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Overview:   Children are growing up in a complex, highly competitive global economy in which our total knowledge is doubling every few years. We exist in a global society that requires extraordinary skills and talents as well as a pace of life never before experienced in human history. Our multilingual needs as a society are celebrated as our cultures are no longer separated by bodies of water or land but only by the limits we place on the appreciation of human diversity. "Reading, writing, and speaking English well are all critical skills for living the American dream. Nineteen states have reported an increase of more than 50 percent in English language learners over the last three years—and that growth is expected to continue. America's schools need help."  No Child Left Behind

This 30 hour professional development solution uses a blended approach to e-learning. Although all content is available online, some modules have been designed to be conducted in a scheduled local school district setting. This will allow participants to share their work and discuss major concepts together as a cohort.  The Outline identifies which modules can be completed independently and which ones should be conducted "live" with face-to-face interaction. The live modules are to be conducted by a local district teacher or administrator that is referred to throughout the modules as the learning Mentor. Some groups may provide their own leadership instead of having a designated Mentor. In this scenario, all members would meet for Module 1 and individuals would sign up to serve as Mentors facilitating one or more of the remaining 3 live face-to-face modules. Mentor notes are available for each live session and members choosing to serve as a Mentor should familiarize themselves with the Mentor notes before the scheduled session. 

The degree of quality in the instruction delivered to all races, cultures, and learners of English as a second language will directly impact America's future as a world leader in the Knowledge Age.

To better serve their diverse student groups, today's classroom teachers  need an understanding of the process of language acquisition. In this module learners will progress through three distinct stages of linguistic awareness. In each stage teachers will encounter learning events that equip them to formulate answers to the following essential questions:

 1. Teacher as a Language Learner

• How is language defined?

• What are the different theoretical perspectives as related to first language acquisition?

• What is the process of language development, why do certain developments precede others, and how do earlier developments relate to later ones?

• What are the many aspects of second language acquisition and how do they compare to first language acquisition?

2. Teacher as an Assessor & Evaluator

• To what extent is first language academic development correlated with second language acquisition and academic success in school?

• What is the importance in defining student’s proficiency in a second language?

• What approaches are useful in building valid and reliable assessments for English language learners?

3. Teacher as a Curriculum Specialist & Language Facilitator

• Why do researchers and practitioners argue that in K-12 classrooms it is more beneficial to integrate language and content instruction, rather than teach them as isolated subjects?

• What role does culture play in schooling students of diverse linguistic and cultural heritages?

• What are the driving needs of a culturally and linguistically diverse student population?

• What responsibility do all educators have in addressing the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students?

Projects and activities in each module are aligned with the Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) English As A Second Language Standards. Review the ESL Standards Correlation Matrix to see where specific standards are addressed throughout the ten modules in this solution.

Standard I. The ESL teacher understands fundamental language concepts and knows the structure and conventions of the English language.
Standard II. The ESL teacher has knowledge of the foundations of ESL education and factors that contribute to an effective multicultural and multilingual environment.
Standard III. The ESL teacher understands the processes of first language acquisition and uses this knowledge to promote students' language development in English.
Standard IV. The ESL teacher understands ESL teaching methods and uses this knowledge to plan and implement effective, developmentally appropriate ESL instruction.
Standard V. The ESL teacher has knowledge of the factors that affect ESL student's learning of academic content, language, and culture.
Standard VI. The ESL teacher understands formal and informal assessment procedures and instruments (language proficiency and academic achievement) used in ESL programs and uses assessment results to plan and adapt instruction.
Standard VII. The ESL teacher knows how to serve as an advocate for ESL students and facilitate family and community involvement in their education.

Activities are also aligned with the National ESL Standards.

Teachers will produce relevant products that can be used in the classroom. All products and performance tasks will be scored using either rubrics or checklists.

Performance Task (Standard)	Assigned	Due	Evaluation	Points
Reflections on Learning a Second Language (I, III)	Module 3	Module 3	Checklist	5
Different Opinions on ESL/Bilingual (II)	Module 3	Module 3	Holistic Rubric	5
Assessment Strategies (VI)	Module 6	Module 8	Analytic Rubric	12
Curriculum Map With Content Standards and ESL Standards (IV)	Module 5	Module 7	Analytic Rubrics	18
Identification of Online Resources for Student Use (IV)	Module 8	Module 8	Checklist	12
Rich Learning Environments and Teaching Strategies (12 Total) (IV, V)	Module 9	Module 9	Holistic Rubric	24
Advocacy Plan for ESL Students (VII)	Module 9	Module 9	Holistic Rubric	12
Group Member Presentations (I-VII)	Module 10	Module 10	Holistic Rubric	12
Total				100

New certificates and examinations will be available for the following areas in FALL 2003:

For teachers interested in receiving full ESL certification, the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) Web site at http://www.excet.nesinc.com/prepmanuals/PDFs/TExES_fld154_prepmanual.pdf includes all certification related information. 

"We hope you find this professional development experience both challenging and rewarding. Information exchanges, global prosperity, and an embracing of cultural sensitivity may be advanced if the complex process of language acquisition and language development is understood.  Initially, language serves as the foundation for the establishing of lifelong literacy skills." ~Dr. Antonio A. Fierro Adjunct Professor of Literacy Studies University of Texas at El Paso

Liliana Jaurrieta Bilingual Educator Lujan Chavez Elementary El Paso, TX

"One of the greatest challenges facing educators today is the need to customize instruction to meet the individual needs of each student. It is an undertaking that requires new knowledge and teaching skills. Although the content in this learning path has been designed to assist educators in meeting the needs of second language learners, many of the teaching and learning concepts are universal and can be used with all students since each learner is unique." ~ David Malone

Student feedback is critical to the continuous improvement of Quality Learning courses. Learners are given an opportunity to provide electronic feedback to briefly rate the usefulness of each learning event in each module. The feedback learners provide enables the curriculum designers to revise and refine the content in an effort to achieve the highest quality learning resource.