RBERNing Questions

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode of RBERNing Questions, we sit down with Isadora Costa, Founder and Director of Stars English School and Finance Director for BRAZ-TESOL, to explore innovative approaches to teaching English in Brazil. She shares her insightful journey from starting as a young teacher to creating her own school with a unique immersion methodology....

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode of RBERNing Questions, Dr. Okon Effiong, the incoming President of TESOL, sits down to talk to us at the TESOL Convention in Long Beach, California. Dr. Effiong shares his inspiring journey from aspiring genetic engineer to prominent educator in the field of English Language Learning. He recounts his first TESOL convention, his tr...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, co-teachers share their secrets on how to prepare your ELLs and MLs for a PBL culminating event in which they showcase their civic-minded projects to a myriad of education specialists, field questions, and discuss possible solutions and future pathways to explore on their chosen topics. Ms. Davi and Ms. Frontino provide a compreh...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: How can AI redefine the way we teach and support multilingual learners’ speaking progress? In this episode, three dynamic presenters from the TESOL 2025 Convention: Alayne Flores, Gina De Anda, and Jennie Kim discuss the practical use of AI chatbots to provide that much-needed speaking practice outside of the classroom. Tune in to hear about how...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Alicia Baez, the Assistant Superintendent for the Division of Multilingual Education at Buffalo Public Schools discusses her extensive role in overseeing ENL programming, bilingual education, and community outreach. Alicia shares her personal journey inspired by her father, also an educator, and her tireless advocacy for bilingua...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode of the RBERNing Questions podcast, host Yasmeen Coaxum continues the TESOL 2025 Presenters’ Series from the TESOL Convention 2025 with Dr. Katya Goussakova and Dr. Nicole Hammond from Seminole State College of Florida. They discuss their presentation titled 'AI Tools for ESL Grammar Teachers,' their backgrounds in Englis...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Maria Friedland explains her diverse roles and how she collaborates with educators and institutions to develop professional learning opportunities and curriculum resources for K-12 multilingual learners. She shares her teaching journey from Brazil to the U.S. and her numerous initiatives, notably her passion project, “PBL with EL...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this 3rd episode of our TESOL 2025 Presenters’ Series, featuring Dr. Tamara Jones, we explore the common pitfalls of traditional listening instruction in classrooms. Dr. Jones reflects on her own experience of simply playing recordings and offering multiple-choice questions, highlighting that this method primarily provides practice rather than...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Yasmine Telwana, a first-year writing lecturer at the University of Minnesota, discusses her insights on integrating AI into academic writing courses. Telwana, a multilingual educator with experience both in Egypt and the US, shares her research on student perspectives towards AI, highlighting both its benefits and challenges. Th...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In the first episode of our TESOL 2025 Presenters Series, Dr. Linh Phung, an entrepreneur and tech enthusiast, shares her journey from Vietnam to the U.S., where she pursued her passion for English education and technology. She discusses her role at Chatham University and her ventures in developing language learning apps like Eduling Speak. The c...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Lizette talks about the impact of being “all in” in education, and being part of a “systematic change” through her dynamic EMS Talks event. She delves into her childhood experience of being educated in a system with no bilingual academic support, and how that shifted into a career in bilingual education where she fully evolved in...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: “The Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District has an uncompromising commitment to excellence in preparing students to achieve and succeed, to respect themselves and others, and to practice life-long learning in an ever-changing, richly diverse global society. We take responsibility for providing a challenging educational experience in a safe and...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Dr. Booker-Balintfy shares her professional and personal experiences in supporting multilingual learners since 2002. She discusses the diverse student population her district serves, including over 421 multilingual learners, and their restructuring efforts to better accommodate these students. Harmony elaborates on the importance...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: Lyda Ragonese grew up in a bi-lingual household where her father was fluent in English, French and Hmong. She attended a school without an ENL program and quickly adapted to academic life in the US. Listen in as she tells RBERNing questions how she achieved this. During our discussion, she reveals the initiatives that have greatly boosted graduat...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this eye-opening conversation, we engage and learn from a parent who has put 4 of her children through the Uniondale school system; all success stories who have graduated. Adelina Blanco-Harvey herself is an ELL, and in her role as a board trustee, she has a hand in creating policies that truly serve her community of students. As a parental re...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Pre K-12 Director of Literacy, Lorraine Radice, shares her extensive experience and strategies for supporting multilingual learners by enhancing literacy. She highlights methods to promote reading among students, the importance of including contemporary voices in English curriculums, and leveraging social media to foster a love f...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: In this episode, Melissa discusses impactful ways to showcase the rich cultural landscape of our multilingual students on an international level. Through the Cross-Cultural Storytelling project, both students and educators hold and mold the power of personal cultural narratives that can open doors to better communication both in and outside of th...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: Does receiving a grade help students focus on becoming better writers or getting better grades? What is the concept of ungrading and how is it implemented? How can you stop students from making “superficial changes” to a writing text instead of digging deeper to improve their writing? What is portfolio assessment, and what are the advantages of i...

Episode Summary: Are you “Illuminating the voices of the voiceless” through your teaching? If not and you want to know how, listening to this episode is a must! Principal Samantha “Power” Pugh kicks off this episode by giving us a wealth of information on the Off School Grounds (OSG) educational leadership group, including over 150 principals, superintendents, school leaders, and chancellors. She...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: What kind of world does your teaching create? In this episode, Tasha Austin gives all educators food for thought to ponder this question. She challenges us to think about how separated communities inside the school building could be more diversified and inclusive environments that lend equal support to all learners. Tasha unpacks the idea of the...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: Are you interested in starting your own podcast to share your knowledge as an educator? Are you an avid listener of podcasts? How do you prefer to consume Professional Development? In this open, candid discussion, Tan breaks down the steps to creating your own podcast in the education sphere, discusses his motivation behind starting a podcast and...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: This forward-thinking, tech-focused episode delves into the innovative work of guest, Amany Alkayat, an educator and researcher specializing in virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) for language education. Amany shares her journey from teaching English as a Foreign Language in Cairo to pursuing advanced studies in instructional te...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: Dr. Yu Jung Han’s first interest in English came through music and wanting to understand lyrics. Having artists like Michael Jackson and New Kids on the Block as her first English teachers, then experiencing a heavily “textbook-based” style of learning before university, she was discouraged when the English she’d found in music didn’t match up to...

***For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: Chris says that as an educator, he wants to critique the way language holds so much power. Are we now allowing AI to take over the power dynamic we hold over language as human beings, or is it up to us to shift the way we wield that power? In what ways can we help students develop their unique voice in the era of AI? The discussion in this episod...

** For CTLE credit, click here *** Episode Summary: What exactly is a project based technologically infused learning journey and how can we bring parents into the digital fold to be part of their children’s learning journeys? In this episode, find out what digital age learning ecosystems are and how to use technology to build them! Heather Rubin discusses how these ecosystems provide students with...