TEIS Newsletter - February 2022 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
•  LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
•  LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
ARTICLES
•  EDUCATING FOR FUTURE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER LEADERS
•  TESOL PROFESSIONALS' MOTIVATION FOR GROWTH AND LEADERSHIP - ELTA VOLUNTEERS
•  PREPARING PRESERVICE TEACHERS: DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION FOR ELS
•  COLLABORATIVE TEACHING FOR TBLT WITH RURAL CHINESE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH
VOICES
•  HOW HIGH IS YOUR TEACHER REFRESH RATE?
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY
•  MEET OUR INTERIM COMMUNITY MANAGER

ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY

MEET OUR INTERIM COMMUNITY MANAGER

Khanh-Duc Kuttig, Department of English, University of Siegen, Germany

Tell us a little about your background. How did you get into teaching and how long have you been doing this?

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA majoring in Language, Literacies, and Culture/TESOL. I first came to the United States of America as a recipient of the Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship, funded by the U.S. Department of State, to pursue an MA/TESOL. From 2003-2007, I pursued an undergraduate degree in English and Translation at the University of Science and Technology – Yemen.

What got me in teaching was my passion to make a meaningful difference in others’ lives. I have always considered teaching as a noble profession which requires patience and a lot of skills. I started teaching the English language in 2005 when I was an undergraduate student pursuing English and Translation at the University of Science and Technology – Yemen.

What classes or courses do you teach, and do you have any favorites?

As I mentioned before, my experience as a language instructor started in 2005. Before I came to the United States of America from Yemen, I taught beginning English courses at the Yemeni Canadian Center - Yemen. Then, I taught undergraduate students general English and academic writing at the University of Science and Technology and the Lebanese International University-Yemen for four academic years (2007-2011). When I moved to the United States of America, I worked in the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL), an Intensive English Program (IEP) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and taught integrated reading and writing, listening and speaking skills, as well as grammar from January 2017 to July 2020.

My experience as a teacher educator comes from being an instructor of two 300 level courses as well as my role as a graduate teaching assistant for two 400 literacy courses at the School of Education, Southern Illinois University Carbondale. In 2016, I taught CI 360: Teaching Reading and Writing in Secondary Content Areas to undergraduate students. The content of this methods course included foundational knowledge of literacy processes; instructional strategies to address literacy, literacy skills, and literacy acquisition; student learning needs and characteristics, developmentally appropriate instruction and assessment for the secondary learner and learning from texts. I was also a graduate teaching assistant for my advisor, professor Lavern Byfield, for two undergraduate literacy courses (CI 432 Literacy Development and Assessment K-4^th and CI 433 Instruction and Assessment of Adolescent Literacy 4^th -8^th Grade). My involvement in these two courses was by leading a few sessions on topics such as phonemic transcriptions. in the Fall 2021, I was teaching EDUC 319: Language and Learning, required by the Illinois State Board of Education for candidates seeking licensure in teacher preparation program, to undergraduate students in the School of Education. This course introduced first and second language development and acquisition, language variation, cultural diversity, bilingual education, and culturally and linguistically responsive instruction.

What would you say to someone who was thinking about joining TESOL International Association?

TESOL International Association is my professional home organization where I am able to meet many professionals and learn from them as well as serve the TESOL community. If you have these goals, TESOL International Association will be your professional home organization for your entire career.

What are your goals as Community Manager for TEIS?

My goals as the Community Manager for TEIS are to:

1. bring more traffic to the TEIS social media platforms.
2. recruit more TESOL members to join our community.
3. make our community content more accessible.

What do you do for fun?

I like to go hiking and spend some time in nature.