Language Variation Workshop for Educators Workshop June 22-26, 2008

In the summer, I like to visit other schools to broaden my teaching experience and to make new personal and professional connections that I can then share with my students at William and Mary. This summer I will be co-teaching a one week workshop on language variation for educators at Virginia Commonwealth University with my friend and co-author Christine Mallinson of the University of Maryland Baltimore County and William and Mary graduate and current NC State graduate student Hannah Askin ‘07.

This workshop is designed to help educators work with students from diverse language backgrounds. Educators who attend the workshop will learn practical knowledge about the relationship between language and culture and how different communication styles play out in classroom environments.

The workshop is appropriate for educators who work with students of all grade levels and in all subject areas.  The “toolkit” that educators attending the workshop will take home includes lesson plans, project plans, workshop readings, and presentations, all of which can be brought back to the educators’ own classrooms and schools. Participants earn three graduate credits through the Education School at Virginia Commonwealth University. The College of William and Mary and Christopher Newport University’s School of Education among others will honor the graduate credits.

Registration is now open for the workshop, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, June 22 through Friday, June 26.  Accommodations are available for out-of-town participants and a discounted tuition rate is available for multiple participants coming from the same school district or university. Online registration for the workshop and further information may be found at http://www.community.vcu.edu/programs/sws/classes/educationlanguage/index.html.