ESL Symposia

English as a Second Language Symposia of the University of Arkansas

Advocating for Multilingual Learners in Policy Practice and Beyond

Flyer for the 17th-annual ESL Symposium 202517th Annual ESL Symposium

8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025

The symposium will be held in person, at the Graduate Education Building, 751 W. MapleAve., Fayetteville. Flyer (PDF)

☞ Registration online | $35 professionals and $20 students ☜
Deadline to register: Friday, Feb. 14.

The symposia series is sponsored by the U of A College of Education and Health Professions.

Keynote

The Dueling Discourses of Dal Language Bilingual Education (DLBE): How to Recognize and Revise Them to Build DLBE in Your Community

In this session, language educators working at all levels — from teachers to program coordinators, coaches and principals — will expand their definition of policy, learning to view themselves as policy-makers. Participants will then examine some common discourses, or narratives, about dual language education (ex: “equity,” “choice,” “accountability”) and the ways these discourses can shape policy. Participants will then get to play “discourse detective,” analyzing which discourses are behind different policy decisions and program structures. Finally, they will reflect on how to build upon the discourses that work best for equitable language education policy, leadership and practice in their particular contexts.

Lisa DornerLisa M. Dorner, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and director of the Cambio Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her research centers on the politics and planning of bilingual education, educational policy enactment and immigrant childhoods, especially around family-school engagement and language brokering. Striving to work alongside communities to disrupt inequities, she co-founded the Missouri Dual Language Network in 2014, where she connects people and resources for language learning, bilingual education policy development and understanding the immigrant experience. In 2017-2022 Lisa co-led the U.S. Department of Education National Professional Development project, Strengthening Equity and Effectiveness for Teachers of English Learners, with partners from across Missouri. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University and was a Fulbright specialist to Colombia in 2018. Lisamdorner.com has further details

Sophia Piral LeeSophia Piral Lee is a guatemalteca Fulbright alumna currently pursuing a doctor of philosophy in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri accompanied by a graduate certificate in Qualitative Research and another one in Education Policy. She is developing research with and for immigrant minors from Latin America studying in the United States; their access to an education free of stigma, discrimination and oppression; their families; and teachers. Ms. Piral Lee is also a former bilingual teacher, project manager and mentor for organizational sustainability with a master’s degree of Public Affairs. She is passionate about participatory and community-based work and research aiming for better conditions for immigrant minors in the U.S.

Agenda

8:30-9 a.m. Registration
9-9:10 a.m. Opening remarks: Diana Gonzales Worthen, Ph.D., Arkansas House of Representatives, District 9-Springdale
9:10-10:10 Keynote: Lisa M. Dorner, Ph.D.
10:10-10:15 Break
10:15-11:30 Hands-on session: Dr. Dorner and Sophia Piral Lee
11:30-12:30 p.m. Lunch and graduate student poster session
12:30-1:30 Roundtable conversations
1:30-1:40 Break
1:40-2:40 Community Resource Panel
2:40-3 Closing

For more information on the 17th annual ESL Symposium, please contact Janet Penner-Williams, Ed.D., or Alissa Blair, Ph.D.

Past Programs

  • 2024, 16th annual, "Empowering Multilingual Learners:
    Access and Resources"
  • 2023, 15th annual, "Partnering to Serve Multilingual Learners in Classrooms, Schools and Communities"
  • 2022, 14th annual, "Landmark Legislation and Arkansas Act 663 Bilingual Education/Dual Immersion"
  • 2021, 13th annual, "Toward Flexible Teaching and Learning: Research-based Practices for Supporting Emergent Bilingual Students in Web-based Contexts"
  • 2020, 12th annual, "A Language-Based Approach for Content Instruction for ELs"
  • 2019, 11th annual (PDF), "Assessment, Standards Implementation and Language and Literacy Development, with Focus on English Language Learners
  • 2018, 10th annual (PDF), "Connecting with Parents of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students to Promote Positive Outcomes"
  • 2017, 9th annual (PDF), "Teaching English Learners through the Lens of Constructivism, Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy, and Community Building "
  • 2016, 8th annual (PDF), "Advances in Teaching Academic Literacy to English Language Learners"
  • 2015, 7th annual (PDF), "Teaching Language, Literacy and Content to the Diverse EL Populations"
  • 2014, 6th annual (PDF), "English Language Learners and their Teachers in an Era of New Standards"
  • 2013, 5th annual (PDF), "What’s Different About Differentiating for English Learners?"
  • 2012, 4th annual (PDF), "Weaving Pedagogical Practices for Teaching English Language Learners with Disabilities"
  • 2011, 3rd annual (PDF), "Fidelity Meets Differentiated Instruction: Strategies in Action for ELLs"
  • 2010, 2nd annual (PDF), "Understanding and Meeting the Challenges of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Different Students"
  • 2009, first (PDF), "Using Brain Research to Enhance and Energize Language Instruction"