Alabama-Mississippi
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
AMTESOL has a new mailing address! AMTESOL PO Box 360122 Hoover, AL 35236
State of Teaching English
Friday, January 17, 2025
2:00 - 2:45pm
Montgomery, Alabama
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center
State of Teaching English: A Four-Way Feature
Our 2023 and 2024 AMTESOL conferences offered a "State of the State" session featuring "State of the State — Alabama” and "State of the State — Mississippi.” This two-way feature has evolved into a four-way feature called "State of Teaching English," which is debuting at our 2025 Conference. This four-way feature will offer updated information and guidance for teaching English in each of these four contexts:
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State of Teaching English to Multilingual Learners in Alabama P-12 Schools (Maria Franco)
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State of Teaching English to Multilingual Learners in Mississippi P-12 Schools (Sandra Elliott)
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State of Teaching English to Adult Learners in Community Programs (Debra Suarez)
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State of Teaching English to International Students on College Campuses (Amy Piper Taylor)
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These four feature sessions will take place Friday at 2:00pm, immediately after the luncheon keynote. This prime-time slot is an opportunity to build communication and enhance collaboration across Alabama and Mississippi for the teaching of English in these four contexts. Although many other contexts also exist, we invite you to select the featured context that best fits your current teaching situation or a possible future situation. Everyone's presence at one of these sessions will serve to support our conference theme, that of "Celebrating Cultural and Linguistic Kaleidoscopes."
Feature Descriptions and Presenters
1. State of Teaching English to Multilingual Learners in Alabama P-12 Schools
Maria Franco, English Language Education and World Language Education Administrator, Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), Montgomery, AL
Maria Franco will provide updates on state guidelines for teaching multilingual learners in Alabama's P-12 schools and outline the availability of technical support and opportunities for professional development. This is a must for P-12 teachers and administrators in Alabama. Meet all 12 regional English learner specialists. Learn what's happening in your state! Bring your questions and share suggestions.
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​Maria Franco is an English Learner Education Administrator at the State Department of Education. She has been in education for 19 years, where she has shared her passion for immigrants. She believes every child is unique and deserves a caring, inspiring, and engaging atmosphere to grow emotionally, intellectually, and socially. As an English Learner Administrator, she wants to help students meet their fullest potential. In her work, Maria collaborates with local and state educators to promote and support an equitable system for all students.
2. State of Teaching English to Multilingual Learners in Mississippi P-12 Schools
Sandra Elliott, English Learner Intervention Support Specialist, Office of Elementary Education and Reading, Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), Jackson, MS
Sandra Elliott will provide updates on state guidelines for teaching multilingual learners in Mississippi's P-12 schools and outline the availability of technical support and opportunities for professional development. This is a must for P-12 teachers and administrators in Mississippi. Learn what's happening in your state! Bring your questions and share suggestions.
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Sandra Elliott has served as a classroom teacher for over 25 years for grades 2 through middle school in Ohio and in Mississippi. She has also served as an educational program facilitator and a building interventionist. She holds teaching endorsements in elementary education, special education, and ESL. Throughout her career, Sandra has been dedicated to meeting the needs of English Learners and struggling students. In her current work with the Mississippi Department of Education, she serves as the English Learner Support Specialist and as an Academic Interventionist, where she provides technical support and professional development to teachers and administrators throughout the state on best practices, instructional guidelines, intervention strategies, and instructional strategies to support ELs and support for other students in the Multi-Tiered System of Supports. She also serves as co-lead for the Mississippi Seal of Biliteracy.
3. State of Teaching English to Adult Learners in Community Programs
This third option is new to AMTESOL's "State of..." series. Debra will provide insights and resources for teaching ESL to adults in community-based programs. Guided by the goal of supporting adult English learners toward improving the quality of their life in the United States — and that of their families, Debra will outline the technical support and professional development currently available for instructors of community ESL classes. Debra's expertise in this area comes from a 25+ year career as an ESL/EFL teacher, university professor (initially at the University of Alabama), international consultant, senior federal leader, and global educational leader.
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4. State of Teaching English to International Students on College Campuses
Amy Piper Taylor, Director, English Language Institute, University of Alabama
This fourth feature is also new to AMTESOL's "State of..." series. This feature consists of a panel of program directors from Intensive English programs on college campuses across Alabama and Mississippi. These panelists will examine challenges and changes in teaching international students between 2020 and 2025, not just at their respective universities but also in the English teaching industry worldwide. Of special interest is the sharing of survival techniques during and after the pandemic, creative building-back strategies, and insightful projections to the future. Another goal of this panel is to identify purposes and examine benefits for establishing a collaborative network among college-based English programs in both states.
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​Amy Piper Taylor earned her MA-TESOL at the University of Texas at Austin and taught ESL abroad and in the U.S. She later joined the teaching staff at the University of Alabama’s English Language Institute (ELI) and became its Associate Director in 2016 and Director in 2022.
Panelists
Amy Snow, Director of English Language Programs, INTO UAB, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Amy Snow earned her MATESOL from the University of Alabama in 2000 and taught ESL and ESP for 12 years before entering into full-time language program administration. She has been in her current role as Director of English Language Programs at UAB since 2016. She oversees both the IEP and Pathways programs there.
​Lance Noe, Director of English as a Second Language, Troy University, Alabama
Lance Noe earned a Master's in Education - TESOL from the University of Wollongong, Australia. He is currently ABD for his Ed.D. from the University of Louisiana Monroe. Mr. Noe lived overseas from 2001-2010 in Korea (Sookmyung Woman's University), Japan, Australia, and Turkey. Mr. Noe has been the Director of ESL at Troy University since August 2016. He has taught all grade levels including kindergarten, high school, university, and community college. Mr. Noe has presented at many conferences throughout the world and is very interested in game theory and activity-based learning.
Whitney Sarver, Senior Director of the Intensive English Program, University of Mississippi
Whitney Sarver has been the Senior Director of the Intensive English Program at the University of Mississippi since August 2016. She has been working in the field of international education for more than 25 years, and her professional interests include teacher training, program administration, and equity in access to education.
Amanda (Amy) Harrison, Director of the English Language Institute, Mississippi State University
Amanda Harrison began working at the English as a Second Language Center, later renamed the English Language Institute (ELI), at Mississippi State University (MSU) in 1999. For the past 25 years she has worked in various positions in the ELI and in the International Services Office (ISO) at MSU. She is the PDSO for the ELI, and a DSO and ARO for the main campus. In July 2023, she became the Director of the ELI.
Daniel Fike, Assistant Director of the Academic English Program, University of North Alabama
Daniel Fike serves as the Assistant Director of the Academic English Program at the University of North Alabama in Florence. He holds an MA in English Literature with TESOL certification, an MBA with management concentration, and is a 25-year veteran lecturer of ESL in the U.S. and abroad.