The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning
The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning

Author: Leo van Lier

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-04-18

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1402079125

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In this book I try to give a coherent and consistent overview of what an ecological approach to language learning might look like. This is not a fully fledged grand theory that aims to provide an explanation of everything, but an attempt to provide a rationale for taking an ecological world view and applying it to language education, which I regard as one of the most important of all human activities. Goethe once said that everything has been thought of before, but that the difficulty is to think of it again. The same certainly is true of the present effort. If it has any innovative ideas to offer, these lie in a novel combination of thoughts and ideas that have been around for a long, long time. The reader will encounter influences that range from Spinoza to Bakhtin and from Vygotsky to Halliday. The scope of the work is intentionally broad, covering all major themes that are part of the language learning process and the language teaching profession. These themes include language, perception and action, self, learning, critical pedagogy and research. At the same time I have attempted to look at both the macro and the micro sides of the ecological coin, and address issues from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. This, then, aims to be a book that can be read by practitioners and theoreticians alike, and the main idea is that it should be readable and challenging at the same time.

PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards
PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards

Author: TESOL International Association

Publisher: Tesol Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13:

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The revised PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards build on the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessments (WIDA) Consortium's English Language Proficiency Standards for English Language Learners in Kindergarten through Grade 12 (Wisconsin, 2004). The WIDA Consortium is a group of ten states, formed in 2002 with federal monies, that has developed comprehensive English language proficiency standards. This volume also uses grade-level clusters that reflect current educational configurations in the United States. Each of the five language proficiency standards is divided into the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The five levels of language proficiency reflect characteristics of language performance at each developmental stage and include: starting (L1), emerging (L2), developing (L3), expanding (L4), and bridging (L5).

Improving Testing For English Language Learners
Improving Testing For English Language Learners

Author: Rebecca Kopriva

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2011-02-23

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1135595992

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More than any book to date, this one provides a comprehensive approach to designing, building, implementing and interpreting test results that validly measure the academic achievement of English language learners. It scaffolds the entire process of test development and implementation and discusses essential intervention points. The book provides the type of evidence-based guidance called for in federal mandates such as the NCLB legislation. Key features of this important new book include the following... Comprehensive – This book recommends methods for properly including ELLs throughout the entire test development process, addressing all essential steps from planning, item writing and reviews to analyses and reporting. Breadth and Depth of Coverage– Coverage includes discussion of the key issues, explanations and detailed instructions at each intervention point. Research Focus – All chapters include an extensive review of current research. Emerging Trends – The chapters summarize guidance appropriate for innovative computer-based assessments of the future as well as the paper-and-pencil tests of today. This book is appropriate for anyone concerned with the development and implementation of fair and accurate testing programs for English language learners. This includes university based researchers, testing personel at the federal, state and local levels, teachers interested in better assessing their diverse student populations and those involved in the testing industry. It is also appropriate for instructors teaching undergraduate and graduate courses devoted to testing the full range of students in todays schools.

Educating Emergent Bilinguals
Educating Emergent Bilinguals

Author: Ofelia Garcia

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2018-04-13

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 080775885X

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This accessible guide introduces readers to the issues and controversies surrounding the education of language minority students in the United States. What makes this book a perennial favorite are the succinct descriptions of alternative practices for transforming our schools and students' futures, such as building on students' home languages and literacy practices, incorporating curricular and pedagogical innovations, using proven-effective approaches to parent engagement, and employing alternative assessment tools.

School, Family, and Community Partnerships
School, Family, and Community Partnerships

Author: Joyce L. Epstein

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2018-07-19

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13: 1483320014

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Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

English Learners in STEM Subjects
English Learners in STEM Subjects

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2019-01-28

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0309479088

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The imperative that all students, including English learners (ELs), achieve high academic standards and have opportunities to participate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning has become even more urgent and complex given shifts in science and mathematics standards. As a group, these students are underrepresented in STEM fields in college and in the workforce at a time when the demand for workers and professionals in STEM fields is unmet and increasing. However, English learners bring a wealth of resources to STEM learning, including knowledge and interest in STEM-related content that is born out of their experiences in their homes and communities, home languages, variation in discourse practices, and, in some cases, experiences with schooling in other countries. English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives examines the research on ELs' learning, teaching, and assessment in STEM subjects and provides guidance on how to improve learning outcomes in STEM for these students. This report considers the complex social and academic use of language delineated in the new mathematics and science standards, the diversity of the population of ELs, and the integration of English as a second language instruction with core instructional programs in STEM.