This content was published: November 29, 2010. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Sylvania Campus hosts statewide ESOL conference
Photos and story by Kate Chester
Approximately 300 registrants visited the Sylvania Campus of Portland Community College on Nov. 12 and 13 to attend the annual ORTESOL conference. “English: Inside and Outside the Classroom” was the theme of this year’s event, which targets instructors of English for Speakers of Other Languages throughout Oregon – at colleges, universities, high schools and middle schools.
About 300 ESOL instructors from around the state attended this year’s ESOL conference at the Sylvania Campus.
“The success of last year’s conference – the campus layout and the structure of the workshops – prompted conference organizers to host it at Sylvania again this year,” said Luciana Diniz, an ESOL instructor at Sylvania and board member of the organization.
Like Diniz, Heather Dittmore is a Sylvania ESOL instructor and board member of ORTESOL’s Oregon chapter.
“It went very, very well; our attendance was huge and the feedback we’ve received continues to be very positive,” she said.
Several ESOL instructors from the Sylvania Campus and throughout the college presented at the conference, which featured a welcoming address from Linda Gerber, president of Sylvania; two general sessions; and more than 70 breakout sessions over the two days. Additionally, there was a tradeshow exhibit in the Upper CC Mall showcasing publishers and their latest ESOL textbooks.