Advocating for English Learners


Book Description

"English learners (ELs) are the fastest-growing segment of the K-12 population. But Els and their families, who are in the process of learning English and navigating an often-unfamiliar education system, may not have a voice powerful enough to articulate their needs. Consequently, all teachers and administrators must advocate for this all-important diverse group of students who will become tomorrow's workforce."--Back cover.




Advocating for English Learners


Book Description

A collection of 18 essays addressing the policy and politics of educating English language learners. Subjects include demographic change and its educational implications, American responses to language diversity, public controversies over bilingual education, high-stakes testing and its impact on English language learners, and the precarious status of language rights in the USA.




Advocacy in English Language Teaching and Learning


Book Description

Appropriate for those new to the topic and established scholars, this holistic text examines the nexus of advocacy and English-language teaching, beginning with theories of advocacy, covering constraints and challenges in practice, and offering a range of hands-on perspectives in different contexts and with different populations. Bringing together wide-ranging and diverse viewpoints in TESOL, this volume examines the role of advocacy through a social justice lens in a range of contexts, including K-12 classrooms and schools, adult and higher education settings, families and communities, and teacher-education programs and professional organizations. Advocacy in English Language Teaching and Learning offers readers a deeper understanding of what advocacy is and can be, and gives teacher candidates and educators the tools to advocate for their students, their families and communities, and their profession.




Unlocking English Learners' Potential


Book Description

"Schools are not intentionally equitable places for English learners to achieve, but they could be if the right system of support were put in place. Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder recommend just such a system. Not only does it have significant potential for providing fuller access to the core curriculum, it also provides a path for teachers to travel as they navigate the individual needs of students and support their learning journeys." --Douglas Fisher, Coauthor of Visible Learning for Literacy A once-in-a-generation text for assisting a new generation of students Content teachers and ESOL teachers, take special note: if you're looking for a single resource to help your English learners meet the same challenging content standards as their English-proficient peers, your search is complete. Just dip into this toolbox of strategies, examples, templates, and activities from EL authorities Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder. The best part? Unlocking English Learners' Potential supports teachers across all levels of experience. The question is not if English learners can succeed in today's more rigorous classrooms, but how. Unlocking English Learners' Potential is all about the how: How to scaffold ELs' instruction across content and grade levels How to promote ELs' oral language development and academic language How to help ELs analyze text through close reading and text-dependent questions How to build ELs' background knowledge How to design and use formative assessment with ELs Along the way, you'll build the collaboration, advocacy, and leadership skills that we all need if we're to fully support our English learners. After all, any one of us with at least one student acquiring English is now a teacher of ELs.




English Learners in American Classrooms


Book Description

Consider any question you may have about working with English language learners (ELLs), and it's quite likely you will find the answer in this indispensable book. Authors James Crawford and Stephen Krashen use a straightforward Q&A format to address educators' concerns in a concise and accessible way-everything from "What types of instructional programs are designed to address the needs of ELLs?" to "Do ELLs need to be taught phonics?" The book provides a state-of-the-art guide to the field, written to focus sharply on the major issues facing English language learners and the educators who work with them. On the opening page, Crawford and Krashen state the essential aim of their book: "It's no secret that immigrants are transforming American classrooms. Or that increasing numbers of our students are ELLs ... a trend that poses unique challenges and opportunities for schools. How should educators respond?" Read to suit your own needs-straight through from first question to last, or selectively to glean expert advice on issues of special interest. Either way, you'll close "English Learners in American Classrooms" better equipped to make a difference for the ELLs in your classroom, school, and community.




Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners


Book Description

What will you do to promote multilingual learners’ equity? Our nation’s moment of reckoning with the deficit view of multilingual learners has arrived. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequities that stand in the way of MLs’ access to effective instruction. Recent events have also caused us to reflect on our place as educators within the intersection of race and language. In this innovative book, Sydney Snyder and Diane Staehr Fenner share practical, replicable ways you can draw from students’ strengths and promote multilingual learners′ success within and beyond your own classroom walls. In this book you’ll find • Practical and printable, research-based tools that guide you on how to implement culturally responsive teaching in your context • Case studies and reflection exercises to help identify implicit bias in your work and mitigate deficit-based thinking • Authentic classroom video clips in each chapter to show you what culturally responsive teaching actually looks like in practice • Hand-drawn sketch note graphics that spotlight key concepts, reinforce central themes, and engage you with eye-catching and memorable illustrations There is no time like the present for you to reflect on your role in culturally responsive teaching and use new tools to build an even stronger school community that is inclusive of MLs. No matter your role or where you are in your journey, you can confront injustice by taking action steps to develop a climate in which all students’ backgrounds, experiences, and cultures are honored and educators, families, and communities work collaboratively to help MLs thrive. We owe it to our students. On-demand book study-Available now! Authors, Snyder and Staehr Fenner have created an on-demand LMS book study for readers of Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity available now from their company SupportEd. The self-paced book study works around your schedule and when you′re done, you’ll earn a certificate for 20 hours of PD. SupportEd can also customize the book study for specific district timelines, cohorts and/or needs upon request.




And Justice for ELs


Book Description

And Justice for ELs is a resource every school leader must read right away—for that matter, keep within arm’s reach because you’re certain to refer to it constantly. Ayanna Cooper, a former U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist, has "been there, done that" and is now prepared to share with you how best to translate today’s federal mandates into actionable steps for ensuring the civil rights of our nation’s multilingual learners. Because it is impossible to provide specific advice or guidance for every possible situation, Ayanna focuses on the "need-to knows" for making informed decisions within your own building: Eight questions you must ask—and how to obtain answers—before planning English language development services The most common EL program models, with special emphasis on scheduling, along with specific challenges and appropriate staffing The why and how of evaluating English language education, regardless of the evaluation tool, and ways to facilitate conversations with teachers before and after observation How to determine the type of professional learning that will have the greatest impact in your unique context Recommendations for establishing productive relationships with linguistically diverse families and communities Just about every tool you could possibly need, including a glossary of acronyms, useful advocacy organizations, and templates for supporting professional learning But what you’ll love most is the way Ayanna "keeps it real." Every chapter is framed around a "What Would You Do?" scenario, for which she ultimately provides an answer(s) as well as guiding questions to help you think through the issues. Take a look for yourself. We know you’ll agree that And Justice for ELs is without question a one-of-a-kind resource. "And Justice for ELs is an excellent guide for practitioners who seek to provide their English learners with high-quality instruction in all subject areas. Too often such students are relegated an education that marginalizes them academically and fails to develop their native language skills. We can and must do a better job for these students, and in this book Ayanna Cooper shows us how." ~Pedro A. Noguera




Everyday Advocacy: Teachers Who Change the Literacy Narrative


Book Description

What counts as professionalism for teachers today? Once, teachers who knew their content area and knew how to teach it were respected as professionals. Now there is an additional type of competency required: in addition to content and pedagogical knowledge, educators need advocacy skills. In this groundbreaking collection, literacy educators describe how they are redefining what it means to be a teaching professional. Teachers share how they are trying to change the conversation surrounding literacy and literacy instruction by explaining to colleagues, administrators, parents, and community members why they teach in particular research-based ways, so often contradicted by mandated curricula and standardized assessments. Teacher educators also share how they are introducing an advocacy approach to preservice and practicing teachers, helping prepare teachers for this new professionalism. Both groups practice what the authors call “everyday advocacy”: the day-to-day actions teachers are taking to change the public narrative surrounding schools, teachers, and learning.




Supporting English Language Learners


Book Description

Smart, passionate, practical, and filled with experience-honed thinking, Supporting English Language Learners is an ideal resource for all education professionals who are looking for the best ways to help nonnative learners.




Advocacy in Academia and the Role of Teacher Preparation Programs


Book Description

Due to changes in funding and legislation, educating as a career has become unstable. It is imperative to establish a culture that values education in order to encourage pursuing and preserving the profession of teaching. Advocacy in Academia and the Role of Teacher Preparation Programs is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on the need of support for students and faculty by examining policy, student engagement, professorial activism, and integrated allied services. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics such as student success, specialty programs, and service learning, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and practitioners seeking current research on issues of advocacy in education.