PRACTICUM: Practicum for ESL teachers

Prerequisite: Completion of six credits of ESL or modern language methodologies and three credits of linguistics.

Recommended Textbook: Richards, J. and C. Lockhart (1994). Reflective Teaching in Second language Classrooms. Cambridge University Press.

Course Description: A practicum in which the student demonstrates the knowledge and skills developed in the ESL program in a field-based setting. This class is designed to prepare students for a leadership role in the development and management of ESL, Bilingual, or modern language programs.

Course Objectives:

The course readings, assignments, activities are in conformity with the five themes of the School of Education: Knowledge and Inquiry, Multiculturalism, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiple Contexts and Communities, Leadership and Advocacy, and Excellence in Practice. After successfully completion of this course, the candidates will be able to:

1. The knowledge of policy and program development and of its application to program administration.

2. The knowledge, principles, and skills required to teach second languages.

3. The knowledge, principles, and skills of ESL curriculum development.

4. The knowledge, principles, and skills of ongoing ESL student and program assessment and evaluation.

5. The knowledge and skills necessary to perform the supervision of language teaching.

Course Requirements:

This course is composed of two parts: teaching practice and a reflective written project. The teaching hours vary with past experience of each individual. For beginning teachers, a minimum of 60 hours of teaching is required. The setting for the practicum is decided by the needs of each student and the placement availability. For experienced teachers, especially those who taught for many years in ESL and multilingual settings, a research type of project is an option. Please contact me for details.

There are six sections for the written project. Each has very specific objectives and assignments.

1. Program Administration

• Describe the current ESL program in your setting, including policy statements that could be part of the school or program's mission.
• Present a rationale for each of the policies. If there are any policies, which you do not agree with or which cannot be justified (use your SLA knowledge to make this judgment), write what you think the policy should be.
• Discuss how you would effect change and why it might be difficult to do so.

2. Language Teaching Methodologies

• Discrepancy analysis of ESL methods available and those used: describe and analyze the types of ESL methods you and others use in the setting or somewhere else. How have your (and others') ideas and instructional practices been formed? How have they changed? How might you want them to change? Do you find it difficult to change as much as you would like? What barriers stand in your way?
• Do your methods reflect your philosophies of language teaching?
• What kinds of methodological questions would you ask a potential employee? Employer? What kinds of answers would you want to hear? To give?
• How would you inform a teaching colleague of your disagreement with his/her teaching methods?

3. Curriculum

• Plan and implement curriculum process. What kinds of ESL curriculum is being used in your setting? What are its language goals?
• Evaluate curriculum effectiveness. Does the curriculum focus on the language or on the learner?

4. Assessment and Evaluation

• Outline the ways in which linguistic proficiency is assessed in your setting.
• How is language proficiency assessment differentiated from assessment of academic attainment.
• How are the special education needs of ESL students assessed.
• How can you assess the development of the language skills?
• How is the ESL program evaluated in your setting?
• Review the attached Evaluation Data-Gathering Profile. Try to use it with your students. Include five samples in your project along with your evaluation of them.

5. Supervision

• What model of supervision is used in your setting? How effective is it?
• What model would you aspire to use? 

6. Summary of practicum

• Read articles on "field experiences" in ESL and ESL standards for K-12 students by TESOL http://www.tesol.edu/assoc/k12standards/it/01.html
• Write an essay article on what preparation and skills teachers should have in order to be successful in teaching ESL and/or content areas in your school setting. You may write about your own experiences from psychological , cultural, professional, and personal perspectives in relation to the article and the ESL standards that you have read.
    

EVALUATION

CONTEXTUALIZED MEASURES

• inventories, checklists 
• teacher-made tests
• proofreading exercises
• cloze exercises
• informal reading inventaries
• interest/attitude surveys
• unit or book tests
• dictations
• holistic writing assessments
• informal reading/writing evaluations

DECONTEXTUALIZED MEASURES
 

• standardized achievement tests
• minimum competency tests
• school, district, or state tests
• norm-referenced tests
• criterion-referenced tests
• writing vocabulary (Clay, 1985) (K-2)
• letter, letter-sound, & word tests (K-2)
• spelling tests, vocabulary tests
• dianostic tests/survews
• worksheets 
•  

Adapted from a form developed by R. Anthony, T. Johnson, N. Mickelson, and A. Preece.