Tag Archives: esl

Alumni in India

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Jeff Fowler (MA TESOL ’12) and Kimby Murakami (MA TESOL ’12) travelled to India to work for fellow MIIS Alum Tarana Patel’s (MA TESOL ’06) education organization, LearnEd, at Sankalchand Patel Colleges in Visnagar. They each taught two classes in the intensive English program at the college. In addition, the duo collaborated to present English for specific purposes (ESP) courses to engineering faculty.

Fowler taught English to undergraduate students with high-beginner to low-intermediate proficiency majoring in Computer Application, Business Administration, and Natural Sciences. Murakami taught undergraduate and graduate students with intermediate to advanced English proficiency majoring in Dentistry, Pharmacology, Engineering, and Computer Application. Each course incorporated a community outreach component chosen by the students. In team of two to three, students taught a 45-minute lesson to students in grades 1 through 5.

Fowler and Murakami reported that the students were enthusiastic to practice English and to share their culture with the foreign teachers. Both teachers enjoyed participating in Indian festivals (e.g., Kite Festival, Festival of Colors), exploring the ancient buildings in nearby towns, and sampling the culinary delights available in India.

Murakami heads back to India this month with MIIS alum Angie Petinos (MA TESOL ’12) to work in a 6-month teacher training program offered by LearnEd at Divine Child International School.

Faculty Update: Professor John Hedgcock

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John Hedgcock’s recent professional activities include the completion of Teaching Readers of English: Students, Texts, and Contexts, co-authored with Dana Ferris and published by Routledge in March 2009. John and his co-author were honored to receive the 2009 David E. Eskey Award for Curricular Innovation as a result of this publication. John pursued his interest in L2 literacy education by presenting on that topic at the 2009 TESOL Convention in Denver and by co-teaching a course on ESL/EFL reading instruction at American University in July.

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In addition, he co-presented on his ongoing heritage language research at the American Association for Applied Linguistics meeting in Denver. With co-author Natalie Lefkowitz, he completed a chapter on academic literacy development among heritage students, to be published in the forthcoming volume, Learning to Write and Writing to Learn in an Additional Language, edited by Rosa Manchón. John’s chapter on theory and practice in L2 writing instruction also recently appeared in Practicing Theory in Second Language Writing, edited by Paul Matsuda and Tony Silva. Having completed his final year as member of the TOEFL Committee of Examiners, John continues to serve on the Editorial Advisory Board of TESOL Quarterly.