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Shin, Joan

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Dr. Joan K. Shin
PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Professor
Academic Program Coordinator, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Education
Academic Program Coordinator, Foreign Language Education
Director, Global Online Teacher Education Center
Multilingual/Multicultural Education, PhD in Education
Academic Program Coordinator, Teaching Culturally, Linguistically Diverse & Exceptional Learners
Interdisciplinary Center for Research and Development in Teacher Education
International Baccalaureate

Contact Information

Send email to Dr. Shin

Phone: (703) 993-6214
Fax: (703) 993-9380
Email: jshin23 (@gmu.edu)

Joan Shin's website

George Mason University
Fairfax Campus
Thompson Hall 2502
4400 University Dr.
MS 1E8
Fairfax, VA 22030

Profile

Joan Kang Shin, PhD is a Professor of Education at George Mason University and Director of Mason's Global Online Teacher Education Center (GOTEC). Dr. Shin specializes in teaching ESL/EFL/EAL to young learners and teenagers and has provided both in-person and online professional development programs and workshops to English language teachers in over 100 countries around the world. She is also an expert in online TESOL education and conducts research on building international virtual communities of practice for English teachers. In 2016, Dr. Shin was named one of the 30 Up and Coming Leaders of TESOL by TESOL International Association. In 2021, she was named as one of the top 30 English Language Specialists by the U.S. Department of State in recognition of her lasting impact on the Specialist Program and on the field of TESOL. She is currently serving on the Board of Trustees for The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF).

At Mason, Dr. Shin is PI for a number of externally funded grant projects, including Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) Global Online Courses and MOOCs through the OPEN Program funded by the Department of State and administered by FHI 360. In her career, Dr. Shin has secured over $11 million in grants primarily focused on developing global online English language teacher professional development programs.

Dr. Shin is a series editor for a groundbreaking 6-level primary English series for National Geographic Learning called Our World, which won the 2014 HRH Duke of Edinburgh English Language Book Awards for Winner of Best Entry for Learners. She is also a series editor and author of a 3-level preprimary series Welcome to Our World as well as the host of a professional development video series that she designed for Our World. Her book Teaching Young Learners English, co-authored with Jodi Crandall, received the prestigious 2013 Ben Warren International House Trust Prize. Most recently she served as series editor for an exciting 5-level English series for young teens called Impact that highlights the work of National Geographic Explorers and won the 2018 English-Speaking Union English Language Award for "Resources for Secondary to Adult Learners." She also authored and hosts the Impact professional development videos that focuses on how to teach teenagers effectively in the 21st century. Most recently she published a co-edited volume through Routledge called Contemporary Foundations for Teaching English as an Additional Language and a co-authored book through TESOL press called The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners: Young Learners in a Multilingual World.

In addition, she is an English Language Specialist for the Office of English Language Programs (OELP) in the U.S. Department of State and has conducted EFL teacher training programs with hundreds of teachers in Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Laos, Libya, Morocco, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the U.A.E.

Research Interests
  • Teaching English to young learners and very young learners; using international children’s songs to teach language and culture.
  • EFL/ESL online teacher education and professional development; virtual and collocated communities of practice (CoPs) for EFL teachers.
Recent Publications

Borup, J., Shin, J. K., Powell, M. G., Evmenova, A. S., & Kim, W. (2022). Revising and Validating the Community of Inquiry Instrument for MOOCs and other Global Online Courses. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 23(3), 82-103. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v23i2.6034

Shin, J. K., Borup, J., & Kim, W. (2022). Creating local course communities to engage culturally and linguistically diverse teachers in global MOOCs. In E. Baumgartner, R. Kaplan-Rakowski, R. E. Ferdig, R. Hartshorne, & C. Mouza (Eds.), Retrospective: Teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. (pp. 73-79). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Borup, J., Graham, C., Short, C., & Shin, J. K. (2022, January 12). Designing the new normal: Enable, engage, elevate, and extend student learning. Educause Review.
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/1/designing-the-new-normal-enable-engage-elevate-and-extend-student-learning

Shin, J. K., Borup, J., Barbour, M. K., & Quiroga Velasquez, R. V. (2022). Webinars for English Language Teachers During the Pandemic: Global Perspectives on Transitioning to Remote Online Teaching. AERA Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221083976

Shin, J. K., & Borup, J. (2022). Breaking through the screen: Practical tips for engaging learners in the online and blended classroom. National Geographic Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2022). Welcome to our world: Student’s book (Levels 1-3) (2nd ed.). National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2022). Welcome to our world: Activity book (Levels 1-3) (2nd ed.). National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., Savić, V., & Machida, T. (2021). The 6 principles for exemplary teaching of English learners: Young learners in a multilingual world. TESOL Press.

Borup, J., Graham, C. R., Short, C. R., & Shin, J. K. (2021). Evaluating blended teaching. In C. R. Graham, J. Borup, M. A. Jensen, K. T. Arnesen & C. R. Short (Eds.), K-12 blended teaching (Vol 2): A guide to practice within the disciplines, (Vol. 2). EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/k12blended2/evaluating_bt

Shin, J. K., & Kim, W. (2021). Perceived impact of short‐term professional development for foreign language teachers of adults: A case study. Foreign Language Annals, 54(2), 1– 24. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12521

Papadopoulos, I., & Shin, J. K. (2021). Developing young foreign language learners’ persuasive strategies through intercultural folktales. Research Papers in Language Teaching and Learning, 11(1), 185-202.

Vinogradova, P., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2021). Contemporary foundations for teaching English as an additional language: Pedagogical approaches and classroom applications. New York, NY: Routledge.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2021). Explore our world: Student’s book (Levels Starter-6) (2nd ed.). National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2021). Explore our world: Workbook (Levels Starter-6) (2nd ed.). National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Borup, J. (2020). Global webinars for English teachers worldwide during a pandemic: “They came right when I needed them the most.” In R. E. Ferdig, E. Baumgartner, R. Hartshorne, R. Kaplan-Rakowski, and C. Mouza (Eds.), Teaching, technology, and teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from the field. (pp. 157-162). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Retrieved from: https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2020). Our world: Student’s Book (Levels Starter-6) (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2020). Our world: Workbook (Levels Starter-6) (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2020). Our world: Grammar workbook (Levels 1-6) (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Savić, V., Cekić-Jovanović, O., & Shin, J. K. (2020). Empowering teachers to manage change in the 21st century. In V. Savić & O. Cekić-Jovanović (Eds.)  Professional Competences for Teaching in the 21st Century. Faculty of Education in Jagodina, University of Kragujevac, Serbia.

Shin, J. K., & Borup. J. (2020). Building a supportive learning environment. InFocus Blog. National Geographic Learning. Retrieved from https://infocus.eltngl.com/2020/04/02/building-a-supportive-online-community

Shin, J. K., & Borup, J. (2020). Making your screen come alive. InFocus Blog. National Geographic Learning. Retrieved from https://infocus.eltngl.com/2020/03/24/making-your-screen-come-alive

Shin, J. K., & Borup, J. (2020). Engaging students in meaningful learning activities. InFocus Blog. National Geographic Learning. Retrieved from https://infocus.eltngl.com/2020/03/16/engaging-students-in-meaningful-learning-activities

Shin, J. K. (2019). Use projects, and let your young learners surprise you. InFocus Blog. National Geographic Learning. Retrieved from https://infocus.eltngl.com/2019/06/19/use-projects-and-let-your-young-learners-surprise-you/

Shin, J. K., & Fernández, L. V. (2019). Building bridges to the primary classroom: Engaging early literacy practices. TEYLT Worldwide, 2, 31-35.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (2019). Developing formative assessment practices for young learner English teachers: A professional development model in Peru. In D. Prošić-Santovac & S. Rixon (Eds.), Integrating assessment into early language learning and teaching practice. Enever, Janet (Ed.). Early language learning in school contexts. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (2019). Teaching reading and writing to young learners. In S. Garton & F. Copeland (Eds.), Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners. New York: Routledge.

Shin, J. K. (2018). Literacy programming for young learners. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, First Edition, Organizational and Administrative Issues (pp.4281-4286). [M. DelliCarpini (Project Ed.); Salas, S. (Volume Ed)]. Boston, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235

Shin, J. K. (2017). Get up and sing! Get up and move!: Using songs and movement with young learners of English. English Teaching Forum, 55(2), 14-25.

Shin, J. K. (2017). Literacy instruction for young EFL learners: A balanced approach. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning.

Shin, J. K. (2017). Impact professional development video program. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Crandall, J. A., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2017). Impact. 4-level series for teaching English to lower secondary students around the world. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Crandall, J. A., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2017). Our world: Phonics (Levels 1-3). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Crandall, J. A., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2017). Our world: Grammar workbook (Levels 1-6). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Crandall, J. A., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2017). Our world ABC. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K. (2016). Early Childhood Education in English to Speakers of Other Languages [Review of the book Early Childhood Education in English to Speakers of Other Languages]. TEYLT Worldwide, 1, 38-41.

Savić, V., & Shin, J. K. (2016). Improving quality of primary English language teaching in Serbia through theme-based instruction. In Jelena Teodorovic (Ed.), Improving Quality of Education in Elementary Schools (pp. 328-338). Belgrade: Faculty of Education of University in Kragujevac, Institute for Pedagogical Research, and Institute for Improvement of Education.

Shin, J. K. (2016). Building a sustainable community of inquiry through online TESOL professional development. In J. A. Crandall, & M. A. Christison (Eds.), Global Research on Teacher Education and Professional Development in TESOL. New York: Routledge.

Shin, J. K. (2015). Building a global perspective through songs in English. Children and Teenagers: IATEFL Young Learners and Teenagers Special Interest Group Publication, 3, 66-77.

Shin, J. K. (2015, June). How should kids learn English: through Old MacDonald's farm or Ali Baba's farm?. The Conversation.

Shin, J. K. (2015, July-September). Literacy instruction for young EFL learners: A balanced approach. TESOL Greece Newsletter, 127, 28-31.

Crandall, J. A., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2015). Explore our world. 6-level series for teaching English to young learners around the world. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. Winner of the 2015 New England Book Show for Best El-Hi Print Series

O’Sullivan, J. K., & Shin, J. K. (2015). Welcome to our world. 3-level series for teaching English to preprimary school students around the world. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2015). Welcome to our world. 3-level series for teaching English to preprimary school students around the world. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K. (2014). Teaching young learners in ESL and EFL settings. In M. Celce-Murcia, D. M. Brinton, & M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed., pp.550-567). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (2014). Teaching young learners English: From theory to practice. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.
Winner of the 2013 Ben Warren International House Trust Prize for Outstanding Text in English Language Education

Crandall, J. A., & Shin, J. K. (Eds.). (2014). Our world. 6-level series for teaching English to young learners around the world. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.
Winner of the 2014 HRH Duke of Edinburgh English Language Book Awards for Best Entry for Learners

Bickel, B., Shin, J. K., Taylor, J., Faust, H., & Penniston, T. (2013). Learning English internationally while engaging communities locally: Online EFL supporting community learning for young leaders. TESOL Journal, 4(3), 439-462.

Savić, V., & Shin, J. K. (2013). Contextualizing language learning through stories in Serbia. Innovations in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning at Early Ages, 26(1), 62-82.

Shin, J. K., & Bickel, B. (2012). Building an online community of inquiry with participant-moderated discussions. In L. England (Ed.), Online Language Teacher Education: TESOL Perspectives. New York: Routledge (Taylor Francis).

Medina-López-Portillo, A., Strickling, L. R., Shin, J. K., & Izenberg, I. (2012). Learning and teaching across cultures. In E. Christopher (Ed.), Managing Communication Across Culture: Different Voices. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Shin, J. K., Edmonds, L., & Browder, C. (2010). Collaboration is the key to successful professional development: The UMBC STEP T for ELLs Program in Maryland. In C. J. Casteel, & K. G. Ballantyne, (Eds.), Professional Development in Action: Improving Teaching for English Learners (pp. 73-78). Washington, D.C.: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.

Shin, J. K. & Bickel, B. (2008). Distributing teaching presence: Engaging teachers of English to young learners in an international virtual community of inquiry. In C. Kimble, P. Hildreth, & I. Bourdon (Eds.), Communities of practice: Creating learning environments for educators (pp. 149-178). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Shin, J. K. (2007). Developing dynamic units for EFL. English Teaching Forum, 45(2), 2-8.

Shin, J. K. (2006). Ten helpful ideas for teaching English to young learners. English Teaching Forum, 44(2), 2-7, 13.

Shin, J. K. (2005). Teaching English to young learners: An online teacher training course. Learning Languages, 10(2), 18-20. National Network of Early Language Learning.

Shin, J. K. (2004). The use of Freirian pedagogy in teaching English as an international language: Raising the critical consciousness of EFL teachers in Korea. LLC Review, 4(1), 63-82.

Other Information

Video Production

Shin, J. K. (2020). Our world professional development video program (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. (Hosted, wrote, and co-produced video program to provide professional development for primary school teachers of English.)
https://eltngl.com/sites/OurWorldPD

      List of video titles:

  • Reading Routines
  • Writing Routines
  • Grammar Routines
  • Vocabulary Routines

Shin, J. K. (2017). Teaching English to Young Learners: Module 1-8 Video Lectures. American English E-Teacher Program. (Hosted, wrote, and edited professional development video program for inclusion in the AE E-Teacher Program funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by FHI 360.)

      Playlist link: https://bit.ly/2nztVBs

      List of video titles:

Shin, J. K. (2017). Impact professional development video program. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. (Hosted and wrote professional development video program to provide professional development for secondary school teachers of English.)
http://ngl.cengage.com/sites/impact/professional-development

      List of videos:

  • Best Practices for Teaching Young Teens
  • Growing Global Citizens
  • Incorporating 21st Century Skills in Your Lessons
  • The 4Cs: Framework for 21st Century Skills
  • Fostering Student Choice
  • Ensuring Student Success Through Assessment
  • Summative Assessment in Impact
  • Learning Language Through Real World Content
  • Using Media in the Classroom
  • Writing for Young Teens
  • Strategy Instruction
  • Tips for Strategy Instruction
  • Classroom Management Routines

Shin, J. K. (2017). Our world professional development resource site. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. (Hosted, wrote, and co-produced video and PD program content for pre-primary and primary English language teachers around the world.)
http://ngl.cengage.com/ourworld/profdev

Shin, J. K. (2015). Welcome to our world video program. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. (Hosted, wrote, and co-produced video program to provide professional development for pre-primary school teachers of English.)

      Clips can be viewed on this playlist: https://bit.ly/2OuAH6I

      List of videos titles:

  • Using Songs with Very Young Learners
  • Adapting Songs to Different Cultures
  • Hands-On GamesMovement Games
  • Song Games
  • Picture Card Games
  • Mini Picture Card Games
  • Keeping Children's Attention
  • Making Puppets
  • Using Puppets
  • Making and Using Playdough

Shin, J. K. (2014). Our world professional development video program. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning. (Hosted, wrote, and co-produced video program to provide professional development for primary school teachers of English.)

      Clips can be viewed on this playlist: https://bit.ly/2MeadKn

      List of video titles:

  • Best Practices for Teaching English to Young Learners
  • Using Songs and Chants
  • Storytelling and More!
  • Using Language Games
  • Steps of a Lesson
  • Successful Lessons
  • Ensuring Success Through Assessment
  • Doing Project Work
  • Starting and Ending Class
  • Classroom Management Tips
  • Pair and Group Work
  • Empowering Young Learners with Real-World Content
  • Using Video and Technology in the Classroom
  • Visual Literacy

 

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