Employees at the McAllen Convention Center quietly walked past the empty Boardroom 1, where Dotti Shelton had arranged books, notepads and candy on four vacant tables. Shelton patiently waited to see how many, if any, Rio Grande Valley teachers would attend her Wednesday seminar, “Closing the Achievement Gap for English Language Learners.”

“Obviously this remains a huge issue for the Valley, but sadly, I don’t think many are interested,” she said. There are more than 146,000 English-limited students in the education region comprising the Rio Grande Valley and three other South Texas counties.

Shelton, a former Sharyland teacher, hoped her seminar would draw educators dedicated to tackling that large number. Only five teachers attended a similar session in May. (more…)

A new language program in the East Village will be the first of its kind to put down the grammar books and use a more interactive approach to teaching English — improvisation. ImprovYourESL, which stands for Improvise Your English as a Second Language, will use an improv comedy-based curriculum to teach English to non-native speakers.

Adam McLean, NYU alumnus and founder and CEO of the program, spoke about his inspiration for the idea. “NYU gave me two gifts I’ve combined to create ImprovYourESL,” McLean said. “It introduced me to improvisational acting [through Tisch Open Arts] and to an internationalist perspective [through studying abroad in Madrid].” (more…)

Pat Karas knows there are people in the community who would benefit from English as a Second Language classes. Fewer people than expected, however, registered Thursday for the adult education class offered by the Farmington Public School District.

“We try to accommodate 150, and we are below that,” Karas, director of adult, alternative and community education for the district, said Thursday. As a result, a second registration session has been set for 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, at Farmington Community School, 30415 Shiawassee. (more…)

Language should not be a barrier for those needing to communicate in English as a second language.

Beginning this fall, students wishing to improve their English skills will have an opportunity to participate in both beginning and intermediate level language courses. Classes will be held from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at the Renaissance Center on Highway 46 South in Dickson.

The instructor for these courses will be Tom Constance. He and his wife, Wynona, recently returned from China where they have spent the last three years teaching English to students at universities in Ningxia and Harbin. He has a master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Azusa Pacific University. (more…)

A local, energy saving retrofit project will help more people read, write and speak a second language. “The reason we didn’t take English classes is because this is expensive,” says Adriana Mosqueda, a student enrolled in literacy classes at the Learning Source in Lakewood since November.

The idea to help with tuition came after the Learning Source did an energy audit on its building at 455 South Pierce. “We basically had no insulation and were using an incredible amount of utilities to the tune of about $40,000 per year,” says Susan Lythgoe, executive director of the Learning Source. But by retrofitting the 1970s era building with new energy saving features, good things begin to happen. (more…)

Learning a new language is often begun at a young age and, in some schools, is continued throughout a person’s education. While it may be easier to learn and retain a second language at a younger age, those who are interested in learning a second language later on in life should not be discouraged. In fact, the older a person gets, the more apparent the need for the English language becomes. Consider the following instances in which mastery of the English language is crucial for success.

Obtaining a job in an English speaking country, or having to frequently interact with English speaking colleagues overseas. With trading between countries is at a high, people are expected to speak more than one language in order to ensure the completion of a transaction. This means that English as a second language is becoming more common and expected in the business community. (more…)