CATESOL24

Welcome to CATESOL 2024! Check in to pick up your badge and other goodies at the Registration desk. Registration closes at 10:00 am today.

Note: If you already checked in on Thursday/Friday and picked up your badge, there's no need to check in again today.

Time for lunch! Get a grab-and-go option, take in some fresh air, and then join one of our rap sessions in the Ballrooms.

This poster session introduces a specialized ESL program developed by the South County Crosscultural Council (SCCC) for members of the Laguna Day Worker Center (LDWC). Designed to provide Spanish-speaking day laborers with basic practical literacy, our program follows a flexible curriculum directly responsive to student needs. ESL lessons at the LDWC are prepared with the precarious nature of day labor work in mind, providing students with a uniquely collaborative and adaptable 'classroom' experience. By empowering members of this historically marginalized population to pursue English-language-learning in an accessible and supportive environment, our pedagogical model opens crucial pathways to continuing and higher education.

Writing is one of the challenging issues in learning process for ESL students. We know our students belong to the technology era and are completely intertwined with their cellphones, iPads, or laptops. This poster session explores how, with the help of Google Docs, we can provide our students a new method of teaching in writing classes.

This poster session discusses the critical need for empowering TESOL educators through a sustained, collaborative, inquiry-based professional learning, especially as compared to 'one-and-done' workshops. Using a community college professional learning experience as a springboard, the presenters will showcase the benefits, challenges, and potential impact of this type of sustained learning on teacher praxis.

Children thrive when their parents, grandparents, nannies, or childcare providers can communicate effectively and meet their needs. By taking ESL courses centered on children, adult learners can practice language skills and communication strategies that allow them to use English more proficiently at school, childcare, or home. Presenters describe an integrated skills program helping adults develop practical vocational and academic language skills that can lead to certificates, degrees, and employment. Participants examine program set-up and interactive classroom activities from high beginning to low advanced, all focused on the context of children, their care and development.

This poster session explores the potential of language education as a tool for soft diplomacy, fostering cross-cultural understanding and positive international relations encapsulating three innovative programs implemented in Kyrgyzstan:

- Footballogy: This curriculum, based on my book of the same name, uses American football as a platform for language acquisition, teamwork, and cultural exchange.

- Karaoke Club with a Twist: This program goes beyond singing. It integrates English language skills development with geographical and historical context in the United States.

- RAKMAT (thank you in Kyrgyz): This family-centered initiative incubates literacy and cultural exchange by a program where children and parents read together.
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Racism has recently been studied in the TESOL field as part of teacher professional development and hiring practices (Bock Thiessen, 2021) and perspective of international users of English as part of language teacher administration (Raza & Eslami, 2024). In exploration of topics related to racism in CATESOL it is favorable to emphasize the empowerment of all CATESOL voices. The objective of this poster session is to provide participants with the knowledge to implement solutions for responding to micro aggressions related to racism in CATESOL. The presenter will offer guidelines for navigating complex topics of racism with accompanying discussion questions.

This poster session outlines the steps followed to create a podcast. To address the results of a needs analysis, the podcast was designed to: 1) address the potential audience's interests, including the use of AI tools, teacher social-emotional well-being, etc., 2) be 20 minutes- long to maintain the audience's attention, 3) integrate visuals for maximum audience engagement, and 4) feature the voices classroom instructors.

The poster session displays the various aspects of the podcast design process, provides a fail-proof set of ideas on how to design a podcast, and describes the role played by the classroom instructors in the podcast.