Welcome to the 2015 Spring Fling!
Session Schedule
8:30 – 9:00 am
9:00 – 9:55 am
10:00 –10:55 am
11:00 –11:55 am
Greetings, Registration & Refreshments
Session I
Session II
Session III
Hosted by: Oklahoma State University
Sponsored by: Oklahoma TESOL
Printing provided by: ELS, OKC
 Many thanks to all of the above, our presenters & attendees! 
SESSION I  9:00 – 9:55 am
ROOM 202
9 – 9:25 am
Breaking News: Using Current Events in the ESL Classroom
Paul Sims, OSU
Description: Paul Sims (OSU) will lead a discussion on folding in current events discussions into adult ESL
classroom practices and present and demonstrate one possible approach.
Presenter Bio: Paul Sims is a first-year M.A. student in TESL/Linguistics at Oklahoma State University. He holds
an M. Ed. in adult education and is a former print journalist with more than a dozen years of experience. Sims
serves in the OSU Writing Center, where he leads several outreach projects
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ROOM 204
9 – 9:25 am
How Are You? – I’m Shaking: Greeting Responses
Galina Shleykina, OSU
Description: This presentation is devoted to analysis of Russian EFL learners’ responses to the English greeting
“How are you?’ in the examination context.
Presenter Bio: Galina Shleykina has taught English as a foreign language for several years in Russian
universities. Currently she is a doctorate student in TESL/ Linguistics at OSU. She teachers ESL courses in
International Composition program. Her research interests include simulation/ gaming in ESL/ EFL,
communicative competence, and cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics.
9:30 – 9:55 am
Using Revised Corpus Data to Teach Non-Finite Complements for L2 Students
Yelin Zhao, OSU
Description: How to teach L2 learners non-finite complements is underexplored. The presenter will discuss
whether revised corpus data are effective tools to teach non-finite complements.
Presenter Bio: Yelin Zhao is currently a second year Ph.D. student and graduate teaching associate in the
English Department at Oklahoma State University (OSU). Her concentrations are TESL and linguistics. Before
she was enrolled at OSU, she was an English instructor at Valparaiso University where she taught international
students composition courses.
SESSION II  10:00 – 10:55 am
ROOM 202
10 – 10:25 am
An Auto-ethnographic Look at Empathy in ELL Writing Center Consultations
Laura Tunningley, OSU
Description: This paper will use an auto-ethnographic approach to highlight the role empathy can play in working with
ELL writers in a Writing Center environment.
Presenter Bio: Laura Tunningley is a second year Master’s student in TESL at Oklahoma State University. She is currently
an Assistant Director in the Writing Center and is planning on creating training for incoming TAs on working with ELL
writers as her creative component for her Master’s degree.
10:30 – 10:55 am
Using Focused Freewriting and Student Live Stories at EFL/ESL Lessons
Olga Muranova, OSU
Description: In this presentation, Olga Muranova (Oklahoma State University) will offer a glimpse at different
ways and examples of using focused freewriting and student live stories at EFL/ESL lessons.
Presenter Bio: Olga Muranova is currently a first-year Ph.D. student and graduate teaching/research assistant
in the English Department at Oklahoma State University, where she is studying to specialize in TESOL and
linguistics. Before she was enrolled at OSU, she had been an associate professor at Herzen State Pedagogical
University of Russia and Saint Petersburg State University of Technology and Design.
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ROOM 204
10 – 10:55 am
Engaging Activities for Academic Vocabulary
Rike Neville, TLC-Edmond
Description: Teaching academic vocabulary? Join us to try out some engaging activities that have the students
doing the talking, and take home a free resource packet!
Presenter Bio: An EFL/ESL teacher of nearly two decades, I teach university-bound international students at
TLC-Edmond. Despite a childhood obsession with worksheets, I focus on developing and using resources that
require students to work together, support each other’s learning, negotiate meaning with eac other, and
become masters of their own learning experience.
(Session II continued on next page)
SESSION II, Continued  10:00 – 10:55 am
ROOM 206
10 – 10:25 am
Grammar Made Practical
Shelia Hamilton, TLC
Description: The purpose of this presentation is to focus on less teacher talk and more student talk in ESL
grammar classrooms.
Presenter Bio: Shelia Hamilton began her journey of teaching ESL in 2004, and in the same year she received
her B.A degree English. She taught preschool for six years and has worked for The Language Company in Ada
since 2013.
10:30 am – 10:55 am
Current Location of your Pedagogy: A Thought from Educational Genealogy
Taewoong “John” Kim
OU/Center for ESL
Description: Taewoong Kim, a doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma, discusses our pedagogy’s
current location, underlying theories, and how to apply them based on educational genealogy from Aristotle
to Freire.
Presenter Bio: Taewoong earned his MA TESOL at Oklahoma City University in 2013, is currently teaching
English for academic purposes at the Center for English as a Second Language at University of Oklahoma.
Pursuing a doctoral degree majored in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum, his research
interests include SLA, CALL, and L2 assessment.
SESSION III  11:00 – 11:55 am
ROOM 202
11 – 11:55 am
A Short History of English with Cool Web Resources
Thomas Rowe, Tulsa Community College
Description: This presentation will give a brief overview of the history of the English language. A list of
resources for further study will also be provided.
Presenter Bio: Tom teaches ESL at Tulsa Community College. He has served on the OKTESOL board in several
positions including President. He has an MA in English from Oklahoma State University.
(Session III continued on next page)
SESSION III, Continued  11:00 – 11:55 am
ROOM 204
11 – 11:25 am
Using Music to Enhance the Writing of Advanced ELLs
Seth French, OSU
Description: Seth French (OSU) will discuss practical classroom lessons that combine music with grammar
instruction to enhance the writing of advanced ELLs.
Presenter Bio: Seth French is a first year MA student in TESL at Oklahoma State University. He currently works
as a consultant in the OSU Writing Center and is a Lab Assistant in the Linguistics Lab.
11:30 – 11:55 am
Effects of Planning on Fluency and Lexical Variety in L2 Writing
Mahmoud Adbi Tabari, STCL, OSU
Description: This presentation will investigate the effects of planning on linguistic performance and consider
how fluency, complexity and accuracy are competing for attention.
Presenter Bio: Mahmoud Abdi Tabari is a PhD student in Education at Oklahoma State University and a
member of the Young Researchers' Club. He has great interests in second language acquisition and second
language writing.
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ROOM 206
11 – 11:55 am
From Issues to Aid: Developing & Assessing ELLs’ Writing Skills
Dr. Marcia Livingston, ORU
Co-Presenters: Janet George, ORU, Megan Cain, ORU
Description: In this workshop participants will engage in discussion about writing challenges among ELLs, and
presented with workable strategies that teachers can use to assess writing.
Presenter Bios:
Dr. Marcia Livingston is a full time professor in the College of Education at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. She is currently the coordinator of the TESL program. Her research interests include identifying
learning and assessment strategies that will help ELLs develop strong metacognitive and cognitive academic
language skills. Janet George is a TESOL Specialist & Instructor in the department of Online & Lifelong
Learning at Oral Roberts University. Megan Cain is a senior education major with an emphasis in English
Language Learning and Teaching. She is the former president of the Teacher Candidate Leadership Association
at Oral Roberts University. Her strong teaching abilities have already resulted in one job offer for the 2015-16
school year. She is a very enthusiastic and creative teacher.