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Good Preview for WABE 2012: Office of English Language Acquisition–Supporting English Learners in Science: Strategies for Success
The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) is hosting a pre-conference professional development workshop at the 2012 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) annual conference. The workshop will be held March 28 at the J.W. Marriot Hotel in Indianapolis, IN. OELA Director Dr. Rosalinda B. Barrera has prepared a letter of invitation for potential participants.
This one-day workshop will feature classroom practitioners that will share effective science instructional practices for English Learners (ELs). A major challenge for ELs in mastering science content is acquisition of the academic language reflected in science texts and other science instructional materials.
This workshop is geared toward middle- and high school science teachers seeking to learn techniques for teaching inclusive lessons for English Learners, as well as administrators wishing to share this information with their teachers.
For more information, visit http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/meetings/nsta2012/.
To register, visit http://bai-register.com/nsta2012/.
The U.S. Department of Education released a draft report today (2/6/12) examining approaches to setting criteria for measuring the progress of English learners in classrooms as part of a four-year project led by American Institutes for Research (AIR). The final fully-formatted version of the report will be posted on the ED website in early March of 2012. The report, National Evaluation of Title III Implementation Supplemental Report: Exploring Approaches to Setting English Language Proficiency Performance Criteria and Monitoring English Learner Progress, provides examples of various ways states can use enhanced data systems to address key questions like:
- What does English proficiency mean?
- How long does it take to become English proficient?
- How do we take into account the English Language proficiency level in setting academic progress for proficiency expectations?
The report describes several empirical methods and conceptual/theoretical rationales to help state policymakers, standard-setting panels, and the technical advisory panels and assistance providers supporting them. The report was a collaborative effort among Gary Cook of the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, Robert Linquanti of WestEd, and AIR staff led by Marjorie Chinen.
The four-year project funded through the U.S. Department of Education, Policy and Program Studies Service, and led by a team of experts from AIR is evaluating Part A of the Title III Program, which provides federal grants to assist states and local governments in addressing the needs of limited English proficient children and immigrant youth. Three additional reports will be issued in the coming months.
For more information about the National Evaluation of Title III Implementation, please contact James Taylor (jtaylor@air.org) at AIR or Andrew Abrams (Andrew.abrams@ed.gov) at the U.S. Department of Education, Policy and Program Studies Service.
WIDA Survey on Academic Spanish
WIDA is conducting a research study called “Exploratory study of expressive language domains in academic Spanish” as part of the SALSA grant project. The general purpose of this study is to examine the typical linguistic density and complexity of academic Spanish used by beginning, intermediate, and advanced Spanish language learners in the areas of language arts and mathematics.
This voluntary survey is available to all educators in the United States that meet the following criteria:
- Are bilingual (Spanish/English)
- Have Spanish literacy skills
- Have K-12 teaching experience in the U.S.
- Have experience working with Spanish language learners
Based on the survey results, the prompts will be modified as needed and administered to students participating in the study. Data collected in this study will help inform performance criteria for academic Spanish language development.
Although the study targets Spanish language learners in Kindergarten, 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 12th grades in Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, and Wisconsin, the results will impact everyone who uses the Spanish language development standards being developed.
The survey will be available until February 17, 2012. Any questions can be directed to Lorena Mancilla at lmancilla@wisc.edu.
Please feel free to forward this message to colleagues that meet the participation criteria listed above. To access the surveys, please click here.
Study Language in China or Egypt
Intensive Summer Language Institutes (ISLI) provides fellowships for U.S. classroom teachers to spend six weeks overseas studying intermediate and advanced-level Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt, and Chinese in Changchun, China. Current K-12 teachers, community college instructors of Arabic and Mandarin Chinese, and students enrolled in education programs who intend to teach these languages can apply. Participants earn ten hours of graduate credit through Bryn Mawr College, and are provided with peer tutors and roundtrip airfare. All travel and study-related costs are fully covered. For more information, please visit www.americancouncils.org/isli or email isli@americancouncils.org.
Program Application Deadline: March 2, 2012
Connect Internationally
The Educational Seminars Program provides short-term professional development opportunities to teachers and administrators from around the world, for 2-3 week reciprocal exchange programs and one-way professional development programs. Participating countries include Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, and Uruguay for reciprocal exchanges and Greece, India, and Italy for one-way programs. All Educational Seminars provide airfare, training, travel health care, and living costs. For more information, please visit www.americancouncils.org/es or email edseminars@americancouncils.org.
Upcoming Program Application Deadline for Argentina, Brazil, Thailand: March 30, 2012
NCELA Quarterly Review: AccELLerate! 4.2. Winter 2012 – Volume 4: Issue 2 Young English Learners
This issue focuses on young English learners. These children come from linguistically and ethnically diverse backgrounds and are learning a second language while still acquiring their first language. Working with these children in an environment that is empowering and supportive of their home culture and language is essential for their academic success and growth into knowledgeable, skilled, and confident citizens of the 21st century. We offer a collection of papers presenting specific practices and new ideas for both novice and experienced teachers.
August et al. and Erdemir underscore the importance of vocabulary development; Robbins & Chamot and Gonzales describe innovative ways of developing young children’s learning strategies using the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA). Two papers address the issue of helping parents and caregivers to prepare their children for school (Connor & Brown; Grassi & Barker). McWilliams, Maldonado, & Szczepaniak share their experiences with developing family-school-community partnerships and Ballantyne discusses the need to foster DLLs’ social and emotional development in a new language. McCrary, Sennette, & Brown describe a journey to build a preparation program for pre-service teachers. Finally, Peña, Bedore, & Gibson and Rivas & Ware tackle the challenges of appropriate assessment of young ELs’ language skills and knowledge.
Tucson ethnic-studies program violates Arizona law, judge says
The Tucson school district’s Mexican American studies program violates state law, an Arizona administrative law judge ruled Tuesday, paving the way for the possible demise of the program.
The judge affirmed a prior decision by the state’s schools chief that the Tucson Unified School District’s program violates a law that aims to outlaw divisive ethnic studies classes.
This resolution builds on NCTE’s longstanding policies on students’ right to their own language, including previous resolutions: El día de los niños/El día de los libros (2005), Developing and Maintaining Fluency in More than One Language (1997), English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education (1982), Students’ Right to Their Own Language (1974) and, in particular, the 1986 and 2008 resolutions opposing English-only practices that displace or denigrate students’ home languages. This resolution also builds on similar resolutions affirmed over the past four decades by the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC).
Dr. Juan Andrade Scholarship for Young Hispanic Leaders
Each year, the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute awards the Dr. Juan Andrade Scholarship for Young Hispanic Leaders to outstanding high school seniors or college students who are committed to make a change for their community. The scholarships will be presented at the 30th USHLI National Conference in Chicago, February 16-19, 2012.
UTPA Online M. Ed. Master’s Program Opportunity!
Apply to get your Masters Degree in Bilingual Education online from the University of Texas Pan American. Dr. Leo Gomez, the Coordinator, has been instrumental in establishing many of the dual language programs in our state.
Scholarships for Undocumented Students
College-bound students who are not citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States are not eligible for State of federal financial assistance because of their immigration status. In addition, they are generally classified as international students and therefore are required to pay higher tuition and fees. However, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) has compiled a list of scholarships that are open to undocumented students. The list is available on MALDEF’s website at http://www.maldef.org/ <http://www.maldef.org/> or by calling (213) 629-2512.
