Hello from Texas!  I have been following the discussion.  It's always good
to hear from Heide and Larry as well as fellow practitioners from beyond...

 

Janet touched upon something that is so fundamental to this discussion, and
that is the basic preparation of ESL instructors.  Here in Texas, we have
been fortunate to have Heide work closely with us for a number of years in
an effort to build a foundation of knowledge among our very part time AE
instructors. 

 

Unfortunately, because of the overwhelming demand, AE often finds it
necessary to make ESL instruction assignments to those who are still
struggling to get a firm grasp on adult learning theory and the principles
of second language learning. In my work with Texas LEARNS and its response
to a legislative mandate that AE provide work-related ESL instruction, I am
constantly reminded that our efforts rest on a rather shaky foundation.  

 

Preparing program administrators and instructional staff to respond to the
work-related needs of adult English language learners - and to maintain a
balance between language learning and workforce skills development - is
quite a challenge. So I have to ask:  are there efforts out there that
require (or strongly encourage) administrators to guide their instructors
through a series of PD activities that help them incrementally develop
expertise vs. merely fulfill the annual PD requirement?  The Texas Teacher
Credential project is a model for this kind of professional development, but
it seems we need a multi-faceted tactical approach to move forward.  

 

Just wondering out loud...

 

Barbara Tondre-El Zorkani

Texas LEARNS

  

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 4446 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/specialtopics/attachments/20070416/dc60908f/attachment.bin