Specialization in Teaching ESL in Higher Education at New ...



Specialization in Teaching ESL in Higher Education at New Jersey City University

Dr. Vesna Radanovic-Kocic

vkocic@njcu.edu

Dr. Clyde Coreil

ccoreil@njcu.edu

Abstract:

This article describes the Specialization in Teaching ESL in Higher Education at New Jersey City University. This specialization now possible within the TESL curriculum was developed in response to the growing need to prepare ESL teachers for careers in community colleges and other post-secondary institutions. The curriculum also includes material especially designed for the growing 1.5 Generation,

Full Text:

The purpose of this short report is to inform the readership of HEIS Newsletter of a three-course specialization in the teaching of ESL in higher education now available at New Jersey City University. The specialization was created under the FY2003 Education of Language Minority Students Grant of New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and in response to the growing need to prepare ESL teachers for careers in community colleges and other post-secondary institutions. Included in the curriculum is material especially designed for the growing 1.5 Generation, according to Dr. Vesna Radanovic-Kocic from the Department of Multicultural Education and Dr. Clyde Coreil of the ESL Program. These faculty members wrote the Grant proposal.

Where the New Specialization Fits

The specialization, entitled Teaching ESL in Higher Education, constitutes an elective part of the program for the Masters in Teaching ESL in the Department of Multicultural Education. The Specialization consists of a sequence of three courses which can either be taken in addition to 42 required credits, or within 15 elective credits included in the requirements. Thus, no additional coursework is required by the specialization: the focusing of the elective courses makes the specialization possible

Profitable Content

The existing curriculum prepared candidates for teaching at the P-12 level. Many of our students have the opportunity to teach ESL to adults, either through evening adult programs offered in public schools and community centers, as adjuncts at different community colleges, or in numerous private ESL schools in the area. They have often expressed frustration that most of our methods courses did not address the needs of adult learners or adult pedagogy. Based on interviews with these students and an in-depth analysis of the program, we identified areas which would be profitably covered in the new specialization: (1) relevant aspects of the USA culture and strategies for transmitting them to ESL students, (2) analysis of different styles, strategies, and methods in college ESL teaching as well as of existing resources, and (3) a practicum.

Description of the Courses

The three new courses created were: Teaching ESL in Higher Education; Teaching the Culture of the USA to ESL Students in Higher Education; and Fieldwork in ESL Programs for College Students.

Teaching ESL in Higher Education builds on the knowledge acquired through other courses in the graduate program geared toward P-12 teachers. The purpose of the course is to identify characteristics of various segments of the college ESL student population and their pedagogical needs. Much of the content is taught contrastively by outlining differences between adult learners and younger learners. Candidates explore the newest theoretical positions on issues of grammar instruction, academic vocabulary, critical reading of academic texts, and academic writing. In addition to this theoretical aspect, students design lesson plans and activities for each aspect of the course and produce a portfolio of instructional strategies for teaching ESL in higher education. They also compile an annotated bibliography of resources for teaching various aspects of the ESL in higher education.

Teaching the Culture of the USA to ESL Students in Higher Education prepares candidates to teach English as a unique expression of American culture. The objectives of the course are to: understand the relation between language and culture; identify levels of language where the interdependence between language and culture is the most obvious; identify aspects of American culture that would be useful to English language learners at the postsecondary level (main elements in the American personality and character, the milieu of American university campus, literary allusions, folk tales, legends, heroes); identify typical American cultural concepts (suburbia, den mother, baby boomer, diner, prom, cheer leader, to mention just a few); identify unique pragmatic situations; analyze idioms and other fixed phrases as a way into culture and history; and define major characteristics of academic writing as a unique dialect of American English. Students select one of the elements of the communicative competence model (vocabulary, conversation analysis, academic writing, etc.) and focus on research in that particular area. Their final product is a term paper with an overview of the theoretical background and a lesson in which they share their ideas about teaching these aspects of language in their ESL classes.

Fieldwork in ESL Programs for College Students gives students the opportunity to

test this knowledge firsthand in observations and practical training. Students observe

classes (between 15 and 20 clock hours) in a variety of settings: our own ESL

Department, community colleges, private schools, or adult classes. Each visit is followed

by a written reflective journal, in which students describe and analyze the classes they

observe with the reference to knowledge gained in the other two courses. In addition,

students collect and share with other class members interesting samples of student work.

They also prepare a lesson, which is observed and evaluated by the instructor.

Conclusion

We started teaching our first course in 2003, and we are now graduating our first students. The Specialization is still at the very early stages of implementation and many - mostly technical - aspects still need to be worked out. The three proposed courses are expected to be approved by the University Senate and included in the permanent course catalogue by the end of the fall 2005 semester. So far we have issued a special certificate to those students that completed all three courses, but in the future we hope to incorporate this information into their transcripts as well.

We have had very positive feedback from everyone involved. Our students now feel better qualified for the college teaching (several students who have taught as adjuncts in community colleges expressed informally their appreciation of the courses that addressed problems they regularly encounter in their classrooms). Students who do their fieldwork in various institutions have brought back praise to us for starting this specialization. Finally, the work on creating the Specialization has resulted in a welcome proximity of our two departments, and serves as clear evidence that collaboration between ESL and TESL makes for a very healthy and productive relationship. This collaboration between the two departments occurs in various forms: the three courses are taught by faculty from both departments, instructors visit and co-teach some of the classes, and our students observe and teach in classes offered in the ESL department.

So far only a small number of students have elected to pursue the specialization, but we hope that with time and with more aggressive advertisement, we will attract more students. Overall, we feel that the specialization has been successful and is gaining a firm place in the course of study at New Jersey City University.

Bios:

Dr. Vesna Radanovic-Kocic is an assistant professor in the Department of Multicultural Education, New Jersey City University, where she teaches courses in theoretical and applied linguistics. Her research is in second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and Slavic syntax.

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