Childrens’ books have existed for hundreds of years. As learning tools, these books teach basic concepts to the very young. Concepts like ABCs, 123s, up-down-over-under; all those spatial and elemental ideas that a kid must understand in order to make sense of the world. Not to mention learning to read and balance a checkbook. Their beauty is their simplicity, but that doesn’t mean writing them is a simple matter. In fact, they’re quite challenging little pieces of literature. Some concept books are really pictorial dictionaries. They are many times used effectively in English as a Second Language classes. The challenge for bilingual education is finding these books. Even more challenging is finding authors with the necessary bilingual skills to author the books. (more…)

Volunteer opportunities are available through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Local thrift stores need cashiers, or behind the scenes receiving goods or sorting and pricing items. A Henderson County store also needs volunteers to assemble new furniture and deliver it to the second store. In most cases, vests and name tags are provided. More than 50 area adults are waiting to learn to read or to learn English as a second language. Volunteer hours and locations are flexible. An Asheville City elementary school needs volunteers to work one-on-one with students, work with ESL students, help in the library, help small math or reading groups, help a teacher in a classroom or work in the garden with students.
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search for : English as a second language, ESL students

The number of students with limited English proficiency is growing rapidly in Maryland schools, yet the number of teachers trained to work with them remains disproportionately small. Elementary students whose native language is not English more than doubled in the last eight years. But the number of teachers in the state holding certification to teach ESOL, (English to Speakers of Other Languages) is not keeping up with the number of students. John Nelson, co-director of the ESOL/Bilingual Program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, said that means that there are not enough teachers who are prepared to give students with limited English skills the help they need. “As soon as you get an ESOL student, you realize that you have a new set of problems to work out,” Nelson said. “These students tend to be very enthusiastic learners, but they have a long way to go because they have a language barrier.” (more…)

search for : ESOL, English to Speakers of Other Languages

Lammersville Elementary School District will offer free English language instruction for Mountain House and Tracy adults starting in January. The district received a $6,700 state grant to pay for classes for people whose secondary language is English twice a week starting Jan. 15 through May. According to district demographic statistics, Mountain House residents speak 20 different languages, including Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog and Spanish. Lammersville Elementary School District parents whose second language is English are also invited to the orientation January 10, which will also act as a meeting for English Language Advisory Committee, known as ELAC. Each school in the district will need at least four parents to sit on the committee, which directs administrators to know what resources will help English-learner students. Childcare during the English courses will be provided. (more…)

search for : free English language instruction, English Language Advisory Committee, English-learner student

For ESL students listening to a typical country and western song, the “jargon” makes little or no sense. University of Toronto professor Jennifer Harris, who teaches an advanced course in English as a second language, explains that as sung in Brad Paisley’s fishin’ song, “to catch hell” means to get in trouble. The fellow is in trouble because he spends more time on the lake than at home. But, ultimately, he chooses fishing over romance. Prof. Harris uses country and western music to teach her foreign-born students sophisticated grammatical concepts, in addition to common slang and idioms. (more…)

search for : ESL students, country and western music

Almost 20 per cent of the people living in Canada are foreign-born, according to the latest 2006 census figures released yesterday. An estimated 1.1 million immigrants came to Canada between 2001 and 2006, the majority of them from Asia and the Middle East. And nowhere is that new face of Canada more evident than in the Greater Toronto Area. Over the five-year period ending in 2006, nearly 450,000 immigrants, or 40 per cent of the total Canadian newcomers, settled in this region, drawn by family, friends and job prospects. Many are settling in established immigrant communities in Toronto and the surrounding 905 area, especially Brampton, Markham, Mississauga, Ajax, Aurora and Vaughan. Across Ontario, school boards receive $219 million for English as a Second Language programs, but many spend less than half of it on those programs because the money is not specifically targeted for language training. Instead, the schools use part of the funds to pay for much-needed items such as books or repairs to their building. (more…)

search for : English as a Second Language

The English as a Second Language, or ESL, Center is designed to help international students studying in America, as well as anyone whose first language is not English. ESL serves a wide variety of students traveling from different places such as China, Asia, India, Europe, Africa and South America. Doris Macdonald, associate professor and director of the ESL program says that the ESL center serves many purposes. All of Macdonald’s tutors have prior ESL experience. The center allows students to converse orally, as well as in writing, receive guidance in grammar and test preparation. Macdonald said that the ESL center can help provide students with an introduction to the culture of the American University. (more…)

search for : English as a Second Language, ESL

Standardized testing for English language learners has improved since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to a Nov. 28 report released by the UC Davis School of Education. The 196-page report, edited by education professor Jamal Abedi, found that the new standardized tests better assess academic English rather than exclusively social English, fit individual states’ English language proficiency academic standards and encompass kindergarten through 12th grade, among other improvements, according to a UC Davis news release. Prior to the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, there were over 60 English proficiency assessments administered in the U.S., Abedi said. Now, 25 states are using one of four consortium tests with criteria experts agree are important. California is not among those 25 states, but it has tailored the test to fit No Child Left Behind. (more…)

search for : English language learners