Enhancing ESL Teachers' Spirit: Insights Reveal Prioritized Resources
The English Learners Success Forum, a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of ESL teachers, is working hard to understand the unique needs of English learners in math content during curriculum adoptions. The forum collaborates with states and districts across the nation to improve the curriculum for English learners, ensuring they have access to core, grade-level subjects.
Recent research studies have highlighted the importance of making immigrant students feel welcomed, with simple gestures having a significant impact on their academic and linguistic success. This sentiment is echoed by Crystal Gonzales, founder and executive director of the English Learners Success Forum, who emphasizes the need for a curriculum that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In a survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center, over 2,500 teachers, including many ESL educators, were asked about their experiences and needs. The findings of the survey suggest that ESL teachers are more likely to say their morale would improve with schools investing in tutoring and curriculum that reflects these values.
ESL teachers often work in urban, high-poverty schools with majority Hispanic student populations, particularly in the Northeast and South. Many English-learners are U.S.-born citizens, but ESL teachers frequently work with immigrant students who may have experienced limited or interrupted education. These students can benefit greatly from tutoring, which can help them adjust to school routines, acquire the English language, and catch up on academic content.
Betsy Sotomayor, an ESL teacher for the Volusia County public schools in Florida, advocates for a student-centered approach. She once advocated for the inclusion of soccer balls in elementary schools to cater to a student's request, who was accustomed to playing soccer during recess in his home country.
Sotomayor also acknowledges the complex student experiences ESL teachers often navigate, with many students coming with trauma and social-emotional baggage. She emphasizes that figuring out what kind of tutoring support is needed isn't always straightforward.
Gonzales, on the other hand, stresses that ESL teachers' morale improves not just when they have better materials, but when they're invited to help shape those materials. She did not mention any specific curriculum that she believes would be beneficial for ESL teachers and English learners.
Meanwhile, measures to increase the morale of teachers of English learners in German schools include providing success experiences to boost motivation, fostering empathy and connection with parents, intensive training in conversational and class coaching methods, supporting teachers with professional learning coaching to accompany students personally and academically, and ensuring teachers can see the practical and real-life application of their teaching to enhance their sense of purpose and fulfillment.
The survey results provide important context for the challenges faced by ESL teachers and the difficulties ahead as the federal government targets cuts for programs for English learners. Crystal Gonzales' organization works at the national level, advocating for ESL teachers' call for curriculum that better reflects the lives of all students.
Read also:
- Indispensable Digital Files Every Scribe Demands for their Screenplay Journey
- Rising state pension ages disproportionately impact a particular demographic, raising questions about the necessity of extending working years.
- Increase in mortality among seniors due to falls
- Councilmember Mai Vang unveils intentions to contest Doris Matsui for the Congress seat in Sacramento
