SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A team of educators from Springfield, Mo., presented the results of a three-year project at the Mid-America Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MIDTESOL) conference in Iowa City, Iowa, on Oct. 24.
The group highlighted a collaboration between Evangel University’s TESOL program, the Springfield Public Schools, and Missouri State University’s English Language Institute.
Presenting were Jennifer Morrison, assistant professor of English/TESOL at Evangel University; Rachel Love, a 2012 Evangel graduate and teacher at Cowden Elementary; and Catherine Pettijohn, ELI instruction specialist at MSU.
The group’s presentation was titled “New Cooperative Traditions: TESOL, IEP, and Public School Collaborations.”
The presentation highlighted a three-year project that has allowed students in Evangel’s TESOL program to tutor English as Second Language (ESL) students as a part of the Evangel’s ESL Methods course.
“Students in Evangel’s ESL Methods course plan the lessons and teach those lessons, either to students in Rachel’s Elementary English Language Learner program or to Catherine’s international students at MSU’s English Language Institute,” said Morrison.
“The collaboration benefits the language learners and the future teachers, offering an authentic learning experience to both,” she said.
Morrison added that these kinds of cooperative efforts speak to the rich resources available within the Springfield community.
“We are all three excited to see the positive results for the English language learners in both the Springfield Public Schools and Missouri State programs,” she said. “Student learning is our goal. We plan to continue and expand this collaboration in the future.”
For Morrison, this was the first time she presented alongside a former student at the conference. “Presenting with an Evangel graduate was a fantastic experience,” she said. “It was rewarding to hear Rachel speak about her work in public schools and to see how she has grown as a professional in the field.”