Proceedings of the CATESOL State Conference, 2006

Instructions: Click on either the author or on the article title to link to the complete article. All articles are in PDF format.

Authors of Articles

Articles and Abstracts

Why Does My English Writing Sound So Chinese?
Ching-ting Chen
This paper aims at equipping ESL writing instructors who teach Chinese ESL students with contrastive knowledge of Chinese and English. It discusses L1 interference with L2 writing and 10 rhetorical differences between Chinese and English based upon extensive research on the subject.

Distance Education: Model Programs or Quick Fix Solutions?
Dr. Joseph D. Di Lella
Distance education programs, especially in TESOL, have issues that must be addressed if the ELL student is to benefit in the classroom. Kansas State University and Eastern New Mexico University’s TESOL Programs are examined for overall effectiveness for teacher training with recommendations for improvements.

Picture Notes: Recalling Stories with Contextual Clues and Drawings
Dr. Joseph D. Di Lella
For ELL students, Picture Notes serve to bridge the gap between second language learning and memorization. By utilizing an easy and fun form of note taking, any K-12 student (even adults) can recall oral storytelling or reading assignments of fiction or non-fiction for upcoming exams.

The Evolving Bilingual Bicultural School Program Model
Dr. Joseph D. Di Lella
Over time, do public schools truly change their educational program to adequately serve their second language students? By selecting six elementary schools with a prominent change agent (Title VII), this researcher developed a model illustrating how key stakeholders adopt, implement and incorporate language policy over time.

Teaching "Bad Language" in a Serious and Systematic Manner
Terrence M. Doyle
Students want to understand the “bad language” they hear in movies and in everyday conversations around them, and most teachers agree that this is important, but few do so. The author will argue why it is necessary to teach “bad language” by showing examples of its grammatical and pragmatic complexities.

Locating Culture in Unexpected Places
Amel Farghaly & Janette Edwards
This article describes approaches to teaching less visible aspects of L2 culture, particularly the widely shared norms and values expressed through advertisements and other cultural texts. It also recounts the authors’ CATESOL 2006 experience, noting their perspectives on teaching culture using the materials presented and sharing audience contributions to their presentation.

Experiential Learning Through ReALIty English
Barbara Jonckheere
Experiential learning is a cycle which includes an experience, a reflection upon that experience, and an application of such experience. The presentation explains how experiential learning was incorporated in the curriculum of an elective class and includes sample units, requirements, and activities which culminated in the publishing of a newsletter.

Building International Community at a Private IEP School
Patricia Kilroe
This paper enumerates a set of challenges and opportunities IEP personnel may encounter in their efforts to promote community-building among young adults of diverse nationalities living and studying in a single private school. In addition to specific actions that can be taken to build cultural bridges, the light of hope is seen to be the students themselves.

Definitions in Academic Lectures: A Preliminary Report
Michael Lessard-Clouston Ph.D.
This paper provides information about vocabulary learning and academic lectures and then outlines a preliminary case study of definitions in academic lectures. In doing so it provides examples of the quantitative and qualitative use of definitions in theology lectures, and concludes with some implications for specialized vocabulary learning and teaching.

Generation 1.5 and ESL Learners' Use of Past Participles: A Corpus-Based Comparison
Lisa Mikesell
This project exams and compares the use of past participles in two mini-corpora of essays written by UCLA students classified as either ESL or Generation 1.5. This comparison attempts to explore the connections between the language learning experiences of Gen 1.5 learners and their written language output.

Developing A Classroom Friendly Personal Philosophy For ELD: A Five-Step Plan
Robert Miller
A coherent philosophy concerning ELD is the most important aspect of training teachers to work with language minority students. This paper presents a five-step process to develop a philosophy that includes: 1) ESL and bilingual instruction, 2) language acquisition, 3) constructivism, 4) oral language and 5) sociocultural theory.

Landing Your Ideal TESOL Job: Tips for Success
Luciana C. de Oliveira & Sarah Nielsen
This article addresses the authors’ own experiences in looking for TESOL jobs and how they approached their job searches in different ways. It discusses critical components of a job search including identifying one’s skills and experience, focusing and systematizing the job search, preparing necessary materials, and getting ready for interviews.

"Get into Groups" Made More Efficient and Effective
Kitty Purgason
With pair and group work a staple in ESL/EFL classes, teachers need good ways to get students into groups. This article describes a variety of techniques that are appropriate for different student populations and amounts of time available, that can be integrated with teaching points, and that are both fun and efficient.

Addressing Writing Apprehension in Adult English Language Learners
Dr. Maria S. Rankin-Brown
This paper reveals several causes of writing apprehension reported by ten adult L2 students who completed the English as a Second Language Writing Apprehension Test. Individual and classroom strategies for reducing anxiety and increasing writing proficiency of students are addressed.

Increasing Awareness of Self and Culture through Writing Research
Dr. Maria S. Rankin-Brown
This paper addresses how research methodologies, such as narrative research, can be used to shape specific writing assignments that will help students and teachers to increase their awareness of the social and cultural influences that have shaped their beliefs and attitudes about literacy, culture, and education.

Stumbling Blocks to Stepping Stones: Shortcuts to Intelligible Pronunciation
Randall Rightmire
What should be a learner’s primary goal? Native-like pronunciation? Or better comprehensibility? Should we encourage learners to pronounce some sounds differently from us, if it improves their comprehensibility? Explore “shortcut” techniques for pronunciation – techniques that exaggerate, distort, or substitute for native-speaker articulation, but which may help students be better understood.

Are They Reading Properly?
Grace Song & Terrence M. Doyle
Believing that, based on reading, the four language skills can be developed in students, the authors of this paper will discuss how reading can be used as a source of comprehensive input. Focus will be placed on how Main Idea Reading skills can be introduced to the advantages of students.

Some Novel Ideas: Authentic Novels in the ESL Classroom
Evelyn Uyemura
This paper discusses why authentic novels are effective in the community college reading class, how to choose appropriate novels, and how to provide support for students as they read. Criteria and specific novels that work at each level are discussed.

Linguistics: Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It
Steven L. West Ph.D.
This article presents a humorous exercise from the four main fields of linguistics (Phonology, Morphology, Syntax and Semantics) to provide a graphic illustration of new skills ESL/EFL teachers can acquire to make this language come alive in the minds of our students.

The Role of Literacy in Second and Third Language Acquisition
Simone Wojtowicz
Current research suggests that learning a third language is not the same as learning a second language. After reviewing the literature on second and third language acquisition, this paper will explore the effects of the learner’s literacy skills on second and third language acquisition. Suggestions for literacy promotion provided.