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##  The ESL Standards: Bridging the Academic Gap for English Language               Learners. ERIC Digest.                                                       

In the early 1990s, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and other               legislation that promoted high academic expectations for all                    students encouraged a movement among professional education                     associations to develop standards for specific academic content                 areas. The intent was for these national standards to serve as                  guidelines for state and local curriculum and assessment design and             for the professional development of teachers. 
During this same                period, the number of pre-K-12 students from linguistically and                 culturally diverse backgrounds enrolled in U.S. schools grew at                 nearly 10 times the rate of native-English-speaking students.                   However, English as a second language (ESL) was not a federally                 designated content area for standards development. Instead, federal             officials indicated that other content areas, particularly English              language arts, should address the needs of English language                     learners (ELLs). Their rationale was that the content area standards            were intended "for all students." Teachers of English to Speakers of            Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) then established a task force to                  monitor the reform efforts and encourage professional groups working            on content area standards to accommodate ELLs. It became evident,               however, that ELLs' language acquisition and academic needs were not            being reflected in the content standards' drafts. For example, ELLs             were not among the students described in vignettes or learning                  scenarios, nor were teachers offered guidance on how to teach a                 content standard to students with limited proficiency in                        English. 
To ensure that ELLs would have access to effective                   educational programs and the opportunity to reach high standards,               the task force produced The Access Brochure (TESOL, 1993), an                   advocacy tool to help programs and schools examine and adjust the               opportunities they provide for ELLs to learn to high standards.                 TESOL then decided to pursue the development of standards for                   English as a second language. A second task force was formed, and a             conceptual framework that articulated TESOL's vision of effective               education for ELLs was drafted. The framework calls on all                      educational personnel to assume responsibility for ELLs and demands             that schools provide these students with access to all services,                such as gifted and talented courses. The framework also lists                   principles of second language acquisition and explains the benefits             of bilingualism and the contribution of native language proficiency             to the development of English (TESOL, 1996). 
ESL STANDARDS FOR PRE            K-12 STUDENTS 
The ESL Standards and Assessment Project began                  officially in 1995 with a grass-roots effort involving 18 writing               teams from across the United States, some representing their state,             others representing an affiliate of TESOL or NABE (National                     Association for Bilingual Education). For models, TESOL examined                content-area standards being developed in the United States and the             Australian ESL bandscales and planned standards for ESL that would              accommodate the multiple program models (e.g., self-contained ESL,              sheltered instruction, transitional bilingual education) used to                educate ELLs in the United States. 
ESL Standards for Pre-K-12                 Students (TESOL, 1997) was written and released for review and                  comment in 1996; feedback was solicited from educators who had                  experience working with linguistically and culturally diverse                   students and from representatives of other content areas that were              developing standards. The draft was revised and published by TESOL              in 1997. 
Nine ESL content standards are organized under three                 educational goals. They state what students should know and be able             to do as a result of ESL instruction and set goals for students'                social and academic language development and sociocultural                      competence. The ESL standards, listed below, take a functional                  approach to language learning and use and allow for maximum                     flexibility in curriculum and program design. ESL                             STANDARDSGoal 1: To use English to communicate in social                    settings. 
Standard 1: Students will use English to participate in             social interactions. 
Standard 2: Students will interact in,                   through, and with spoken and written English for personal expression            and enjoyment. 
Standard 3: Students will use learning strategies              to extend their communicative competence. 
Goal 2: To use English              to achieve academically in all content areas. 
Standard 1: Students            will use English to interact in the classroom. 
Standard 2:                    Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide            subject matter information in spoken and written form. 
Standard 3:            Students will use appropriate learning strategies to construct and              apply academic knowledge. 
Goal 3: To use English in socially and              culturally appropriate ways. 
Standard 1: Students will use                    appropriate language variety, register, and genre according to                  audience, purpose, and setting. 
Standard 2: Students will use                 nonverbal communication appropriate to audience, purpose, and                   setting. 
Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning                   strategies to extend their sociolinguistic and sociocultural                    competence. WHAT DO THE ESL STANDARDS MEAN FOR STUDENTS AND                   EDUCATORS?Although the goals and standards may look intuitive,              they represent a profound shift in how English must be viewed in                U.S. schools: English is no longer just a subject. English skills               must be developed through ESL, English language arts, and all other             content classes so that ELLs can learn the content while they are               acquiring English. The ESL Standards guide teachers in new                      approaches for ELLs. 
For the first goal, ELLs must use English for            social purposes. They need to chat with peers and teachers and use              English for their own enjoyment -- to read a magazine or watch a                movie. For the second goal, ELLs need to use English to achieve                 academically. Once students exit bilingual or ESL programs, they                find it difficult to succeed in subject area classes without                    knowledge of academic English. The ESL standards indicate the type              of academic language proficiency that students need. The third goal             emphasizes that ELLs need to be explicitly taught the social and                cultural norms associated with using English, such as when to use               formal or informal language, what gestures are appropriate, and when            humor is acceptable. Each goal includes one standard that focuses on            learning strategies to help students extend their language                      development once they exit a language support program. 
Each                   standard is explicated by descriptors and progress indicators.                  Descriptors are akin to curriculum objectives.   Progress indicators            are assessable activities that teachers can incorporate into lessons            to measure student growth toward meeting a standard. Vignettes,                 written by practicing teachers, further illustrate the standards and            represent good pedagogical practice. They call particular attention             to ways that teachers can work effectively with ELLs to help them               meet the standards. The vignettes depict a wide range of school                 environments with ESL, bilingual, or content teachers, such as                  self-contained ESL, sheltered content instruction, ESL classes in               bilingual programs, regular grade-level classes in elementary                   schools, career internship classes, and more. 
The standards,                  descriptors, progress indicators, and vignettes are arranged in                 grade-level clusters (Pre-K-3, 4-8, and 9-12) to connect language               learning with developmental learning. They describe instruction for             beginning, intermediate, and advanced students. The needs of                    students with limited formal schooling and learning disabilities are            included as well. 
The intent of the ESL Standards was to have                 individual states or districts develop curricula based on the                   standards and describe their own proficiency levels and benchmarks              of performance. Standards implementation activities are very                    important, because the standards reform movement in the United                  States has spurred widespread, high-stakes assessment. In many                  states, all students must pass standardized tests in core content               areas for grade-level promotion or for high school graduation, after            a period of exemption has passed. IMPLEMENTING THE ESL                        STANDARDSState departments of education, local school districts,            and teacher education institutions have been actively implementing              and disseminating the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students. To inform            curriculum development, assessment practice, teacher education, and             classroom implementation, TESOL has developed companion products to             the ESL Standards. Managing the Assessment Process (TESOL, 1998) and            Scenarios for ESL Standards-Based Assessment (TESOL, in press-a)                establish the theoretical framework for assessment and offer                    exemplars and assessment tools for monitoring student progress                  toward meeting the standards. Training Others to Use the ESL                    Standards: A Professional Development Manual (Short et al., 2000)               and Implementing the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students Through                Teacher Education (Snow, 2000) provide training materials and                   practical information to enhance the professional development of                pre-service and in-service teachers. School leaders can increase                their understanding of the ESL standards through the School                     Administrator's Guide to the ESL Standards (TESOL, in press-b). A               series of classroom-focused books, Integrating the ESL Standards                into Classroom Practice (Agor, 2000; Irujo, 2000; Samway, 2000;                 Smallwood, 2000), offers thematic instructional units for teachers              at different grade-level clusters demonstrating how to implement the            ESL standards. Finally, to help teachers explain the ESL Standards              to parents, the Parent Guide to the ESL Standards for Pre-K-12                  Students is available on the                                                    Web (www.cal.org/eslstandards/parentguide.htm). 
Other                         implementation activities include curriculum and professional                   development. Many states and districts have developed or revised ESL            or sheltered content curricula based on the ESL Standards.                      Professional development for educators has been offered through                 conference sessions, workshops, and summer academies by TESOL and               NABE and state and local education agencies. An implementation                  database and electronic discussion list support these activities,               too (see www.cal.org/eslstandards). 
One of the most important                 accomplishments of the project has been the increased stature of ESL            professionals in pre-K-12 school settings. This is a less visible               achievement than the published products, but a significant one.                 Publication of the standards opened many doors for dialogue with                educators in other content areas about how best to help ELLs achieve            academically. With the ESL Standards in hand, pre-K-12 ESL and                  bilingual teachers have been able to show colleagues in other                   disciplines what learning a second language means and what learning             content through a second language requires. FUTURE                            DIRECTIONSWhile great strides have been made in improving                   educational opportunities for ELLs in schools, there is still work              to be done. There is a need for all pre-service candidates in                   teacher training institutions--not just those in ESL or bilingual               education certification programs--to become familiar with the ESL               standards and assessment scenarios as part of their general                     education course work. These future teachers should learn about                 second language acquisition, ESL methods--especially for sheltered              content instruction--and appropriate alternative assessments that               can accommodate students' developing language                                   proficiencies. 
Language educators need to collaborate more with               content-area colleagues, using the ESL Standards to illustrate how              to build language development into content lessons. Given the                   high-stakes testing programs in place across the United States, it              is imperative that ELLs receive the best content instruction                    possible while they are learning English. The ESL Standards can show            content teachers the functional uses of language that can be                    developed through content topics and tasks. 
In addition, more                 textbook publishers must incorporate the ESL standards in their                 materials. Similarly, test developers need to conduct linguistic                reviews of their test items and identify problematic areas such as              overuse of synonyms and embedded questions. Subsequent linguistic               simplification of test items can lead to a more accurate                        demonstration of ELLs' knowledge of the content area being assessed.            Scenarios for ESL Standards-based Assessment (TESOL, in press-a) can            be instrumental in these efforts. 
Finally, ESL classes need to                become more rigorous. It is vital to accelerate ELLs' social and                academic English language development so they can master the                    grade-level content knowledge that will enable them to meet high                standards and succeed on state and local assessments. The ESL                   Standards and assessment scenarios can lead the                                 way. REFERENCESAgor, B. (Ed.). (2000). "Integrating the ESL               standards into classroom practice: Grades 9-12." Alexandria, VA:                TESOL. 
Irujo, S. (Ed.). (2000). "Integrating the ESL standards                into classroom practice: Grades 6-8." Alexandria, VA:                           TESOL. 
Samway, K.D. (Ed.). (2000). "Integrating the ESL standards             into classroom practice: Grades 3-5". Alexandria, VA:                           TESOL. 
Short, D., Gomez, E., Cloud, N., Katz, A., Gottlieb, M., &             Malone, M. (2000). "Training others to use the ESL standards: A                 professional development manual". Alexandria, VA:                               TESOL. 
Smallwood, B.A. (Ed.). (2000). "Integrating the ESL                    standards into classroom practice: Grades pre-K-12." Alexandria, VA:            TESOL. 
Snow, M.A. (Ed.). (2000). "Implementing the ESL standards              for pre-K-12 students through teacher education." Alexandria, VA:               TESOL. 
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages,                    Inc. (1993). "The access brochure." Alexandria, VA:                             Author. 
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages,                   Inc. (1996). "Promising futures." Alexandria, VA: Author. 
Teachers            of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (1997). "ESL                    standards for pre-K-12 students." Alexandria, VA: Author. 
Teachers            of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (1998). "Managing               the assessment process: A framework for measuring student attainment            of the ESL standards." Alexandria, VA: Author. 
Teachers of English            to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (in press-a). "Scenarios for               ESL standards-based assessment." Alexandria, VA: Author. 
Teachers             of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (in                             press-b). "School administrator's guide to the ESL standards."                  Alexandria, VA: Author. 
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This digest was prepared with                 funding from the U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational                 Research and Improvement, National Library of Education, under                  contract no. ED-99-CO-0008. The opinions expressed do not                       necessarily reflect the positions or policies of ED, OERI, or NLE.           **Title:** The ESL Standards: Bridging the Academic Gap for English Language               Learners. ERIC Digest.                                                       **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, 4646 40th Street               NW, Washington, DC 20016. For full text:                                        http://www.cal.org/ericcll/DIGEST.                                           **Descriptors:**  Academic Standards,  Access to Education,  Educational Objectives,              English (Second Language), Equal Education, Futures (of Society),              Second Language Learning                                                     **Identifiers:**  Content Area Teaching, ERIC Digests                                         
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