Winter, 2021 MITESOL Adult Education SIG Update
How is the winter going?! As the corona vaccines find their way to some, and not to others, here are more resources, news articles, and advocacy opportunities to give you something to think about while waiting for the next Zoom meeting.
Please stay active on the Adult Ed message board!
--Collin Blair, Adult Ed. SIG Leader (Adult-ed-sig@mitesol.org)
Resources for Adult Students (and Their Teachers!)
VOA News Learning English
One of my all-time faves. ESL-centered materials in all skills, videos, grammar lessons, idioms, current events and beyond.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/
Quill.org
Free tools to make your students better writers
https://www.quill.org/
Public Libraries: Adult literacy, GED, & citizenship classes
Detroit Public Library (but many offer these services)--https://detroitpubliclibrary.org/services/adult-literacy-ged
Citizenship Test Practice
As the printed books + cds are no longer being produced, this website is the place to refer your students for citizenship test prep.
Articles
Articles
Various articles that touch on topics and themes that affect our students and our teaching:
Changes in USCIS processing:
Updates:
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/updates
Michigan community college students can now more easily transfer to 4-year institutions
Jobs and Skills Training
February is career and technical education month!
https://pathfinder.mitalent.org/#/home
Pure Michigan jobs and skills training
Peruse this website for many options to aid your students with workforce training and jobs:
https://www.mitalent.org/career-explorer
*Also, refer students to local Michigan Works! offices for asssistance with resumes, interviewing skills, and locating available jobs: https://www.michiganworks.org/
Professional Development
Online courses and virtual seminars at TESOL.org
Even if we’re not having in-person conferences, there’s no reason to stop growing professionally!
https://www.tesol.org/attend-and-learn/online-courses-seminars
Education Updates
Michigan’s superintendent calls for increasing required school days
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/02/michigan-superintendent-calls-increasing-required-school-days/4358490001/
Advocacy
2020 Michigan Census numbers
https://mlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2021-michigan.pdf
Be an advocate for ELLs
7 effective ways teachers can advocate for their English learners
https://owlcation.com/academia/5-Ways-Teachers-Can-Advocate-For-Their-English-Language-Learners
Supporting ELLs through Covid-19
How can schools best support English language learners (ELLs) and immigrant students through the COVID-19 pandemic? What lessons have we learned so far?