There are more than 80 English as a second language programs within 20 miles of Minneapolis and of St. Paul, according to state figures. While many use tape recorders and even computers to help students learn to speak and read English, only Century College, the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Community and Technical College have digital language labs that take learning a step further for students and teachers.

Gone are the days of students dictating sentences into reel-to-reel tape recorders and the teacher having to lug home dozens of tapes, said Kathy Matel, Century’s student success coordinator, who spent several years getting the lab off the ground. (more…)

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A headteacher whose SATS results placed her school in the top five per cent nationally has called for more resources. Gillian Coffey from Lynch Hill School was celebrating last week after receiving an improved result in the Standard Attainment Tests (SATS) taken last summer by year-six pupils.

However the head of 11 years is calling for more cash to help cope with the rising number of migrant children in her school and others across the Slough borough where the number of children with English as a second language is 48 per cent. She said: “We are very pleased with the results that show the hard work of both the children and staff. Last summer we began to feel the effects of the mobility of families more obviously in the new intakes. (more…)

search for : SATS, Standard Attainment Tests, migrant children

English is the second language among children in 1,300 British schools. The astonishing figure reflects the increasing pressure that immigration is having on the education system. In one district of London, almost nine out of ten schools have an intake where the mother tongue is not English for a majority of pupils. The statistics, obtained from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, highlight a problem which needs immediate action. An inevitable consequence is that teaching time is being taken away from English-speaking pupils because of the extra needs of the foreign students.
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The ESL class run out of an Aurora elementary school by Waubonsee Community College is helping recent (and not so recent) additions to the local community integrate themselves into the day-to-day workings of their Chicago neighborhood. The program offers courses in Spanish language GED preparation and English as a second language, and participants bear no costs — the teachers, books and even child care are paid for. The classes at Aurora’s Bardwell Elementary are among the Chicago area programs supported by Chicago Tribune Holiday Giving, a campaign of Chicago Tribune Charities, a McCormick Tribune Foundation fund. (more…)

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Mexican counsul, Carlos I. Giralt-Cabrales, whose San Bernardino office represents the consulate of Mexico for the Inland Empire, welcomed several people gathered at RHS’ English as a Second Language classroom to introduce the school district’s Plaza Comunitaria program. Plaza Comunitaria, Spanish for “community center,” will provide classes in Spanish to adults and young people just out of high school, with the goal to “contribute to the advancement of the educational level of migrant parents and out-of-school youth; enhance self-esteem of migrant parents for their culture of origin; to strengthen the ability of the migrant parents to be actively involved with their children; and to improve the first language of the migrant families to facilitate their learning of English as a second language.” (more…)

search for : English as a Second Language

The Garden City NY Public Library has increased its audio collection of foreign language learning materials to include 15 foreign languages as well as English as a second language. Among the audio language courses available to library patrons for personal study are Arabic, Chinese, both Cantonese and Mandarin, Croatian, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish. The easy to use CD courses offer business and pleasure travelers the opportunity to learn the basics of a foreign language before departing on their trips. (more…)

search for : Garden City NY Public Library, foreign language learning materials, English as a second language

With the surge in ESL instruction nationwide, educators are thinking more in terms of how to systematically improve instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs). That means involving a wide range of educators in a school or district, rather than just leaving it up to the English as a second language teacher or bilingual education teacher to figure it out.

School districts wishing to get the most from their ESL dollars would do good to read the recently purchased handbook, “Special Education Considerations for English Language Learners: Delivering a Continuum of Services”, which costs $34.95 and is available from Caslon Publishing. This handbook advises educators on how to move beyond the question of “to refer or not to refer” an English-language learner to special education. It explains how schools can bring together a team of people with different kinds of expertise to address a significant learning problem rather than try to figure out right from the start if an ELL has a disability.

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search for : ESL instruction, English Language Learners

Foreign-born students in the English language program at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies are learning a lot more than just English in their classes, they’re learning to live and contribute to Toronto culture as well. The 40-year-old U of T English language program has been offered in its current form since 1968,making it one of the oldest providers of English as a second language (ESL) instruction in North America. The program has trained engineers from Korea, doctors from Thailand and teachers from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, eastern Europe and Russia. A new addition to the program called the Volunteer Club is giving ELP students who come from more than 60 different countries a first-hand look at Canadian culture by engaging them in volunteer work experiences that allow them to practise what they learn. (more…)

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