limited amount of time, but each test does vary. There are sometimes
alternative tests given to students with less time in the country as well. If a
word-to-word dictionary is allowed and you are seeking a dictionary for a
less common language, check with area universities. As always, if you have
remaining concerns or needs, contact us and we will do what we can to
support you.
Here are some links to get you started:
http://ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/Bilingual-TipsStudents.pdf
http://www.ok.gov/sde/faqs/oklahoma-school-testing-program-ostpfrequently-asked-questions
http://www.ok.gov/sde/test-support-teachers-and-administrators
Stacy Brown, President Elect

Oklahoma Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

(OKTESOL)
invites you to present at our annual

Spring Fling
held at Oklahoma Christian Universitys Garvey Center,
2501 E. Memorial Road, Edmond, OK

April 12, 2014

CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROPOSALS
Deadline for submitting proposals: March 15, 2014
I.

PERSON SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL:

Name:
Mailing Address:
School/Institution:
Work Telephone:

Home Telephone:

Fax:

E-mail:

OABE Member?: __ Yes __ No

OKTESOL Member?: __ Yes

Were on the Web!

www.oktesol.com
II.

SESSION LENGTH AND TYPE: (Check One)

20 Minute Session:
__ Paper
__ Discussion
40 Minute Session:
__ Workshop only

III.

PRESENTATION TITLE:

IV.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: (Please check only if needed)

__ Projector & Screen
__ Other: Please
specify_______________________________________
NOTE: Each classroom is set up with a projector, screen, and dry erase
board; wireless internet access is also available.

V.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
Please include a biographical statement for each participating presenter on
an attached sheet maximum 50 words.

VI.

ABSTRACT:
On a separate sheet, please provide a description of the proposed program
maximum 250 words.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Please describe your presentation in 25 words or less, as you would like it to
appear in the conference program. Please include your name and
institutional affiliation.

and Facebook!
www.facebook.com
(OKTESOL)

VII.

Submit this form, the biographical information,

abstract,and program description by March 15, 2014 to:
Nancy McWhirter at nancymcwhirter@yahoo.com

From the Students Corner

Respect
By an 8th Grade ELL Student Paria Iranpour, who is in her 2nd full
year in the US.
One of the big problems I have observed in schools in the US
is the lack of respect for teachers and adults. Kids are less kind and
less respectful to each other and eventually they are disrespecting
themselves. They think teachers should be their friends. They act the
same way to their teachers as they do to their friends.
In the classroom, kids are trying to take the control from the

Got a great piece of

work from a student?
Submit it to:
andrea.dawn.bryant@
gmail.com for
consideration in the
Fall, 2014 Newsletter

teacher. They try to act funny and act like theyre popular. They are
doing this because they might not want to learn or do work so they
are trying to distract the teacher. They are also trying to get
attention from their friends. They want to be the main focus.
They interrupt the class by tapping their pencils, talking to
each other, making funny faces or making each other laugh and
writing notes. The big problem is that they dont care. They dont
realize where they were born and where they are from. The United
States is a big country and everyone is dying to come over here and
be part of the education program here. They dont appreciate the
opportunity that they have.
The way that they treat adults is not the way that it should be.
The adults are older than them and they have more experience than
them. That is why they need to show respect. At some point, theyre
going to be adults and they wont want kids to act the same that
they did to them. They need to realize that a teacher, when she or
he comes here to work, its their choice. They could be sitting
watching TV and eating food instead of waking up early and coming
to school and helping them. The teachers see that kids dont even
care and the kids dont show any respect.
When they talk behind peoples backs, they dont realize how
the person that theyre talking to might go tell someone else.
Eventually, what they said will get around. It can really hurt
someones feelings. Also, the things said might not even be true.
What they said might be misunderstood and retold the wrong way.
The kids hearing the gossip dont see both sides. They only see their
friends side and agree with it.
I think the main reason that kids are doing this starts at
home. When parents dont make the time to be with their kids and
teach them how they need to be and what they need to do about
their education, kids will follow other people. The parents need to be
more involved and set better rules. They need to let the kids know
that they care and they will notice what they do and dont do. Also,
when parents say disrespectful things about teachers in front of their
kids, kids will believe what their parents say and show disrespect at
school.
By Paria Iranpour

That Could Work!

A Sample Activity for Student Involvement in Teaching Language
Stacy Brown, February, 2014

A sample activity we enjoy is learning directions. I use this both in my Spanish as well
as my ELL classes. I put the words/phrases to the left, to the right, go straight, stop, hot,
cold, up and down on the board and we talk about them. I leave them up there and choose
two volunteers. One student goes out of the classroom and waits to be called back in. The
other student hides an agreed upon object somewhere in the classroom where the rest of
the class can see it. The other volunteer is called back in and the student who hid the object
uses the target vocabulary to guide the other student around the classroom until he/she is
in the vicinity of the object. The leader gets to guide the other student around as long as it is
suitable and they enjoy that power and seldom attempt to use it outside of its intent. At
that point, the class participates in the hot/cold game.

Want to contribute to
the That Could
Work! Column? Then
send your great idea
to:
andrea.dawn.bryant@
gmail.com for
consideration in the
Fall, 2014 Newsletter

We increase the vocabulary with words like behind, inside of, underneath as the class
is ready. I usually do this on the first or second day of class. As we change out volunteers,
every students hand is usually raised and they are all hoping to participate next. In this
simple activity, everyone is participating, someone is teaching, there is TPR (total physical
response) involved and no one is worried about making mistakes. They are directly using the
new language and going straight into a higher level thinking activity through play. They are
getting repeated exposure as the other students participate in the game. They are getting
variety as each student brings their own ideas, personality, pronunciation and contribution
to the game.
The next day after such an activity, I give a warm-up short answer assessment and we
are all pretty excited to see what everyone remembers. Students then discuss their answers
and there are sometimes some oh yeahs but for the most part, everyone remembers. I
teach at the secondary level, but have found success with this approach at all levels. I just
design it differently for different age groups.
Other sample activities are simple ones like students leading calendar time, students
creating PowerPoints for upcoming lessons and being part of introducing and teaching that
next unit, students creating games, students building background knowledge for the next
unit or concept, students assisting in writing the rubric for assessments, students
researching support materials for homework such as YouTube videos, songs, real life
articles, etc. Students work frequently in small groups so learning has more interaction and
meaning. The teacher does not own the information. We are all participating and sharing in
teaching and learning. We are all part of the learning process. We call it the family road trip
sometimes.
For calling on students in class, I like to number something like plastic spoons and
students take turns drawing the spoons and calling out the student number on the spoon
when it is time for me or whoever is teaching to call on students at random. Just owning a
student number, be it one or twenty-five adds a connection to that number, but being the
person who gets to call on the next student again gives students a sense of belonging in the
teaching and learning process.

Mark Your Calendars!

2013-2014 Board
Past-President (Acting
President)

Dan Rueckert
Oklahoma City University
drueckert@okcu.edu
president@oktesol.com
Appointed President-Elect
Stacy Brown
Moore Public Schools
estacyemail@gmail.com

Vice President
Janice Willson
University of Tulsa
janice-willson@utulsa.edu
TESOL Liaison
Tony Terry
ELS Oklahoma City
tterry@els.edu
Treasurer
Katherine Holzheuser
Moore Public Schools
kholzheuser@gmail.com
P.O. Box 892457
OKC, OK 73189
Secretary
Teri Lore
ELS / OCU
terilore@sbcglobal.net
Newsletter Editor
Andrea Bryant
Oklahoma University
andrea.dawn.bryant@gma
il.com

Professional Development Opportunities in OK

OKADE 2014 Mid-Year Conference

28 March, 9:00 3:00
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Weatherford, OK
www.okade.weebly.com

OFLTA Spring Conference

05 April, 8:30 3:30
Wilson Teaching and Learning Academy
Tulsa, OK
http://www.oflta.org

OKTESOL Spring Fling

12 April, 8:00 12:00
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma City, OK
www.oktesol.com

Oklahoma Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Language is a

professional association. Our mission is to offer opportunities to develop
increased expertise to its members and others working toward the goal of
teaching English to speakers of other languages and to nurture effective
communication in Oklahomas multicultural settings while respecting
individual language rights.
To aid in this mission, OKTESOL connects groups within the state in order to
foster communication among its language specialists at least once a year at its
annual conference and through its newsletter and website.

Dont be shy!
We welcome article ideas, student writing, and articles for publication.
Send to Newsletter Editor, Andrea Bryant at andrea.dawn.bryant@gmail.com.

IEP SIG Chair

Nancy McWhirter
nancymcwhirter@yahoo.com

Higher Education SIG Chair

Gail Nash
Oklahoma Christian University
gail.nash@oc.edu

CALL SIG Chair

Jesse Sauer
jesse.l.m.sauer@gmail.com

K-12 SIG Chair

Candy Nunez
cnunez@putnamcityschools.org

Advocacy Rep
Cheryl Leever Huffman
CL Huffman and Associates
Program Design and
Evaluation Services
huffmanCL@aol.com