NJ Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/
Welcome to NJTESOL/NJBE’s Annual Voices Journal. This publication is a representation of members’ thoughts on issues important to ESL, Bilingual, and Dual Language educators in New Jersey and the larger language teaching community. This annual journal has a scholarly approach which reveals the deep commitment our writers and readers have for their teaching practice and students. NJTESOL/NJBE hopes you enjoy our second issue of NJTESOL/NJBE’s Annual Voices Journal and its continuing companion, NJTESOL/NJBE’s Weekly Voices.
Annual Voices Journal is the official publication of NJTESOL/NJBE, issued annually each winter. Articles in the NJTESOL/NJBE Voices Journal include current issues, classroom explorations, program description/exemplary scheduling, and alternative perspectives as related to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, Bilingual Education, and Dual language programs including students who are U.S.-born bilinguals, “generation 1.5”, immigrants, and international students. Articles may focus on any educational level, from kindergarten to university, as well as on adult school and workplace literacy settings.
A Principal’s Framework for Supporting MLLs
Alex Guzman
A framework for high school principals to support MLLs: Alex Guzman, a former principal, shares a practical approach to serving MLLs and learning to address their needs.
Translanguaging: An Inexperienced Teacher’s Guide to Implementation
Christine Donatello and Chiu-Yin (Cathy) Wong
A reflection of exploration following a teacher’s inexperience with the concept of translanguaging through her journey of adapting it into her classes and witnessing positive results. It provides tips for teachers to use to implement translanguaging in their own classrooms along with the reasons for doing so to create an equitable education for emergent bilingual students (EBs). A workshop will be presented by the authors at NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference 2023.
Curriculum-Thinking around the 2020 WIDA Standards Framework
Margaret Churchill & Hana Prashker
Using the principles of backward design, educators can plan and create units and lessons that implement the big ideas of the 2020 WIDA Standards Framework by examining released ACCESS for ELLs test items. These tasks by grade level cluster serve as design models as we consider how to put the WIDA Standards Framework into practice in our own classrooms. A table provides a focus for unit planning around the Key Language Uses that are prevalent in grade-level clusters.
How Does Sara Think?
Tina Kern
In our educational community today, students seem to be experiencing what is considered a “learning loss”. As a result, data has become more important as a measure of growth. This mindset has sent the message to students that, above all, the correct answer is valued. In this atmosphere, the concept of learning the process of achieving the answer, instead of just submitting the correct answer, has diminished. How do we step back and spend time assisting our students with strategies so that they learn the value of the process, of the “why”, instead of just submitting the answer?
Save Time! Streamline Your Unit and Lesson Planning Using the WIDA Standards Digital Explorer
Lynn Shafer Willner
Saving 10 minutes a day can add up to 30 hours a year. Are you looking for ways to save time without skimping on the quality of your unit and lesson planning? This article suggests three time-saving tips for using the WIDA Standards Digital Explorer as part of your design process including Identifying unit goals for language development, selecting Proficiency Level Descriptors and/or Language Functions and their associated Language Features for language lesson objectives, and locating standards-aligned digital resources.
Science Education for All: Integrating Science Content Attainment and Language Development for ELLs
Cecilia Vila
An overview of how to integrate academic language development and content attainment through a collaborative approach. The focus is to provide an example for educators in grades K-8 whose students are English Language Learners who may or may not share the same home language. It provides a snapshot of the interactive workshop with the same title presented by Ms. Vila Chave at the 2022 NJ Science Convention, and that will also be presented at NABE 2023 and NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference 2023.
Cooperative Teaching Notetaking Model
Bryan Meadows
A professional reflection on a note-taking technique a push-in ESL teacher is using in a high school Biology classroom emphasizing content-area vocabulary using shared digital notes.