Regional Symposium-Altus
This one-day event on May 16th is a great opportunity for professional development and networking. It is for teachers, tutors, volunteers, administrators, and anyone interested in learning more about adult learners and/or teaching English Language Learners.
The Regional Symposium-Altus will be held in partnership with the Great Plains Literacy Council.
Your registration fee of $12 includes lunch.
Schedule
9:30 am-10:00 am: Check-in/Registration
10:00 am: Welcome
10:05 am-11:45 am: Christopher Myers will present “The Face of the Adult Learner: How to Keep Students Motivated.”
What does the prototypical adult learner look like? Once this is determined, how then can we as facilitators better meet the challenge of engaging learners within the context of the curriculum? If a doctor were to write you a prescription without first identifying your individual need it would be called malpractice. Should this same dynamic also apply to the field of education? Join me as we redefine the face of the adult learner and discuss a variety of strategies that can be implemented to ensure they become active participants in their own learning process.
11:45 am-12:15 pm: Lunch will be provided.
12:15 pm-2:00 pm: Nancy Litsch will present “Where and How to Begin with an English Language Learner.” I will show you how to begin your first session with your English Language Learner (ELL) students. You will learn how to use an “oral/aural” teaching method, how to develop a vocabulary with visual aids and the benefits of sentence patterns for fluency. We will discuss how field trips can increase “survival skills” retention while increasing our students’ comfort of becoming an active part of the community.
2:00 pm: Closing
About our Speakers
Christopher Myers is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction as well as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF) Instructor at Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County. After starting out as the High School Equivalency instructor five years ago, Chris has helped to transform the program by increasing its graduation rate well over 500%. He has instructed
students with levels as low as second grade to obtain their diploma in as little as a month’s time. In addition to that, he has also helped to manifest academic success for learners with a wide variety of social challenges including ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. Chris has presented at numerous adult literacy conferences across the nation, including Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and New Hampshire
Born & raised in southwest Oklahoma, Nancy Litsch is a small town girl with worldly life experiences. After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Nancy joined the Peace Corps. Following four months of intensive training on how to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL), she was stationed in Malaysia and became passionate about helping adults learn to speak English. Nancy now teaches Adult EFL and Citizenship to adult learners in Duncan, OK, where she has taught students from Vietnam, Mexico-Central America, South America, Korea, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Cambodia.