English as a Second Language

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Reading, writing, listening, and speaking English are important skills that help English language learners fulfill their roles are parents, workers, and community members. Adult education programs provide contextualized instruction to support English language acquisition. Some programs also receive EL/Civics funding to support English language instruction related to civics and citizenship goals.

Dr. Susan Finn-Miller is the content expert for ESL and she will be available to help you with research-based resources.

The Learners' Lives as Curriculum© Model

Learners’ Lives as Curriculum© is a model connecting professional development with materials development in which practitioners develop materials for learners in their programs based on learners’ needs and experiences. While writing the materials, teachers deepen their understanding not only of the learners, but also of sound language and literacy teaching.

Learners’ Lives as Curriculum© is a model for instruction in which learner texts (e.g. language experience dictation, poem, story, folktale, or interview) are used as catalysts for discussing themes of interest or concerns with learners. A thematic unit, according to this model, provides learners with personal stories of others like themselves, along with an opportunity to respond to those stories, generate their own narratives, and prepare for a collective project while learning specific language skills and structures.

Thematic units include four main components:

Narratives with a contextualized focus on themes and “hot topics” of interest to learners
Language skills, structures, and competencies
Opportunities to document current language use and monitor progress towards learner-selected goals
Opportunities to build a classroom community in which learners get acquainted, solve problems together, and engage in authentic projects (Weinstein, 1999)

Dr. Susan Finn-Miller

Teacher Institute

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The following examples further illustrate the potential when learners are invited to collectively construct knowledge through telling stories for real readers or listeners outside the classroom. The following examples are from Pennsylvania teachers’ thematic units developed during the 2009-10 program year:

Refugee students from Burma and Bhutan share oral folk tales with their classmates. With help from their teacher they create a book that will be given to their U.S.-born children.
Students in a vocational ESOL class create a “Finding a Job” Help Guide. They make a brochure for future students who are looking for a job.
Advanced ESOL create a guide of helpful websites for new students.

These activities illustrate project-based learning, in which learners investigate a question, solve a problem, plan an event, or develop a product. Learners do not receive knowledge from a teacher or book, rather, they collectively share and create knowledge. Among the potential benefits are effective advocacy, support for problem-solving, and inter-generational transmission of culture. In addition, materials created by learners are often more powerful and compelling for future learners than anything the most dedicated materials writer can dream up.