COURSE TITLE:

MEETING THE NEEDS OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS

NO. OF CREDITS:

1 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = .66 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:
OREGON PDUs:
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:

10
10
10

INSTRUCTOR:

Mary Ann Johnson
maryajohnson-advisor@comcast.net

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In six chapters, all very interesting and readable, the author has laid out the most important issues (and some misconceptions) about the way best to work with a second language population. She includes information about “Best Practices” and “What Educators Need to Know About Language.” She includes the impact of national, state, and local requirements, and how to make the most of the realities a teacher will face. Included are some practical teaching strategies, and where else to turn for more in-depth information.

This would be a good preface or follow-up to the 2-credit course Getting Started with English Language Learners, or an overview for the person who wants a brief introduction to what is going on in the real world of second language learners.

Course Text: Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners: An Educator’s Guide by Judith Lessow-Hurley. This 92 page 6” x9” book, ISBN 0-87120-759-1, is available for approximately $16.95 at Amazon.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

learned the reason first language development should be fostered while learning a second language.
understood the need for a goal of communicative competence over native-like proficiency.
understood the reason that frequent correction of language usage errors doesn’t help the ELL student.
learned about the historical irony of the use of Navajo code-talkers in World War II.
explored the answers to many Frequently Asked Questions.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit.

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participants their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering, determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

For additional reading accessing an annotated Master Bibliography for this course that enhances any teacher’s toolbox.The Bibliography can be downloaded where you got the syllabus on www.hol.edu.

Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners: An Educator's Guide
ISBN# 0871207591
by Lessow-Hurley, Judith
ASCD

Buy from Amazon

MATERIALS FEE

Text cost is approximately $16.95 at Amazon.com

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Mary Ann Johnson, M.Ed Adm. has worked with students of all levels, from alternative high school to gifted classes. She has also been a junior high vice principal and is now working with teachers for continuing education in classes, distance learning and building leadership groups. She is a teacher emeritus who has led seminars for educators which focus on developing a quality learner environment for students and for teachers. Her courses are research-based and resonate with user-friendly and energizing content.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MEETING THE NEEDS OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Ferlazzo, Larry & Hull- Sypnieski, Katie. The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools, and Activities for Teaching All Levels, Grades 4-12, 2012, pb, 322 pages, Josey-Bass. ISBN 978-1-118-09567-6. The authors have designed a thorough handbook to offer educators specific ways to set up their ELL-friendly classroom, develop relationships with students and their parents, and provide motivating strategies for their students. Larry Ferlazzo, one of the authors, is the highly acclaimed author of books on motivation, including Helping Students Motivate Themselves. The book is full of reproducible forms, worksheets and lesson plans for thematic units. Teachers comment that it is helpful, both for beginners and experienced ELL teachers.

Flynn, Kathleen & Hill, Jane. Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners, pb, 142 pages, Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2006.

ISBN 1-4166-0390-5. The diversity among learners in today’s ELL classroom is widening, but ironically, the curriculum is contracting, often due to the emphasis on preparation for standardized testing. To the rescue come the authors, who provide the ultimate handbook of methods and specifics about how to work with ELL students as they move through five stages to become fluent English students. The great insights you will get include how to make an easy diagnosis to determine at which of the five stages a student is functioning—and a probable timeline for your students to progress. The authors have reviewed the nine class strategies in Classroom Instruction That Works by Marzano and Pickering. Then the authors took each of the nine models and enhanced them to make each important strategy work especially well with ELL students.

Haynes, Judie. Getting Started with English Language Learners: How Educators Can Meet the Challenge, pb, 163 pages, ASCD, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4166-0519-5.

This book is indispensable for everyone in education today: teaches of ELL students, mainstream teachers, and support and administrative personnel. It helps introduce the stages the new ELL student will be going through, as well as acknowledging the stages the teacher may be doing through in coping with the diverse variety of students at all levels and from differing cultures.

Hill, Jane D. & Miller, Kirsten B. have created a new second edition Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners, pb, 182 pages, ASCD, 2013. ISBN 1416616306. This edition is based on the revised McRel Lab second edition of Classroom Management That Works. It is much more research-oriented than the first edition of the book reviewed above, but both editions provide strong value and are based on the five stages of student language acquisition. Note: The cover of this edition is bright yellow; the cover of the other version has children’s faces.

Samway, Katharine Davies & Taylor, Dorothy. Teaching English Language Learners: Grades 6-12 (Theory and Practice), 320 pages, Scholastic, 2008. Each chapter takes on (sticky) “Situations” that are challenges for the ELL students and their teachers, especially at the secondary level. The book handles advice on what to do in both interpersonal and intercultural situations, as well as listening, speaking, reading, and writing trouble spots.