Projects
Writing to Teach: A Needs Assessment
Today’s teachers are confronted with student populations that are increasingly diverse and a dizzying array of demands and challenges: academic content standards and English language proficiency (ELP) standards, achievement tests, and classrooms of students with different backgrounds and needs. Among the challenges for teachers across the disciplines is the need to instruct students on the rules of grammar and writing conventions.
While it is important for all teachers to have a strong grasp of English language skills, it is essential for English language development (ELD) teachers to have a strong grasp of language skills because they are charged specifically with teaching English language learners, a growing population among American students. ELD teachers use the English language in modeling English for students, providing direct instruction on English to them, and communicating in English with parents and others. As such, it is critical that ELD teachers have the grammatical knowledge and writing skills in order to provide appropriate instruction to their students. Arguably, ELD teachers have demonstrated their competency to teach English language skills through successful completion of a baccalaureate degree, a teacher certification program, and specialized professional workshops and seminars. Click here to read the full research project description.
