Foundations of Teaching English as a Second Language

Catalog description

Overview of various legal, historical, and socio-cultural implications of teaching and learning English as a Second Language. This course is the first course in a five-course sequence designed to meet the Pennsylvania Department of Education's (PDE) requirements for the ESL Program Specialist endorsement. EDUC 466 addresses the legal, historicalm, and socio-cultural issues related to non-native speakers of English, and the implications for ESL curriculum, instruction, and assessment within the K-12 school setting. The course is designed: (1) to encourage understanding and appreciation for language diversity and culture, and (2) to enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers working with culturally and linguistically diverse learners, their families, and their communities. The course specifically addresses two of the PDE competencies necessary for a teacher to acquire in order to be endorsed as an ESL Program Specialist: PDE Competency IV-Developing cultural awareness/sensitivity. The four areas of emphasis within EDUC 466 are: a)The legal, historical, and cultural implications of English as a Second Language, which explores the legal and historical bases of ESL and analyzes the differences among home and school cultures, especially as they relate to language; b)Fundamentals of developing English language skills, which provides an introduction to the structure of the English language, grammar, and pronunciation, including lexical, morphological, syntactical, and phonological components; c) An overview of second language acquisition, which introduces the topics of linguistic skill development, and first and second language acquisition; and d) Multicultural education, which focuses on helping teachers acquire knowledge, develop cultural sensitivity, and identify educational strategies that address the needs of multilingual and multicultural learners and their families.