Encouraging Young ESL Students in the USA

Return to: Akitsu Koyama

Course Overview

Purpose

This course will provide participants with a better understanding of English as a Second Language or English as a New Language students in the U.S.A. and find a way to motivate and support those students. The ENL/ESL students who first came to the U.S.A. will face many changes in their lifestyle and the way of communication dramatically. The first year in the U.S.A. is particularly difficult and it is important for them to have someone to help and encourage not only their English developments but also their motivation and efforts for their school life. This course will provide educators as well as students’ parents/guardians a way to help and encourage ESL students to support those students.

Assessment of Learner Needs

The lack of understanding diversity in education is crucial whereas racial, ethics, and linguistic diversity is increasing among U.S. Students (Diaz, Pelletier, & Provenzo, 2006). When non-English-speaking students come to the U.S. for the first time, they will face many changes in their lifestyle and the way of communication. As their first concern may be the English developments, not all of ESL/ENL can have support from ESL certificate teachers. It is a critical situation that those ESL/ENL have difficulty in learning and communicating at school without any understanding or support from teachers and parents/guardian. This mini-course will focus on the need to address those ESL/ENL students with appropriate understanding and effective support from classroom teachers and their parents/guardians to support and motivate their learning.

Performance Objectives

General Outcomes:

Participants will learn the importance of the support for ESL/ENL students who come to the U.S. for the first time and are having many difficulties in their everyday school life. By understanding ESL/ENL students’ difficulties and problems in American schools, participants will gain the skills needed to support and motivate ESL/ENL students at schools.

Specific Outcomes:

• Given information on ENL/ESL students, participants will be able to identify the major problems of those students.

• Given examples of ENL/ESL students, participants will be able to clarify common misconceptions and myth of those students.

• Given examples of support for ENL/ESL students, participants will be able to design their own assistants for their students.

• Given examples of ENL/ESL students, participants will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the support for the major student’ difficulty.

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Click on the lessons below to begin

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Unit 1: Understand ENL/ESL Students

This mini-course includes the following lessons. Click the title of a unit to go to its page.

Lesson 1: Do you know the challenges of ENL/ESL Students?

• The participants will be able to identify at least three major common problems of ENL/ESL students

Lesson 2: How important for ENL/ESL Students to have someone who understands them?

• The participants will be able to define the importance of the support from educators and parents/guardians for ENL/ESL students.

Lesson 3: Do you know any misconceptions of ENL/ESL Students?

• The participants will be able to clarify at least three common misconceptions and myths of those students which prevents understand the difficulties of ENL/ESL students.

Unit 2: Design your support for ENL/ESL Students

Lesson 4: How can I support my ENL/ESL students?

• The participants will be able to identify the main difficulty and problems of ENL/ESL students to design your assistant for those students.

• The participants will be able to find at least two means to support ENL/ESL students to design your assistant for those students.

Lesson 5: Is my support for ENL/ESL Students effective?

• The participants will be able to evaluate their means to support ENL/ESL students to have better support for those students.

Extended Resources

5 Struggles for ELL Students, and How We Can Help – Little Sponges. (2017, November 2). Retrieved from https://www.little-sponges.com/index.php/2017/11/02/5-struggles-ell-students-can-help/

Blueprint, K. (2014). For English language learners and students with disabilities special considerations in relation to common core standards. K12 Blueprint A Planning Resource for Personalizing Learning. Retrieved from https://www.k12blueprint.com/sites/default/files/CCSS-for-ELL-and-Students-with-Disabilities.pdf

Dias, C. F. (2009). Multicultural Education. In Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education (pp. 518-527).

English Language Learners: Culture, Equity and Language [Video file]. (2012, January 20). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HU80AxmP-U&feature=youtu.be

Gonzalez, J. (2018, September 21). 12 Ways to Support English Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/supporting-esl-students-mainstream-classroom/

Haynes, J. (n.d.). Challenges for ELLs in Content Area Learning. Retrieved from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/challenges_ells_content_area_l_65322.php

Hosp, J. L., Hosp, M. K., Howell, K. W., & Allison, R. (2014). The ABCs of Curriculum-Based Evaluation: A Practical Guide to Effective Decision Making. New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

Kilman, C. (2009). Lonely Language Learners? Teaching Tolerance, (35). Retrieved from http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2009/lonely-language-learners

Meskill, C. (2009). Teaching and learning in real time: Media, technologies, and language acquisition (2nd ed.). Houston, TX: Athelstan.

New York State United Teachers. (2015, August 6). Fact Sheet No. 15-16: Debunking the Myths of English Language Learners. Retrieved from https://www.nysut.org/resources/all-listing/2015/august/fact-sheet-debunking-the-myths-of-english-language-learners

Penn State College of Education. (n.d.). How can I support ELLs in my classroom? — Penn State College of Education. Retrieved from https://ed.psu.edu/pds/elementary/intern-resources/esl-handbook/supporting-ells

The Realities of Culture Shock & What to Do about Them [Video file]. (2015, December 16). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJKsczipyLI&feature=youtu.be

TEFL. (2014, September 14). 7 Useful Tips for Teaching ESL To Children. Retrieved from https://www.eslbase.com/teaching/teaching-esl-children

VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY. (n.d.). American Culture & Culture Shock. Retrieved from https://www.valpo.edu/international/living-in-the-u-s/u-s-culture/american-culture-culture-shock/