. The Minnesota State Guidelines and Requirements for ESL programs are as follows:
124D.61 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAMS.
(1) identification and reclassification criteria for English learners and program entrance and exit criteria for English learners must be documented by the district, applied uniformly to English learners, and made available to parents and other stakeholders upon request;
(2) a written plan of services that describes programming by English proficiency level made available to parents upon request. The plan must articulate the amount and scope of service offered to English learners through an educational program for English learners;
(3) professional development opportunities for ESL, bilingual education, mainstream, and all staff working with English learners which are: (i) coordinated with the district's professional development activities; (ii) related to the needs of English learners; and (iii) ongoing;
(4) to the extent possible, avoid isolating English learners for a substantial part of the school day; and
(5) in predominantly nonverbal subjects, such as art, music, and physical education, permit English learners to participate fully and on an equal basis with their contemporaries in public school classes provided for these subjects. To the extent possible, the district must assure pupils enrolled in a program for English learners an equal and meaningful opportunity to participate fully with other pupils in all extracurricular activities. (Minnesota Legislature, 2019 Minnesota Statutes).
As well as this information about the amount of minutes of services for students:
Amount of instruction refers to the intensity or time a student receives English language development (ELD) instruction in a language instruction educational program on a regular basis...The amount and scope of service (instruction) must be relative to previous formal schooling and should be based on guiding principles and current research on such programming’s effectiveness.
There are many different subgroups of immigrants who are new to the United States and are often referred to as newcomers, it is important to note that not all newcomers are considered SLIFE, and these newcomers are often placed in school based on their school transcripts.
SLIFE may be placed in newcomer instruction programs that are designed for newly arrived English Learners, where they often focus on basic English and Math skills and can also include grade level academic content (Sugarman, 2018). Cohan and Honigsfeld (2017) conducted research into actionable practices for SLIFE students vs traditional English Learners and other newcomers. They found that instruction delivery was most successful when there was district wide buy in with support from teachers and administration alike, specifically finding that the most effective programs had administrators that took an active role in the design of the program and services administered to SLIFE. It was also noted that the most effective programs had built-in English support before they were put into classes that measured growth based on standardized tests ensuring that students did not have to deal with unfair evaluation practices. They were also given recognition for attendance and participation without receiving any failing grades. ESL programs that are already in place can be used as a foundation for reaching SLIFE but must also recognize that due to these learners limited academic experiences along with their need for accelerated core instruction must lead to a purposeful design that takes their needs into consideration.
Zacarian and Haynes (2012) agreed with this statement; they felt that SLIFE needed programs that teach basic reading and life skills that are designed for their English development needs. SLIFE cannot just be placed in a Language Arts program designed for English learners to read an adapted version of a book, nor can they be placed solely in a literacy oriented program for beginning English learners. These students will also not do well in ESL programs where they are mixed with intermediate or advanced English learners. Zacarian and Haynes also believed that specialized academic environments, like newcomer programs, would benefit SLIFE in order to help them catch up to their peers by providing not only English language development, basic literacy instruction but also providing them with other basic skills and information like social services and school culture
Short and Boyson (2012) recommend the following guidelines for effective newcomer models:
Flexible scheduling of courses and students
Careful staffing plus targeted professional development
Basic literacy development materials for adolescents with reading adaptations targeted specifically for English learners
Content area instruction to fill gaps in education
Extended time for instruction and support (e.g. after school, Saturday and summer programming)
Connections with families and social services
Diagnostics and monitoring of student data
Transition measure to ease newcomers into regular school or beyond high school.
Short and Boyson (2012) took a further look at the goals and objectives of a newcomer program including:
Helping student acquire beginning English skills
Provide some instruction in core content areas
Guide students acclimating to the school system in the United States
Develop or strengthen students native literacy skills
Zacarian and Haynes (2012) list the following minimum requirements for ESL programs for beginning English Learners:
ESL instruction for at least 90 minutes or two class periods every day that is targeted to the unique language development needs of EL beginners.
Grouping English Learners by grade and proficiency level; classes should not span more than two grades.
A limit of two schools per EL teacher
Instructional space that is comparable to the general education settings in the building with similar size student populations
Schedules that allow ESL teachers time to meet and collaborate with general education teachers, child study teams and parents.
Professional development in second language acquisition and methods for teaching EL’s listening, speaking, reading and writing.
DeCapua (2016) mentioned that due to the limited or lack of schooling SLIFE have experienced, they not only lack literacy skills and content knowledge, but they also may not know ‘how to do school’, lacking skills from basics like knowing how to use a notebook to how to participate in academic tasks. Zacarian and Haynes (2012) discussed some essential basics that should be taught to beginning English learners in order to navigate their way through school, these include:
Where the bathrooms, lockers, nurse’s office, guidance office, main office, cafeteria, art room, music room, gym, library, bus areas, and other classrooms are located.
How to buy lunch, tell the school nurse when they are sick, find the school bathrooms, and ask for directions/help.
The names of teachers, the school nurse, the school secretary, guidance counselors, the principal, and custodians.
Orientation to school procedures: hall passes, planners, late passes, behavior in hallways and classes, rules for the cafeteria and playground, clothes for gym, and raising your hand in class
School life vocabulary
Falchetta et al. (2001) describes further skills (survival skills) that SLIFE need in order to be successful and believe that with consistent modeling and teaching SLIFE can readily acquire, their list expands on the list above:
Accepting criticism
Agreeing/disagreeing
Apologizing
Asking for assistance
Collaborating
Expressing feelings
Getting someone’s attention
Greeting others
Interpreting nonverbal cues
Maintaining health/hygiene
Making friends
Making requests
Passing in hallways
Reporting a problem
Requesting clarification
Resolving conflict
Showing empathy
Taking turns
Adjusting to a school setting
Completing homework
Following directions
Keeping a notebook
Reading school/street signs and other environmental print
Recognizing numbers
Recognizing/writing date of birth, address, telephone number
Spelling/writing one’s name
Telling time
Understanding classroom routines
Using a calculator
Using a calendar
Using a map
Using a pencil/pen
Using a ruler
DeCapua and Marshall (2010) expanded on these ideas stating that SLIFE needed more than English language instruction alone, and they needed specifically designed programs to meet their language, literacy, and academic needs. Studies of key instructional support found that ideal programs had features that included small group instruction, collaborative work, differentiated instruction, scaffolding, theme based, sheltered content courses and academically challenging curriculum with language modifications