Notes from the regional CATESOL conference

On Saturday, October 17th, I attended the San Diego regional CATESOL conference at Grossmont College. The theme was: YES, WE CAN, empowering students in a learner centered environment. The main speaker, Dr. Jonathan Brennan, emphasized this theme in his plenary address which centered on the eight principles of student success. Most of the sessions dealt with the theme of a learner centered environment.
I attended four sessions. The first was given by our Kevin Staff, entitled incorporating a general proficiency description into SLOs. Kevin explained the difference between SLOs and objectives in that SLOs can be measured. He then proceeded to propose 4 assessment instruments: 1( in-class essay, 2) student protfolio, 3) oral skills assessment and 4) a discrete point grammar test. He also touched on the problem of assessing writing samples and showed example of essays written by his students and how he graded them. Also included was a thorough annotated bibliography which you can email him for.

Unfortunately, Kevin's session was at the same time as Angela Webster's power point presentation with beginning ESL levels. I understand the presentation was excellent and put into practice the theme of the conference by using students to demonstrate it.

The second session was on how to move a class forward despite erratic attendance and tardiness, a relevant topic. It was given by Sarah Lynn who demonstrated some very practical techniques on how the teacher con encourage attendance and also explained the resposibility of the student to attend class, set goals and notify the teacher if absent. I have a packet of the suggestions and would be happy to share it.

The third session was a lively hands on presentation of game like activities to practice ESL listening, speaking, reading and writing skills presented by Donna Price and Cindy Wislofsky. This was an excellent presentation as the spectators actually participated in the games, which are for all levels and fully explained in the packet handed out.

The fourth session , given by Jayme Adelson Goldstein, was on engaging everyone in communication tasks for the multi-level classroom. I have a packet of her ideas which I'd be happy to share.

In conclusion, I found the conference a stimulating event, not just the sessions, but also the meeting of other teachers, sharing ideas and having a good time.