Tag: English Language Learners
Sitting in clusters of three, the Cortland Elementary School second-graders write things for which they are thankful onto “leaves” and “pumpkins” cut from red, orange and yellow construction paper. Friends. Clothes. Cousins. Mama. Teacher. Food. Halloween. Next, they squirt Tacky Glue onto their harvest-colored shapes and press them onto paper plates as they create Thanksgiving...
Mayra Daniel understands more than many the importance of colleges and universities equipping teachers with the necessary skills to teach and design effective and appropriate culturally relevant instruction. Daniel, an NIU professor of literacy education and bilingual ESL coordinator, moved to the United States from Cuba as a child. “When I first came here, I...
English as a second language (ESL) programs are becoming increasingly popular in teaching programs across the country. And no wonder. ESL credentials are increasingly necessary for teachers to land jobs. The reason: an exploding number of English language learners in public schools. In this state alone, according to a 2011 Illinois State Board of Education...
The elementary students ask their teachers weekly: “When are the ROAR tutors coming?” Project ROAR – Reaching Out Through Art and Reading has existed at NIU for 14 years. Its focus is to help students at the elementary level develop their vocabulary and love for reading. Over time, the project has become a way for bilingual...
NIU’s Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy will host a panel discussion at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 12, on “The Many Voices of Literacy: Stories from English Language Learners.” The discussion in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center will feature students in high school and college who will share their...
Norm Stahl could see the Pacific Ocean from the windows of the home where he grew up in San Francisco. The waves eventually beckoned him to surf, something that became a lifelong passion. The smell of the water and the feel of the sand between his toes still resonate deep inside his senses, even after...
NIU’s Center for the Study of Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy will welcome Jessica Zacher Pandya for a lecture from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, in Room 405 of the Holmes Student Center. She will speak on “Overtested: How High-Stakes Accountability Fails English Language Learners.” Zacher Pandya is an associate professor at...
The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) of the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $1.8 million grant to James Cohen, assistant professor in the Department of Literacy Education in the NIU College of Education. The grant provides funding for “Project DREAMS” (Development of Reading, ESL, eArly Childhood, Mathematics and Science), a five-year, professional...
