The ENL Team is devoted to offering resources for educators serving culturally and linguistically diverse students in Catholic schools.
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EOLA
The English Oral Language Assessment
The English Oral Language Assessment is a formative assessment designed to help educators identify English language acquisition in Grades PreK-8. The assessment contains two sections: one that measures receptive language skills and one that measures expressive language skills. The EOLA was developed through a grant from the Sieben Foundation, which enables the assessment tool to be very cost-effective for Catholic schools. Digital files for use with the assessment are made available at acepress.nd.edu after purchase.
Podcasts
This year's 15 on the 15th: Bite-sized Book Club series features podcasts designed to help you digest short articles (no more than 15 minutes of reading required!). This 15-minute recipe for success is a pinch of insightful reading and a dash of engaging discussion that perfectly blends together research and classroom practice. Listen on SoundCloud or subscribe via iTunes or Google Play.
May 2017: Multicultural Children's Literature, Part II
The ENL team continues last month's conversation on multicultural children's literature with Notre Dame's Dr. Erin Moira Lemrow. This month's edition focuses on four themes that represent multilingual texts: language as blending in, hybrid language identities, language as culture affirmation, and language as learning from others.
Once again the discussion is inspired by María Paula Ghiso and Gerald Campano's article "Ideologies of Language and Identity in U.S. Children's Literature."
April 2017: Multicultural Children's Literature, Part I
The ENL team dives into the topic of multicultural children's literature and how it can be utilized to support our English language learners on their journey of school and language acquisition. Katy and Clare are joined by Dr. Erin Moira Lemrow, a Notre Dame faculty member in multiple departments, including: First Year of Studies, the Institute for Latino Studies, the Center for Study of Languages and Culture, and the Education, Schooling, and Society undergraduate minor. This month's conversation is inspired by María Paula Ghiso and Gerald Campano's article "Ideologies of Language and Identity in U.S. Children's Literature".
Looking for ideas to start a bilingual/bicultural library for your classroom? Download Dr. Lemrow's Top 10 Bilingual/Bicultural Children's Book List.
March 2017: Serving Chinese Students in American Catholic Schools, Part II - Language
The ENL team continues last month's conversation with Priscilla Wong and focuses on the linguistic challenges that face Mandarin and Cantonese speakers as they learn English. Priscilla shares her experiences as an English language learner from China and even offers a helpful tip sheet for educators who serve Chinese students. This month's conversation is inspired by Anthony Zavagnin’s article "The Rising Number of Chinese Students in American Catholic High Schools" from the October 17, 2016 edition of America Magazine.
February 2017: Serving Chinese Students in American Catholic Schools, Part I - Culture
This month, the ENL team sits down with Priscilla Wong to discuss Anthony Zavagnin’s article "The Rising Number of Chinese Students in American Catholic High Schools" from the October 17, 2016 edition of America Magazine. You can view Priscilla's extensive notes on Chinese culture here.
Priscilla is a campus minister at Notre Dame and has worked with Chinese students in American Catholic school settings for decades. Over the course of our next two podcasts, Priscilla offers insights into what schools can do to help Chinese students build rapport with teachers and classmates, adjust to faith-filled settings, develop oral language skills, and become engaged members of a learning community.
January 2017: Vocabulary Expansion Strategies
In this month's conversation, Katy Lichon and Clare Roach discuss how to develop the vocabularies of ELLs as they unpack the findings in "Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades" from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the What Works Clearinghouse. The conversation shares five key vocabulary expansion strategies:
- Remember the Backdrop
- Take the Bull by the Horns
- A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
- Repeated Exposure
- Build Linguistic Bridges
Listen in on the conversation and consider how best to serve the English language learners in your school.
December 2016: Vietnam: Cultural Background for ESL/EFL Teachers
In this month's installment, the ENL Team takes a closer look at serving Vietnamese students in our Catholic schools by reading "Vietnam: Cultural Background for ESL/EFL Teachers." The discussion includes a guest, Sr. Kim Tran, O.P., a Dominican sister and a graduate student in Notre Dame's Master's in Divinity program. Sr. Kim shares her insights about what Catholic schools can do to better serve Vietnamese students, the second-largest community of language learners in Catholic schools.
November 2016: A Strength-Based Approach to Teaching ESL
In this month's installment, the ENL Team looks at the blog post “A Strength-Based Approach to Teaching ESL” from the Cult of Pedagogy website. The discussion focuses on six approaches teachers can take to celebrate English learners and implement an additive approach to teaching these extraordinary students.
October 2016: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough?
In this month's installment, the ENL Team looks at de Jong and Harper’s article, "Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough?” The discussion focuses on the five stages of language acquisition, the development of oral language, assessing ELLs, and supporting the development of writing skills! Listen to the October podcast.
September 2016: What Research Says about ELLs
In this month's installment, the ENL Team breaks down Claude Goldenberg's article "Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does - and Does Not - Say". The discussion focuses on pages 14-22 of Goldenberg's text and highlights the benefits of having parents speak in their native tongue at home, the concept of "transfer", and the 7 S's that help new vocabulary "stick" for your students, among others! Listen to September's podcast.
Articles
Read on to see 15 on the 15th Email series, which highlights some of the web's best videos of practical and easy-to-implement strategies for language learners.
Mary Around the World
These images of Mary from around the world provide opportunities for students to see a more authentically universal image of heaven and take pride in their own cultural identity. Please enjoy these various images of Mary from around the world, and consider purchasing one for your school.
ELLs and Technology
As technology continues to advance and evolve, it is easy to be both excited about its potential and overwhelmed by the sheer number of resources that are available. As educators, these options deserve our critical attention since properly chosen resources can make a significant positive impact on our English language learners when it comes to language acquisition. Read more about technologies that can be used as a foundation for our ELLs prior to engaging in the core of a lesson.
Dual Language Catholic Schools
This month spotlights an innovative school model – Dual Language Catholic schools or Two-Way Immersion (TWI) Catholic schools. There is much excitement surrounding the growth of Dual Language Catholic schools in the United States. This model has shown evidence of cognitive, social, emotional, and economic benefits (Gándara, 2015). We invite you to learn more about this model, which manifests deep mutual respect for linguistic and cultural diversity.
ELLs and ESSA
English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing population in U.S. schools at five million plus, and the newly minted Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), formerly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the newest version of the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), contains changes that will impact this population. Learn more about the key changes to how states, districts, and schools serve English learners.
Title III Funds
As Catholic schools serve a diverse population of learners, it’s important that we find every source of support available to help English language learners thrive. Title III authorizes the use of federal funds to benefit immigrant and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students in public and private schools. ENL Coordinator Clare Roach shares a blog post on Title III, including how to access services and a sampling of resources that can be purchased for your English language learners using Title III funds.
Las Posadas
Are you are looking for ideas on how your school can be culturally responsive and sustaining for Mexican-American students this Advent? You may want to consider celebrating Las Posadas. This interactive and vibrant tradition of seeking posada, Spanish for accommodation or an inn, is more than four hundred years old and provides students a rich experience in which to engage their faith.
Learn more about Las Posadas, and view a listing of resources for your classroom, in this blog post from ENL's Dr. Katy Lichon.
Total Physical Response
Total physical response (TPR) is a language acquisition strategy that combines visual supports, movement, and repetition to help children learn. Watch the delivery of a lesson on the water cycle by a teacher at Abe Lincoln Elementary School in Belleville, IL. Look for techniques she employs to bolster comprehension.
Pay attention to the way the teacher:
- uses gestures as visual support
- integrates cues for academic vocabulary
- allows students to practice language through repetition
- maximizes teaching time with smooth transitions
The Writing Recipe with ELLs
Watch Dorina Sackman, National Teacher of the Year Finalist and teacher at Westridge Middle School in Orlando, Florida, unfold a writing lesson for English learners on TeachingChannel.Org.
Pay attention to the way Ms. Sackman employs:
- visual support
- selective and strategic use of bilingualism
- linguistic focus on manipulating pronouns
- contagious enthusiasm and respect for language learners
Webinars
The 15 on the 15th webinars are free, 15-minute offerings with practical and easy-to-implement ESL strategies for language learners.
| Presenter | Topic |
|---|---|
| Paty Salazar Harty | Promoting Fluency and Reading Comprehension |
| Clare Roach & Jenny Dees | How to Assess ELLs |
| Laura Hamman | How to Help your ELLs Acquire Vocabulary |
| Clare Roach & Jenny Dees | Funds of Knowledge - Tapping into Community Resources |
| Marisa Foyle | Creating Visual Supports for ELLs |
| Colleen Cross | The Theology of Serving Immigrant Students |
| Megan Adzima | Communicating with Parents |
| Jenni Crain | Home Visits |
| Matthew Hughes | Writing |
| Jodi Bossio | Reading and Comprehension: Literacy and Comprehension Input |
Multicultural Saints
Moments with Multicultural Saints: Mother Laura Montoya
Are you looking for ways to make your classroom more culturally dynamic? ENL’s Moments with Multicultural Saints is loaded with classroom takeaways that will help you broaden perspectives, teach about the universal Church, and find inspiration from saints from around the world. Learn more about Mother Laura Montoya.
¡Viva Cristo Rey! Honoring Saint José Sánchez del Río
Are you looking for ways to make your classroom more culturally dynamic? ENL’s Moments with Multicultural Saints is loaded with classroom takeaways that will help you broaden perspectives, teach about the universal Church, and find inspiration from saints from around the world. Learn more about Mexico's newest saint: Saint José Sánchez del Río.
