Anaheim University MA TESOL graduate Elke Damesyn gave a presentation on attitudes to technology in the classroom at a statewide California teachers’ conference in Santa Clara, CA in April.
Elke, 42, who graduated from Anaheim University in 2009, presented on “Teachers’ and Students’ Attitude towards Technology Use in the ESL Classroom.” Her presentation at the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL) conference was based on research conducted for her Master’s thesis.
Elke’s thesis advisor Anaheim University TESOL professor and world-renowned linguist Dr. Kathleen Bailey, said: "It was delightful to see Elke's poster presentation at the recent statewide CATESOL Conference. She did a very professional job of sharing her ideas with the numerous visitors to her poster. Anaheim University students, professors and staff members can be very proud of the professional way in which Elke represented our TESOL program."
For the presentation, Elke surveyed nine teachers and 164 English as a Second Language students in courses at UC Davis Extension International English Program in California to find out attitudes to technology use in the classroom. Her study revealed that students and teachers were similar in preferring to use technology outside the classroom, but they differed when they used technology inside the classroom. The students are very knowledgeable about technology and prefer those teachers that use technology, but some teachers are insecure and unfamiliar about using it, she observed.
In particular, she found that students preferred using the Internet, MP3 for audio, and UC Davis’s own “Smart Site” website. On the other hand, teachers more frequently turned to the use of the Inte
rnet, DVDs, CDs, and videos.
Her research called for better teacher training in using technology and a better exchange of ideas among teachers about their own technology practices as well as more guidance on how to integrate technology in lesson planning more effectively.
Elke said she selected the topic of technology because, “I wanted to see what is out there in technology, to see where I needed to know more, and it is a very clear cut topic.” She added that her research helped her “to see how important it is to use technology more.”
Elke, who was born in Germany, has had a varied career which has spanned the globe. From 1989 to 1992 in Brazil, she studied plant and seed production on farms and at the Cacao Institute in Bahia. She also conducted soil research in the Amazon region. In 2000, she began teaching German to diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C., and later she moved to Southern Africa where she taught English to university students and oil company employees in Angola and taught German in Namibia. Elke now lives with her husband Mark and her two children Clarissa, 4, and Isabel, 1, in Davis, CA.
In June 2010 the Ministry of Education in Colombia selected Anaheim University, together with Anaheim's partner Colombian institution, the Universidad de La Sabana, to train 100 state-school teachers appointed and subsidized by the Colombian Ministry of Education in AU's Graduate Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Diploma.
Beginning in February 2011, these teachers will pursue Anaheim's six-course Graduate Diploma in TESOL and continue towards a Masters degree in English Language Teaching at the Universidad de La Sabana in Colombia.
Anaheim University was selected because of its world-renowned faculty and online nature, allowing the Ministry of Education to greatly reduce its costs to train 100 teachers spread throughout the country while still providing face-to-face classroom opportunities. Anaheim University's renowned faculty will teach the program through a combination of online learning and three four-day residential sessions held on the campus of Universidad de La Sabana, in Chia, just outside Bogota, Colombia.
At the recent TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Convention in
Seattle, Dr. Kathi Bailey, a member of the Anaheim University TESOL Faculty received the Alatis Award for Service to TESOL. This award, which is open to all members of the Association, is the most prestigious Award offered by TESOL. The recipient is selected according to evidence of (a) a genuine and long-lasting vision of what TESOL is and can be, (b) the ability to combine professional and administrative roles in TESOL organizations, (c) the ability and desire to represent and promote TESOL, (d) efficiency, (e) personal dynamism, and (f) good cheer
According to Anaheim University MA in TESOL student Kenji Hirama, "I am currently teaching English in a junior high school school here in Japan, and I still can't believe the level of interaction that I can have with a linguist of Dr. Bailey's stature. She lives in California, and I have had the opportunity to study in classes with Dr. Bailey both online in real time as well as face-to-face in San Diego. My English students are able to improve their English communication abilities thanks to the invaluable knowledge that I gain from Dr. Bailey's teaching. She gives great care and concern to her students and she is certainly deserving of the Alatis award."
Dr. Bailey has provided exemplary service to TESOL over many years, having, among numerous achievements, served as a member of the Board of Directors and as President in 1998. In addition to instigating important initiatives such as the Leadership Mentoring Award, she served as a member of the worldwide USIA English Teaching Advisory Panel from 1992-95, and was a member of the editorial board of TESOL Quarterly and Prospect, the Australian journal of applied linguistics. She has co-edited and co-authored numerous Linguistics textbooks and her articles have appeared in TESOL Quarterly, TESOL Newsletter, Language Learning, and various anthologies. She was the recipient of the 1985 Allen Griffin Award for Outstanding Higher Education Teacher of the Monterey Peninsula. Dr. Bailey currently teaches live online classes in Anaheim University's pioneering online Masters in TESOL program along with Anaheim University's globally acclaimed TESOL faculty members Dr. David Nunan and Dr. Rod Ellis.
On May 30th, 2006 Anaheim University presented the Global Learning Partner of the Decade Award to Citigroup. Employees of companies such as Citigroup who have formed Global Learning Partnerships with Anaheim University receive discounted tuition. According to International Liaison Officer David Bracey, "Some of our most motivated students are from Citigroup, and we are pleased to honor Citigroup for their efforts in providing educational opportunities to their employees. Each year we enjoy the opportunity to make orientation presentations for the Online International MBA program through the Anaheim University Akio Morita School of Business to their new recruits in Tokyo, and Citigroup has been extremely helpful in their efforts to arrange this." Anaheim University Chair of the Board of Advisors, Dr. Clive L. Grafton (Pictured right) presented the award in Japan to Citigroup Vice-President for Training, Larry Purdy (Pictured Left) at the City Club of Tokyo.
Several other awards were presented and numerous announcements were made at the graduation and award ceremony during the evening, including the announcement of the Corporate Sponsor of the Decade Award being awarded to Coca-Cola for its ongoing support of Anaheim University events and activities. According to Mr Bracey, Coca-Cola has provided the University with over 20,000 drinks and Coca-Cola goods over the past decade.