American Language Program Hosts 2020 Winter Conference, Drawing 100+ TESOL Educators to Columbia University

The American Language Program (ALP) hosted its annual Winter Conference on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at Columbia University’s Faculty House. 

The conference, the sixth English-language learning conference held by the ALP, provides an opportunity for New York City area TESOL professionals to share their knowledge of and experience in academic English instruction. More than 100 educators from the region attended the conference. 

The theme for this year's event, co-chaired by ALP lecturers Christopher W. Collins and Brittany Ober, was ”Curricula & Materials: Lessons, Units, Courses.” 

The event began with the plenary session “English for Specific Purposes: Innovative Approaches at the Graduate Level” by Shelley Saltzman, Senior Lecturer and Associate Director for University Partnerships at Columbia University. Her keynote highlighted specific strategies for designing curricula for specialist subject areas.

You can watch a video of the plenary session here:

The presentations that followed, featuring faculty from Columbia University, New York University, Pace University,  Long Island University, Riverside Language Program and Borough of Manhattan Community College were:

• “Developing Lessons for Different Proficiency Levels Using the Same Authentic Material” - Judy Miller, Columbia University American Language Program

• “Co-Requisite Classes: Tailoring Coursework for the ESL Student” - Leigh Somerville, Borough of Manhattan Community College

• “Aligning Lexico-Grammatical Features of Texts with Pronunciation Features” - Carol Numrich & Alan S. Kennedy, Columbia University American Language Program

• “Taking the Challenge to Foster Intrinsic Motivation and Learner Autonomy: A Unit Focused on Improving Reading and Listening Proficiency” - Elizabeth Böttcher and Carolyn Dunn, Columbia University American Language Program

• “News Groups and Book Groups: Recurring Assignments for Skills, Collaboration, Autonomy” - Frances Boyd & Lydia Fass, Columbia University American Language Program

• “Grammar & Technology: An Innovative Way to Enhance Speaking Accuracy and Confidence” - Yasmeen Coaxum, Long Island University

• “Crafting the Personal Essay” - Babi Kruchin, Columbia University American Language Program

• “Using Student-Selected YouTubers to Enhance Listening and Discussion Skills” - Abby Mack, New York University

• “The Group Project: Fair and Balanced” - Jason Tannenbaum, Pace University

• “Dragons in the ELL Classroom: How to Launch a Creative Writing Lesson” - Jennafer D’Alvia, Riverside Language Program

The conference, a day-long professional development drew more than 100 educators, concluded with a social event where attendees had the opportunity to network with presenters and attendees.