ESL Symposium to Focus on Instructional Program

Photo Submitted

Margarita Calderón

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will bring a highly respected authority on English language learner instruction to lead its seventh annual ESL Symposium. Margarita Calderón will demonstrate an instructional program she developed that is designed to assist students in all grades and content areas who are learning English as a second language.

“We are fortunate to have Dr. Calderón as our featured speaker,” said Diana Gonzales Worthen, director of Project RISE, a sponsor of the symposium. “She is a leading researcher in literacy and in ways to help students make progress so that they don’t end up being labeled long-term English learners. These are both timely challenges facing Arkansas teachers. This training can assist teachers in increasing student achievement for culturally and linguistically diverse students.”

The ESL symposium runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1325 N. Palak Drive, Fayetteville. Teachers who attend will receive a certificate for six hours of professional development. Online registration is open now.

Calderón is a senior research scientist and professor emerita of Johns Hopkins University and principal partner of the Learning Sciences Calderón International Center for Language and Literacy in Florida. She has written more than 100 articles, chapters, books and teacher training manuals and speaks at education conferences worldwide.

She developed a program called ExC-ELL, which is an acronym for Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners. The evidence-based instructional model integrates academic language, literacy and content knowledge, and it addresses all four language domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Calderón’s presentation for the symposium is titled “Teaching Language, Literacy and Content to the Diverse EL Populations.” She will demonstrate instructional features of ExC-ELL that focus on developing high levels of academic language, reading comprehension and writing skills within each subject area. She will give examples for different grade levels and language proficiency of English learners.

Calderón has worked as a high school teacher, a professional development coordinator for San Diego State University, an assistant professor and bilingual director for the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a professor of educational leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso. The Carnegie Corporation of New York, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. departments of education and labor have funded her research.

Cost of the symposium is $125 for professional educators with a special price of $75 for full-time students. Registration is required by Feb. 13.

The curriculum and instruction department in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas and Project RISE (Realizing and Increasing Student Excellence), a federally funded program operated by the college to increase the number of local teachers certified in English as a second language, are sponsoring the symposium.