DISCOUNTED POST-CERTIFICATE TEACHING SEMINARS
FOR ESL PROFESSIONALS
Rennert offers a range of one-day teaching seminars
that are open to all ESOL teachers in the New York area. Alumni
of the WL-SIT TESOL Certificate course and Rennert teachers
get a discounted of rate of $60 (regular price $75) for all of these
professional seminars.
All one-day seminars are 6 hours plus
a one-hour lunch break.
9:30am – 4:30pm
To book, email me at tesol@rennert.com,
or call (212) 867 8700.
ONE-DAY
SEMINARS FOR ESL PROFESSIONALS
Schedule Summary
2009 |
| 22 Aug, 2009 |
Reading & Writing |
19 Sep, 2009 |
Pronunciation |
24 Oct, 2009 |
Grammar 2 |
21 Nov, 2009 |
Vocabulary & Speaking |
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER SEMINARS
How to Teach Reading & Writing
22 August, 2009
Do your students find Writing
boring? Reading a chore?
Steps for teaching &
Lesson Plans
Do your Reading and Writing classes
fill the room with silence?
Discover and experience
a variety of different activities you can use in your
General English classes
Grammar for ESL Teachers 1
19 September, 2009
Pronunciation isn’t just sounds. What are the other
aspects involved?
All
aspects of pronunciation comprehensively covered
What’s the /aI pi: eI/?
Review
the International Phonemic Alphabet
Do you wear you best vest or stop at the right light?
Practice
with Minimal pairs
Do you wonder how to put this all together and teach pronunciation
to your students?
Learn
how to teach pronunciation
Each month WL-SIT TESOL Alumni who did
the course at Rennert receive a monthly newsletter. Along with details
of upcoming professional development seminars and workshops and
teaching tips, they receive information about jobs. We are also
currently developing a comprehensive job referral site for our website
that will be password accessed by TESOL Certificate alumni.
This issue we head to the Middle East
– a place many don’t think of working and living, but
an interesting place with a very different culture.
SYRIA
The scoop (word-of-mouth
advice from someone who’s been there):
Liz
lived in Damascus, Syria for a year.
"Despite common misconception,
Syria is actually not a Muslim country but 30% Christian with a secular
government. The President practices a very liberal denomination of
Islam. The people are very friendly. There are several reputable schools
in Damascus. The British Council recruits both locally and globally.
Teachers need CELTA or TESOL plus 2 years experience. American Language
Centre is more flexible and recruits locally. Many schools will help
arrange a visa for you.
I worked a 26-hour contract
with split shifts. The timetable got very split during Ramadan. The
British Council offered 35 days leave in addition to national holidays.
Medical cover, relocation allowance and accommodation were also included.
There was a wide range of learners. I taught all
ages, but there were more adult learners than young learners. There
was also a compete range of levels – A0 (some pre Roman alphabet)
to C1. There were also a range of needs – General English, some
professional and IELTS preparation. I worked for the British Council.
The pay depended where you were on their scales. The hourly rate was
around 800 SP (around 9 euro) but it is a cheap country.
English is spoken in
some bars, cafes, hotels/hostels but little elsewhere. My apartment
was arranged through BC with an agent. Finding a small apartment for
a single person is challenging. Rents are getting higher as well.
In terms of culture, women should dress slightly modestly but there’s
no need to cover up or wear a headscarf, though they should expect
some unwanted attention. Most social life is family oriented."
Schools in SYRIA
that are known to employ American teachers:
This information is made available to graduates of the WL-SIT
TESOL
Certificate course.
Please note: While every
endeavor is made to ensure this information is accurate,
Rennert is not responsible for incorrect information.
Camel Train, the Middle East, 1991
TESOL TEACHING TIP
If you have any great ideas/activities etc.
that you would like to share, please email me:
tesol@rennert.com.
RUNNING DICTATION
This is a great
way to enliven a tired class.
Before asking students
to perform a role play you should prepare them by asking questions.
The questions should incorporate the major parts of the role play
and the vocabulary/idioms involved. After the question answer session
the students should be comfortable with what they need to do.
Use a
short text. This can be either a short text from the course book,
a text to activate schema, an introductory text for a longer reading
or a text used to present a grammar point.
Cut the text into sentences
and place them around the room.
Split the class into groups
or pairs. Each group must have one runner and a designated writer.
Variation: Cut the text into half and use pairs.
The runners have to go around
the room and read the sentences – committing them to memory
– they are not allowed to touch the paper, take the paper back
to the group or shout the sentence across the room. Once they think
they can remember the sentence they return to the group and repeat
to them what it said.
The writer of the group writes
down the sentence as it is dictated. If the runner forgets part of
the sentence they are allowed to go back to the paper and re-read
it (same rules apply).
The group can then elect another
runner and a writer and they have to find another sentence. The group
then has to put the sentences in the correct order.
If you have used the variation, change the writer/reader roles after
the first half.
Putting the sentences in order obviously doesn’t happen in this
variation.
Then give the correct text
to the pair/ group for them to check for accuracy.
HINT: To encourage running rather than strolling, introduce an element
of competition so there is a ‘prize’ for the pair or group
who finish first.
FAQ OF THE MONTH ABOUT THE
WORLD LEARNING SIT TESOL CERTIFICATE
COURSE
What is the World Learning SIT Graduate
Institute?
The World Learning SIT
Graduate Institute (formerly the School for International Training),
located in Brattleboro, Vermont, is a fully accredited university
offering master degree programs in language teacher education and
intercultural management as well as more than fifty undergraduate
study abroad programs. The mission of the school is to enable participants
to develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes and awareness needed to
contribute effectively to global understanding.
SIT is well-known nationally and internationally
for its work in language teacher education and has been training learner-oriented,
culturally sensitive and humanistic language teachers in their Master
of Arts in TESOL course for over thirty years. It has prepared over
2000 active professionals who are working in the field today making
significant contributions as classroom teachers, administrators or
consultants throughout the US and in over 70 countries around the
world.
Among the earliest proponents of experiential
education, SIT’s program provides teachers with the knowledge
to achieve excellence in their classroom practice and to be advocates
for intercultural understanding. These same elements provide the basis
for the design of the four-week certificate program.
