MDE Folio NS Graduate: Requirements

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (NS)

Graduate/Master’s Level Endorsement for Certified Teachers

Phase I, Requirements

Cover | Overview | Requirements | Summary

Spring Arbor University
May 31, 2012

Standards: Michigan State Board of Education 2004

Program Contact Person(s): Bonita Miller
Course links go to PDFs of syllabi; course descriptions follow the table

Course Descriptions

TSL 500 Linguistics for Teachers of English (3)

This course provides a study of English as a system, the components of the language system: phonology, orthography, phonics morphology, syntax and the relatedness of language systems for those preparing to teach English to speakers of other languages. The coursework will compare different theories of language variation, social and academic language registers, the benefits of bilingualism, and how knowledge of sentence structure instruction fits into current practices in language teaching. (Offered online)

Course Assignments:

• Discussion Boards/Blogs/WIKIs
• Article review on Sociolinguistics
• Mid-term and final exams
• Annotated Reference List of Research in Linguistics or Applied Linguistics
• Two CAC papers:
  1. Cognitive: What you learned
  2. Affective: How you feel about what you learned
  3. Cognative: How you went about learning what you learned

TSL 501 Cross Cultural Competence in Communication (3)

This course is designed to assist students in exploring personal biases and methods of overcoming them and the basic principles underlying multicultural education. This course provides an opportunity to develop appropriate teaching strategies, activities and materials and to adapt and evaluate curricula for use in culturally diverse, as well as homogeneous classrooms. Ten hours of lab experiences, which will help students apply the concepts, are included in the course requirements. (Offered online)

Course Assignments:

• Discussion Boards/Blogs
• Cultural Identity Analysis Paper
• Lab Journals: Observations and Analysis
• Diverse Literary/Cultural Text List
• Cross-Cultural Lesson Plan
• Review of articles on Assessment
• Professional Development Plan
• Three tests on text readings
• Includes 10 hour practicum with English language learners

TSL 502 TESOL Methods and Materials for Second Language Acquisition (3)

This course focuses on the pedagogical aspects of teaching English and the preparation of teaching materials for classroom use. Integrated methods and strategies will be explored for teaching listening, speaking, reading and writing to ELLs of diverse backgrounds and levels. This course requires highly constructive class participation and responsible out of class lesson assignment preparation for the lab setting. The goals of this course are to develop students’ knowledge in the following areas: theories of second language acquisition, research based pedagogy for ELLs, how to manage instruction for different levels of learners with diverse abilities, appropriate interactions with students and parents from diverse cultural backgrounds. (Offered online.)

Assignments:

• Quiz/Exam
• Thematic Unit
• Article Critiques/Reports
• SLA Research Presentation
• Discussion Board Participation
• Lab Teacher Evaluation and Journal and Interest Inventory
• Comparison/Contrast of Current and Past Methodologies
• Textbook Review
• Strategies Quick Share& Critique
• Annotated Reference List
• CAC (in DB wk7)
• 20 hour practicum with beginning speakers

TSL 505 Assessment and Evaluation of Language Minority Students (3)

This course explores theoretical and practical aspects of language assessment and evaluation, particularly in measuring English language skills of students in ESL programs. The students will use the Michigan English Language Proficiency Assessment to assess listening, speaking, reading, and writing. WIDA and DIBELS_ ELD standards will be reviewed and compared. Performance based and standardized assessment tools will be developed, used and evaluated in light of issues related to bias, social, political, and psychological factors. (Offered online)

Assignments:

• Discussion forums/blogs
• Language Test Evaluation
• Assessment Case Study of an ELL Student
• Assessment Portfolio Collection
• Professional Development Plan with philosophy
• Annotated reference list
• Assessment article reviews
• Assessment portfolio collection
• Two tests

TSL 506 Literacy for English Language Learners (3)

This course is a general overview of the interconnectedness of culture and reading and writing skill development. Students will review the developmental aspects of second language acquisition, as well as the developmental aspects of reading and writing, providing insights for the creation of programs for literacy development for English language learners. The course aims to develop an understanding of learners who intermediate language acquisition and learning to read and write in English in the ESL and general education classroom. Students will assess the oral language proficiency, reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and writing skills of a case study student or small group. Reading comprehension and writing skill development strategies will be implemented with the case study individual or group. Challenges for developing phonemic awareness, spelling, vocabulary and comprehension with English Language Learners will be explored. Students will review current research into best practices for teaching reading and writing. (Offered online)

Assignments:

• Discussion forums/WIKI
• Annotated Reference List of Research articles on reading, writing, spelling
• Case Study of an English Language Learner
• Webliography
• Screencast
• SIOP Observation
• Analysis of Learning/Reflection
• 10 hour practicum with K-5 language learners

TSL 508 English Grammar Approaches for English Language Learners (3)

This course will enhance the classroom instruction of teachers of English language learners by blending classroom strategies with a study of the most important grammatical structures of the language. Students will become familiar with the meta-language and key concepts of English grammar. Students will develop lessons for the production of English in speaking and writing activities, with a focus on communicative competence. The course will target the most useful grammatical skills needed for beginning and intermediate level English language learners. Students will analyze spoken and written English of native and non-native speakers in order to understand and explain the most frequent error types of learners from different language groups. (Offered online)

Assignments

• Discussion forums/blogs/Wiki
• Quiz 1 and 2
• 3 screencast lessons presentations
• Final Test

TSL 509 Sheltered Immersion (SIOP) for Content Area Teachers (3)

This course is built around the SIOP model for teaching content and language in mixed ability classrooms in K-12 settings. Students will develop an understanding of how to plan a supportive classroom learning environment for ELL students. Candidates will plan for multi-levels of diverse students using standards-based ESL and content curriculum. Candidates will design integrated activities that focus on listening, speaking, reading and writing goals which also address content objectives. Ten hours of observation and participation in a science, social studies or math classroom with ELLs is required. (Offered online)

Assignments:

• Discussion Forums/WIKI
• Two journal article reviews on ESL or Bilingual instruction
• Annotated Reference List on teaching ELLs in the content area classroom
• SIOP Video Reflections
• Sheltered Instruction Unit Plan
• Professional Development Plan: Role of the ESL Teacher
• 10 hour practicum with 6-12 math, science, and/or social studies language learners

TSL 600 Capstone Research Project, Practicum and e-Portfolio (3)

Teachers will build a web-based portfolio Practicum e-portfolio which demonstrates how they have met the criteria for selected National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, NCATE/TESOL and the Michigan ESL Endorsement standards. Knowledge of research in the field of Applied Linguistics will be demonstrated in a comprehensive literature review of an issue related to any one of the domains addressed in the standards. The topic will be pre-approved by the professor. Documentation of teaching competence and reflection will be part of the portfolio. The portfolio contents are a collection of the videos, screencasts, lesson plans, unit plans, article analyses, webliographies, article reflections, case studies, etc. that the student has produced as part of the TESOL coursework or during the practicum experience. (Offered online)

Assignments:

• Comprehensive Literature Review
• Practicum e-portfolio
• Practicum teaching hours and evaluation
• Professional Development Evaluation and Plan
• Philosophy of Teaching
• Web Page