ESL Summit at
Bergen Community College
By Leah Carmona,
NJTESOL/NJBE Higher Ed Rep,
ESL Professor, Bergen Community College
On April 24, Bergen Community College (BCC) hosted the 2026 ESL Summit in Higher Education. Administrators, faculty, and staff from ESL programs across New Jersey community colleges and surrounding areas gathered to share their experiences with multilingual learners (ML). Also present were Michelle Land, President of NJTESOL/NJBE, and Linda Scherr, Chief Academic Officer at NJCCC, who both sponsored the event with Cambridge and Cengage Publishing Press. The summit began with opening remarks from the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Andrew Tomko, followed by the keynote speaker, Julia Raufman, Research Associate at the Community College Research Center of Teachers College, Columbia University. Julia shared findings from her research on ESL pathways and reforms in developmental education. During her presentation, she also described co-requisite English models at CUNY and efforts to support MLs at the City Colleges of Chicago.
Next, attendees participated in two sessions, each with 3 panel discussions. The first session focused on best practices in teaching and leadership. One presentation, by Sonja Rodiger (HCCC), explored innovative approaches such as ESL Learning Communities, which integrate language instruction with college-level coursework. Another, by Katalin Gyurián Toth (Middlesex), explored how to design learning experiences that align with the unique motivators of adult learners: community, mastery, and autonomy. The presenters discussed how adult students thrive when they feel connected, see progress, and have some control in shaping their learning. Other presentations included project-based, student-centered activities, such as creating newspapers using Canva by Junghee Kim (Middlesex), and innovative writing practices by Maria Kasparova and Erin Andersen (BCC). In the last discussion, the ESL Administrators Council led a roundtable on topics such as supporting students at all levels, program redesign, credit reductions, bridge programs, ESL certificates, and other initiatives to support student success.
The second session focused on promoting ESL student success in higher education. Julia Raufman continued the conversation with a presentation on placement and assessment. She suggested promising practices and highlighted challenges when guiding MLs into college-level coursework and credential programs. Laura Madera’s presentation was about a program at BCC that blends academic instruction with personal development. She explained that this program offers workshops on wellness and self-advocacy to support students’ overall growth and readiness for college and the workforce. Finally, James Hart (CCM) presented strategies and lessons he learned when integrating AI into advanced ESL writing classes.
As the summit came to a close, attendees had a chance to connect, share their ideas, and learn innovative teaching strategies to support MLs in higher education. As we reflect on what we learned, it is time to start preparing for the next one!
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