Specialist? Specialist!

As I finish my program as an ESL Specialist, I am reflecting back on the insights that I have learned through the classwork, readings, and (especially) the collaboration with my classmate colleagues.  There has been a tremendous amount of learning in a short time (although I will admit, I am surprised to find my summer is suddenly waning!).  As this is the third and final course in my program, I am wondering how I will have a chance to learn more in the future of my profession.  I will, of course, have professional development opportunities to pursue.  However, nothing is quite the same as a continuous study of the field you are working in with a guiding instructor and classmates who have common goals and have professional discussions about the learning.  I like how courses such as these take you out of the hectic schedule of school and dynamic environment that you are contantly responding (reacting?) to, in order to read, process, digest, discuss, debate, and empathise with each other.  It is refreshing, and re-energizing. 

It also makes me a little concerned that I am now entering my profession as a Specialist, as one to be looked to when the questions around ESL theory and practice are asked.  It is interesting, and I am sure that the responsibility will come gradually as I have a chance to apply learning along the way.  At least, that is my hope. 
I  have to make sure that I don't become too ambitious to begin all the projects which I have jotted down in my notebook along the way, or I will be completely overwhelmed.  I am sincerely worried about 'burn-out' next year, and I hope that I can use this knowledge to create more leadership opportunities for others so that I may step back to see the 'whole picture' and reassess and focus energy on positive changes. 

I am satisfied with my learning, and look forward to applying it in my classroom.

Using CALL in class

This article talks about podcasting as a form of CALL use in the ESL classroom.  It is an interesting read (although from 2007, which is 'old' for technology articles), and it gives me ideas of things I want to start to do in our department. However, once school begins I find myself completely overrun with projects, teaching, planning, advocating, organising, discussing, meetings, etc...and I don't have time to find ways to incorporate new technologies.  I love developing tech and learning about it in my off time, or in PD opportunities, but unless it is straightforward to use and ready to go it can be more cumbersome to use than it is worth (at least for the first time using it). 
I hope that I may plan some time this year for my own professional implementation, so that I am not wasting my learning.  It may help that I will be working with a Teacher Candidate this semester- we can work together to integrate this into our lesson planning. 

Two Questions Regarding Including Aboriginal Students

At present we are struggling to support our high numbers of immigrant and refugee students in our English as an Additional Language program. In addition to these students, our school has a population of 45-52% First Nations, Inuit and Metis (FNIM) students, from 73 different Nations across Canada. Ultimately, this means that a high proportion of these students do not speak English as their first language. Despite being a culturally responsive school, we are not addressing the needs of these students at present. This is a large oversight and yet it is hard to imagine how we could possibly have the capacity to include these students in the programming. There are a number of hurdles. One is that FNIM students, on the whole, do not want to take English language classes in our urban setting. They do not want to be seen as different from other students and since they fully recognize what the EAL program is about, they shy away from being identified as English learners. Secondly, despite having many resources to teach EAL to ELLs, and many resources for treaty and multicultural education, we lack resources to address supporting language with FNIM students. It is very important that we are culturally sensitive and have specific resources available that address this particular situation. As the EAL Specialist at our school, I honestly do not know where I can find the capacity to address this next year, and yet I must.

My questions are as follows:

1. How do we encourage students to participate in EAL programming when they are extremely reticent, and sometimes completely opposed to do so?

2. What sorts of training or materials are available to teach English Language Learning to FNIM students that addresses the specific nature and history of colonialism in Canada? This is a loaded question I know, which is why I need to start the conversation around it.

Reflection on Options for English Language Learners

In Minaya-Rowes article Options for English Language Learners (click to link to article with Queens Net ID), the topic of different English Language programs is addressed along with descriptions of these programs. As I read this article, I noted some important points with regards to our programming set for the upcoming year at our high school. In many respects, we have been doing a good job in our Monolingual Programming by addressing the needs of our students by offering a diversity of programming to reflect our diverse learners. In other ways, this article helped to point out ways that we must expand our programming to fully meet the needs of our school population.

Due to the multicultural nature of our English Language Learners, we do not have the capacity to offer bilingual programs to our students. Even with certain groups who have large populations, there is simply not teaching staff available to teach in their first language. Some of the first languages at our school include Spanish (in the middle of Saskatchewan it is difficult to find a certified teacher who is also fluent in Spanish), Karen (an indigenous language from Burma), Nepali, and Somalian. Much like as was described for Spanish language, there is simply not enough teachers available to address these needs for a bilingual program. However I am very impressed by some of the programs outlined in the article. Minyaya Rowes states that: in a Two-Way school "[l]essons are never repeated or translated in the other language, but concepts taught in one language are reinforced across the two languages in a spiralling curriculum, with concepts and knowledge building on each other". This format seems amazing, and would address the strong need for a student to develop their first language beyond simple communication. We are at a loss in this aspect, and are looking for opportunities to increase student first language literacy.
I also liked the author's description of inviting parents into the classroom to participate in the class and be involved in their children's (and their own) learning. This is an area that I would like to develop next year at our own school. We already hold Family Nights, which are aimed at having fun and learning about community resources. We would like to change the focus for parents to get a better idea of what we are teaching in school, and how to help students learn at home. This could be a great addition or alternative to the evening events.

Many of the Monolingual Programs are being offered through our programming at our high school next year. Some have been developed over the past three years, and some will be tried next year for the first time. We will be doing the following:

• Sheltered English or Content Based English as a Second Language

In 2011-12 we are offering sheltered classes for EAL students in Science 10, Math 10 and 20 (grade 10 and 11), Native Studies 10 and 20, Foods 10, and non-credit classes in Math, Social Studies, and Computers. Math 10/20 and Native Studies 10 will be co-taught by an EAL teacher and a mainstream teacher together. The rest will be taught by EAL teachers. Three of these subject areas will be 'stretched' to last the entire year to ensure learning at a steady pace.

• ESL Pull Out/Push In Programs

In 2011-12 we will be offering a full spectrum of benchmarked classes. We will offer "pre-A"-E, from the Ontario curriculum. These classes will occur once per day, and over each semester. Students must meet exit criteria to move to the next level. At the lower levels (A/B), there are more classes available for direct language instruction.

• Newcomer Programs

We have made connections to satellite organisations and programs in order to transition newcomers who are too old to effectively graduate from a high school program in the time given. While we will certainly accept these new students in our program, we also present two other learning opportunities connected to our school for EAL students. Firstly, at our satellite school for students 18-22 we have developed a new LIFE (Learners with Interrupted Formal Education) program, taught by one of our EAL teachers. This program addresses the needs of our newcomers who may be refugees or for other reasons have huge gaps in formal education and need life skills training in English to raise their family to pursue other opportunities in Saskatoon. In addition, we also have a partnership with the local College with their Community Coordinator. She is a certified ESL teacher and she works with our students to find them information and opportunities to transition from our program once they reach 22 or once they can no longer stay in school. Some of the information is outside the scope of our Counsellors at present and connecting our students to these Newcomer programs is very important for their transition and ultimate success in Canada.

Overall, this article was very insightful for me to think about our current programming and how it has developed over time and where we have gaps (see questions in next post).