ESL Symposia

English as a Second Language Symposia of the University of Arkansas

Advocating for Multilingual Learners in Policy, Community and Classroom Practice

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

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

The symposium was online, live, due to inclement weather, road conditions etc.
The symposium will be held in person, at the Graduate Education Building, 751 W. Maple Ave., Fayetteville. Flyer (PDF)

All registrants were emailed the Zoom link and related information. Please direct questions to Professor Alissa Blair.

Registration has closed. ☞ Registration online | $35 professionals, $20 students ☜
Priority deadline to register: Friday, Feb. 14. Parking details (PDF)

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

Keynote

Defining Terms: The Dueling Discourses of Dual Language Bilingual Education

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

Agenda

8-8:30 a.m. Sign-in | Warm-up Question
8:30-8:45
  • Welcome, Janet Penner-Williams, Ph.D., associate professor, University of Arkansas
  • Opening remarks: Diana Gonzales Worthen, Ph.D., Arkansas House of Representatives, District 9-Springdale
8:45-9:45 Keynote by Lisa M. Dorner, Ph.D., professor, University of Missouri — Columbia: “Defining Terms: The Dueling Discourses of Dual Language Bilingual Education”
9:45-9:55 Break
9:55-11:25

Interactive session by Dr. Dorner: “Doing the Work: How to Recognize and Revise Discourses to Build Bilingualism in Your Community”

  • Early Childhood and Elementary
  • Middle School and Secondary
  • Administrators and Coaches
  • School- and District-based Teams
  • Higher Education
11:25-:11:40 Break / Lunch
11:40 a.m. -12:10 p.m.

Graduate student "Lightning Presentations"

  • Rebecca Carpenter de Cortina, Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum & Instruction and director of Sponsored Students & Special Programs, University of Arkansas: “Co-constructing Multilingual Literacy Learning in our Communities & Classrooms”
  • Casey Kraichoke, Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction and assistant director of Pre-Professional Advising and Graduate School Readiness, College of Education and Health Professions, University of Arkansas: “A Critical Narrative: Navigating Mixedness as a Multiracial EFL Teacher”
  • Joseph A. Poniatowski, Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction and instructor, English Language and Cultural Studies Program, Graduate School and International Education, University of Arkansas: “Perceptions of Public Speaking Self-Efficacy Among International Students in American Higher Education”
  • Lexi Woodward, Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas: “Facilitating Multilingual Student Talk in Elementary Writing Workshops"

5-minute Group Q&A
12:10-12:20 Break
12:20-1:20

Community Resource Panel:

  • Paz Aguilar, founder and treasurer of Salvadoreños Unidos Para Arkansas
  • Albious Latior, executive director of Ozark Atolls
  • Francisco Yanez Jr. Ed.D., president of Paloma Community Services
1:20-1:30 Closing Reflection | Evaluation Survey

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"