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Ferris to Welcome Educators for 2014 International Lighthouse Summer Symposium

Lighthouse Summer SymposiumFerris State University is planning to host more than 50 domestic and international educators to participate in its Lighthouse Summer Symposium beginning Friday, June 20 and running through Saturday, June 21 in Big Rapids. This year’s symposium, hosted in the Interdisciplinary Resource Center, is an effort championed by Ferris’ West Michigan Intensive English Language Institute to shine a light on key issues related to teaching English as a second language.

Organizers have built workshop-style sessions designed to promote collegiality. Symposium attendees will be actively engaged with presenters in exploring pedagogy and innovative best practices while addressing issues related to vocabulary teaching and learning. Another goal is to allow attendees opportunities to informally network with fellow professionals.

“The symposium will bring professionals together in an intimate setting to delve more deeply into relevant topics and challenges in the field of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages),” said Lisa vonReichbauer, host of the symposium and coordinator of the WMIELI. “We are excited to invite participants from around the world again this year. The global reach of our symposium allows attendees to build a close network with colleagues both in the region as well as internationally.

“We will welcome guests from North America, Europe and Asia to be a part of this unique experience,” vonReichbauer added of the second annual event hosted by Ferris.

This year’s symposium theme is “Lexical Bridges to Academic Success.”

The symposium’s keynote speakers are Jonathan Newton, from the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and John D. Bunting, author and senior lecturer in the Intensive English Program at Georgia State University.

The symposium fee is $100 and includes registration, four meals, a formal dinner, tea time and other activities.