Save the Dates:

Webinar, Friday, March 2 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EST with Rebeca Fernandez, Joy Kreeft Peyton and Kirsten Schaetzel

Follow up Discussion: March 5, 6 & 7

With the increased focus on college and career readiness in adult education today, adults learning English need to develop skills to write well academically for academic and professional tasks. This webinar, “Teaching Academic Writing to Adult English Learners,” will give participants an overview of the current place of academic writing in adult education classes and introduce them to ways to incorporate more academic writing activities into classes. During the webinar, the researchers will review the results of a survey, which describe the place and characteristics of the teaching of academic writing currently in classes and give an overview of instructional approaches that teachers can use. During the follow up discussion, one presenter each day will give an overview of a specific academic writing activity (using writing as the basis for reading; using graphic organizers to develop academic writing skills; and using writing test sample questions (from the GED® and HiSET) to develop academic writing skills) and how this activity can be adapted for use with learners at different English proficiency levels.

Bios of the Presenters:

• Dr. Rebeca Fernandez is an Assistant Professor at Davidson College. She has been in the field of language and literacy for 25 years. She began her career in bilingual education and taught adult ESL for many years. She currently works with multilinguals and teaches courses in the Rhetoric & Writing Studies and Educational Studies programs at Davidson College.
• Dr. Joy Kreeft Peyton is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Applied Linguistics. Her work includes implementing and studying approaches to writing that give learners opportunities to express themselves in environments that facilitate learning and success. She has worked on writing projects overseas and in the United States in K-12 and adult education settings.
• Dr. Kirsten Schaetzel is the English Language Specialist at Emory University School of Law. She works with students, faculty, and staff on academic and cultural adaptation and expectations. She has taught academic writing to adult learners overseas and in the United States and worked with the CAELA intitative at the Center for Applied Linguistics.