Conference Begins with a Welcoming Ceremony!

The UPNFM and the Embassy of the United States of America held a Welcoming Ceremony last Tuesday 27th in honour of the VI National Conference for Teachers of English. The UPNFM Rector, MSc. Lea Azucena Cruz and the Public Affairs´ Section Officer, Mr. Michael Steven, both raised  their toast to celebrate the beginning of this important event in benefit of hundreds of English teachers all over the country. They also highlighted the importance of promoting English language teaching and learning within a globalized world. Participants will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of workshops, talks, plenaries, seminars, and also, attend a videoconference.  The UPNFM English Faculty and Staff welcome foreign and national speakers to the conference and wish all participants a fruitful and interesting experience. Enjoy it!

Please, dowload the official program of the conference here!

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Conference receives support from TV Programs and Friends!

We would like to thank Professor Juan Medina for his tremendous support in contacting Channel 10 and the U.S. Embassy for helping us with Channel 30. We talked about   the importance of participating in these teacher trainer events and gave information to all English teachers about registration procedures. We also would like to thank Mr. Felipe Soto, Principal of Mayan School, for having given us the opportunity to talk about the conference in the monthly general meeting for principals of bilingual schools from Tegucigalpa City. To all of you, thank you very much!

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Big success concert with Banda de los Supremos Poderes!

Last Thursday 15th, the faculty, staff and students from the English Teaching Program held a didactic concert with the incomparable BANDA DE LOS SUPREMOS PODERES DE HONDURAS. This band is directed by Hector Chavarria, an Alumni from the TEFL program at the UPNFM. Mr. Chavarria has always been supportive of cultural and artistic events carried out by the Literature and Languages Department.  We appreciate Mr. Chavarria´s collaboration and thank to all of the band´s members for their great support in benefit of the VI National Conference for Teachers of English. Let´s return their solidarity by attending their concerts and appreciating their wonderful music. The band will be playing at the Conference Opening Ceremony on Wednesday 28th. There will be lots of surprises. Don´t miss it!   

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FOREIGN PRESENTER: JEAN NOEL COOMAN

Jean Noel Cooman (Belgian) has been living in Honduras since 1988. He has been working mainly at the National Autonomous University as a teacher of French and occasionally of English (since 1988), -and at  the National Pedagogical University since 2001. He also works as a translator-interpreter of French (and English). He will be obtaining his Doctorate Degree in "Language Sciences" in march 2010 at the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane in Martinique (France). Jean Noel will be presenting a workshop on "The Plurilingual Class Project as an Appropriate and Innovative Instrument for the Building of a Plurilingual and pluricultural competence." Let´s welcome Jean Noel to the VI National Conference for Teachers of English!

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Conference talk on "Radio America" next Sunday April 11th!

Tune in Radio Program "Perspectiva Universitaria" on Radio America (94.7 FM and 610 AM) this coming Sunday 11th, at 11:30 AM. Listen to English Faculty and Professors Juan Medina and Carlos Brune analyzing the impact that National Conferences for Teachers of English from the UPNFM have had along the years on bilingual education in Honduras. Stay tuned!

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HONDURAN-AMERICAN PRESENTER: DINA ZAVALA-PETHERBRIDGE

Dina Zavala-Petherbridge is a former UPNFM student, and today , she is the Director of the Spanish Program at Valley City State University in North Dakota. She currently holds a Masters Degree in World Languages Instruction, and is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Education from North Dakota State University. Some of her teaching experiences are in elementary language immersion, high school Spanish, and college beginning and advanced language courses. Ms. Zavala-Petherbridge also teaches Latin American history, geography, culture, and civilization courses. She holds a certification of Primary Years Programme and International Baccalaureate Program where she obtained training in PYP curriculum development. She uses her teaching experience to train future language teachers in her methods class. In addition, she has been a panel representative for the State of North Dakota for world language assessment at Educational Testing Services (ETS). Dina Zavala-Petherbridge will give two presentations entitled: "The classroom that works: Activities that will motivate your students to use their foreign language" and "Responsive Classroom: Creating a safe environment for elementary school age children." The Organizing Committee of the VI National Conference for Teachers of English welcomes Dina and wishes her a plesant return to our country.

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PLEASE, REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR THE CONFERENCE!

Dear Participant,

Advance registration for the conference is now available! Please, download the registration form by clicking on the link below, pay the registration fee at HSBC BANK (Account # 507000012-9) or BAC-BAMER BANK (115471-5), fill out the form and email it to aleydali2005@yahoo.com or maryjackie@gmail.com to secure your space. Remember the conference is around the corner and we don´t want anybody to be left out! Hurry up! If you have any questions, don´t hesitate to send us an e-mail or call (504) 239-8037, Ext. 2117/2138 for additional details.

Group (institutional) and individual discounts for teachers traveling from the countryside (Elligible teachers have to submit additional information) are also available. PLEASE, CONTACT US FOR FURTHER DETAILS. Regular On-Site Registration is always possible, but we want to save time and make the event more pleasant for you by avoiding long-standing lines. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Download the registration form here!

Download the tentative schedule of the conference here!

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VIDEO-CONFERENCE PRESENTER: DR. SHANNON REIERSON

Dr. Shannon Reierson hast taught and research ESL and second language learning in social contexts for over 10 years in diverse contexts in the U.S. and Latin America. She currently holds the position of Lecturer III in the Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She works with both undergraduate and graduate students in bilingual education, ESL/EFL education, second language acquisition, curriculum, and pedagogy for second language learning and social justice. Dr. Reierson teachers online for students across the state of New Mexico--including in both Latino immigrant and indigenous communities--and in other areas across the U.S. and internationally. She has worked as a professional developer and educator in both the United States at several universities, school districts, and technical training organizations. For more information or to contact Dr. Reierson directly, please visit www.teachingforabettertomorrow.com or email her at sreierson@teachingforabettertomorrow.com Dr Reierson has a long commitment to seeking social change and justice for underserved and marginalized communities, and looks forward to engaging in conversation about this at the conference. 

Dr. Reierson´s videoconfernece is entitled "Atando Cabos in Multicultural Bilingual Education in Honduras: A Call to Action". This presentation will connect several concepts of multiculturalism and bilingual education for the betterment of communities across Honduras. The Organizing Committee of the VI National Conference for Teachers of English welcomes Dr. Shannon Reierson. Interested participants will have to pre-register for this presentation. Available space up to 50 participants.

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FOREIGN PRESENTERS: KATRINA SPILLANE, ARIA GALLETTI, AND LAUREL STROZIER

Katrina Spillane, is an English teacher and coordinator of the English Program at the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura in Catacamas, Olancho. Since she has begun working there in July of 2008, she has designed and begun to implement an ambitious English Language Certification Program for all boarding students and professors. Most of the classes that she has taught at the University have inlcuded Miskito, Pech or Garifuna students. She holds a Masters Degree in International development from the University of Pittsburgh, where most of her research was focused on education in Honduras. She obtained a TESOL certification from TEFL International in Seville, Spain and has experienced teaching ESL/EFL in Honduras, Spain and the US. 

Aria Galletti has been teaching English at the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura in Catacamas, Olancho since February 2010. In addition to teaching university students, she is currently the main teacher for the Faculty English Program which was initiated this academic year. She holds a Master of Arts degree in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco where her research focused on  international student adjustment at U.S. universities. Additionally, she completed a Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) in London, United Kingdom. She has over five years of English teaching experience  and has taught students from many different parts of the world in Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

Laurel Strozier is an English teacher at the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura and her students there represent a diverse population of various ethnic and indigenous cultures. She has also been a volunteer ESL teacher for immigrants within the United States. Her undergraduate degree is in International Studies and Spanish from Maryville College in Tennessee, and her thesis was about U.S. and Latin American political and economic relations. Since graduation, she has been doing research on popular education and Paulo Freire´s Pedagogy of the Opressed, a topic that she was introduced to at the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. 

Katrina Spillane, Aria Galletti, and Laurel Strozier will present a plenary on "Multicultural Inclusion in the English Classroom: Voices of ethnic and indigenous students". The Organizing Committee of the VI National Conference for Teachers of Engllish welcomes Katrina, Aria and Laurel.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Ph.D. FRANCISCO RAMOS

Francisco Ramos, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Culture in Education, School of Education, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, where he teaches courses in second language acquisition theories and methodologies. His research interests revolve around teachers´ attitudes towards the use of language minority students´native languages in the classroom, strategies that may ease the English acquisition process of language minority students, and the implementation of one and two-way bilingual programs. He has widely published in English and in Spanish in the Bilingual Research Journal, Latinos and Education, International Multilingual Research Journal, the Revista Española de Educacion Comparada, Segundas Lenguas e Inmigracion, o la Revista Iberoamericana de Educacion, among other journals. Dr. Ramos will be presenting a plenary session for all participants and three workshops at the conference on how to approach ESL/EFL in bilingual, multicultural and plurilingual environments or related themes. The Organizing Committee welcomes Dr. Ramos and thanks him for his interest in sharing his knowledge and expertise with English language educators from Honduras.

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FOREIGN PRESENTER: PAUL STUFKENS

Paul Stufkens   is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, but has spent the last 27 years in Honduras teaching EFL. He is currently teaching at the Languages´Section at Zamorano Agricultural University. He has a Licenciate Diploma in TESOL from Trinity College, London. He is a former board member of TESOL-Honduras, 1985-1993, and a regular presenter at the different Honduran EFL conferences. Paul´s conference will be "You Tube for You Teaching". The Organizing Committee is grateful to Paul for sharing his knowledge and expertise in EFL teaching in the VI National Conference for Teachers of English.

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FOREIGN PRESENTER: TAREY REILLY

Tarey Reilly is the coordinator for teacher-training in Central America (based in Guatemala) for the United States Department of State, Educational and Cultural Affairs Office and has most recently taught (summers 2007-2009) graduate and undergraduate students in the English for Academic Purposes and Legal Studies Programs at the English Language Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Harbor. Tarey has trained teachers, presented workshops on topics from assessment in ELT to classroom management and has taught ESL/EFL/EAP and ESP for business, engineering, and law inCosta Rica, El Salvador, Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Syria, the UK, and in universities, community colleges, and public schools in the US.The Organizing Committee welcomes Tarey to the VI National Conference for Teachers of  English.  

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FOREIGN PRESENTER: KITTY JOHNSON

Kitty Johnson is the U.S State Department´s Regional English Language Officer (RELO) for Mexico and Central America.Previously, she was RELO in Lima, Peru and has been a former teacher trainer in  the Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, and the U.S. She holds and MA TESOL from California State University, LA. Kitty has already been to Honduras in teacher-training events. Welcome to Honduras again, Kitty!  We appreciate your commitment and enthusiasm for contributing to the betterment of English Language Teaching in Central America. 

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"Teaching English in a Multicultural Environment"

 This year the conference´s theme embodies one of the most recent trends in language pedagogy and education in general, multiculturalism. Multicultural education has  become an important part of second and/or foreign  language teaching due to the undeniable recognition that people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds  provide a unique opportunity for cultural enrichment and diversity in the language classrooms therefore, rather than ignore students´ cultural and linguistic  traits, language teachers must integrate them into their teaching practice to facilitate learning. In Honduras,  bilingual education  (whether oriented to  the learning of a foreign or indigenous language)  should embrace these new approaches that recognize culturally and linguistically diverse students such as Miskitos, Garifunas, Lencas, Tawahkas, Chorties, Creole, or Tolupanes, who have been somehow underrepresented   in education. Nowadays, educational policies such as EIB (Intercultural Bilingual Education) and CNB (Basic National Curriculum) recognize the need to reform education towards more democratic and inclusive instructional practices. As a result, Honduran English language teachers must become familiar with new methods, approaches, techniques,  strategies and tools to lessen such differences and accomodate instruction by promoting equality,  respect, tolerance, and a social and cultural dialogue that foster authentic learning for everybody, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or social class.  This conference will address different issues and topics related to multicultural and bilingual education with the purpose of developing English language teachers´professional skills and competencies in order to enhance quality of education in Honduras. 

Welcome to our conference!

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