BICS and CALP

The distinction between basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) was introduced by Prof. Jim Cummins of the University of Toronto in 1979 in order to draw educators’ attention to the timelines and challenges that second language learners encounter as they attempt to catch up to their peers in academic aspects of the school language. BICS refers to conversational fluency in a language while CALP refers to students’ ability to understand and express, in both oral and written modes, concepts and ideas that are relevant to success in school.

The original version of the BICS/CALP distinction has been criticized by several scholars over the years for various reasons. For example, Prof. Rudy Troike of the University of Arizona, then of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote a critique with a somewhat satirical title, "SCALP - Socio-Cultural Aspects of Language Proficiency." In it, Prof. Troike argues that sociolinguistic factors, which are missing from Prof. Cummins' theory, may play an important role in academic achievement.

In his latest 14-page article, titled "BICS and CALP: Empirical and Theoretical Status of the Distinction" and published in Street, B. & Hornberger, N. H. (Eds.). (2008). Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2nd Edition, Volume 2: Literacy, Prof. Cummins addresses many critiques of the BICS/CALP distinction but insists that "the BICS/CALP distinction was not proposed as an overall theory of language proficiency but as a very specific conceptual distinction that has important implications for policy and practice. It has drawn attention to specific ways in which educators’ assumptions about the nature of language proficiency and the development of L2 proficiency have prejudiced the academic development of bilingual students."

One such specific example cited by Cummins comes from a study done in 1996 which shows that a couple of years after a group of second generation Salvadorean children started school in Washington, D.C., they acquired native-like spoken English. Because of the lack of one-on-one interactions between the teachers and the pupils, a sample of fluent student speech (BICS) was often mistaken for proof of full language fluency, which should have included both conversational and academic English (CALP).

Here and now, with the number of Generation 1.5 students entering our classrooms on the rise, we have noticed the common feature these students share: stronger BICS and weaker CALP.

Knowing the distinction is one thing. Knowing how to close the gap in our classrooms is quite another. Cummins suggests the following ways:

1. extensive engaged reading because academic language is primarily found in written texts
2. collaborative learning and talk about text because this helps students more fully comprehend the academic language found in their extensive reading
3. writing about issues that matter to bilingual students because this enables them to express their identities through language
4. opportunities for teachers and others to provide feedback on writing because this further develops the students' expression of self.

What other ways would you suggest? Do you see any use of the distinction between BICS and CALP for yourself?

A Timeless Manual for ESL Teachers

Originally written by and for the Peace Corps 15 years ago, Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Large, Multilevel Classes is chock-full of ideas for any ESL teacher even today. The 11 chapters on 147 pages discuss topics ranging from building a class community to assessing learning outcomes. As our dept. takes part in the Basic Skills Initiative and tries hard to increase student retention and success rates, this timeless manual is worth thumbing through again. It could have practical implications for our classrooms.

The Shape of Things to Come?

Governor Schwarzenegger is set to declare a fiscal emergency. This is not science fiction. Due to a huge budget shortfall, he has already asked state agencies to prepare for an across-the-board budget cut of 10% in 2008. For details, read the news story here.

Honoring Katheryn

After serving the college for 33 years, Katheryn Garlow will retire later this month. On this bittersweet occasion, I am taking the liberty of publishing this letter written by Shayla on behalf of our dept. to nominate Katheryn as this year's "Alumna of the Year." As we know, Katheryn received the honor at the college's graduation ceremony in May.

During the five months as the dept. chair, I have had numerous chances to interact with Katheryn directly. My impression of Katheryn as a true professional who cares passionately about serving all students has been strengthened. There is never a trace of elitism in her as evidenced by her advocating for the most downtrodden members of our community as well as by the homely furnishings in her office as a dean. Her will to do what is right instead of rigidly following the books has also been equally impressive. If Palomar Colleg is a people's college, as former college president George Boggs put it, then Katheryn Garlow is a people's dean.

Since Katheryn is loath to be the center of attention at a party setting, the Instructional Services has planned an Open House on Tuesday, December 11, from 1:00pm – 3:00pm, in Room AA-109, in lieu of a special party. Please plan to attend to enjoy each other’s company – or say good-bye to our long-time colleague and leader Katheryn. You can stop by for a moment or the whole time to spend some time with Katheryn before she retires to New Mexico.

According to the Division Secretary, Anna Hilton (ext. 2251), there are a couple of ways that you can contribute to the Open House. Food – bring one of your favorite appetizers or desserts, or Anna will be taking donations to contribute to a group gift that will be purchased by Vice President of Instruction Berta Cuaron.

A Full-time Position

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
(Refer to position number 5122 on application)
Date opened: November 30, 2007
First screening deadline: 4:30 pm on Friday, February 22, 2008
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Palomar College is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)

THE POSITION: This is a full-time, tenure-track, 10-month-per-year position scheduled to begin August 22, 2008.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The initial assignment is to teach English as a Second Language fifteen to twenty hours weekly, ten hours of which will be scheduled in the evenings at the Palomar College Fallbrook Center. Remaining hours will be scheduled in the day at the San Marcos campus and/or off-campus locations. Three additional hours weekly will be spent coordinating personnel, student-related activities, and curriculum at the Fallbrook Center. Participate fully in departmental activities and college governance and hold regular office hours. Teaching assignments may include day, evening, and/or weekend classes at the San Marcos campus and/or off-campus locations as part of contract responsibilities. Teaching assignments may also include distance education classes.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Must meet one of the qualifications listed under a) through c):
a) Master’s degree in TESL, TESOL, applied linguistics with a TESL emphasis, linguistics with a TESL emphasis, English with a TESL emphasis, or education with a TESL emphasis.
b) Bachelor’s degree in TESL, TESOL, English with a TESL certificate, linguistics with a TESL certificate, applied linguistics with a TESL certificate, or any foreign language with a TESL certificate and Master’s degree in linguistics, applied linguistics, English, composition, bilingual/bicultural studies, reading, speech, or any foreign language.
c) A combination of education and experience that is at least the equivalent of either qualification a) or b) above.
Candidates who do not possess the specific minimum qualifications as stated above, which includes degrees that have not been awarded at the time of application, are required to complete the Equivalency Qualifications Form that is included with the standard application.
2. Sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds in a community college.
*Note: Only coursework completed at, and degrees awarded by, accredited institutions recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education will be considered as satisfying the Minimum Qualifications. Candidates who have earned degrees from foreign institutions are required to submit both official translations and evaluations of their transcripts that have been prepared by a certified U. S. credential review service in order for the application to be considered. Visit http://www.naces.org/ for a list of commonly-used credential review services.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Three years’ experience teaching different levels and skills of ESL (including academic reading and writing) at an accredited post-secondary institution within the previous five years.
2. Competence in English sufficient to serve as a suitable linguistic model.
3. Supervisory experience in an educational setting.
4. Experience in student assessment and placement.
5. Second language competence.
6. Experience working with immigrant population, especially Spanish-speaking adult learners.
7. Experience using computer technology in an instructional setting.
8. Experience working effectively and professionally with colleagues in a collaborative, collegial environment.
9. Commitment to a student learning-centered college.
10. Evidence of a strong commitment to remain current in ESL and its instructional program.

For more details such as how to apply, see the complete job announcement here.

A Few Items of Interest

1. UCSD will be hosting a book fair next Monday, 12/3, from 10 to noon. The coordinator there has opened up the event to “the locals.” See the flyer here. This might be a great opportunity to check out your textbooks for summer.
2. The English Language (EL) Fellow Program fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries by sending talented, highly qualified U.S. educators in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) on ten-month fellowships to overseas academic institutions in all regions of the world. See details here.
3. If you or someone you know would like to teach English in China with a team of professionals for five months (or longer), there may just be an opportunity for you now. For more specific information about the China program and the application, please visit the "Other Opportunities" page of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program website here. Just scroll down to the bottom for the China program.

Our Roots and Our Commitments

Our History

As early as 1967, our college offered English for foreign-born Spanish-speaking students one night a week at Pauma School, in Escondido at Central School and Escondido High, at Vista High, and at Fallbrook High. At Palomar College itself, a class for the foreign-born was offered for speakers of all languages one night a week. The present-day ESL Dept. has its origin in the Bilingual Education Dept. In the summer of 1969, Palomar College Bilingual Center was initiated as a community outreach program designed to meet the needs of 13 Spanish-speaking mothers enrolled in ESL. The mothers had requested an intensive summer course, meeting four hours daily, four days a week. Classes were offered without credit. The ESL classes, open to all adults, were continued in this design in 1968-70 and thereafter. Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) was added in 1970-71 for English-speaking parents whose children were in the elementary bilingual program, business and professional persons, retired persons, and other adults. The Bilingual Education Dept. was reorganized in the spring of 1984 with the Spanish courses for English speakers absorbed by the Foreign Language Dept. The Dept. voted to change its name from the Bilingual Education Dept. to English as a Second Language Dept. in February 1984, with the Governing Board approval in the spring of 1985. Regardless of what it has been called, our dept. has been an integral part of our college for 40 years!

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to equip students whose second language is English with the language and cultural proficiencies required for the eventual fulfillment of personal, vocational, academic, and citizenship goals so that they may participate fully in American society. We provide ESL students with the ability to use English that is accurate and appropriate in a variety of academic and nonacademic settings. We also provide learning environments that foster low anxiety levels, thus enhancing the development of language fluency and self-esteem of the learners. By integrating language acquisition with relevant life experiences, we stress the importance of critical thinking, problem solving, and self-sufficiency.

Our Vision Statement

Our vision is that all English language learners have the skills to be successful in achieving their academic, vocational and personal goals.

Our Tag Line

creating paths for a better tomorrow

Contract Instructors' Team-Building Commitment

We acknowledge that diversity and dedication can create one harmonious sound; therefore, we are committed to doing the following:

1. Trusting that we are all doing our best and working towards the same goal of student success, even though our approaches may be different.
2. Making others feel valued and important by treating them with respect and by letting them know that we care about them.
3. Dealing with issues that we have with others on an individual basis and in a constructive way.
4. Giving and accepting advice and criticism professionally and being willing to compromise when necessary.
5. Helping others to do their best by giving them the benefit of the doubt and making no assumptions.

Hiring Adjunct Faculty

Definition of an Opening

1. A new class that is being added to any program.
2. An opening does not occur until there are fewer instructors than classes offered in any given program.

Announcing an Opening

When there is an opening in his or her program, the program coordinator announces it by emailing all instructors, the chair, the ADA, and office staff. In fairness to all instructors, there should be no switching between programs coordinated by different people without an official announcement.

Hiring Current Adjunct

The coordinator selects an adjunct instructor who would be the most suitable for the program. However, according to the union contract, adjunct faculty who meet professional standards of performance and demonstrate a continuing commitment to the educational programs of Palomar College shall receive preferential consideration for continuing part-time assignments. Our dept. has established a preferential consideration list for each of its three disciplines (ESL, Adult Basic Ed, and Citizenship). An adjunct faculty member is added to the list when he or she has earned:

1. six or more assignment credits (one accrued for each regular semester) in a discipline within the preceding six consecutive academic years
2. a rating of "high professional performance" or "standard professional performance" on two consecutive peer evaluations (conducted once every three years).

Here are the pertinent articles in the contract:

20.10.2.1 All faculty members on the preferential consideration list for a given discipline shall have equal standing. For the purpose of assignment and scheduling, no part-time faculty member shall receive preferential consideration over a full-time faculty member.

20.10.2.2 A faculty member on the preferential consideration list shall be offered an assignment in that discipline before that assignment is offered to any person not on that list.

20.10.2.3 When two or more faculty members on the preferential consideration list are qualified for an assignment, the Department Chair/Director or Dean may select the faculty member who will be offered that assignment. This selection shall not be subject to the grievance process.

After the program coordinator makes the selection, he or she

• emails the adjunct's current coordinator to inform him or her that the adjunct will be changing to a different program
• emails the chair, the ADA, office staff, and contract instructors to tell them who is going to be changing programs, whom the person is replacing, and what level the person is going to be teaching
• email the ADA if a classroom key is needed
• provides a program orientation and copies of the books that will be used.

Hiring New Adjunct

If no current faculty members respond to the opening announcement by the specified deadline, the program coordinator looks through the new adjunct applications on file or advertises the opening to the outside world via HR web page, CATESOL Job Bank, etc.

The coordinator contacts the most qualified applicant and sets up an interview. The coordinator asks the applicant to complete an application packet and to submit it along with copies of his or her transcript to the chair, who reviews the qualifications, determines if an equivalencies letter needs to be written, checks off minimum qualifications section, and signs it. The packet and other required documents are returned to the ADA for further processing, including with HR.

Our Mottos

I thought it would be both fun and revealing to share here the mottos or favorite quotes that some of my colleagues hold dear. Please feel free to add yours.

Shayla:

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: The neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere." (Eleanor Roosevelt, from a speech delivered to the U.N. in 1958)

Lee:

(translated: "Listen more, talk less, do more.")

Nimoli:

"The heart that gives....gathers."

Lynne:

"To teach is to touch lives forever." (Anonymous)

Marty:

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first and the lesson after." (Vernon Law)

Colleen:

"Accept that some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue."

Gary:

"Always look on the bright side of life." (from the movie Life of Brian) and

(Navy Motto from WW II that Gary carved on wood when he was a teenager.)

Welcome Back

As you heard from President Deegan in his email sent around on Friday afternoon, most of the college was going to re-open tomorrow. The final decision came earlier this afternoon confirming that starting tomorrow (10/29), all Palomar sites will resume operations except Ramona, which will re-open on Tuesday, and Fallbrook, which will re-open on Wednesday.

This has been a very difficult week for everyone in our district, and our department is no exception. Starley Dullien, who teaches in the night General ESL Program in San Marcos, lost her Ramona home to the devastating fires. Many of you had to evacuate. Many more have spent this weekend cleaning up the ash and soot.

The extent to which our ESL students were affected by the fires will become known once classes resume. Please keep in mind that Counseling Services, Health Services, and the Office of Student Affairs all have plans to provide for the needs of impacted students. As we go back to a heavy workload, Vice President of Instruction Berta Curon wants us to be flexible and sensitive and "create an environment that will be crucial to assisting and supporting all students through the end of the semester, but particularly those who have been displaced from their homes and have experienced loss."

As with any natural disaster, the wildfires this week truly brought out the best in all of us. I was heartened by the caring ways that each of you displayed during this emergency. Via emails and phone calls, colleagues inquired about each other's situations, provided updates, and offered help. Some, like Kevin Staff, who teaches in the night General ESL Program in San Marcos, even volunteered at various community centers for evacuated families and their children. Some kept their instruction going by receiving student papers and giving assignments through email and the Blackboard online course site.

Students cared about their ESL teachers, too. Many emailed their teachers to ask how they were doing. Joyce Rogers, who teaches in Fallbrook, accepted an offer from a former Vietnamese student to stay with her after the Great Fallbrook Evacuation. And Joyce had her like 10 years ago!

The union leadership on Tuesday and the college administration on Friday both responded positively to a legitimate concern of many adjunct colleagues: a possible loss of wages and salary. According to President Deegan's email this Friday, "We want to assure you that all District employees will be compensated for their assigned work schedule during the time in which the college and/or education center/sites is closed."

So, it is in this caring and supportive community spirit that I gladly welcome you back to work, albeit starting on various days depending on your work site. But remember that special arrangements will be made for leaves needed to recover from the fires. If you need such assistance, please let your coordinator or supervisor know. I am also available via email or at ext. 2273.

A Conference Report (depite the Fires)

This past weekend was a fun one (until the fires broke out, of course). Part of the fun was due to San Diego Regional CATESOL Conference that took place on a beautiful day and on the gorgeous campus of Southwestern College. In addition to running into old friends and making new ones, I really enjoyed the company of like-minded educators. I managed to make it to a few presentations and am excited to report the ideas I learned or relearned.

Keynote: Learning IN English: Content-Based Instruction

The plenary speaker was Professor Frank Noji of Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he spearheaded a content-based ESL curriculum revolving around a different theme for each semester, not unlike themes for Palomar College’s Campus Exploration. The innovation was born out of a need ten years ago to save the ESL Dept. because it would have been wiped out along with a forced disappearance of other college remedial courses. Frank argued that “ESL ≠ remedial” and created the content-based program to prove it. Over the years, Frank and his colleagues have been successful in shifting their model from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” The purpose of their syllabi is now aligned with those of mainstream courses, aiming for a rooted relevance. That is, they link the skills learned in the ESL classroom to the college courses the students will soon take. Instead of “finding the topic sentence” and other easy-to-assess comprehension questions, they now utilize writings, seminars, and poster sessions to gauge the comprehension of a topic at hand. Instead of spending much time explaining why a main idea is a main idea, they now require getting information from a text and using that to complete a task. The thematic input now drives the instruction of grammar and vocabulary, both of which are in turn practiced in writing tasks. Frank reported that the purposefulness in such integrated content-based instruction has enabled the students to converge on similar cultural literacy, reduce the noise in reading texts, and navigate reading more easily. Even though I wonder if the students won’t become bored by an extended theme throughout a long semester (for example, the historical perspective of food, the psychological perspective of food, the nutritional perspective of food, the culinary perspective of food, the cultural perspective of food, etc., etc.), I am nonetheless very impressed by Frank’s approach to the overriding goal of having ESL students become savvy language learners.

A few interesting facts in Frank’s ESL Dept.:

• about 700 students, 50% of whom are international students, 30% Gen 1.5 students, and 20% immigrants
• each faculty member takes 3 to 5 Gen 1.5 students under his/her wing to advise them
• reading as the central part of the ESL classroom

Learning English through WebQuest

Although I was familiar with WebQuest, I had not created one for my students. So I decided to check out this workshop provided by graduate student Yi-Chia Lin of Alliant International University. Sure enough, she reviewed the usual five basic sections of a WebQuest:

1. introduction
2. task
3. process
4. evaluation
5. conclusion

I learned about four websites one can go to create WebQuests:

1. QuestGarden (http://questgarden.com/, fee-based with 30-day free trial)
2. InstantWebQuestV2 (http://www.zunal.com/, free)
3. TeacherWeb (http://teacherweb.com/wq_home.html, free)
4. PHPWebQuest (http://eduforge.org/projects/phpwebquest/, free)

Writing Peer Evaluation with Google Documents

Also facilitated by Ms. Yi-Chia Lin, this workshop introduced the Google Documents online that can be used by writing teachers who don’t want to spend much time doing peer review in class. Here are the major steps:

1. open a free Google account at http://www.gmail.com/
2. go to “Documents” from within the Google account
3. click to upload students’ writing
4. click to share students’ writing
5. type students’ email addresses
6. type a message to students

Students will then receive the email from you with a link. As a peer reviewer, the student will click “Indent more” and type his or her answers in the box. You as the teacher can click “Insert” and choose “Comment” to comment on the peer reviewer’s comment.

Based on my limited hands-on experience during this workshop, I would suggest not assigning a group of larger than 5 members to review one paper, especially not having them access the paper at the same time. The way Google Documents handled the roomful of participants, it still looked like a Beta version.

TELL-IG

During lunch, I sat on the table that was supposed to the meeting place for the Technology Enhanced Language Learning Interest Group (TELL-IG) Rap Session. The prepared agenda was abandoned due to the noise level in the large dining hall. However, I did learn that TELI-IG now has a new website at http://www.tellig.org/, along with its listserv at http://lists.catesol.org/read/?forum=tell-ig and its discussion group at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/tell-ig.

Take Action! 20 Minute Problem Solving

Too often, we complain without taking any action. Four ESL teachers gave a poster presentation about a useful solution called “NAB IT,” an acronym of the following steps:

Name (put a name to the problem)
Analyze the problem (causes, effects)
Brainstorm solutions (no judging)
Identify two solutions to try &
Think them through (set a date to report back)

Once a week for 20 minutes, groups of five students can form problem-solving circles, where each member plays a distinct role: a problem poser, a leader, a timekeeper, a facilitator, and a record keeper.

Simple Strategies for Effective and Authentic Writing Assessments

Jan Forstrom of Continuing Education of San Diego CCD presented ways to give effective and authentic writing assessments to her adult ed students. To be effective, a writing task cannot be on just any topic and must be appropriate to the student level. To be authentic means that the writing task can be replicated outside of the classroom, not just one that asks to describe something in the classroom, for example. Effective writing assessments also need to be fair. For example, “Christmas around the World” is not free of bias, so it is not fair. In short, writing assessments need to be meaningful to the students so that they want to communicate. In addition, clear, exact directions must be given either orally or in writing. The most important step in creating writing assessments, however, is choosing measurable objectives to develop a rubric to determine how all of our students are to be graded. The rubric is what enables our ESL students to receive meaningful feedback. A rubric covers form, content, and language. For example, for form/mechanics, we can have—

For content, we might have the following:

• 90% correctly completed as instructed =12 points
• 80% 10 points
• 70% 8 points
• 60% 6 points
• 50% 4 points
• Less than 50% 0 points

For language, we may use something like this: Once we have a specific rubric developed to assess the form, content, and language for a particular paper, even the students can grade each other’s papers, knowing what circling a certain point means. Here is an example of a grading form for a two-paragraph essay:

There is always an amount of subjectivity associated with grading a written piece. But Jan suggested that when in doubt, teachers give the student the point; that way, we can help to build their confidence in writing.

CATESOL 2007 San Diego Regional Conference

The third Saturday in October has been one of my favorite days of the year because it is a day of professional rejuvenation for me. I am talking about the day for our annual San Diego Regional CATESOL Conference. This year, the day is just around the corner, namely, this Saturday, 10/20.

The theme for this year's conference is "Learning IN English: Content-Based Instruction." The keynote speaker is Frank Noji, a professor at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he teaches and coordinates the ESOL program. Presently, he is serving as chair of the Languages, Linguistics and Literature Department at Kapiolani Community College and is responsible for developing an ESL teacher-training certificate program. He taught in the Philippines and Japan as well as in public middle school and high school in Hawaii. He designed and developed the sustained content program in 1997 for Kapiolani Community College. Since 1997, he has done classroom-oriented research to make modifications on the curriculum. Recently, he has introduced the Opportunities model to the program and is presently introducing purposefulness into content-based instruction.

If you wish to network, to check out promising summer textbooks, and/or to learn new strategies and innovative ideas for your classroom, then you will do no wrong by heading down to Southwestern College in Chula Vista this Saturday and spending a fruitful day there.

Click here for the conference flyer with the day's schedule. Click here for a partial list of the presentations.

Hope to see you all at the conference!

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the midpoint of the semester already. Are we clear if we are effecting significant academic gains? To find out, many colleagues will give a midterm exam soon, especially if they have not given more frequent assessments in the form of weekly tests or biweekly writing assignments, for example.

Indeed, student learning outcomes are a big deal not only for individuals’ continuous improvement, but also for our college’s accreditation. For example, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) recently required that our college respond to the relevant ACCJC 2002 Standards by quantifying how our courses and programs have done all of the following:

1. define expected student learning outcomes
2. define assessment of expected student learning outcomes
3. assess student learning outcomes
4. analyze the results of assessment
5. plan and implement changes to pedagogy, facilities, etc. to improve learning

Under the leadership of Marty Furch, all of the courses in our dept. have defined expected student learning outcomes (i.e. “specific course objectives” in the course outline). You can access the CurricUnet and do a course search to see these objectives for yourself. We have also identified appropriate assessment methodologies for these outcomes in our course outlines. Full-time contract instructors have worked together to update the course outlines for the six levels of the courses in our general ESL program. Teachers in the 4:30 and 7 p.m. general ESL programs in San Marcos have been working hard to revise their grammar exit tests as a way to measure part of the student learning outcomes. Although our dept. as a whole may still need to do more of the components #4 and #5 above, I am sure that as individual teachers, many colleagues have taken these steps to reflect on the results of a class assessment and to change their own approach to teaching when appropriate.

If you have a savvy tip that makes student assessment meaningful, email it to me or just enter your entry as a comment to leave below.

Another grammar question?

Thanks to those of you who've talked to me about RAIN and to Lee for his nicely documented written response. As Lee accurately points out, many of these "grammar" issues are really usage questions, and I have another such issue.

When writing a bunch of test questions where students were supposed to respond with either the simply present tense or the present progressive, I wrote the following two sentences.

1a Albertson's ____________________________ (sell) many kinds of food.

1b This week-end, they _____________________ (sell) hamburgers outside.

It wasn't until I'd handed out the papers that I realized that I'd switched from a singular noun to a plural pronoun, yet even after re-reading the sentences several times, I could not refer to Albertson's as an "it" in the second sentence. Nonetheless, I had expected students to use the 3rd person singular form of the verb in sentence 1a.

Comments?

Working with the Bookstore

As student enrollment continues to climb, a few departments have been having a hard time finding enough textbooks on the bookstore shelves. Our dept. is one of those hard-hit ones. To solve this problem, the bookstore and our dept. have come to an agreement for spring 2008 textbook ordering.

1. The bookstore will not use its sales history data in ordering our textbooks. Instead, they will order according to the “enrollment estimate” that we list on each order form, a.k.a. textbook course adoption.
2. We will not make changes once a course adoption is ordered.
3. The bookstore will extend our course adoption due date one month later than for other department.
4. Both the bookstore and our dept. will assess the agreement results after spring 08 sales are complete.

Number one above is of particular significance because, as you know, the bookstore has chronically short-ordered our books, citing its historical sales data. Under this agreement, the bookstore will give up that old practice. However, we also now have an added responsibility for giving an accurate estimate of how many books are needed on each order.

The bookstore has also developed a couple of electronic ways for submitting book orders. Monica will soon let the coordinators know which way our dept. will go in ordering our spring 08 books.

Even if no books are required, a book adoption form still has to be filled out in order for the bookstore to offer that information to the students. If a class does not require a textbook, simply write “No Text Required” across the order form.

Frank Mendez, Textbook Manager (ext. 2225), and Juan Serna, Textbook Supervisor (ext. 2223), are still our best contacts in the bookstore. If the future, if a textbook is ever sold out again, please let your coordinator know the exact number still needed, and Frank or Juan will promptly place an order for you after receiving an email from your coordinator.

Concerned with the ever-rising textbook prices, lawmakers at state and federal levels have introduced legislative initiatives to require the prompt posting of textbook lists, among other things.

To find out the pricing information of your textbooks,

1. go to the bookstore’s website at this URL: www.palomar.edu/bookstore/
2. click on “Books” on the red navigational side bar on the left
3. click on “Textbooks” next
4. "select your term" (e.g. Fall 2007)
5. "select your division" (= location of the class; e.g. SM/ONLINE for San Marcos campus, plus all online courses offered by Palomar)
6. "select your department" (= ESL; NESL; or NCTZ)
7. "select your course" (e.g. 003; 034; 098.3, etc.)
8. "select your section" (= 5-digit class number).

Below is a partial screen shot of the current pricing information for ESL 3 (class number 72040) in San Marcos:

This is still without the ISBN numbers, but your students can get those from you. The important thing is that you can tell (or even show) your students how much money they expect to spend at the bookstore on your textbooks.

Grammar Gurus Wanted

This is my first attempt, so if I goof it up, please bear with me.

My MA program focused on communication to the point where it almost excluded grammar. Hence, when I found myself in my first classroom teaching general ESL to an eager Level 6, I found myself woefully unprepared for their questions. And concerned.

As you might imagine, I spent that semester buried in various grammar books trying to stay at least one step ahead as it were. And a strange thing happened. I grew to have quite an interest in the subject. The more I delved the more I realized how little I knew. And the more I wanted to know. I found the stuff fascinating.

At some point, a couple of years later, I decided to "go for it," and actually made a presentation for PD on subject verb agreement. I gave a little quiz to my audience, all English and ESL teachers, and then spent the rest of the time arguing with them about why I'd scored various responses incorrectly. It was a hoot. And I was hooked.

The one grammar class I'd taken in school was taught by a wonderful prof who explained to us the concept of "my grammar" - the idea that you and I might have a different set of linguistic rules in our heads. Most of what she taught was new to me, but that idea really stuck. It was kind and forgiving.

Though no guru by any means, I have come to enjoy grammar more and more, and am always fascinated when I encounter something that seems odd to me. And I've always wanted some place to pose a question. Early on in my career, before I accepted my lot as an adjunct, I envisioned long stimulating discussions with my colleagues over a cup of tea in some ivy covered office. Now, I realize, this BLOG thing may work.

The other day, I found myself with just such a question. Taking my cue from the dramatic weather change over the last couple of weeks, I had written a paragraph about the weather on the board leaving the spaces for the verbs blank, a sort of cloze exercise. The students were to fill them in. After several sentences like "It _________ cloudy today," I wrote, "I hope it ____________ tomorrow."

Then I stood back and thought. I wanted the students to put "rains" in the blank, but I could not explain - even to myself - why I didn't like "will rain." What say you?

If you are a guru and would like to respond, please be kind. If you aren't, and you find yourself with a question now and then, maybe we could discuss it.

Language Acquisition and Language Extinction

Typically, on the first day of school when I give a pep talk about the need to speak English, I sometimes ask my students to think about how many hours a day they use English. And then I ask them to “see” those hours up on the wall as they look around and imagine that the four-wall perimeter of our classroom represents a 24-hour day. Sadly, for quite a few students, that English section of the wall turns out to be pretty small. After that realization, when I announce my classroom rule of speaking as much English as possible, heads immediately nod up and down in agreement.

Can the same “speak English” rule be extended to homes? Whenever such a proposition is expressed by an authority figure or in the media, a controversy ensues. The latest example in the area is here.

Many factors contribute to the acquisition of a new language or the lack of it. For example, my passion for languages in general and for English in particular may explain my lifelong love affair with the language. On the other hand, if a new immigrant is financially hard-pressed, he or she may put learning English on a back burner for a while and join the ranks of day laborers for jobs that require little English. Age and language environment play a role, obviously. My son immigrated at the tender age of 6, received all his formal education here, and now uses English as well as a native-born American.

Even though there may be political reasons for acquiring or losing a language, pragmatically, like many other skills and abilities in life, if you don’t use a language, you will lose it. My son has practically lost his ability to recognize written Chinese because he stopped learning/using it a long time ago. This is regrettable for an individual or an individual family, but imagine the loss of a language for all of its speakers.

According to a research report released last week, half of the world’s 7,000 languages will disappear in this century. (See the story in San Diego Union Tribune here.) A group of caring experts are working hard to try to maintain some dying languages. You might enjoy watching this brief film clip on their finding an Australian language thought to be extinct.

Is saving an aboriginal language as important as teaching English to our students? Leave your comments below.

The Fallbrook Center Computer Lab

The Fallbrook Lab is up and running. With the recent addition of a data projector, we are looking good! Currently, the lab is used before class as a lounge (refrigerator and coffee pot) for all instructors at the Fallbrook site.

We have sixteen Dell computers with flat screens, which are more than enough to allow each instructor a chance to use the Internet. Once classes begin at 6:30 pm, the lounge becomes a computer lab for the VESL students who are working on their keyboarding skills. At break time, it becomes a lounge again.

We plan on conducting ESL Compass testing in the lab. One set-back to this plan, though, is the slowness of the Internet connection. The Internet version of Compass demands a lot of bandwidth. Unfortunately, we do not yet have an optic fiber line that would allow a quick response time in testing with 16 computers simultaneously. But we will do our best until the optic fiber arrives – hopefully by the end of the year.

The lab and I are still learning about each other, so I envision more creative uses of the space in the near future.

Basic Skills Initiative

We all know the need to provide basic skills, and by extension ESL, education to students under-prepared for college-level work. A system-wide Basic Skills Initiative has been in the works for some time in order to identify and apply best practices for basic skills education across the whole community college system up and down the state of California.

This Initiative provides statewide training and support to address the professional development needs of community college administrators, faculty, and staff in the areas of basic skills and ESL instruction as well as address both credit and noncredit instruction as they apply to the broad basic skills area, including ESL instruction.

To provide the foundation to develop this training, Foothill-De Anza Community College District has contracted with the Academic Senate and the Center for Student Success to create resource materials for use at the colleges. Colleges will begin with a self-assessment tool that helps to identify strengths and weaknesses in basic skills instruction. With the results of the self-assessment in hand, colleges will turn to materials that outline the general principles and processes that work to help ensure student success in basic skills success courses. Colleges will be provided with a “menu-based” approach of course sequences and other institutional improvements to address the unique needs of their students, faculty, and instructional programming. In addition, colleges will be apprised of available “alternative” career-related math and English courses to meet the upcoming graduation requirements (e.g. "Math for Health Careers" instead of "Intermediate Algebra").

To present these resources, a partnership of the Academic Senate and the statewide organizations of the Chief Instructional Officers, the Chief Student Services Officers, the Center for Student Success, and the System Office Action Plan Group have been conducting training for all 109 California Community Colleges at statewide conferences and several regional workshops.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Governor Schwarzenegger “set aside” the $33.1 million earmarked for the BSI efforts, pending legislative reform, when he signed the state budget on 8/24. The CCC System Office and the Administration then engaged in a lengthy, constructive dialogue regarding the reasons for the governor’s de factor veto and the options for restoring the funds. Many people working in the community colleges also wrote letters to state legislators to voice their concern and urge the restoration of the Basic Skills money.

Last Monday, the State Legislature approved AB 194 (Committee on Budget), legislation which restored the $33.1 million to the community college budget in ESL and Basic Skills. Contained within the money is $1.6 million for faculty and staff development to improve curriculum, instruction, student services, and program practices in basic skills and ESL programs. The remaining $31.5 million will be used for program and curriculum planning and development, student assessment, advisement and counseling services, supplemental instruction and tutoring, articulation, instructional materials and equipment, and any other purpose directly related to the enhancement of basic skills, ESL instruction and related student programs.

The Governor has until 10/14 to sign the bill, which will then go into effect immediately, according to the text of the bill.

Here at our college, a Basic Skills Work Group has been busy at work as part of the broader Basic Skills Initiative. As a long-time member of that group, Marty Furch has represented our dept. single-handedly and superbly. The group will next discuss a plan for completing a self-assessment and the proposed “Success Centers” in Escondido and San Marcos. After reviewing the relevant information, if you have concrete ideas for our department to increase its say and share in this whole BSI effor at our college, please send them to Marty or me as soon as you can. You can also leave your comments below.

Resources:

Introductory information about the Basic Skills Initiative: http://www.cccbsi.org/

26 effective practices in four categories: http://www.cccbsi.org/effective-practices

10 effective instructional practices: http://www.cccbsi.org/instructional-practices

111 pages of literature review regarding effective instructional practices: http://www.cccbsi.org/Websites/basicskills/Images/InstructionalPractices.pdf

Relevant state budget update: http://www.ccleague.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3320

The text of the amended bill: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0151-0200/ab_194_bill_20070907_amended_sen_v98.html

Anne of the Golden Heart

When the ESL Non-Credit Matriculation Project was presented to the Governing Board in late 1998, the person Dean Garlow, then our dept. chair, called upon to give the presentation was Anne Stadler, who, along with Jose Luis Ramirez, still manages the non-credit matriculation program, which attempts to provide as many portions of the credit matriculation programs aimed at retention and student success as possible.

Over the years, the allocation for the Non-Credit Matriculation has funded many needed positions and projects in our dept., the latest being the remodeling of our Fallbrook facilities.

Another program in our dept. that Anne founded--and still manages as a volunteer--is the INEA (Instituto Nacional de la Educacion para los Adultos) program. This is a Spanish adult ed program providing literacy, elementary, and middle-school level education (alfabetizacion, primaria, y secundaria) to the large Hispanic population in our district who need to learn how to read and write in their first language before moving on to learning English successfully with us. For the last seven years, Anne, along with Jose Luis, recruited qualified INEA teachers, a few of whom are our former ESL students. She also didn’t hesitate to hire someone who represents the culture of the people we serve. Her passion for doing the best job she could to help the poor and the underserved Hispanics in our district has resulted in the growth of the INEA program into a current year-round operation in locations throughout our district. If you open this semester’s class schedule book to page 175, you can see these 13 N ABED (Non-Credit Adult Basic Education) classes, each with two course titles--N ABED 201 and N ABED 202--because presumably in each classroom there are students working on the primaria materials and students completing the secundaria curriculum. It goes without saying that Anne’s effort to bring INEA to students in our district typifies what a community college is about.

INEA is a win-win for all. The college certainly appreciates the non-credit funding that these classes have been bringing from the state. The Mexican federal government, which provides INEA curriculum and free teaching materials, also appreciates Anne’s hard work. Two weeks ago, she and Jose Luis were invited to Mexico City to give a presentation on our INEA program to about 50 participants from the US and Mexico. The report was very well received. Last Thursday, Jose Luis, representing Anne, presented to a different group and received appreciation from the Mexican government. The press was present to document the successes of our INEA program and others in the US.

Speaking fluent Spanish and working full-time as our college’s EOP&S/CARE/CalWORKs Director, Anne still finds time to do volunteer work in Mexico, be it helping translate for medical workers or assisting burn victims. Anne’s lived life as a care giver. Because of that, I’ll always be a fan.

Data for September 15 Hispanic Month

ESL Faculty --

(This is my first attempt at a memo, and it's with a link, and I'm doing it "my way," so I hope it gets through.)

The link below gives enormous relevant and current data on Hispanic population in U.S. re Hispanic Month this September 15.

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/010327.html

KenS

Professional Development Opportunities

Since everybody’s proposed PD contract is due in two weeks--by 9/15 to be exact, I would like to write about PD in this post.

Palomar is unique in that it doesn’t just offer PD in a flex-day format, like many other community college do. Instead, the PD Office arranges coded activities for faculty to take part in throughout the semester. Although some might argue that these “train as you go” events make it hard for the institution to launch a focused training campaign, these activities are nonetheless both robust and diverse, ranging from faculty plenary sessions that take place just before the start of a new school year to monthly fitness seminars hosted by the PE Dept.

But it is the activities not planned by the PD Office that have had folks everywhere hail Palomar’s PD program as truly faculty driven. In a nutshell, if you can match a self-designed activity with a code in one of the three categories listed here (http://www.palomar.edu/pd/SelfDesignedDetails.pdf), you can enter it on your PD contract and claim the hours you spend on it.

For example, the faculty in the Evening General ESL Programs in San Marcos met for three hours last weekend to review the new curriculum and revise their grammar exit tests. They were then able to claim three hours of PD using code “2i”—“examine educational/academic issues…in small groups on campus...”

Other codes for self-designed PD activities might be of particular interest to you, such as:

• 1d: write for publication
• 1c: create or learn to use computer-assisted instruction
• 2f: develop computer software skills
• 2p: develop instructional media
• 1b: attend professional conferences and workshops
• 1a: prepare for conference and workshop presentations
• 1f: acquire foreign language skills
• 2o: observe a colleague’s teaching to learn successful teaching techniques

So there should not be any shortage of PD activities that you can choose to undertake or design for yourself.

To make planning your PD even easier for you, let me list a few useful resources here in closing:

• Activities pre-planned by the PD Office for this semester: http://www.palomar.edu/pd/Fall_%202007_Calendar.htm
• Training provided by Academic Technology this semester:
  http://www.palomar.edu/atrc/attraining.htm
• Our first dept. meeting this semester: Friday, 9/7, from 9:30 to 11:30 in A-15
• Deadline to submit a presentation proposal for CATESOL 2007 San Diego Regional Conference: Friday, 9/7:
  http://www.catesol.org/regional.html
• Application for Rick Sullivan Stipend towards CATESOL 2008 State Conference expenses:
  http://www.catesol.org/08ricksullivan.pdf
• Application for limited travel funds now available for faculty--“first come, first served”:
  http://www.palomar.edu/fiscal_services/Travel/Forms/TravelRequest_Claim_2007.pdf
• Faculty eServices where you enter and revise your PD contract: https://pccdpswb01.palomar.edu/servlets/iclientservlet/pals8prdfaculty/?cmd=login

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

What a Great First Week!

Our school year started with a bang. Everywhere I looked, I saw our eager teachers and inquisitive students. Although most of our classes are full now, a few credit classes in San Marcos still have spaces:

• ESL 9, Pronunciation I, MW 11-12:20pm


• ESL 10, Pronunciation II, MW 12:30-1:50pm


• ESL 34, Intermediate ESL I, M-Th 4:30-6:50pm


• ESL 35, Intermediate ESL II, M-Th 8:30-10:50am


• ESL 103, Written Communication III, TTh 6-8:20pm


• ESL 130, Academic Reading I, MW 12:30-1:50pm


• ESL 131, Academic Reading II, MW 11-12:20pm

Please continue to help recruit appropriate students into these classes by Labor Day, Sept. 3, which is also the last day to add a credit class.

Campus Police continues to honor a grace period of not citing students in all lots during the first two weeks of the semester -- with the exceptions of handicapped and red zone areas, where violators will always be ticketed.

Campus Police also offers a 24/7 security escort program, which is very welcoming news to our evening students and staff. The extension to dial Campus Police is 2289.

If you are considering presenting at one of the upcoming CATESOL conferences, please note the following deadlines:

• Aug. 31 for the early-bird submission for the State Conference
• Sept. 7 for proposal submission to present at this year's San Diego Regional.

Finally, please respond to Monica's emailed call for your directory listing information, if you have not already done so. A timely compilation and dissemination of an updated dept. directory for this semester will greatly facilitate our intra-departmental communication.

Welcome to the Fall 07 Semester!

It's the start of a new semester! "Welcome" to all of our new instructors and a "welcome back" to each of our returning instructors.

This past intersession and summer, our dept. was able to offer a total of 88 class sections to serve the needs of our community. Not only that, our Fallbrook staff finally moved into a new office that Coordinator Gary just reported. Hats off also to Gary, Anna, and Grace for making so much effort to see to the completion of this remodeling project that was months in the making.

As usual, we tested hundreds of new students right after summer school. I would like to especially thank Carol, Tracy, Marty, Holly, Nimoli, Lynne, Matt, Caroline and other fellow teachers for helping to proctor the tests during their summer vacation. Of course, the office staff and support personnel have been working non-stop to ensure our many successes. I appreciate all of them very much.

In other news, the college has reported that credit enrollment headcount is up compared with the same period last fall. I hope our dept. maintains the same healthy growth, too, not just in credit classes but also in our noncredit segment.

To assist students who are facing financial hardships and obstacles that are preventing them from purchasing their required textbooks and/or class supplies, a book grant of up to $100 is currently being offered by the college's President's Associates.

In the "newspaper as a teaching and learning resource" department, there are three vying for your consideration.

1. North County Times, which is now freely available on a rack in front of our dept. office.
2. San Diego Union-Tribune, whose no-cost NIE program now has a new online ordering system.
3. Easy English Times, whose editorial board includes our very own Tami.

Last but not least, a new art exhibition will open at Boehm Gallery this weekend. But a sneak preview of "Rituals" featuring paintings from the private collection of Arthur Pienado and Native American artist Gerald Clarke will be held on Thursday from 1 to 3 pm. Please help spread the word among your students, too.

News from Fallbrook

Hi,

This is a test posting and a bit of info on the side. The new office at Fallbrook has been completed and looks great. The efforts of many, including Marty, the IS dept., and Norma Bean, have seen this project through many trials and tribulations. Among the amenities are: a 16 seat student lab for Compass testing, a sleek, modern counter and work area for the staff, two equipment rooms and a coordinator's office - with a door. There are still some adjustments to be made and kinks to work out but we're looking good (said in a Freddie Prinze's Chico and the Man voice.)

The college will be holding an open house soon so stay tuned for an invite - if you rate.

Welcome back!

Gary

A Brand-New Way

Since I assumed the dept. chairmanship last month, I have been thinking about a new way to involve the whole department in sharing ideas and communicating information. A department blog really fits the bill in being easily accessible to all on the Internet, allowing for interactions in the form of comments, and even serving as our departmental archives.

So, rather than send out weekly memos on matters that pertain to the whole department, I will use this blog to continually post department-related--

• news
• kudos
• activity reminders
• dates to remember
• resource links
• topics for discussions
• important messages
• and anything else that fits our needs.

Anyone in the world can read this blog by going to http://palomaresl.blogspot.com/, so you can just bookmark this web address and check back daily as a reader.

But it is easy to be a contributor to this department blog of ours. All you need to do is have a Google account using your Palomar email address and go through a simple six-step registration. After your free registration, made easy with an email invite you will receive in your Palomar email inbox, you will be able to leave comments on this blog or even write posts here.