I am very pleased to bring you this Fall 2017 issue of MinneTESOL Journal. This issue features four distinct, in-depth invited pieces situated in K-12 and adult English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts. In the K-12 arena, Dr. Martha Bigelow and Dr. Kendall King argue that ‘Minnesota nice’ has shaped the development and implementation of Minnesota’s Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPs) Act, impacting its effectiveness in supporting language minority students in Minnesota.
In the area of adult ESL, Dr. Jen Vanek describes unplanned outcomes of a technology professional development (PD) initiative for Adult Basic Education (ABE) teachers, with important implications for anyone creating PD for teachers. Dr. Nancy Popp, a developmental psychologist with research experience in ABE/ESL programs, describes developmental growth in adulthood and the different related “mindsets” learners bring to the classroom. She then discusses how understanding this “different kind of diversity” can help adult ESL educators appreciate the developmentally distinct perspectives of their adult learners, supporting not only their learning, but growth. Finally, Dr. Andreas Schramm, a once English learner turned linguist and teacher educator, explains what makes English’s tense and aspect system tricky to teach and learn. Based on teacher research he’s advised and preliminary findings from his own recent sabbatical, he also shows how it can nonetheless be successfully taught in adult ESL and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts.
As new Editor of MinneTESOL Journal, I am excited to share these rich articles with you and am very grateful to outgoing Senior Editors, Dr. Kim Johnson and Dr. Anne Dahlman, for their support in the leadership transition of this rigorous yet relevant, fully online and open access publication. Thanks to Dr. Jen Vanek for her invaluable service to the journal, as technical editor, and for all the other ways she also supports the publication process. MinneTESOL Journal relies on the generous expertise of its board and external reviewers. A hearty thanks to all who participated in this fall issue.
Please read, comment on, share, and enjoy the articles in the Fall 2017 MinneTESOL Journal.
