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Jan Dormer, Ed.D.

Professor of TESOL

Interest and areas of expertise

Jan was born in Indiana, grew up in Brazil as an MK, married a Canadian, and spent the first 8 years of married life in Ontario. Jan and her husband Rod then spent 16 years on the mission field, in Indonesia, Brazil and Kenya.

 

Jan had a very diverse career in TESOL before coming to Messiah in 2012, including:

  • Teaching adult immigrants in Canada
  • Developing ESL programs for international schools
  • Teaching English in a Muslim elementary school in Indonesia
  • Developing and directing an English school in Brazil that served 150 students of all ages
  • Developing a seminary theological English program in Kenya
  • Developing a church-based ESL program in the U.S.
  • Training ESL teachers in public schools in Indiana.

 

Jan has taught English learners of all ages, at all proficiency levels, from dozens of different culture and language backgrounds, and in virtually every type of program for English learners. Now through her work at Messiah, she trains teachers for many different kinds of English learner programs, and works with various schools and districts to improve their English learner services.

Besides overseeing and teaching in the graduate TESOL programs, Jan is engaged in TESOL work through various organizations. First she has been involved with TESOL International Association for the past ten years. She has served on the professional development committee, participated in CAEP-TESOL reviews, and currently serves on the Standards Professional Council. Jan has given many presentations at TESOL conferences, both proposed and invited. Second, Jan works extensively with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). Jan travels to international ACSI conferences to speak on TESOL topics, and to individual international schools, providing consultation on second language acquisition and English learners. She is currently involved in consultation work in the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Rwanda, Kenya and Brazil.

Jan’s publications include five books and many book chapters and articles. She is currently involved in two main areas of research and writing: 1) Meeting the needs of Newcomer English learners in K-12 education, and 2) Investigating missionary language acquisition. One of Jan’s favorite things about her job is guiding the thesis research projects of her graduate students.

Education
  • Ed.D., Curriculum, Teaching and Learning with a concentration in TESOL Teacher Development, University of Toronto
  • M.A., Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Ball State University
  • B.A., Elementary Education, Asbury College
Classes I teach
  • EDME 523 Learning English in School
  • EDME 524 Teaching Language and Content
  • EDME 542 Equip to Meet Needs of ELLs
  • EDME 521 TESOL Methods & Assessment
  • EDME 518 Second Language Acquisition
  • EDME 532 TESOL Internship
  • EDME 533 TESOL Thesis/Project & Seminar
Scholarship (past 10 years)

Scholarship (past 10 years)
Please email me at jdormer@messiah.edu if you are interested in reading any of these articles, chapters or books, and cannot find them.

 
Dormer, J.E. (2018). Busting myths about English language learners. New Superintendents
            Journal 2018-19, 23-25.

Dormer, J. E. & Woelk, C. (2018). Teaching English for reconciliation: Pursuing peace through transformed relationships in language learning and teaching. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library Publishers.

Dormer, J. E. (2018).  Language Immersion”. Wiley Encyclopedia of TESOL Terms.

Dormer, J.E. (2017). Busting myths about English language learners. School Administrators
            Magazine,  74(2), 39-42. View at: http://www.pageturnpro.com/AASA/76844-February-2017/index.html#40

Dormer, J.E. (2016). What school leaders need to know about English learners. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.

Dormer, J.E. (2014). English Language Learners in Christian Schools. Christian School Education
(17)2, 28-32. Colorado Springs, CO: Association of Christian Schools International.

Dormer, J. E. (2014). [Review of the book Christian faith and English language teaching and
learning: Research on the interrelationship of religion and ELT, by M. S. Wong, C. Kristjansson and Z. Dornyei (Eds.)]. International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching, 1(1), 93-99.

Dormer, J.E. (2013). Improving speaking accuracy through awareness. Journal of Adult
            Education, Mountain Plains Adult Education Association,  43(1), 16-22..

Dormer, J.E. (2013) Passport to adventure: Explore B (intermediate level elementary EFL
student text, teacher’s book and supplementary materials) Purposeful Design Publishers (ACSI).

Dormer, J.E. (2012) Passport to adventure: Explore A (low-intermediate level elementary EFL
student text, teacher’s book and supplementary materials) Purposeful Design Publishers (ACSI).

Dormer, J. E. (2012). Shared competence: NEST/NNEST collaboration that benefits all. In 
A. Honigsfeld and M. Dove (Eds.), Co-teaching and Other Collaborative Practices in
the EFL/ESL Classroom: Rationale, Research, Reflections, and Recommendations, Charlotte (pp. 241-250.) NC: Information Age Publishing.

Dormer, J. E. (2011). Teaching English in missions: Effectiveness and integrity. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library Publishers.

Dormer, J. E. (2010). Integrating skills in a communicative EFL textbook for Christians. In  K.B.
Purgason (Ed.), English language teaching in theological contexts (pp. 125-136).
Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library Publishers.

Dormer, J. E. (2010). A diverse EFL program for both seminary and community students. In
K.B. Purgason (Ed.), English language teaching in theological contexts (pp. 73-84). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library Publishers.

Dormer, J. E. (2010). I can! Bringing self-evaluation to a task-based syllabus for language learning success. In M. C. Coombe and A. Shehadeh (Eds.), Task-Based Learning (pp.
137-148).  Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL),
Inc.

Dormer, J. E. (2010). Strength through difference: Optimizing NEST/NNEST relationships on a  school staff. In A. Mahboob (Ed.), The NNEST lens: Non native English speakers in TESOL
(pp. 285-304). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Dormer, J. E. (2010, January). [Review of the book Christian and critical: English language educators in dialogue, by M. S. Wong and S. Canagarajah (Eds.)]. Evangelical Missions Quarterly, 46(1), 114-116.

Dormer, J. E. (2009). Where can I get my shoe fixed?: Authentic tasks for students in EFL settings. In M. Dantas-Whitney & S. Rilling (Eds.), Authenticity in the language classroom and beyond: Adult learners (pp. 11-18). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Inc.

Dormer, J. E. (2009, April). Language Development for MKs. Evangelical Missions Quarterly, 45(2), 188-196.

Dormer, J.E. (2008). Not in Kansas anymore: Contrasts and influence in Indonesia. Christian
 Educators in TESOL Caucus Newsletter. February.