Week in Washington

Schedule for the week
Francis Scott Key Elementary School overview
TESOL overview

WEEK FOUR -- Washington Itinerary
Sunday	7-11		10:00 a.m.		Move all luggage and materials to 1203 and turn in all keys to front desk
			6:00 p.m.		Retrieve trip luggage and depart for Washington
Monday	7-12		8:45 a.m..		Depart for Department of State visit
			12:30 p.m.		Lunch
			2:30 p.m.		Visit to TESOL Headquarters in Alexandria
			6:00 p.m.		Dinner
Tuesday	7-13		9:00 a.m.		Tour of Washington
			12:00 p.m.		Lunch
			1:30 p.m.		Tour of Washington
			6:00 p.m.		Dinner
			7:00 p.m.		IMAX Theater: Museum of Natural History
Wednesday	7-14		9:00 a.m.		Departure for visit with Senator Joe Biden of Delaware -- Russell Senate Building, Room 201
			12:00 pm.		Lunch
			2:00 p.m.		Free time
			4:00 p.m.		Reception at Jordanian Embassy
Thursday	7-15		8:00 a.m.		Depart for Key School, Arlington visit
			12:00 p.m.		Lunch
			1:30 p.m.		Washington Zoological Garden
			6:00 p.m.		Dinner
Friday	7-16		9:00 a.m.		Smithsonian Museum Complex visit
			12:00 p.m.		Lunch
			2:00 p.m.		Smithsonian Museum Complex visit
			6:00 p.m.		Dinner
Saturday	7-17		9:30 a.m.		Depart Washington
			2:00 p.m.		Meet homestay family at Christiana Towers

Francis Scott Key Elementary School/"Escuela Key"

Marjorie L. Myers, Principal
Evelyn Fernández, Assistant Principal
2300 Key Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201 USA
Phone: (703) 228-4210 * Hotline: (703) 228-4212 * Fax: (703) 524-2236

Key School/Escuela Key is a Two-Way Spanish-English Immersion school. Key School/ Escuela Key is committed to help and support each child to acquire the concepts and skills necessary to become a respectful, responsible, trustworthy, and contributing member of our school, community, and the world. Key strives for academic excellence while developing a lifelong love of learning. We support children as they learn to respect themselves and others as they attain a sense of self and an appreciation for the global community. We help appreciate beauty wherever it may be. While meeting all of these goals, we support and help them become fluent in both Spanish and English.

At Key School/Escuela Key, we believe in the uniqueness of all children and in responding to their needs as we teach them. We believe in working together with the home and the community to provide rich opportunities for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth. We further believe in the benefits of learning two languages in the context of their cultures, as our students become citizens of the world, while using technology as a tool for responding to the challenges of our ever-changing world.

Key School/Escuela Key is a Two-Way Spanish-English Immersion school. Every student at Key School/Escuela Key participates fully in Two-Way Spanish-English Immersion. This internationally recognized program is designed to teach children a foreign language in a natural way through everyday conversation and content instruction. Students at Key learn Arlington County's elementary curriculum. Math, Science, and Spanish Language Arts are taught in Spanish while Social Studies and English Language Arts are taught in English. The students use each other as language models, and, by the fifth grade, are able to communicate effectively in two languages. We celebrate bilingualism and our diversity.

Teachers of English to Speakers
of Other Languages

TESOL is a Professional Association

Founded in 1966, the global education association, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, has approximately 14,000 members in over 120 countries, and is recognized as a non-governmental organization (NGO) of the United Nations Department of Public Information. Its mission is to ensure excellence in English language teaching to speakers of other languages. TESOL values professionalism in language education; individual language rights; accessible, high quality education; collaboration in a global community; interaction of research and reflective practice for educational improvement; and respect for diversity and multiculturalism. TESOL publishes two serials: a scholarly journal (TESOL Quarterly) and a practical magazine (Essential Teacher). TESOL also publishes an electronic bulletin of employment opportunities (Placement E-Bulletin) and a newsletter of headlines and resource links related to the field (TESOL Connections). It also publishes books and materials on a wide range of theoretical and practical topics as well as professional papers and resources for newcomers. TESOL's annual convention, usually held in March in North America, attracts 7,000-10,000 participants. This weeklong event offers participants full-length papers, workshops, poster sessions, materials exchanges, plenary speakers, and other forms of professional stimuli and networking opportunities.

TESOL has more than 90 worldwide affiliated organizations representing another 50,000 ESOL professionals.

TESOL is a Profession

The field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) is a professional activity that requires specialized training. The fact that someone speaks English as a native language does not qualify that person to teach it --especially to those who are learning English as an additional language. TESOL differs from English instruction for native speakers in that its primary foci are on language and cultural practices in English-speaking countries, as opposed to English literature.

English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) educators work all over the world in various contexts in the public and private sectors. They work in countries where English is spoken only as a foreign language, such as in Japan and Saudi Arabia, as well as in countries where English is the dominant language, as in Australia, Canada, England, and the United States.

In English-speaking countries, ESL teachers work with immigrants and refugees at all levels of the education system -- in primary, secondary, and higher education -- as well as in adult education in community colleges and community-based programs. In higher education settings, they work with international students in intensive and semi-intensive English language programs.

There has also been an increased interest in the specialized area of English for specific purposes (ESP), which focuses on language skills required for academic fields (e.g., engineering, medicine, computer science) as well as business and vocational environments.

TESOL is a Specialized Field of Study

Teaching ESL is a multifaceted, academic discipline requiring training in linguistics, second language acquisition, language pedagogy, methodology, materials development, testing and research, curriculum and syllabus design, program administration, and cross-cultural communication. Professional preparation in TESOL is available throughout the world. In the United States alone, there are more than 285 institutions that offer BA, MA, and PhD programs to train TESOL professionals. Similar training is available in England, Australia, Canada, and other countries. Graduate programs in TESOL also prepare teachers whose first language is not English so that they can become qualified to teach ESL and EFL.