English Speakers of Other Languages - Field Experience - Essay Example

English Speakers of Other Languages Report A Report on ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) field experience ESOL is a structured language learning program intended to teach English to students whose local language is not English. The program equips students with the language skills that they require in order to become academically and socially prepared to be successful in school and outside the school. I have personally had an experience in the ESOL field as a student. I am glad to share the ESOL report detailing the experience I had while studying the language. As mentioned earlier, ESOL is structured language that basically benefits the students whose local/native language is not English hence they may not comfortably learn in institutions and schools where the main learning language is English. The program was unique for me because my local language is not English. I come from Spain and speak Spanish. However, most ESOL students spoke Spanish in the institution where I learnt. Their second common language is Arabic and then Vietnamese comes third. The other languages included Urdu, Portuguese, Cambodian, and Laotian. ESOL students have limited proficiency in speaking, reading, listening and writing. Being a unique program for many foreign students whose native language is not English, the institution had set goals, objectives, and the specific learning activities that enhanced effective learning. They are discussed as shown below. The ESOL program Goal The goal of the program for English language learners was to provide instruction so that students could become fully proficient in English and meet the same challenging state academic content. Students’ achievement standards and the state graduation requirements were expected to be met. The program also aimed at providing the learners with personalized services to ensure success in academic achievement standards and state graduation requirements. These services were offered by competent ESOL teachers. It was the duty of the management of the institution to make sure that the teachers handling the students met their instructional needs. The ESOL program objectives The ESOL program targeted learners who were aged between 3 and 21 years old. It aimed at making the students to learn to speak, write, and read English language proficiently. The teachers also determined the understanding capacity of the students by making a record while they described something, a place or a person. The teachers determined the understanding capacity of the students by making a record while learners described something, a place or a person. The teacher then played the recording for the students to cite or demonstrate what they have heard or understood. In addition, the classroom teachers were to make the learning materials available for the lesson. When teaching an ESOL subject, the ESOL teacher was expected be aware of the differences in the learning styles of the students. The program also aimed at using content based English Language Learning approach of the learning tasks, instructional materials and classroom techniques from academic content areas as the vehicle for developing content, cognitive skills and language. The medium for instruction therefore became English. The ESOL program activities It was crucial to start an ESOL class with an interactive warm- up and engage the students in order to understand the lesson well. This made the students get thinking and speaking English. The students also got ready for the lesson. The interactive warm-ups included the artistic warm-ups, for instance, before a class the teachers made the level appropriate list of words for every learner. The ESOL teachers then wrote words on a small piece of paper for each learner containing unique words. The students were split into teams and each team was represented by one person who was given a paper and a space on the board. The person representing the team illustrated every word on the list and got the teammates to guess the word. The first team to guess all the words correctly became a winner. Looking and seeing what is to be learnt in the picture and graphic forms was an important activity of the program. They were called visual learners and students often responded well to colorful pictures, information on the white board, charts, cartoons, posters, worksheets, maps, and story books with pictures. The teachers also used the readers with colorful illustrations to make learning enjoyable. Similarly, most explanations in the ESOL subject were also understood well when sounds were incorporated into the lessons. These sounds ranged from songs, poems, riddles, and oral activities. They helped the learners who learn best by listening. Some students worked and learned faster by listening to songs and stories. These categories of learners were comfortable with the spoken instructions. In this scenario, the teachers were expected to add sounds to the lessons. For instance, as the teacher taught on transportation, the sounds of trains, motor vehicles, cars or airplanes could be added to the lesson. As this happened, the teacher also concentrated on the pronunciation of the sounds of the alphabetical letters in words and sentences. The teachers also gave us listening exercises which required a learner to listen to the teacher’s instructions in order to complete an assignment. Besides the learning materials and activity explanations in an ESOL subject, there was an overview given to each activity including SOLs. SOL refers to the standards of learning. These standards provided a framework for instructional programs designed to raise the academic achievement of the students. They set reasonable expectations and targets for what the students needed to learn and what the teachers needed to teach. The ESOL program Lesson Plan The ESOL students prepared to enroll in secondary or elementary school. Again, the ESOL students comprised of those who were not born in the US. Other languages rather than the English language also dominated their environment hence the need to have well prepared lesson plans. The classroom and ESOL teachers prepared the learning goals every semester on the ACCESS spring scores. They determined the academic needs of the student and SOL content. The lead teachers ensured that the learning goals were completed by the end of the semester. The ESOL students were those who had limited proficiency in speaking, reading, listening and writing. Hence, student’s proficiency was measured by the World Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) and English proficiency assessment. The communication and understanding in English state to state for English language was also used to measure their linguistic background. The content background was expected to be part of the student lessons. For instance, the students had to meet academic content, achieve standards and English proficiency. They were also required to sustain, provide and develop high quality language instructional programs. Also, these students were expected to promote community and parental participation. The strategies used to motivate students The students got motivated when there was an efficient environment for language learning. A number of strategies could be used to assist the students in learning a new language. These included: Reduction of anxiety level in students by their teachers made them comfortable. The environment created by the teachers encouraged their participation. Secondly, the teachers spoke clearly; adjusted teaching materials and scaffold information making their language more understandable. Similarly, the teachers also used visual supports that made the language more comprehensible. The students were encouraged to actively participate in the lessons, they were engaged in the learning process hence could remember the content easily. Increased interaction among the students and the teachers also motivated the students to learn. The nurturers of academic and English achievement in the program The student’s academic progress was monitored by the lead teacher. The students who were struggling because of language discussed with the administration, ESOL teacher and grade level teacher to monitor their academic progress and determine success. These managers also reviewed the grades, division assessments, SOL test scores, and benchmarks. They also engaged in discussion with the ESOL student’s classroom teachers thus noting the student’s progress. The progress had to be satisfactory to the school division. Examples of successful motivational techniques that were used in ESOL The students were given ample time to complete their assignments. Their teachers also simplified vocabulary and the grammatical structures that could match the students’ language proficiency. Provision of the background information and presentation of new information in small sequential steps were also successful techniques for learning. Strategies used to manage students in ESOL program The ESOL students who needed ESOL services were placed in language instruction program based on their English proficiency grade and level. They were placed at the grade level that was appropriate for their age. The school division implemented programs, procedures, and activities involving parents. For instance, the school developed a written parent involvement policy which was used to solicit for parental input. The policy also provided timely information to the parents regarding a child’s participation in the language instruction education program, transfers to other school divisions, the ESOL program, and graduation requirements. Screening of the students was done before any placement or appointment. ESOL teachers screened potential students using the K-MODEL screener at their respective schools. In conclusion, learning a language was interesting because it was a continuous fluid process and distinct from every student. Students learning/acquiring a new language received meaningful and understandable input beyond their present level of proficiency. Read More