By Delita Patterson

WHY USE THE TESOL STANDARDS FOR INSTRUCTION?????

TESOL STANDARDS CAN FUNCTION AS A STARTING POINT FOR ACTION IN ALL CLASSROOMS SERVING ELLS

The teacher is clear on both short term and long term learning goals and objectives and everything that is done in a lesson is directly linked to support these learning goals and objectives.

The teacher shares these learning goals and objectives with students so that the students are also clear on the learning goals and objectives and can self- monitor their progress.

These goals are created based on: a) ESL language and content-area standards (e.g., Language Arts, Science, Math, etc.),

b) a pre-assessment of learner skills and prior knowledge (which might vary from learner to learner)

an exploration of learning needs (language and content) beyond the ESL classroom (e.g., by looking at district curriculum, content standards, and materials in content-area classrooms, consulting with other teachers, etc.)

The teacher prioritizes among various learning goals and objectives to identify those that serve as foundational knowledge and skills, yield wide-ranging results and address the biggest obstacles of learning for students.