Dear Fellow Adult Ed ESL Educators,

Final plans for the 2016 ITBE Convention are in full swing. In planning the SIIG Adult Ed Breakout Session, I appeal to you to provide me with direction as to what you want to hear and discuss. There are so many important issues like our working conditions and our future as educators in a state that sometimes sadly seems to undervalue education in general, much less the education of non-English speakers.  How can we best serve the needs of the populations of students whom we serve? Maybe you’d just like to have a session that offers new ways to study a specific subject like grammar or reading for adult students who never seem to be able to do homework?

We are a diverse bunch—almost as diverse as the learners we encounter.  Having completed my Masters in Applied Linguistics for TESOL this month and having been involved in teaching ESL professionally and on a volunteer basis for three years now, I am beginning to develop a strong sense of the needs of our learners and, just as importantly, the needs that we as educators have in the areas of professional development and professional goals.  But rather than discuss what I think I know, I’d like to begin by asking you what you are interested in hearing about. 

I want to hear from as many of you as I can so that I can gauge which direction to take in planning the breakout sessions.  Please write to me at adultsig@itbe.org.

Thank you so much for engaging in this effort.  I look forward to seeing you at ITBE!
Sincerely yours,
Nancy Somora Gebhardt
M.A.Applied Linguistics, TESOL
Co-chair Adult Ed SIG ITBE