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The site's focus is to assist school counselors and teachers who are interested in learning more about working with ESL students, their parents, and working together to better serve this unique population. Hopefully this site will serve to alleviate the concerns that educators may have regarding the best ways to teach ESL students and also provide resources that will help promote academic achievement and multicultural understanding and awareness. Click on the links on the left for more information!
English as a Second Language, commonly known as ESL, is a program developed to provide English instructions to students who speak a language other than English. These students are usually known as ESL or LEP students, (Limited English Proficient). To be labeled as ESL, a student must have a native language other than English, and have difficulty speaking, understanding, reading and/or writing English. It is extremely important to understand that ESL and Bilingual education are two very different programs. When we talk about ESL, we refer to the use of English as a means to deliver instruction, whereas Bilingual education uses the student’s native language in conjunction with English to deliver instruction. By providing ESL instructions, teachers help students become fluent in listening, speaking, reading, and writing English.
As the
changes occur, educators and counselors need to be prepared to deal with
them. ESL students need to be provided with the resources they need to
succeed, and counselors and teachers must be culturally aware and
sensitive. Explore this site to learn more about how we can make ESL
education a success!
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Employment-driven
immigration from around the world has increased drastically in the last
decades, and the state of North Carolina has received a great number of
immigrants. To better understand issues related to the influx of
non-English speaking students into North Carolina and the nation, and because the
Hispanic population has grown faster than it was previously thought,
attention will focus on this group. However, it is important to keep in mind that ESL students
are not necessarily Spanish speaking. Because of the number of
individuals settling in the state of North Carolina, educators will have
to deal with developing curricula that takes into consideration ethnic data.
Both the number of educators who work with ESL students and the number of
ESL students in educators' classes will continue to increase dramatically
in both North Carolina and in the entire country. 