Common Terms:

LEP (Limited English Proficient)
ELL (English Language Learner) used interchangeably with LEP student

Tips for teachers/ principals/ guidance counselors, etc. working with ESL students:

• A key ingredient to ESL students’ success is to have a welcoming and inviting atmosphere. Ideally students should be placed with teachers who embrace their presence in their class. It is not wise to place a child with a teacher who views the situation as extra work!
• Ideally students and their parents should be given a tour of the school and should have someone review school/classroom policy with the family in the family’s native language. Sometimes families will bring an interpreter with them. Other times schools make arrangements to have an interpreter available.
• The orientation should include procedures for taking the bus, and an explanation of the lunch routine (families should be provided the opportunity to apply for free or reduced lunch). Newly arrived students may have trouble adjusting to new foods they are encountering. Students need to be shown how to signal that they need to use the bathroom. For students just beginning to learn English this can be a nonverbal signal.
• The Second Language Acquisition process begins with Aural Comprehension (Listening and Understanding) This first stage is commonly referred to as the “Silent Period”. Students in the silent period should not be pushed to speak too soon as this may be counterproductive. During this period students are very involved in making sense of what they are hearing.
• Valuable activities for students in their “silent period” may involve being able to show their comprehension in nonverbal ways. One ESL method that is effective is TPR (Total Physical Response). When using TPR teachers ask students to respond to a series of commands. Pick up the red paper. Put it on the table. Give the pen to Sandra. Open the door. Come here. Stand up.
• A next step in working with beginning ESL students could be having the child answer yes/no questions. Students can then proceed on to questions that can be answered by a single word.
• It is critical that school staff working with ESL students for the first time seek out information regarding ESL or ELL students and participate in staff development activities designed to help them build the skills and knowledge base necessary for effective instruction of ESL students.
• On average it takes from 2-4 years for ESL students to become proficient in Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS). BICS refer more to oral language. Students develop the ability to communicate orally.
• On average it takes from 5 to 7 years for students to become proficient in Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Skills (CALPS) CALPS refers to the academic (text book/ reading and writing) learning students are required to master in order to succeed in their academic classes.
  
• An important first step for staff new to ESL is to contact your local BETAC (Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Center) For the Oswego County region the BETAC Office is located at OCM BOCES. BETAC Staff are available to meet individually with teachers, counselors, principals and other staff working with ESL students. They can provide assistance with scheduling, testing requirements, ESL instructional strategies, strategies to help ESL students in the content areas and much more. The BETAC also offers ongoing workshops for teachers working with ESL students and produces a newsletter entitled “BETAC News”. The BETAC News is a must for current news regarding ESL. The OCM BOCES BETAC can be reached at (315)433-2664 or through their website at www.ocmboces.org/iss/betca.html
• An additional web resource with valuable information is the New York State Education Department’s website section for Bilingual ESL education at www.nysben.org.
• Order the “Help They Don’t Speak English Starter Kit for Primary Teachers” available by contacting the Eastern Stream Center on Resources and Training (ESCORT) at Bugee hall- Room 305 Oneonta, NY 13820 Telephone # 1-800-451-8058. This free resource is also available to be downloaded from their website at http://employees.oneonta.edu/thomasrl/

Adult ESL Services

• The Oswego MEOP strives to make ESL classes available to migrant farmworkers interested in learning English through our outreach In-Camp program. ESL instructors provide on-site instruction to migrant farmworkers at migrant labor camps throughout our 5 county service region. Additional classes are provided on an in-home basis for farmworkers living in off farm housing. Classes are generally scheduled for evening hours after the work day.
• The Oswego MEOP provides community wide ESL classes in Oswego County. These classes are available to adults in Oswego County whose native language is not English. Currently morning, afternoon and evening classes are being offered in Oswego. Additional classes may be arranged where there are a sufficient number of students interested. For an up to schedule of ESL classes and locations please contact the BOCES migrant office at (315) 963-4265 or at 1-800-474-1632.