Dear Colleagues,

Hello from a new member! I started attending ESOL conferences in 2014, and Portland was my first. I am excited about becoming more involved in all the wonderful professional development and networking opportunities TESOL has to offer. Before I became an ESOL and literacy teacher and program manager, I produced corporate videos and documentaries. I also developed and taught movie-making and animation classes for kids. That’s where I discovered the power and creative potential of visual language. I love combining my background in video production with language teaching techniques. Technology has so much to contribute to language learning.

I grew up in a small town in Germany and started to learn English when I was 10 years old. My school offered different language classes; I also tried French, Russian, and Spanish over the next few years. In the 1980s we didn’t have today’s learning technology resources, of course. I was considered a tech genius in my family because I could program the new VCR recorder and the coffee machine. I think I focused on learning English because of all the songs on the radio and TV and spent endless hours singing along to songs using lyrics on the backs of records.

Spanish, Russian, and I had a rocky start because I couldn’t rrrrrroll the R properly. I had to get over my fear of talking in another language when I needed to speak Spanish in my job. In the past few years, I have been trying out different apps to improve my Spanish and to organize my learning. A recent Google search even led me to multiple interesting YouTube videos about rolling that R—maybe there is still hope for me…

I believe that learning one or more languages ourselves as teachers helps us understand our students’ fears, concerns, and learning process so much better. I recently enthusiastically followed Teresa online—a Mexican telenovela. I watched a few episodes with subtitles, then tried a few without. I learned to look up only a few words and expressions at a time instead of every single word as I had done previously. Learning in context…it's working! “¡Híjole! ¡No puede ser!” It seems that the phenomena of binge watching can bear fruit when done in another language…there are apps and sites for many languages available, and, for English learners in particular, online resources seem endless.

In today’s world of brief attention spans and busy schedules, visuals and short videos help keep the learners’ attention, one reason why Internet resources have become an essential element of the flipped classroom.

Because class time is limited, encouraging students to find time and the desire to practice English more independently outside of class has become my focus. I have been working on creating a website, www.englishyoyo.com (work in progress), as well as on Wikipages for students and teachers. Wikipages are easy to edit websites. They are affordable, or free for educational institutions.

I am really looking forward to collaborating with Julie, the current chair of VDMIS, and to sharing tips and ideas for using video as a language learning tool with you, as well as to being inspired by your ideas and feedback. As Julie mentioned in her message in this issue, we hope you will enjoy our resources and comment on them:

Facebook: TESOL VDMIS

YouTube: TESOL YouTube Channel

Best regards and hasta luego,

Elke Stappert

Elke Stappert has been with the New York Public Library since 2011, first as an ESOL and ABE teacher, volunteer trainer, and Site Advisor, and, for the past 3 years, as a regional program manager of the library’s Adult Learning Centers. She is also a part-time ESL teacher at 1199SEIU Funds and Lehman College. Her teaching focus and interest is in digital literacy and using videos, TV shows, and songs for English practice inside and outside of the classroom.