English Speakers of Other Languages - Report Example

ENGLISH SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) This is a structured language learningprogram 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. Students acknowledged as English language learners get personalized ESOL services by competent ESOL teachers considered to meet their instructional needs and to ensure success in academic achievement standards and state graduation requirements (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). The goal of the program for English language learners is to provide instruction so that students can become fully proficient in English and meet the same challenging state academic content and student achievement standards and the state graduation requirements as all other children are expected to meet. LESSON OBSERVATION It is crucial to start an ESOL class with an interactive warm- up and engage the students in order to understand the lesson well. This will make the student get thinking and speaking English. The students will also be ready for the lesson. The interactive warm-ups may include the artistic warm-ups, for instance, before a class the teacher can make the level appropriate list of words for every learner. The teacher then writes words on a small piece of paper for each learner containing unique words. The students are split into teams and each team is represented by one person who is given a paper and a space on the board (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). The person representing the team must illustrate every word on the list and get the teammates to guess the word. The first team to guess all the words correctly becomes a winner. The teacher can also determine the understanding capacity of the students by making a record while describing something, a place or a person. The teacher can then play the recording for the students to cite or demonstrate what they have heard or understood. Secondly, the teacher should be able to make the learning materials available for the lesson. When teaching an ESOL subject, the teacher should be aware of the differences in the learning styles of the students. Some students can only learn and enjoy the lesson effectively by looking and seeing what they are learning in the picture and graphic forms (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). These are called visual learners and they often respond well to colorful pictures, information on the white board, charts, cartoons, posters, worksheets, maps, and story books with pictures. The teacher can also use the readers with colorful illustrations. In addition, most explanations in ESOL subject can also be understood well when sounds are incorporated into the lessons. These sounds range from songs, poems, riddles, and oral activities. This helps the learners who learn best by listening. The students work and learn faster by listening to songs and stories. It means this is a category of learners who are comfortable with the spoken instructions. In this scenario, the teacher should add sounds to the lessons. For instance, as the teacher teaches on transportation, the sounds of trains, motor vehicles, cars or airplanes can be added to the lesson (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). As this happens, the teacher can also concentrate on the pronunciation of the sounds of the alphabetical letters in words and sentences. The listening exercises which require the students to listen to the teacher’s instructions in order to complete an assignment are also important for the learners. Besides the learning materials and activity explanations in an ESOL subject, there is an overview given to each activity including SOLs. SOL refers to the standards of learning. These standards provide a framework for instructional programs designed to raise the academic achievement of the students. They set reasonable expectations and targets for what the students need to learn and what the teachers need to teach. Content based English Language Learning approach is used by Manassas City Public School. This approach makes use 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 becomes English. There is direct language development instruction delivered by a certified ESOL teacher in elementary ESOL services. The grade levels and proficiency score of an ESOL student determine the amount of instructional time. Language acquisition is enhanced by the ancillary materials (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). The lesson and assessment closely relate to the standards of language. The students who are identified as limited English proficient participate in the assessment program. The participation of the students in the Virginia assessment program is determined by the school based committee. The limited English proficient students are granted a one time exemption from the standard of language testing in the writing, history and science areas. LEARNER VARIABLES Most ESOL students speak Spanish. Their second common language is Arabic and then Vietnamese comes third. The other languages include Urdu, Portuguese, Cambodian, and Laotian. The ESOL students are those who have limited proficiency in speaking, reading, listening and writing. The student’s proficiency is measured by the World Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) and English proficiency assessment (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). The communication and understanding in English state to state for English language is also used to measure the linguistic background of the students. These ESOL students are aged 3 years through to 21 years. They include those students who are preparing to enroll or those who have enrolled in secondary or elementary school. Again, the ESOL students may comprise those who were not born in the US. Other languages rather than the English language dominate their environment. In addition, these students may have come from an environment where English had little significant impact on their level of English proficiency. ESOL students also had difficulties in writing, reading, speaking, and understanding the English language hence denied them the ability to achieve successfully in schools where language instruction is English. Moreover, the students could have been denied the ability to meet the state’s proficient level of achievement or denied them the opportunity to get involved in the society (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). The content background that was expected of the students in the lessons includes: The students must meet academic content, achieve standards and English proficiency. They should also sustain, provide and develop high quality language instructional programs. Also, these students were expected to promote community and parental participation. REFLECTION ON MOTIVATION AND MANAGEMENT The strategies used to motivate students The students can get motivated when there is an efficient environment for language learning. A number of strategies can be used to assist the students in learning a new language. These include: Reduction of anxiety level in students by their teachers make them comfortable. The environment that is created by the teachers encourages their participation. Secondly, the teachers speak clearly; adjust teaching materials and scaffolding information making their language more understandable (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). Similarly, the teachers also use visual supports that make the language more comprehensible. The students are encouraged to actively participate in the lessons, they are engaged in the learning process hence can remember the content easily. Increased interaction among the students and the teachers also motivates the students to learn. The barriers and nurturers of academic and English achievement The state develops annual measurable achievement for the students. This helps them to develop and attain English proficiency. The student’s academic progress is monitored by the lead teacher. The students who are struggling because of language discuss with the administration, ESOL teacher and grade level teacher (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). Caseload managers also monitor the academic progress of the students in their 1st and 2nd years to determine their academic progress and success. These managers also review the grades, division assessments, SOL test scores, and benchmarks. They also engage in discussion with the ESOL student’s classroom teachers thus noting the student’s progress. The progress must be satisfactory to the school division. Examples of successful motivational techniques The students should be given ample time to complete assignments. Their teachers should also simplify vocabulary and the grammatical structures that can match the students’ language proficiency (Volusia County Schools, 2008). Provision of the background information and presentation of new information in small sequential steps are also successful techniques for learning in students. Strategies used to manage students The ESOL students who need ESOL services are placed in language instruction program based on English proficiency grade and level. They are placed at the grade level that is appropriate for their age (Volusia County Schools, 2008). The school division implements programs, procedures, and activities involving parents. For instance, the school develops a written parent involvement policy which is used to solicit for parental input. This policy also provides 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 is done before any placement or appointment. ESOL teachers screen potential students using the K-MODEL screener at their respective schools. How the classroom layout and scheduling help with management and motivation The classroom and ESOL teachers must prepare the learning goals every semester on the ACCESS spring scores. They determine the academic needs of the student and SOL content. The lead teachers ensure that the learning goals are complete by the end of the semester. In conclusion, it is interesting to monitor the accuracy of class placement and grade level for the students. It comes with a lot of challenges because there are cases where the ESOL student does not receive adequate services. When such a scenario arises, the student needs to begin receiving the services again within 30 days after notifying the director (Manassas City Public Schools, 2011). Learning a language is interesting because it is a continuous fluid process and distinct from every student. Students learning/acquiring a new language must receive meaningful and understandable input beyond their present level of proficiency. These students must also be able to learn in an environment without any anxiety. References Manassas City Public Schools. (2011). English for Speakers Of Other Languages (ESOL) Program Handbook. Providing An Innovative, Engaging, Inspiring and Challenging Learning Environment for all Students. Volusia County Schools. (2008). A Guide for the General Education Teacher: Working with English Language Learners Read More