Hackettstown Public Schools
English Language Learners
English as a Second Language Program
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students come to the
To help ensure that English as a Second Language (ESL)
instruction will meet the academic and life needs of the LEP population, the
district has rewritten the ESL curriculum.
Using the goals and standards outlined in the New Jersey Department of
Education’s Aligning the TESOL ESL Standards to the New Jersey Standards for
Language Arts Literacy, the ESL Curriculum Committee reviewed each of the
goals, standards and progress indicators.
Next, for each goal, proficiencies were identified. The individual committee members then
identified sample activities for each of the proficiencies. These sample activities are correlated to the
needs and overall skills of the student population for each of the three grade
levels.
To guarantee that ESL instruction addresses the different
learning styles and the educational level of the LEP population, a variety of
instructional approaches and materials are used. Overall, instruction focuses on the four main
communication skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. ESL teachers provide additional instructional
help in content-area studies to help students achieve academically. Authentic materials are used extensively to
teach communicative competence and to help LEP students to communicate in
social settings. Ongoing assessments
provide feedback to both the instructors and students.
In an effort to work towards effective infusion of the Core
Curriculum Content Standards in instruction, an in-district staff development
course to address effective teaching strategies to benefit ESL students is
presented by our ESL instructors. All
district personnel have the opportunity to attend this and all other workshops
offered by the district, county, state and other organizations, including
TESOL.
All LEP students receive a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 90
instructional minutes daily in the ESL program.
In addition to the students working individually and in small groups
with the ESL teacher, the LEP students may also work with a bilingual teaching
assistant. In the elementary schools,
the teaching assistant provides implementation of content area lesson plans
designed by the mainstream teacher in consultation with the ESL instructor and
implemented under the direction of the ESL teacher. In the middle school and high school, the teaching
assistants are placed in content area subjects to provide additional support
for LEP students as needed. As a result,
all LEP students, including the bilingual population, receive extended
services.
Throughout the year, ESL teachers meet with LEP students’
classroom teachers to ensure that additional instructional needs are identified
and addressed. At the end of the
academic year, students are tested using the ACCESS. Test results, along with observations by the
classroom teachers and conversations with the students and/or their parents,
guide placement of ESL students in mainstream English classes or in ESL
classes.
The district recognizes that
proficiency in English is central to the success of our students, both in and
outside of the academic setting. The ESL
program, therefore, has developed the following goals and objectives:
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©2007 Hackettstown High School - |
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