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	An Afternoon at Frostburg State University	October 24, 2008
On October 23rd, at the request of Sharon Yoder (MSEd TESOL 2004), the ESL teacher at Frostburg State University in Maryland, Ashley and I made a site visit to her ESL class for the purpose of overseeing the start-up of online English listening proficiency testing. The online Focal Skills Listening Test (Global Language Education Services) consists of 45 items, each consisting of a brief audio conversation followed by a question requiring an answer of “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.” The test itself was easily accessed and taken, but there were some technical problems. Of the 15 Chinese exchange students in the class only 9 were able to finish the test. The obvious issue was that the software on the computers had not been updated, so that part way through the test the browser (Firefox) failed on 6 of the computers. At that point, the students had no way to continue because access to the test was permitted only once. However, we did get some data on the 9 students who successfully completed the test.
Students taking the FOCAL SKILLS Listening Assessment at Frostburg State University
I was impressed with the level of computer competence of these Chinese ELLs, exchange students in the U.S. for one year. They seemed quite at home with mouse in hand and caught on to the testing procedure with no difficulty. They were also very friendly. One of the students was carrying the texbook I use for the linguistics course in Shenandoah University’s TESOL master’s program, and we began to chat about that. She was delightful! In order to address the technical issues which were beyond what the students were expected to handle in the testing situation, I recommended that for future online testing of this sort (1) the software on all the computers be updated prior to the day of testing, and that (2) there be a technical person in the room, at least when the test is being taken for the first time. It was great to connect with Sharon again, and to see how well her career in TESOL is progressing. Not only is she the ESL instructor for Frostburg, but she’s also the ESL person at Allegany College of Maryland. We’re very proud of her!
	A "Lingua Incognita" Experience	August 18, 2008
In July, Brenda reported on a "Lingua Franca" experience (see below). I recently returned from Seoul, Korea, where I had a "Lingua Incognita" experience. The thing is, I don't understand a word of Korean, yet there I was giving the keynote address at the 18th International Conference on Korean Language Education. Fortunately, English really is the global language, and most of the scholars at the conference understood my address quite well, I think (possibly better than I did, what with the jet-lag). But I truly enjoyed the experience of being surrounded by a culture where I was totally dependent on ingenuity, good will, and (of course) friendly Korean-English bilinguals. I hadn't been that linguistically stranded for many years. It reminds one just how important language and literacy really are. Also, and maybe this is just my own idiosyncrasy, I like to listen to languages that I don't understand. I sat through a couple of hours of Korean speeches at the conference, and I don't think I missed more than a syllable or two. Like every language, Korean has its own special music, and I feel that I can hear that music better when I don't have to think about what the speaker is saying (since I haven't a clue what that is). The conference itself was beautifully planned and managed. The International Association for Korean Language Education is a first-rate organization that is doing important work: I was told that there are now in the neighborhood of a million foreigners in Korea, many of whom need to learn Korean for work, education, and daily life. If you want to know what I had to say in my keynote address, here it is.
	A "Lingua Franca" Experience	July 13, 2008
As my Italian friend Laura and I were returning from a trip to Assisi and Siena this past week, we met a young Japanese girl (Akiko) traveling alone. We began talking, initially about which train to take to Firenze, and then about her interesting trip through just-about-all of Europe. As we boarded the train, we took 3 seats together (in a facing 2+2 arrangement) and continued to chat. Shortly thereafter, another woman (Patrizia, an Italian living in Germany) took the 4th seat, and joined our conversation. As we continued to talk about travel and various cultures and languages, the conversation became quite animated. Then, when we started talking about cooking, a young Nigerian girl (Esther) across the aisle joined in. So much fun, and one of the reasons I love traveling on trains! It finally occurred to me that our conversation -- which lasted the whole hour-&-a-half to Firenze, with 5 women having 4 different language backgrounds -- took place in English. When Esther commented on the fact that we were speaking English instead of Italian, I realized that in this situation -- where the native languages were Japanese, Italian, English, and who knows which language of Nigeria* -- the only language we had in common was English, the lingua franca! *The major languages of Nigeria are Hausa, Yoruba, and Ibo, but there are many others as well.
	Report From Your Linguistic Lab Rat in Italy	June 27, 2008
In Venezia the other day, I met a Foscari University student named Valentina, who is studying oriental language and culture, particularly Japanese -- my first second language! I had a TERRIBLE time trying to speak Japanese with her, even after a couple of prompts. I think that for me, the language is inextricable from the culture -- I think I need to be speaking to a Japanese face, or to be in the Japanese language environment (with many Japanese faces, and maybe even in the country)! Although I tried very hard to communicate in Japanese with Valentina, I could only come up with a word or two without resorting to Italian. I would start a sentence with a few words in Japanese and complete the sentence and grammar in Italian. It was an extremely powerful experience -- one which I was unable to escape. Even simple words in Japanese eluded me (atsui, samui...). So, my conclusion at this point is that for some people (like me) the successful use of a language beyond the second is dependent on the cultural situation -- what one sees, who one is speaking to, the social conventions, the physical environment. When the cultural surroundings don’t match the language, the language doesn’t function!
	Dr. Krashen Sets the Record Straight on NCLB	June 24, 2008
We just received this from Dr. Stephen Krashen's Mailing List: NCLB does little to raise scores Published in the Baltimore Sun June 24, 2008 According to The Sun, researchers from the Fordham Institute claim that "top students show little gain from 'No Child' efforts" (June 18) because fourth-grade reading scores for the poorest-performing students have increased 16 points since 2000 but scores for the top group increased only three points on a national reading test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). As the Fordham report notes, however, 12 points of the 16-point increase in the low-scoring group occurred between 2000 and 2002, before the No Child Left Behind law was even implemented. Since NCLB was implemented in 2002, scores for the top students (the highest-scoring 10 percent) have increased by two points; those for the poorest performers (the lowest-scoring 10 percent) have increased four points. That's a very small difference and a modest gain over five years. And as the Fordham researchers point out, the gains by the low achievers may have had nothing to do with NCLB. In fact, there has been little overall change in NAEP scores since NCLB began, and no narrowing the gap between children from high- and low-income families. Stephen Krashen Los Angeles The writer is a professor emeritus of education at the University of Southern California.
	It's Always Amateur Hour in Education Policy-Making	June 23, 2008
We just received this from Dr. Stephen Krashen's Mailing List: Sent to the Orlando Sentinel, June 22, 2008 Keynote speakers at the recent Foundation for Excellence in Education summit in Orlando, Florida: Michael Bloomberg, Jeb Bush, Barbara Bush, John Stossel, Roy Romer, Anthony Hardy Williams, Margaret Spellings. Years of teaching in public schools, all keynote speakers combined: None Degrees in education or related field, all keynote speakers combined: None Stephen Krashen Imagine a summit conference on "Excellence in Aircraft Design" or "Excellence in Brain Surgery" with no trained, experienced aircraft designers or brain surgeons on the program. We think we know why education policy in the United States is in such a mess. It's always Amateur Hour.
	Training Teachers in Barcelona	June 16, 2008
A few days ago, I had a Skype conference with a group of EFL teachers in Barcelona, Spain. They had been studying the FOCAL SKILLS Movie Technique in preparation for a trial adoption of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach at their school. This had been arranged earlier with Victor Gonzalez, head of the (geographically challenged) New England Institute in Barcelona. (Actually, Victor is well aware of the true location of New England, as he studied some years ago at the University of Maine in Orono.) I'm old enough to remember when a live transatlantic video conference using a small device on my desk could have happened only in a science fiction story. Anyway, it was quite a treat to watch people thousands of miles away demonstrating the movie technique for my evaluation. (They did quite well, by the way.)
	Off to Italy	June 12, 2008
I'm about to leave for my fourth consecutive summer in Ferrara, Italy! Since spending a six-month sabbatical there in 2005, I’ve returned every June for a couple of months. Acquiring a new language and culture takes time, but it’s a richly rewarding experience, and one that’s especially valuable to me as the instructor of Shenandoah University TESOL’s Language and Culture course. And I can still keep track of my summer courses, since they are entirely online.
	A Day at Morningside College	June 10, 2008
Yesterday we had a great time visiting Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. We were there at the invitation of John Gilbert, the manager of Project Unlimited Proficiency at Morningside. (This is a federally-funded project that prepares licensed K-12 teachers for the add-on endorsement in ESL.) John is a recent graduate of the Shenandoah University TESOL master's program, and we are delighted that he is now using his training to train others. We had the privilege of speaking to a class of about 40 teachers taking John's program. We discussed second language acquisition theory and research, and explained a bit about the FOCAL SKILLS Approach to language program design. The teachers asked some very good questions, and some of them told us about the rapidly growing ESL populations in their schools. We really admire the dedication of these teachers, who are giving up part of their summer in order to become better qualified to meet the needs of ESL students. Another interesting part of the Morningside College visit was a conversation with Joe Rosener, Associate Director of Graduate Studies, and Richard Owens, Director of Professional Development. They are considering ways to make their ESL endorsement program available by distance. Thanks to John and his wife Vera for the hospitality, including a delicious Italian dinner! Invite us back any time!