ESOL1 - working document

ESOL 1: Course description

ESOL I is designed for novice teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) or teachers who have taught ESOL but believe that they can benefit from a more formal and structured introduction to ESOL teaching. The course will cover basic approaches to language acquisition and literacy development for adult learners, methodologies, materials, assessment, the varieties of programs available to adult ESOL learners, and the sociopolitical contexts in which ESOL learning and teaching occur.

More specifically, participants in the course will gain awareness of contexts in which and reasons that adults study English and will be able to articulate why adult learners participate in ESOL courses. They will understand the range of teaching/learning options, i,e, local program types as well as approaches/methodologies, strengths and drawbacks of same.. They will develop knowledge of assessment instruments and purposes, and of current state and federal assessment and reporting requirements. Participants will analyze, develop, and critiquing materials and teaching approaches, learn about the diverse abilities and backgrounds of ESOL learners. Finally, participants will plan and implement lessons and be able to articulate their rationale underlying the choices they make in so doing.

Participants will spend 30 hours in face-to-face coursework, 15 hours in practicum, and up to 30 hours additional time on assignments, preparation for coursework sessions, and practicum work. Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to work with adult learners and have completed a professional development plan for themselves. .

course design

Hours:

Thirty hours of course work (30)

Sessions : Six (6) five-hour sessions of in-person training.

Additional time for self study/assignments; [depending on the experience of each participant, an estimated 30 hours to complete reading and other assignments and to prepare for the practicum.]

Fifteen hours of practicum (15) - Including up to 6 hours of planning and up to 4 hours of direct teaching, in addition to 5 hours devoted to observation and administration of BEST Test assessment instrument.

Audience Up to fifteen (15) novice ESOL teachers or ESOL teachers who believe that they can benefit from a formal and structured introduction to the teaching of ESOL (primary audience).

Prerequisites To participate in this course, participants must:

  • have access to an Adult ESOL program or work with English language learners in ABE programs for the practicum portion of the course.
  • have completed the pre-course self-assessment- to be included as part of the pilot course application process.
  • have completed pre-course reading assignments.
  • be willing to make the commitment to the course and do the work.

    • In addition to assigned readings and activities, Participants will be expected to:

  • maintain a learning journal, through which they will consider how what they are learning in each session might impact their practice; and
  • write a final assessment of learning gains combined with an individual learning plan for future evelopment, to be completed during the final session

    • Note from MASS DOE: By the time you finalize the syllabus, we hope to have a standard statement from SABES about their PDP award policy that will be included on all of the course syllabi.

    learning standards

    1. Identify the reasons why adults learn English, the contexts in which they learn English, and the experiences (i.e., interests, needs, skills, background) they bring to the ESOL classroom

    2. Describe how different adult learner characteristics, experiences and interests may affect learning and what implications these may have for teaching.

    3. Explain why different approaches and methods for teaching ESOL may be appropriate for some (groups of) learners and not for others.

    4.. Articulate one's beliefs about the purpose of teaching ESOL and one's views of language, and the teaching and learning processes and the roles of teachers and learners in them. [ the use of the students' first language, grammar instruction, and error correction] .

    5. Identify common assessment practices of local program and assessment requirements of federal and state funding agencies.

    6. Assess progress and achievement of ESOL learners using classroom observations, standardized or nonstandardized assessment instruments of ongoing, or final assessment of English language proficiency.

    7. Locate and evaluate appropriateness of existing materials for teaching and learning ESOL for a specific student population

    8. Design, teach and document for use of others 1 - 3 lesson plans using appropriate resources such as the Massachusetts framework, ESOL literacy materials/approaches AES methods and materials appropriate as they meet the needs of ESOL learners.

    9. Write a professional development plan identifying which ESOL-related licensing competencies one possesses and which ones to develop next and specifying how one will develop these competencies

    recommended texts

    Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 3rd edition H. Douglas Brown (1994); additionally, a search at Google.com ["Douglas Brown+grammar"] yields a number of online grammar activities culled from Brown's texts

    Making Meaning, Making Change, by Elsa Roberts Auerbach(McHenry, IL: Delta Systems and the Center for Applied Linguistics, 1992).

    Bringing Literacy to Life (2000 revised edition if available) by Heide Wrigley and Gloria Guth

    supplementary texts

    Talking Shop: A Curriculum Sourcebook for Participatory Adult ESL, by Andrea Nash, Ann Cason, Madeline Rhum, Loren McGrail, and Rosario Gomez-Sanford

    A Handbook for ESOL Literacy, by Jill Bell and Barbara Burnaby, (Ontario: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1993).

    Teaching Multi-Level Classes in ESL. San, by Jill Bell. (1991). CA: Dominie Press.

    to syllabus: sessions one through six

    january 17, 2006

    to LR/RI