University of Arkansas ESL Symposium Features Nationally Recognized Speakers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas announces the first symposium covering English as a second language for educators April 3 at the Fayetteville Town Center with two sessions featuring nationally renowned experts on English language learners.

The curriculum and instruction department and the Education Renewal Zone, both based in the College of Education and Health Professions, have partnered to bring this event to northwest Arkansas.

Educators will receive 6 hours of professional development credit for full day attendance.

The symposium addresses a growing challenge for area school districts. From 1999 to 2006, the state of Arkansas experienced a 121 percent increase in the number of students identified as being limited in English proficiency, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.

Janet Zadina, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience at Tulane University, will discuss “Brain Research and Language Development” at the symposium’s morning session. Zadina, who founded the company Brain Research and Instruction, is the author of Six Weeks to a Brain-Compatible Classroom – a Workbook for Educators and co-author of Writing Now, a college development composition workbook.

Yvonne Freeman is a professor of bilingual education and David Freeman is a professor of reading, both at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Both are interested in literacy education for English language learners and have written and edited many books on the topic. The most recent was Academic Language for English Language Learners and Struggling Readers, which is also the title of their afternoon presentation.

Cost and online registration information is available at http://cied.uark.edu/5627.htm.

The symposium, which is planned to be an annual event, is not the only effort by the university to assist local school districts. Organizers of the symposium also developed a proposal funded in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Education to help Springdale teachers earn English as a second language endorsement. The federal grant of $1.3 million over five years funds Project Teach Them All, a partnership between the university and the Springdale School District.