Steps for an effective program that supports English Language Learners

Step 1

The initial step in the implementation and administration of the ESL program is the establishment of an ESL Review Team (ESLRT) that is responsible for promoting an effective ESL program at the school.

ESL Review Team

* The ESL Review Team (ESLRT) is responsible for reviewing the procedures of the program and for the completion of a Self-Study that documents local needs of the program at each school.

*This is usually completed at the end of the school year.

Step 2The next step is to ensure that all educators are aware that everyone working with an ELL is responsible for the education of the student, and to establish that all teachers working with a particular ELL can be part of the ESL Student Team (ESLST).

ESL Student Team

*The main responsibility of each ESL Student Team is to promote sound educational decisions based on input from a variety of sources for individual ELLs.

*All educators currently working with an ELL are responsible to support appropriate differentiation strategies that help the student learn.

Step 3Next, ensure that effective identification of potential ELLs is achieved through two avenues: (1) a school referral process, or (2) the sponsor completing the Home Language Questionnaire.

Who is eligible for ESL support?

Eligibility is determined based on formal and informal language proficiency assessments. To be eligible for ESL services the student must be designated as Non English Proficient (NEP) or Limited English Proficient (LEP).

This can happen as a result of strong influence of a second or even third language that affects acquisition of academic English. Determinations are individual and based on multiple sources of data.

Social vs. Academic LanguageSocial Language:• Used to make friends, talk with one another, and play out

on the playground, communicate out in the community.• Kid’s pick up social language on their own in short period of

time. Beware! Sounds deceptively fluid & fluent.

Academic Language: • The language of schools, textbooks and tests. • The sentence structure changes in academic language.• Academic language has less context to aid understanding• Requires a deeper knowledge of language to apply cognitive

skills, make inferences, draw conclusions, summarize, analyze, critique.

• Takes longer to learn and requires instruction.• Is required to navigate different academic situations.• Empowers students to be successful in academic settings.• Without academic language students are unable to enter

higher education institutions.No one is a native speaker of academic English!

Social English Academic English

I like this book more. This story is more exciting than the first one we read.

It worked. Our experiment was successful.

Because they were brave. The soldiers received the medal because of their courage.

Step 4Once the potential ELL is identified, formal and informal measures are used to determine the student’s language proficiency, level of influence of another language in the academic growth, and the eligibility for support services.

How is data analyzed?

The ESL teacher collects all available data into a form called ESL Assessment Summary, and makes a recommendation of proficiency level to the members of the ESL Student Team.

All ESL Student Team members MUST agree with recommendation of service. This is done in collaboration.

No formal meetings are needed, but communication must be documented.

Step 5ESL teacher’s recommendations are shared with all members of each individual ESL Student Team for determination of appropriate service delivery.

Suggestion: The school’s ESL RT can determine that this communication will be done via e-mail, for timeliness, accountability and responsibility over decisions.

E-mail sample

Dear members of XX ESL Student team,

Based on the date shared on the attached form, my recommendation is for XX to be placed at ESL Proficiency Level 2 – Emerging, and for the services described below to be provided via direct instruction by the ESL teacher in pull-out and via supportive collaboration in the regular classroom.

Please respond with your concerns/suggestion by MM/DD/YY at 1700. If you do not respond by this date and time, we will understand that you have agreed to this recommended service.

Updates will be provided/requested as the student demonstrates improvement in academic performance.

How are proficiency levels determined?

ESL Teacher reviews all data and compares to the Stages of Language Development chart.

ESL services are determined based on the skills needed by each ELL.

Step 6ESL services are provided as needed with continuous collaboration among team members.

(ESL scheduled pull out class is only one type of service for ELLs at the early stages of language production).

Using a differentiation template can be very efficient for classroom/content teachers.

The ESL teacher can help getting you started!

Step 7ELLs are assessed annually to document progress and support educational decisions.

Data from the annual language assessment -- LAS Links Form B -- and other assessments, as well as anecdotal data from observations are recorded in the ESL Assessment Summary. The new data set must be reviewed by all teachers working with the ELL to determine placement and support for the next SY.

Additional SupportEurope Education Division is offering two online PD opportunities for Professional Learning Teams.

If interested, please ask Jizela right NOW!

Thank you for supporting our ELLs!

Presentation by:

Hassan Kone – ESL Teacher at KES and KMS

Jizela Chirichetti – ESL ISS Europe Area Office

Let us know if we can be of service!