Aida Walqui, the director of WestEd’s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) initiative will lead a dozen conversations over six weeks with renowned linguists and experts from around the world that will highlight scholarly perspectives on the education of English Learners across a wide variety of settings. The hour-long discussions, starting Tuesday, July 14, will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks at 9 am PT except for 3 pm on Aug. 6 and 8.
Representing a wide variety of interests in the field, guest speakers will share their perspectives from American universities as well as research and development institutions from four different countries. All sessions will have a different, but complementary focus on research advances in the education of English Learners. The sessions are organized thematically (see more information below) and are free to attend.
All registered participants will receive a list of readings and biographies of the guests. Registered participants will also have an opportunity to submit questions for the interviewee up to one week prior to the day of the session.
Who Should Attend?
- Teachers
- Education leaders
- Teacher educators
- Teacher professional developers
- Researchers in the United States and abroad
Dates & Times
Sessions will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 am PT / 12 pm ET (interviews with Australian scholars will be at 3 pm PT / 8 am AU). Each session will run for 60 minutes.
Registration for all sessions is free.
Theme: Theories and Labels in the Education of English Learners
1/ What’s in a Name? The Terms We Use to Talk About English Learners, the Theories They Reflect, and Why Labels Matter
Date: Tues., July 14, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Guadalupe Valdés, Stanford University
2/ Multilingualism in the United States and Around the World: Current Issues and Tensions
Date: Thurs., July 16, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Ofelia García, CUNY
Theme: English Learners in the United States: History and Civic Participation
3/ English Learners in the United States: A Historical, Policy, and Educational Trajectory
Date: Tues., July 21, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University
4/ English Learners and Civic Life: The Imperative, the Reality, and the Potential
Date: Thurs., July 23, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Joel Westheimer, University of Ottawa
Theme: The Education English Learners Need and Deserve
5/ Robust Learning Opportunities for English Learners: Even MORE Important Now
Date: Tues., July 28, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: George Bunch, University of California, Santa Cruz
Theme: The Education of English Learners in Other Countries
6/ Oracy in the UK for All Students: Current Research
Date: Thurs., July 30, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Alice Stott, Voice 21, London
7/ The Role of Talk in Learning: Implications for Recently Arrived EAL and Refugee Background Students in Mainstream Classes
Date: Tues., August 4, 2020
Time: 3:00 pm PT / 8:00 am AU
Featured Speakers: Jenny Hammond, University of Technology, Sydney & Beverly Derewianka, University of Wollongong, Australia
8/ A Meaning-Oriented Model of Language for the Classroom
Date: Thurs., August 6, 2020
Time: 3:00 pm PT / 8:00 am AU
Featured Speakers: Beverly Derewianka, University of Wollongong, Australia & Jenny Hammond, University of Technology, Sydney
Theme: Rethinking and Strengthening the Work on English Learners
9/ Policy and Equity in the Education of English Learners: The Struggle Continues
Date: Tues., August 11, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Magaly Lavadenz, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
10/ Reconceptualizing the Role of Critical Dialogue in the Education of English Learners
Date: Thurs., August 13, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Amanda Kibler, Oregon State University
11/ Teaching Disciplinary Literacies in Hard Times that Just Got Harder
Date: Tues., August 18, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Meg Gebhard, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
12/ From Acquisition to Development: Reconceptualizing Educators’ Work with English Learners
Date: Thurs., August 20, 2020
Time: 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
Featured Speaker: Diane Larsen-Freeman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Click here for more information.
