TLC Teacher Joy Stalnaker is one of the nine finalists for the 2024 Teacher of the Year in Louisiana, where she teaches at the Myrtle Place Elementary School in LaFayette Parish. Joy also teaches French online for TLC.
The Tennessee Language Center received a $7,500 grant from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The grant will be used to fund hiring graduates of TLC’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) course to teach English for TLC.
TLC’s Director of World Languages Brian Barnett is consulting with Meraki Learning Center about developing a world language curriculum for its students. Meraki is a unique homeschool and enrichment center in Nashville tailored to the learning needs and interests of its students. Brian is also working with the French instructor to develop activities for several students with proficiency in French at Meraki. This work will help Meraki develop a well-planned world languages component to its curriculum to facilitate learning and enrich the language experiences of its students.
TLC recently celebrated our most recent graduates for Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). They are the 62nd cohort to complete our TESL course.
The fifth “Spanish for Educator’s 10-week course began on April 4 with 13 participants. The group are all Metro Nashville Public School teachers from either Glencliff High School or the schools that feed into Glencliff. The course was developed by TLC to help participants with little or no previous Spanish study to develop a cultural understanding and a basic repertoire of conversation skills to engage with Spanish speakers in their schools and local communities.
Lorie Adams, one of TLC’s ESL teachers and TESL trainers, and Diane Thomas, one of TLC’s ESL teachers, were nominated for Adult Educator of the Year by Adult Literacy at the Nashville Public Library.
Lorie has taught Beginning to Advanced level ESL classes at TLC since 2014. She is also an instructor in TLC’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certification program. Diane has taught ESL at TLC since 2011.
TLC recently held graduation for its newest group of graduates from the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certification program. TLC’s teacher certification course (now presented online) offers 150 hours of instruction, far beyond the standard 100 hours, and includes a 30-hour, in-person teaching practicum.
Executive Director Janice Rodriguez told graduates, “What you are doing for English language learners can be life changing. As you know, being able to communicate effectively in English opens doors. It sets the speaker on the path for success, gives them the confidence to develop personally and professionally, and for those learning in the U.S., makes life here in the United States become more like home.”
TLC participated in the annual Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival in Nashville. The event drew around 40,000 people from the Middle Tennessee area, and TLC held several short language class demos throughout the day as well as talking to people interested in classes and language services.
Prior to the pandemic, the Tennessee Language Center’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) teacher certification course offered 150 hours of instruction, far beyond the standard 100 hours, and included a 30-hour, in-person teaching practicum. Graduates who completed the program had an advantage obtaining jobs in the field because of this teaching experience. Because of the in-person practicum, the certification training had always been limited to students in the Middle Tennessee area.
This year, TLC made the decision to pilot a completely virtual TESL certification program. On Sept. 11, the first cohort of graduates from the all online TESL certification program graduated. This class is now available to anyone in Tennessee that wishes to get certified to teach English as a Second Language.
ESL to Go, a grant-funded program that is part of the Tennessee Language Center (TLC), has been able to provide free English classes to over 1,700 students in the Nashville area with the help of generous funders including the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. ESL to Go was recently awarded another year of funding from Dollar General.
ESL to Go was founded in hopes of helping refugees overcome barriers to attending classes, with transportation being at the top of the list. ESL to Go uses a “classroom on wheels” in the form of a Ford F-650 truck equipped to be a fully functioning classroom to take English classes to the areas where refugees live. ESL to Go also works closely with local refugee resettlement agencies, community organizations, apartment complexes, and churches who allow ESL to Go to use free classroom space, so TLC-trained teachers are able to meet with refugee students close to their homes.
Recently, ESL to Go has expanded class offerings to include virtual classes in order to continue helping students access classes during the time of social distancing.