[etni] ETAI January Newsletter
- From: Mitzi Geffen <mitzi100@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Etni <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:32:16 +0200
ETAI Keeping In Touch
January 2012 Newsletter
Hi Readers,
This is a long overdue newsletter, after a very busy semester ? both
in school and for ETAI.
First, on a sad note, I'd like to express our sincere condolences to
the families, friends and colleagues of Hadara Perpignan and of Debbie
Partouche, both of whom passed away recently and are sorely missed by many of
us. Hadara Perpignan was a veteran ETAI member who taught at Bar Ilan; Debbie
Partouche was a personal friend and colleague who taught English in Beer
Sheva and wrote a number of ESL textbooks that many of us are delighted to
be using with our students. May their memories be blessed, and their
contributions to English teaching lasting.
On the ETAI front, we've had a number of successful events in the
North, in Ramat Gan and most recently, in Jerusalem. The season began at
Ohallo College, in Katzrin, where, thanks to Michelle Kinsbursky and team,
a successful and interesting mini-conference was held on November 17th.
The following week, thanks to a team headed by Fran Sokel, Jackie
Teplitz and Jennifer Spigelman, our first-ever Student ETAI conference was
held at Gordon College. Participants were treated to a plenary talk by
Penny Ur, and students had a chance to give short presentations. We hope
they've been "bitten by the bug" and will continue to share their ideas
with us at future ETAI events.
On the last day of the Hanuka vacation in December those of us who
traveled to the beautiful rural high school in Nahalal were treated to a
most interesting day of presentations. We enjoyed the chance to mingle and
share ideas with colleagues, as well as browse the book and materials
exhibition in the spacious, sunny hallways of the school. All enjoyed
Gunther Volk's talk - In Search of Lessons that Make a Difference. We also
appreciated Dr. Judy Steiner's very informative talk, filled with updates
and ideas. Thanks to Aviva Shapiro and her team for the wonderful job they
did organizing every aspect of the day.
Starting off the new Gregorian calendar year, Sarit Laufer and
Hagit Atlas organized a mini conference in Ramat Gan, very much enjoyed by
all those who attended. This was followed soon afterwards by an event
hosted by David Yellin College in Jerusalem, where, thanks to the combined
efforts of Valerie Jakar and Aliza Yahav, those who came enjoyed a lecture
by the visiting Andrew Cohen entitled "Writing like a native: The process
of reformulation", as well as a number of interesting parallel sessions.
Coming up soon, on February 12th, is the always popular
mini-conference in Nes Tziona. Those who make the effort to attend will
enjoy a lecture by Jeremy Harmer, visiting from the UK. He is a writer and
teacher/teacher-trainer for English to speakers of other languages and is
known throughout the ELT world for his books on teaching methodology. Check
the ETAI site for the complete program. Thanks to Amanda Caplan, Michele
Ben and Miriam Kluska for all of the effort they have invested in making
this a very successful and worthwhile event.
Yet another mini-conference is planned for February 27th, in
Bet Yerach (near Tiberias), thanks to Aviva Shapiro and her team.
Down to the South after that, on March 4th, for a
mini-conference at the Teachers' Center (Pisga) in Beer Sheva. Details
about that event coming soon!
If all this seems a bit overwhelming, check into the ETAI site,
http://www.etai.org.il/ , where it is all neatly organized and posted,
thanks to Ann Shlapobersky, who generously donates so much of her time to
keep our site up to date.
On behalf of ETAI, I would like to express our great appreciation
to all of the conveners mentioned above, as well as all of the volunteers
who helped to make all of these events possible. We certainly do not take
their efforts for granted, and realize what a great contribution they have
all made to all of the participants in the many ETAI events that have been
held so far this term. We would also like to sincerely thank Fran Sokel,
for being the overall coordinator of all of the mini-conferences.
If you are interested in organizing an event in your area, please
contact Fran (fsokel@xxxxxxxxx) or myself, (mitzi100@xxxxxxxxx) to clear
the date, and receive instructions about how to proceed. We welcome all
initiatives of this kind and look forward to hearing from you.
Finally, our ETAI office has moved to a new venue ? 212 Yaffo
Street, apartment 509 ? conveniently located on the on the light rail line.
Our mailing address has stayed the same though: ETAI , POB 36206, Jerusalem
91361; and , of course, the phone number is still: 02-500-1844 . Many
thanks go to Marna Snyder, Debbie Lifshitz, Eleanor Satlow, and David
Young, for all of the work they put into packing up the old office and
organizing our new headquarters. Marna, our office manager, looks forward
to hearing from you when you call to renew your membership or join for the
first time. Membership fees can easily be paid by credit card.
Wishing you all an interesting and satisfying second semester,
and looking forward to seeing you at the coming ETAI events.
All the best,
Mitzi Geffen
ETAI Chair
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