Attention ESL Teachers: a Fall 2024 Conference for YOU!

Do you teach adults who are non-native speakers of English?  Interested in connecting with others who work with immigrants and refugees, across all ages of learners and contexts for ESL?  The MELEd (Minnesota English Learner Education) conference is the state’s premiere professional gathering for anyone who works with English language learners, from Pre-K through university/adult settings.

This year, MELEd will be held at the St. Paul RiverCentre on November 22-23, 2024 (Friday and Saturday, with concurrent sessions on both days).  This event is put on each year through a partnership between MinneTESOL (Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and the Minnesota Department of Education. MELEd is attended by over 1,200 English language educators annually. Keep reading to learn about an opportunity to receive funds to attend MELEd this year!

Submit a session proposal!

Adult ESL sessions at MELEd are in high demand.  Please consider submitting a proposal!  We in ABE have so much to share about how to teach language and content to adult learners.  Maybe you are engaging in something in your classroom that seems to be really working that others could benefit from?  Maybe you have a pronunciation idea, a conversation starter, an alphabetics routine, a project or field trip you are proud of? Consider sharing with your ESL colleagues from across the state! Proposals are due June 30.

Will this be applicable to adult education?

It is invigorating to learn innovative ideas from other ESL teaching contexts (K-12, college and more!) that can be adapted easily to adult education settings.  This opportunity for networking and teacher-brain expansion is not to be missed.  Also, MELEd provides a chance to connect with other adult ESL educators and give input on professional development opportunities through its Adult Interest Section meeting.

It’s also worth mentioning that at the 2023 MELEd conference, MN Adult Ed was well represented by receiving BOTH of MinneTESOL’s prestigious statewide awards!  Andrea Echelberger, a teacher at Robbinsdale Adult Academic Program and frequent ATLAS presenter, received the Harold B. Allen award; and #IamABE, a collective of grass-roots MN Adult Ed educators, received the Mary Diaz Award for ELL Advocacy. Read more about it in this article.

Scholarships available!

GOOD NEWS! ATLAS is setting aside some funding for Minnesota Adult Ed practitioners to attend this conference. This assistance can be put toward registration costs and travel (mileage, parking, hotel), as needed. Funding will be application-based, with priority going to those who are presenting. More on scholarships this fall, as registration opens. So please consider putting in a proposal!