Welcome to my website. Hard to believe it, but this is my 11th year teaching ESOL throughout the district! I serve all grade levels (PK-12) to ensure that students with another language in their background get the academic and language support that they need in order to be successful in the classroom. On my page, you will find some information about the program and resources to read/use at home. You will also find information on the NH Seal of Biliteracy Award that is new to NH. I'm thrilled to be initiating this and getting some of our high school seniors the recognition they deserve. I'm excited for another great year at Kearsarge! Go Cougars!
ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. It used to be called ESL, English as a Second Language, but many realized that it was excluding a large portion of our English Learners who speak more than 2 languages. (I knew a student who spoke 8 languages fluently!)
An ELL is an English Language Learner, or more recently called an EL, English Learner
ELD stands for English Language Development and is sometimes the name of a course.
The ESOL Program here at Kearsarge is a program designed for students whose first language is not English, or whose background includes a language other than English, and have demonstrated a need for language support through the WIDA Screener and ACCESS for ELLs tests. The program prepares and provides ELs with English language skills through the four language domains of speaking, listening, reading and writing to achieve a higher level of English proficiency. The emphasis of the program is to develop and enhance oral and literacy skills, including vocabulary and comprehension, for social and academic language competence. Language acquisition is achieved through grade level and appropriate content materials. The application and amount of services and support is provided based on need. Some services are provided in small groups, one on one, or inclusively in the classroom. The ESOL teacher collaborates regularly with classroom teachers to connect language learning to content learning to ensure that all students can access the same knowledge and understanding of materials.
The consortium that was formed in 2003 to develop ESOL standards, adopted by 34 states.
WIDA Placement Test. Used to determine eligibility into the ESOL program and placement for services.
Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills is the language of everyday life - the language required in social settings. Students may take from 6 months to 2 years to acquire these skills.
Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State. A standardized large scale test of English language proficiency mandated by the state of NH DOE to be given annually to all students receiving ESOL services. Four language domains are tested: listening, reading, speaking and writing. This test takes place each year between January and March. Scores are received in May.
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency is the language proficiency required to succeed in the classroom. Students may take from 5 to 10 years to achieve this level of proficiency.