Influencing Language Policies to Benefit English LearnersandEnglish Learners and Special Education : Influencing Language Policies to Benefit English LearnersandEnglish Learners and Special Education Appendix A & B
Policy Levels : Policy Levels Classroom
School
Families
Local School District
Organizations and Service Community
Legislation and Public Opinion
Federal
National
Policy at the Classroom Level : Policy at the Classroom Level Use diversity in your classroom to enrich instruction.
Feature minority languages and cultures in school events.
Consider students’ interests, languages, and cultures when planning instruction.
Use materials that depict successful individuals of both genders and of various races and cultures.
Group culturally and linguistically diverse students heterogeneously.
Policy at the School Level : Policy at the School Level “Exemplary teachers provide leadership, goodwill, and academic models for students, advocating funding increases for ELD and bilingual instruction, working to configure classes and class sizes to the benefit of the English learners, and developing a climate of acceptance for linguistic and cultural diversity.”
Slide 5 : Use your position as a teacher to help create a school environment that is friendly to EL students.
Those teachers who are knowledgeable in this area should be given time to help those who are not knowledgeable.
Vote that an equitable share of budgeted resources be available for bilingual and multicultural instructional materials.
Expect leaders in the school to set an example of respect and encouragement for diverse language abilities and cultures within the school.
Involving Families : Involving Families Involving families in the ENL program and in their child’s education is vital.
“Strong parent involvement is one factor that research has shown time and time again to have positive effects on academic achievement and school attitudes.”
Ovando & Collier, 1998
Local School Districts : Local School Districts Participate
Go before the school board well prepared to present your information and proposal.
Attend school board meetings to send the message that the meetings are monitored by experts on issues that affect English learners.
Professional Organizations and Services : Professional Organizations and Services Be involved in the professional community.
Perform ESOL related staff training and mentoring of others, and participate in leadership training for ESOL programs.
Attend district and regional, state, and national professional events and submit proposals for professional participation and publication.
Community Public Opinion : Community Public Opinion Let the community know about your program.
Give presentations to community groups about the ESOL program.
Join or begin local education-community partnership foundations.
Be proactive in gaining newspaper coverage for school events.
Legislation and Public Opinion and Federal Policies : Legislation and Public Opinion and Federal Policies Become informed and involved!
Ask your professional organizations to send subscriptions of the organization’s publications to legislative libraries.
Organize letter-writing campaigns and visit legislators personally to convey interest in issues that affect English learners.
Policy at the National Level : Policy at the National Level Express your opinion.
Write letters of support or with suggestions to media outlets based on their production, or lack thereof, of ESOL programming.
English Learners and Special Education : English Learners and Special Education Two types of special education:
Additional Assistance
Enrichment
Determining Need : Determining Need What type of questions would you ask?
Talk with your group and come up with a list of 3-4 questions you would ask when deciding to asses an ENL student for special needs.
Questions to ask : Questions to ask What are specific examples of a student’s needs that are as yet unmet in the regular classroom?
Is there a chronic pattern that negatively affects learning? Or, conversely, does the difficulty follow no clear pattern?
Is the student’s unmet need becoming more serious as time passes? Is the student’s functioning significantly different from that of classmates?
What is the difference between the student’s ability in their L1 versus their L2?