IN THIS ISSUE: Amy's Ramblings ESL Updates Tip of the Month Volunteer Spotlight August's Vignette Giving Thanks Bits and Pieces Hogar Staff: John Odenwelder Program Director jodenwelder@ccda.net Education Services: Amy White Group Manager awhite@ccda.net, x235 Cindy Brown Manager cbrown@ccda.net, x239 Diana Gibson Manager dgibson@ccda.net, x231 Erin Maradiegue Manager emaradiegue@ccda.net, x251 Kristen Gasimov Manager kgasimov@ccda.net, x237 Sheila Sullivan Manager ssullivan@ccda.net, x238 Phil Spencer Manager pspencer@ccda.net, x243 Legal Services: Michelle Sardone Group Manager msardone@ccda.net Dan Macguire Staff Attorney dmacguire@ccda.net Enrique Vargas Paralegal evargas@ccda.net Nancy Carbajal Receptionist ncarbajal@ccda.net Sam Barreto Staff Attorney sbarreto@ccda.net Ximena Caceres Paralegal xcaceres@ccda.net Social Services Department: Dawn Dumas Manager ddumas@ccda.net, 703-443-2481 Hogar Immigrant Services 6201 Leesburg Pike Suite 307 Falls Church, VA 22044 (T) 703-534-9805 (F) 703-534-9809 www.ccda.net If you would like to have this newsletter sent to a different e-mail address or if you would like to unsubscribe from the mailing list, please e-mail emaradiegue@ccda.net.

Amy's Ramblings Hogar is all a bustle with “that time” of year approaching us! We handed out 90 book bags completely filled to the brim with school supplies for kids whose families need a little extra help getting their children ready for the school year. “Awesome!” said one little boy upon seeing his Spiderman book bag and “look at this cool calculator” said another girl when unzipping her bag to find all of the treasures therein. Generous donations from individuals and St. Mary of Sorrows parish in Fairfax Station made such exuberant exclamations possible. As a child, back-to-school day was one of the most anticipated days of the year. After a couple weeks spent doing nothing by the pool, we always yearned for our school friends, games played at recess and (some may disagree with me here) our teachers. I happen to know for a fact that students have missed you! The Education Department has been overwhelmed by phone calls asking when classes will begin. It seems our students are excited for back-to-school too! Hogar is pleased to announce two new sites opening this fall: St. Charles Borromeo in Arlington and St. Joseph in Herndon. For a complete listing of Hogar class offerings, please go to the CCDA website. If you have any friends, family members or coworkers that would be interested in volunteering at any of our sites, please look below for locations still looking for teachers! Don’t miss the story about the brown bag lunch program that is feeding the hungry in Loudoun County! Also, get psyched for a teaching tip written by Diana Gibson, having recently returned from Mexico with a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate. From everyone at Hogar Immigrant Services, we thank you for volunteering your time, energy and talents to our mission of “welcoming the stranger.” You never cease to amaze us. Abrazos, Amy White Group Manager, Education Services ESL Updates Education Staff Attends 2008 VAILL Conference Missed the Virginia Adult Institute for Lifelong Learning (VAILL) conference held at George Mason University in early August? Not to worry! The Education Team attended it for you and will be incorporating all the best workshops and teaching tips into our Fall Training Series! The conference was a special event funded by the Virginia Department of Education, Office of Adult Education and Literacy and was organized by Fairfax County Public Schools Adult and Community Education’s ESOL Program. The conference provided Northern Virginia's adult ESOL teachers, volunteers, tutors, and administrators with a valuable professional development opportunity to network, share ideas, and get the most up-to-date information on adult ESOL methodology and practical teaching techniques. Hogar’s Education Team presented a total of five workshops at the event, ranging in topics from immersion to the new citizenship exam to games and error correction. We also attended many more sessions and will be including content from these workshops, as well as hosting different guest speakers from VAILL to give their presentations at our office. Look for the Fall Training Series in an upcoming edition of the E-nunciations! _____________________________ Announcing The Fall 2008 Class Schedule We are pleased to present the new fall semester schedule! Registrations are taking place beginning in August and continuing throughout September at convenient locations all over Northern Virginia, including new sites in Arlington and Herndon! Classes are available at levels varying from Basic to Advanced. We welcome all adults interested in learning English and there are no residency requirements. Walk-ins are welcome after registration unless specifically stated. The City of Alexandria St. Rita's Catholic Church 3815 Russell Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22305 Levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Tuesday and Thursday, September 2 and 4, 7 – 9 pm; Sunday, September 7, 2:30 – 5 pm Classes: Tuesday and Thursday, 7 – 9 pm or Sunday, 2:45 – 4:45 pm Arlington County St. Charles Borromeo 3304 Washington Boulevard., Arlington, Virginia 22201 Levels: Beginner, Intermediate Registration: Sunday, September 14, 3 – 5 pm Classes: Sunday, 3 - 5 pm Fairfax County St. Michael's Catholic Church 7401 St. Michael’s Lane, Annandale, Virginia 22003 Levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Tuesday and Thursday, September 8 and 10, 7 – 9 pm Classes: Tuesday and Thursday, 7 – 9 pm St. Leo the Great's Catholic Church 3700 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 Levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Saturday, September 6, 10 – 12 pm Classes: Saturday, 10 am – 12 pm Hogar Hispano 6201 Leesburg Pike, Suite 310, Falls Church, Virginia 22044 Levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Citizenship Registration: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, September 22, 23, and 24, 10 am or 6 – 8 pm Classes: Monday - Thursday (4 Days) 9 – 10:30 am, 10:30 – 12 pm, 6 – 7:30 pm, 7:30 – 9 pm *Does not accept late registrants **Citizenship Classes Available St. Anthony of Padua's Catholic Church 3305 Glen Carlyn Road, Falls Church, Virginia 22041 Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Saturday, August 23, 10 – 12 pm Classes: Saturday, 10 am – 12 pm St. Joseph's Catholic Church 750 Peachtree Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170 Levels: Beginner and Intermediate Registration: Wednesday and Thursday, September 3 and 4, 7 - 9 pm Classes: Wednesday and Thursday, 7 – 9 pm St. Bernadette's Catholic Church 7600 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, Virginia 22152 Levels: Basic, Beginner, and Intermediate Registration: Saturday, September 6, 10 am – 12 pm Classes: Saturday, 10 am – 12 pm St. Mark's Catholic Church 9970 Vale Road, Vienna, Virginia 22181 Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Tuesday and Thursday, September 9, 11, and 13, 7:30 – 8:30 pm Classes: Tuesday and Thursday, 8 – 9:30 pm Loudoun County Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church 46833 Harry Byrd Hwy. (Rt. 7), Sterling, Virginia 20164 Levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, August 26 and 28, 7 – 9 pm Classes: Tuesday and Thursday, 8 – 9:30 pm **Citizenship Classes Available Prince William County Holy Family Catholic Church 14160 Ferndale Road, Dale City, Virginia 22193 Levels: Beginner 1 and 2, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Sunday, September 14, 12 – 4 pm Classes: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 7 – 8:30 pm All Saint's Catholic Church 9300 Stonewall Road, Manassas, Virginia 20110 Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Sunday, September 7, 11:30 – 1:20 pm; Tuesday and Thursday, September 9 and 11, 7 – 9 pm Classes: Tuesday and Thursday, 7 – 9 pm or Sunday, 11:30 am – 1:20 pm Our Lady of Angels 13752 Mary’s Way, Woodbridge, Virginia 22191 Levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Registration: Tuesday and Thursday, August 19 and 21, 7 - 9 pm Classes: Tuesday and Thursday, 7 - 9 pm Tip of the Month Effective Vocabulary Presentation Techniques! Any good creative writing teacher will tell you that the first rule of good writing is, “Show, Don’t Tell.” The same holds true for ESL vocabulary presentation! Just telling the definition of a vocabulary word or even (eek!) giving the word in Spanish are absolute last resorts. Besides, simply telling students the vocabulary words doesn’t really cause them to take ownership of their own learning and they will end up forgetting the new words almost immediately. When students must make an effort in their own learning process in order to gain the new knowledge (instead of using you as a walking dictionary), they will play a more active role in the classroom and will be more likely to remember the new information. "When students must make an effort in their own learning process in order to gain the new knowledge...they will play a more active role in the classroom and will be more likely to remember the new information." Often, students know more than you think they do. This works out to your advantage—you don’t have to actively “lecture” more than you have to, and students won’t feel patronized. The best way to find out what students already know and boost their confidence in the classroom is eliciting the definitions from them first. Many teachers fall into the “What does _____ mean?” trap. Often students may have a good understanding of a word’s use but will not be able to give an explicit definition, and this can be frustrating for both the teacher and the students. It’s better to ask students if they can use the word in a sentence before asking for definitions. With lower-level students, this technique can be adjusted to provide them with options. Students will be able to answer the question, “What do you buy at a bakery, pencils or bread?” but they might not be able to define “bakery” eloquently. Giving either/or options in vocabulary definitions for beginner students gives them the opportunity to confidently and correctly answer comprehension questions without going beyond their language capabilities. So, what happens when students still don’t understand, and really do need to be taught the new words? What vocabulary presentation techniques should you use first? What techniques will really make new vocabulary “stick”? The following are several options for great vocabulary presentation: Teaching cognates or transparent words at lower levels will help students recognize the words immediately with little to no explanation. Sometimes using a cognate synonym is all you need to convey meaning. For example, if you are teaching the vocabulary word “traveler” (not a cognate—in Spanish, viajero), you can provide a more transparent synonym—“tourist” (turista). This works best if you have a class that mostly speaks the same language and you have a basic knowledge of that language. Since that’s not always the case, you might have more success with the following tips. Use visual aids. Sketching the vocabulary in quick stick figures on the board can be quite effective, especially for simple concepts like family (draw a family tree) or emotions (smiley faces). Using pictures from magazines or printed off the internet can be preferable, if you aren’t the world’s greatest artist. It can, however, be time consuming if you don’t have picture cards readily available or pre-made. Making a set of picture cards once and using them again and again in successive semesters is a wise investment. Mimicry, body language, charades and other types of paralinguistic techniques can be very effective in conveying meanings of words that are not easily defined verbally. Students love to see their teachers “ham it up” for the sake of the class and this can often encourage students to lighten up and participate more. Using concept questions can help cut down on teacher talk and lengthy definitions while increasing student participation. Here are some example concept questions for teaching the word “vehicle.” What are vehicles used for? Is a bike a vehicle? Is a cat a vehicle? Can you provide some examples of vehicles for the class? What do airplanes, trucks, busses, ships, and cars all have in common? Synonyms and antonyms (opposites) nicely combine the concept question with giving students options. It helps them link the new word to concepts they already know, and group the vocabulary accordingly. “What is the opposite of depressed, sad or happy?” If all else fails, have students look words up in the dictionary themselves. This prevents you once again from becoming a human dictionary, as well as hones the learner’s dictionary skills. Having students actively look up words forces them to take ownership for finding out the definitions for themselves, and it is far more valuable than being “fed” the answer. Most students have access to a bilingual dictionary, but picture dictionaries and learners’ (monolingual) dictionaries are also worthwhile. Try these tips in the classroom to help keep you on your toes, and to keep your students actively learning in new and varied ways! Volunteer Spotlight A big THANK YOU goes out to all of the volunteers who taught with us this summer. We appreciate everyone who managed to squeeze in time to teach classes between barbeques, vacations, and pool parties! The Hogar office is one of the few places in the area that offers summer classes, so we receive students from many other sites who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to learn during the summer. To both ESL and Citizenship teachers- we hope you know how much the staff and students appreciate your time and talents—THANK YOU! Do you know someone who would make a great teacher? Hogar is looking for teachers at many of our sites, especially in Herndon, Manassas, Falls Church, Annandale, and Sterling. If you have a friend or family member who would be interested, please have them contact Sheila Sullivan at (703) 534-9805 x238 or ssullivan@ccda.net so she can inform them of the orientations and Boot Camps scheduled through mid-September. August's Vignette For all intents and purposes, Michelle* seems like a typical American teenager. Soft-spoken and quiet (okay, maybe NOT typical), with an inner drive to advance herself through hard work and education, she came to our office at the end of May to find out if she could apply for residency. She came to the United States with a visa when she was 12 years old and remained here when her family decided to stay. Born in Argentina of Bolivian parents, she quickly became acclimated to life in the US through the socializing effects of middle and high school. With the idealism of youth, she married her high school sweetheart immediately after graduation and both proceeded to get jobs in order to make ends meet. However, when you’re both 19 and have only a high school education, good jobs are hard to come by. With that in mind, her US Citizen husband, Mario*, decided to join the US Marine Corps last fall. After basic training, he received a detail that involves deployment to Afghanistan in September. With little time left to spare, and with Mario receiving intense combat training in Camp Lejune, we at Hogar Immigration Services had to work against time to make sure all the paperwork was signed and filed before his overseas assignment went into effect. Michelle took the checklists we provided and proceeded to gather all the information that was needed. With her husband in training and only occasionally returning for weekend leave, this proved to be a daunting task. Details that would be second nature to a slightly older couple with more of a history together came haltingly, as dribs and drabs were accumulated with each visit from her husband. Little by little, all the pertinent information was gathered and the forms were finally ready to be submitted. The only thing missing was the signature of the US Citizen Petitioner. Last week, with his last few days of leave before his deployment, Mario and Michelle came to our office to sign the final papers. They are a young, attractive couple, and the warmth they share is apparent. But, as with any young couple just starting out, the road is not always easy. The added pressure of their separation while he serves our country and risks his life, plus the anticipation as his young wife awaits her residency and eventual citizenship, only adds to the odds against them. But after spending these last few months learning about their story, their determination to succeed as a couple, and their love for each other, this caseworker thinks that they have a wonderful chance of coming through all their trials and tribulations and eventually reaching their dreams of being together and having a long wonderful life as man and wife. Our best wishes to both of them and a safe return. *Names were changed in order to protect the privacy of our clients. Social Services Provides Lunch For Loudoun County's Hungry Hogar Immigrant Services’ Social Services Department has initiated a program for feeding the hungry in Loudoun County. Twice a week staff and volunteers prepare bagged lunches for distribution to needy individuals who come to the County Drop-In Center in Leesburg. When the staff and volunteers heard that the Drop-In Center was in need of prepared meals, they asked local branches of Giant Food Stores and Harris Teeter and community organizations like Loudoun Interfaith to donate food. Every Tuesday and Friday the faithful volunteers make the sandwiches and assemble the bags. Each lunch contains a sandwich, a fruit cup, a cookie and eating utensil. Those served at the center include the “working poor”, families who have fallen on hard times, and individuals who have been laid off. Many recipients have jobs but are struggling to make ends meet while providing for their family’s daily needs. Catholic Charities’ Western Regional Office offers social services, immigrant assistance, mental-health counseling, and crisis pregnancy assistance. It is located at 100 Dry Mill Road, SW, suite 102, Leesburg, VA. For information or to contribute to the lunch program, call 703-443-2481 or go to www.ccda.net. Giving Thanks The Western Regional Office in Leesburg has been working with the St. Francis de Sales parish for the past few months. They have blessed us with canned goods, non-perishable food items, and donations toward our Brown Bag Lunch Program for the Homeless. This past month we received a HUGE blessing from them. St. Francis de Sales has a special fund set up by the church to exclusively go toward the needs of the community. After being nominated, the Western Regional Office received a large donation for the Emergency Assistance program. We are so excited to use this funding to meet the needs of our clients in such a difficult economic time. Thank you St. Francis de Sales, your generosity and partnership are invaluable! Bits and Pieces Hogar's Naturalization Workshop Rescheduled The next Naturalization Workshop has been moved from October 3, 2008 to September 20, 2008. It will be held at Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford St, Arlington, VA 22206.) For more information about volunteering with the Naturalization workshop, please contact Cindy Brown at cbrown@ccda.net. Volunteers of the Naturalization workshop are provided with a 30-minute training prior to the workshop.