As the school population of English Language Learners continues increasing rapidly across the United States, classroom teachers from K-12 are confronted with the great challenge of helping them acquire skills in English in addition to teaching them in the content areas. Many teachers do not have the training or knowledge to confront the task, and schools may not have the resources to assist them. This course provides teachers with the background necessary to meet the needs of students from different countries and cultures including encouraging intercultural exchanges, information about assessment and the language learning process, cultural awareness, and a wide range of techniques and suggestions for offering a high-quality learning experience for ELLs.

This course will give you the tools you need to better serve the English Language Learners who enter your classroom. We will explore the historical, social, and political background of non-native English speakers in the U.S. and work on improving our cultural awareness and sensitivity. We will then learn about second language acquisition and the best ways to provide feedback to learners, followed by an exploration of the language skills learners need to be successful. We will move on to examining how teachers can implement accommodations for ELLs in the content areas and finally, discussing how to monitor language development, build community, and seek support for yourself and your students. By the end of the course, you should have the tools you need to confidently welcome new language learners into your classroom and provide them with the support they need to succeed.

Participants complete this ONLINE course at their own pace. NOTE: All CE Credits classes must be completed by August 31, 2019. After registering through PD Enroller, email kaylal@ncesd.org to receive an email with an enrollment code and instructions on how to register. Upon completion of your course, email your certificate of completion to kaylal@ncesd.org. NCESD will mark you attended so you can go to your PD Enroller account, complete an evaluation and then purchase your clock hours.

When an individual enrolls in a course it stays at the Not Started status until they select “start”. On their initial click to start their course they are asked if they are ready to start and are required to read that they have 180 days (a semester) to complete their course. They then check “yes” they are ready to start. If they do not finish within 180 days they can request and pay a $30.00 fee to extend their course for an additional two weeks. This option can be selected from the “student homepage”.