News

William Paterson University to Hold 30th Annual Bilingual /ESL Conference on December 3

Globalization and preparing students for work in a global society are the topics of a landmark conference, now in its thirtieth year and devoted to the needs of English language learners, to be held at William Paterson University in Wayne on Friday, December 3, 2010.

The 30th Annual Bilingual/ESL Conference—Globalizing Schooling and Schooling the Global: New Challenges for the Next Thirty Years, will run from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the University’s building at 1600 Valley Road. The fee is $135; $125 for William Paterson alumni; and $50 for current students, faculty and staff. Food and materials are included.

 “The global context of the twenty-first century is breaking down educational and disciplinary boundaries,” says Bruce Williams, professor, department of languages and cultures and director, bilingual/ESL graduate program at William Paterson. “In today’s globalized society, it is becoming impossible to hold onto traditional notions of English language instruction. We, as ESL and bilingual education specialists, are being called upon to re-conceive our fields. Schools must become globalized. But perhaps more importantly, the global village must become educated in an unprecedented manner.”

 The keynote speaker is Joel Spring, a professor at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is an expert on educational policy, the politics of education, and educational globalization. He has published extensively on American and global school policies. Spring’s numerous books include Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States; Globalization of Education: An Introduction; and The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy.

 In addition, the conference has three sessions of parallel workshops for K-12 teachers on topics which include the hidden dimensions of culture, religious plurality and globalization in the classroom, English language learners as a rich resource, preparing English language learners for college, and diversity and globalization in the classroom.

 The conference is recognized as one of the most comprehensive language education forums in New Jersey, and regularly draws several hundred educators and others as participants. This year’s event is sponsored by William Paterson University’s Bilingual/ESL Graduate Program, Department of Languages and Cultures, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Education, and Center for Continuing and Professional Education.

Globalization and preparing students for work in a global society are the topics of a landmark conference, now in its thirtieth year and devoted to the needs of English language learners, to be held at William Paterson University in Wayne on Friday, December 3, 2010.

 The 30th Annual Bilingual/ESL Conference—Globalizing Schooling and Schooling the Global: New Challenges for the Next Thirty Years, will run from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the University’s building at 1600 Valley Road. The fee is $135; $125 for William Paterson alumni; and $50 for current students, faculty and staff. Food and materials are included.

“The global context of the twenty-first century is breaking down educational and disciplinary boundaries,” says Bruce Williams, professor, department of languages and cultures and director, bilingual/ESL graduate program at William Paterson. “In today’s globalized society, it is becoming impossible to hold onto traditional notions of English language instruction. We, as ESL and bilingual education specialists, are being called upon to re-conceive our fields. Schools must become globalized. But perhaps more importantly, the global village must become educated in an unprecedented manner.”

 The keynote speaker is Joel Spring, a professor at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is an expert on educational policy, the politics of education, and educational globalization. He has published extensively on American and global school policies. Spring’s numerous books include Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States; Globalization of Education: An Introduction; and The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy.

 In addition, the conference has three sessions of parallel workshops for K-12 teachers on topics which include the hidden dimensions of culture, religious plurality and globalization in the classroom, English language learners as a rich resource, preparing English language learners for college, and diversity and globalization in the classroom.

 The conference is recognized as one of the most comprehensive language education forums in New Jersey, and regularly draws several hundred educators and others as participants. This year’s event is sponsored by William Paterson University’s Bilingual/ESL Graduate Program, Department of Languages and Cultures, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Education, and Center for Continuing and Professional Education.