Designed to assist student educators in constructing a favorable learning environment for their English language learners with regard to reading and literacy in the content area. Appropriate literacy strategies, instruction and assessments will be evaluated, and various aspects of first and second language acquisition will be examined. All aspects of second language development will be considered such as phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing. Approaches for assisting young and older learners with reading comprehension will be addressed, and students will learn to adjust language instruction to meet the developmental literacy needs of the language learners from various socio-cultural, educational, and linguistic backgrounds.
Students will have weekly opportunities to work as one-on-one content tutors with English language learning needs to develop an understanding of language-learning needs and to increase educator effectiveness in improving student skills. Assessing and tracking English language learner progress will be explored. There will be a 20-hour service learning component wherein students will support ESOL learners and their community. This course is required for those in the TECP: ESOL Certification programs. Others must have permission from the TECP director or the director of cross-cultural education. A $25 fee will be assessed to all students to cover the cost of clinical practice.