Changes in ESL are slow, but ‘trickle’ is underway
Two years after looking how the Abbotsford school district handles ESL learning, last week, at the board of education meeting, trustees heard about the steps being taken to make sure every student is given an equal chance.
Marcy Criner, Abbotsford ESL district principal, presented the district’s plan to the board and the challenges an ESL student has starting out.
An eight-year-old newcomer to English has to learn 4,500 words that his or her English-speaking peers already know plus 1,000 new words a year.
Read FUll Article…Changes in ESL are slow, but ‘trickle’ is underway.
32 Million Adults Still Won’t Be Able to Read, Write, or Apply for Jobs
ProLiteracy, the nation’s leader in adult literacy programs and advocacy, today decried the exclusion of Title II of the Workforce Investment Act from the current economic stimulus package.
David C. Harvey, president of ProLiteracy, called on President Obama and Congress to include Title II of the Workforce Investment Act in the economic recovery proposal. “We applaud the efforts of our new president and Congress to craft a stimulus bill focused on creating new jobs,” Harvey said. “But it is imperative that they focus on the very people who will have the most difficulty finding jobs — low-literate workers. An effective recovery bill must provide adult literacy and employment training opportunities.”
Harvey pointed out that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to be reviewed by House subcommittees this week, funds job training services for at-risk youth, individuals with disabilities, and older Americans through Titles I, III, and IV of the Workforce Investment Act.
“But inexplicably, Title II, which focuses on adult education and literacy, was left out of the bill,” Harvey said. “Many of the nearly 3 million jobs lost during 2008 were held by individuals who need additional help with basic reading, math, or English skills in order to take advantage of the jobs that the Recovery Act will create.”
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32 Million Adults Still Won’t Be Able to Read, Write, or Apply for Jobs.
ESL classes offered in Somerville, Manville
SOMERSET COUNTY —The Educational Services Commission offers free English as a Second Language classes to adult learners.
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The daytime program takes place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 300 Union Ave., Somerville. The evening classes take place at Manville High School, 1300 Brooks Blvd., Manville on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m.
For more information, students may contact me at 908-806-2795 or e-mail fleddy@hcesc.com.
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Wall Street Institute Improves the Way Its Students Learn English
Wall Street Institute, the world’s premier provider of English language instruction, has updated its educational product offering and is introducing the enhanced features and benefits to its over 160,000 ESL students around the world in a phased product roll-out.
The project involved both modernizing the look and feel and use of language in its online course lessons and educational materials and introducing new features including educational videos and new teacher-led class lesson topics.
The project was a major undertaking by Wall Street Institute, and shows the commitment the company has to offering its students the best and most technologically advanced educational tools available to help them achieve their English language goals.
Read Full Article…Wall Street Institute
Grand Prairie teen overcame language barrier to rise to top of his class
Grand Prairie teen overcame language barrier to rise to top of his class
Ruben was placed in level one of the English as Second Language program, or ESL, at Kennedy Middle School. He was too old for bilingual education classes in elementary school, where teachers speak mostly Spanish at first and gradually transition their students to English over the years.
As a seventh-grader, Ruben would have an ESL teacher for reading, writing, math, technology and physical education. ESL students learn survival English such as: Where’s the restroom? May I sharpen the pencil? They learn basic English grammar and about American traditions such as Thanksgiving or Halloween.
Ruben quickly showed progress. By the end of the six weeks, he had advanced to a level two of ESL. In fact, he did so well that teachers placed him in regular science and social studies classes alongside native English speakers. Usually, ESL newcomers remain at level one for their entire first year, Sustaita said.
Read Full Article…Dallas Morning News.
Neighborhood House Offering Free ESL Classes
Jodi Ritter from White Center’s Neighborhood House tells us they’re offering free “English as a Second Language” ESL classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays for citizens interested in becoming a US Citizen or just learning how to speak English.
According to their website:
The mission of Neighborhood House is to help diverse communities of people with limited resources attain their goals for self-sufficiency, health, financial independence and community building.
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Neighborhood House Offering Free ESL Classes | White Center Blog.
[ESL/ EFL Podcast] Talking About Change
With the election of our first African American President Barack Obama, change seems to be the subject of the day. This is a great podcast that covers some of the more challenging uses of the word change. It has an excellent accompaning podcast. Follow the link at the bottom to the full article.
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EXPRESSION No.1: CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
When a change brings positive results, we say it’s a CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. Logically, if a change has no benefits, we say it’s a CHANGE FOR THE WORSE.
EXPRESSION No.2: CHANGE ONE’S MIND
Sometimes a decision is reversed, that is, we cancel it and act in a different way. From shopping for clothes to voting for a president, every person is entitled to CHANGE HIS or HER MIND.
EXPRESSION No.3: CHANGE OF HEART
Plans aren’t the only thing that can change. We can also change the way we feel about something or someone. If you have a CHANGE OF HEART, your way of thinking is now different from what it was, and your new attitude is probably more favorable or positive.
[ESL/ EFL Podcast] Talking About Change - OhmyNews International.
Classes for immigrants, Seattle
Bellevue Community College is offering free job-preparation and ESL classes for refugees and immigrants living in Bellevue. These classes are funded by the city of Bellevue and begin every quarter in January, April, June and September.
Job-preparation classes are free to nonnative English speakers who are immigrants, refugees or citizens living in Bellevue. Classes offered are: basic computer skills, preparing for work and on-the-job communications. All applicants will be assessed and placed depending on availability and level of ESL literacy.
Registration will be 5:30 p.m. Jan. 6 in Room R-101. For more information, call 425-564-2341, come to Room R-230 at Bellevue Community College or visit www.bellevuecollege.edu/prepforwork.
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Jobs calendar | Seattle Times Newspaper.
Adult Learning Center offers English classes
In 2005, San Luis Potosi, Mexico had a population of approximately 2,410,414 people. In the years since, it has lost at least seven families to Chickasha, Okla. nearly 1,100 miles away. Maria, Lizbeth, Mayro, Muriana, Matilde, Teresa and Maria Esther all came with their families to this rural community of approximately 16,000. Maria Esther said, “I wanted a better way of life and better opportunities for working and for my family. I wanted to see my family and there are better opportunities for jobs and education here.”
The Chickasha Adult Learning Center, in conjunction with the Oklahoma State Department of Education, is working to provide these students with the communication skills needed to reach their goals by offering English as a Second Language classes to the community. Attending classes two nights a week, each has gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and self-confidence. All of the ladies had very similar reasons for participating in the ESL program.
“I want to learn to speak and write English” said Maria and Teresa.
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Chickashanews.com - Adult Learning Center offers English classes.
Educators to Obama: No Child Left Behind needs fixing
BENTON COUNTY - When Barack Obama becomes the country’s 44th president, most eyes will be on what he does to help repair the economy, but there are countless other issues that will fall to his shoulders - including education.
Local school officials agree there should be some tweaking to the federal education law No Child Left Behind. Some would like to see more of an overhaul than just some minor changes. While many other school officials seem to agree with the spirit of NCLB - making sure that all children are given a chance to learn - most are upset with both the law’s extensiveness and its so-called punitive nature.
“We’re all interested in (Obama’s) new secretary of education,” said Ken Ramey, superintendent for the Siloam Springs School District. “What will the focus be on (NCLB)? Will it be changed or amended?”
Ramey said the punitive nature of No Child Left Behind, which creates high-stakes penalties for school districts that don’t have performance numbers that are up to snuff, is a big concern for the district. The concerns are especially for two subpopulations - special-education students and students who qualify for English as a Second Language services. Ramey said he hopes for more funding to help both of those groups, and for revisions to the rules regarding the subpopulations.
Whatever the changes that come about, Ramey said it will be interesting to see.
“A different administration gives you a different focus, new priorities,” he said. “He’s going to have to attack a lot of areas in a lot of different ways.”
Randy Barrett, superintendent for the Gentry School District, also said he hopes to see a restructuring of NCLB, as well as more federal money that would be made available to public school districts. He also hopes Obama carries through with helping public schools implement pre-kindergarten programs, Barrett said.
“I hope, in general, that (Obama) will be able to affect changes in the national economy, and I hope his plans for creating more jobs are successful,” Barrett said. “I hope that during his tenure, economic growth returns to northwest Arkansas and Gentry.”
Mark Sparks, deputy superintendent for the Rogers School District, agreed that he would like to see more resources funneled to schools to help the subpopulations that are targeted by No Child Left Behind.
“They are struggling to meet those academic goals,” he said.
Sparks said it will also be important to give the districts more latitude in how they use those resources, because it is the local educators who will have a better idea of how to help individual students.
“We need to leave (those decisions) more to the classroom teacher,” he said. “They know how to best use resources to get kids where they need to go.”
Sparks also addressed some of the punitive aspects of the federal education law, saying that while the school districts like the idea of accountability, the punitive measures are not helpful.
Bentonville School District Superintendent Gary Compton has strong feelings regarding the changes that need to happen to No Child Left Behind. He agrees that both ESL and special-education students are unfairly handled under the law.
Compton would like to see ESL students given more time to prepare for testing. Currently, they are tested within a year of joining the district, which means many children are being required to take a test in a language they are still learning.
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