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Evangel students present project at MIDTESOL conference

Published on Oct 4, 2016 by Paul K. Logsdon

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A team of three students and a professor from Evangel University, were selected to present their work at the Mid-America Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MIDTESOL) conference in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 1, 2016.

“Real-World Curriculum Training for Pre-Service ESL Teachers” was accepted out of several hundred proposals that were submitted for the conference. MIDTESOL is a regional affiliate of TESOL International and includes four states — Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

The presentation focused on the process of creating a complete curriculum during a TESOL course, which was then actually used in an English camp in South Korea during the summer.

2016-10.01 Student paper at MIDTESOL
Presenting their research at the MIDTESOL Conference in Kansas City are Evangel University Assistant Professor Jennifer Morrison (second from left) along with seniors Jaron Thompson, Tara Cederblom and Kellen Gillaspy. // (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Assistant Professor Jennifer Morrison directs Evangel University’s TESOL program. Her students for this project were seniors Jaron Thompson, a Spanish Education/TESOL major; Tara Cederblom, an English/TESOL major; and Kellen Gillaspy, an Elementary Education/TESOL major.

Morrison shared details of the curriculum project from the professor perspective, while the students shared the benefits of creating a curriculum and then teaching it in a real-world situation overseas.

“I enjoyed being able to tell about my Korea experience, especially in a setting where it can help other teachers create opportunities for their students to develop and apply their own curriculum,” said Cederblom, a graduate of Springfield’s Kickapoo High School.

“I am extremely proud of our EU TESOL students’ performance at the conference and during the process of this project in general,” said Morrison. “It isn’t often that undergraduate students are able to present at regional professional conferences, and these three represented EU with poise, eloquence and style!”

This particular conference is held each fall and is a forum for ESL/EFL professionals to share and learn from one another.

“I hope to be able to present with more students in the future, because it is a great introduction to the scholarly part of teaching,” Morrison added.

For more information, contact the Evangel University Humanities Department at (417) 865-2811, ext. 8640.