School Support Services Newsletters
TEAM Solutions Secondary School ESOL Newsletter Term 2: 2004
Dear Colleagues,
We hope that you have had a relaxing break over the holidays and are recharged after a busy Term 1. This newsletter focuses on professional development opportunities, clusters and new resources.
The ESOL team continues to grow - we welcome Dayamani Prasad as a new ESOL International facilitator. Daya will work with Helen and begins on 19 May.
WORKSHOPS for Term 2
Pronunciation: the forgotten skill
This workshop will be suitable for all levels of learners and will focus on the following:
- What does teaching pronunciation involve? What is teachable and what is learnable?
- Common learner difficulties - what to prioritise?
- Strategies to integrate pronunciation into classroom tasks
| Date: |
Thursday June 10 |
| Time: |
9am - 3pm |
| Venue: |
Kohia Teachers’ Centre (Register through Kohia: Ph. 623 8977) |
| Facilitators: |
Jenni Bedford, Lyn Groves, Helen Panayiodou, Shirley Smith |
Enhancing vocabulary learning
| Date: |
Monday June 28 |
| Time: |
9am - 3pm |
| Venue: |
Kohia Teachers’ Centre (Register through Kohia: Ph. 623 8977) |
| Facilitators: |
Paul Nation |
NCEA Moderation/Exemplar cluster:
Last year we had a number of successful NCEA moderation cluster meetings at TEAM Solutions. This year we are encouraging regional clusters to spend some of their meeting time moderating a particular standard together. However, there is a real need to establish benchmarks for standards with examples of achieved NESB assessments. If you would like to join a group that meets regularly at TEAM Solutions to do this, please contact Jenni. It would be good to have a wide range of schools represented. There is the possibility of some teacher release time for this group in the future.
The first meeting will focus on 8808 & 12905. We will look at suitable texts and a range of reading logs.
| Date: |
Thursday May 20 |
| Time: |
4pm - 6pm |
| Venue: |
Upstairs meeting room, TEAM Solutions |
ESOL INTERNATIONAL: Update from Helen
As at the 1 July 2003 there were 4095 International fee paying students enrolled in schools, in Auckland. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some schools have increased numbers of International students while other schools have dropped. New statistics given by the Ministry later on in the year will shed better light on the International situation. I would be interested in your comments in this area.
International ESOL Workshops
The International workshops organised by the Ministry of Education have proven to be very successful. Teachers have commented that the workshops have been informative and have allowed for networking opportunities with other teachers. The dates for the secondary workshops in Auckland are:
|
Day 1: Effective provision for International students
Day 2: Effective assessment for placement and tracking of International
students |
ACE: R Block
Northland (Yr 7-13)
Kohia Teachers’ Centre |
4-5 May
13-14 May
6-7 October |
| Introduction to ELIP resource |
Kohia Teachers’ Centre
Northland (Yr 7-13)
Kohia Teachers’ Centre |
4 June
9 September
19 November |
For late enrolments contact janet.boyd@minedu.govt.nz
Code of Practice
Changes to the code mainly affect students who are aged between 11 and 13. These include amendments to:
- accommodation
- communication between students and parents
- access to first language and culture support
- access to first language counselling
- pastoral care group meetings
- cross-cultural training
The most common request I receive from schools involve interpreters. Schools often use students and parents as interpreters. This is only acceptable if information is not personal or confidential. If translators are being used for behavioural issues and assessment issues, then the school should access an interpreter with some form of qualification (not someone that just speaks the language). The school needs to know that the interpretation is done correctly. The Citizens Advice Bureau in Mt. Roskill may be a good place to start. They are in the process of setting up an International student drop in centre, and have trained interpreters in a number of languages. It is usually not the responsibility of the school to pay for the interpretation and assessment though if schools do not have a specific disclaimer in their enrolment contract stating that parents or caregivers are responsible for extra assessment and interpretation then they may be obliged to.
I am setting up a database of translators for schools to access, I would appreciate any contacts you have concerning translators (state if there is a cost). Helen Panayiodou h.panayiodou@ace.ac.nz
ESOL REFUGEES: Update from Lyn
Refugee Cluster Meeting
An inaugural meeting was held at Mt Albert Grammar School on March 17 for those schools with significant numbers of students from a refugee background to see if there were a need for a special cluster group. It was agreed that because of the specific needs of these students a meeting would be held once a term to discuss the issues these students face. The next cluster meeting will be held at Avondale College, Wednesday, June 30 at 3pm. Jane Falkiner, the new Refugee Coordinator, will be hosting this. If you would like to attend the next meeting which will focus on mental health issues and realistic goals for these students let me know.
I would very much like to attend cluster meetings in other areas around Auckland to listen to you and also give you an update of information for refugee students. I will be contacting you soon about this but would appreciate a call from you on 623 8880 ext. 6364 or email: l.groves@ace.ac.nz
Flexible Funding Pool for Refugee Students
There may be some schools who do not know they can apply for extra funding to support refugee students at risk of educational achievement. This funding is discretionary and for a limited period. Even if you have small numbers of refugee students, you may be eligible to access services such as bilingual support workers, study support centres, individual career guidance and transition to the workplace. Contact Abraham Mamer: Phone: (09) 374 5438; fax: (09) 374 5403; email: abraham.mamer@minedu.ac.nz
Resource
The latest newsletter of the Auckland Refugee Network, ‘Refugee Focus’, has some relevant information for your refugee students who may be looking to apply for a full time, 18-week programme, in the automotive area. In July there will be a similar programme in construction trades. Enrolments have started but if you would like more information, contact Jim Barnes, Programme Leader:
Ph. (09) 9688707. Email: jim.barnes@manakau.ac.nz.
If you would like to receive this Auckland City Council funded newsletter, contact Mary Bhalla: Ph. 3660860 or Fax. 366 0883
Email: macsb@ihug.co.nz
This issue includes a success story about some Burmese students in Glen Innes as well as a profile on Somalia.
General information
A number of schools have contacted me about the ‘status’ of their students for the MOE funding requirements. If you are not sure, and there is no documentation available, claim for the student as a refugee and then it can be sorted out later. There have, for instance, been no quota refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam since 1995 but you may still have family members arriving.
There are also a number of students who have turned 18 and have had their financial support stopped. The student then has to go to Study Link in Queen St to be entered into a new system but must have lived in New Zealand for two years to be eligible. I will be working towards a happy outcome for this gap in the system but if any of you have some ideas, please let me know. One of our eighteen-year old refugee students has had no income this year despite many hours of effort from the school counsellor.
Some of your refugee students have a volunteer tutor who assists in the home with homework. These wonderful tutors are either students or older people who have some time to give. While there are never enough, the aim is to give all new arrivals someone who can help bridge the gap between home and school. If you know of anyone who could help with this, please let me know.
Do contact me if you have concerns about your students: academic, social or cultural. I will be contacting more of you this term. Have a great one!
NCEA Forum
It would be really good if more subscribed and used the NCEA forum on ESOL online. This was created so that secondary teachers could debate issues without overloading the ESOL forum. Below is an excerpt from the English NCEA forum.
"It is felt that the Level 2 external standards (2003) have significantly
raised the bar. The low rates of achievement in the excellence and merit categories have added weight to this argument (especially when measured against the Level 2 internal standards).
The standards are in danger of losing perspective regarding the curriculum levels that they are measuring. The results of the Level 2 external standards plus the perceived raising of the bar is causing a
real sense of student frustration."
CLUSTERS
It has been good to attend several cluster meetings this term with some still to meet early next term. We are using the clusters to distribute a new resource - a unit on Bamboo and Flax by Shirley Smith. This is full of well-scaffolded activities and is aligned with stage 2 of ELIP. It can be assessed by using ESOL U/S 17368: Write simple information texts on familiar topics. There is a small charge of $5 to cover printing costs.
Please contact us if you would like to join a cluster.
MOE: update
A video package ‘ESOL in the Mainstream’ reinforces the importance of the mainstream classroom teacher in providing a supportive and accessible environment for ESOL students. Copies are available through professional development workshops. Contact Team Solutions facilitators for further information.
AKTESOL
If you are not an AKTESOL member we would encourage you to join our professional organisation. Annual subscriptions are due this month and you can download a membership form from: TESOLANZ
The next AKTESOL meeting is coming up soon. Details as follows:
| Date: |
Thursday May 13 |
| Time: |
6.30-9.30pm |
| Venue: |
Kohia Teachers’ Centre |
| Topic: |
“Focus on Reading”: An opening talk followed by mini seminars
to choose from. Those confirmed include: “Reading for a purpose”
and “Reading at University – the demands and challenges”. |
There will also be book displays by Password and One English.
AKTESOL Secondary Sector
A meeting has been arranged with Karen van Rooyen of NZQA on 28 April. Kathy Parker, Gillian Green, Mary Busch and Marty Pilott will meet her to talk about concerns with university entry criteria for ESOL students. We will keep you posted on the outcome.
CLESOL Conference
Registration for the CLESOL 2004 conference at Christchurch Convention Centre is now open. The theme this year is "Language, Community, Diversity: Hearing every voice". You can register on line at www.clesol.org.nz . Early bird registration closes on Friday, 6th August. This conference is well worth attending!
WEBSITES: Update from Margaret
Classroom Practice: Secondary students
Genetically Modified Foods.
Unit of work including assessment activities for English unit standard 8825, version 4: Produce transactional written text in complex forms.
Teachers: Professional readings
- Vocabulary Size, Text Coverage and Word Lists
Nation and Waring answer questions such as - How much vocabulary does a second language learner need? How should it be learned? How many words do native speakers know?
- Assessment for Learning
Assessment for Learning is an online professional development resource developed by Curriculum Corporation, Australia, to raise awareness of assessment for learning, or formative assessment. It includes a focus on English and contains professional development activities related to designing and using rubrics, effective feedback and student self-assessment.
- Reading in the Science Classroom
Applying the teaching of reading to the mainstream science classroom
EMAIL GROUP LIST
This continues to be an effective way of keeping in touch. Please email
j.bedford@ace.ac.nz if you have a change of address.
Finally, a reminder of who we are and what we do!
Jenni works fulltime and supports the South Auckland, Eastern, Western and Central clusters of schools.
Lyn works .5 and is focusing on schools that have refugee students.
Margaret spends her .1 helping plan and facilitate workshops, writing NCEA materials and supporting the Eastern cluster.
Helen works fulltime and focuses on schools that have International students.
Song Lam Wong and Charlie Lee, the NESB bilingual facilitators, are available to support your Chinese and Korean students.
We are available to visit you in school and work with you in programme planning, resources, modelling teaching strategies, and NCEA help.
Looking forward to working with you this term.
