How the English Language Learner's Brain Learns
How the English Language Learner's Brain Learns
To answer the question, how does the English Language Learner's brain learn, it is first essential to define who are English Language Learners. English Language Learners are any group of people learning the English language, most often, as a second language. Typically, these are students who we encounter in grades K-12 who need support to acquire English proficiency to become successful academically. While there is now more awareness and support available to teachers who teach English as a second language, how do you know what strategies you should adopt for your students? Let's first look at some statistics.
Importance of the Course How the ELL Brain Learners
About 10% of public school students live in households where English is not the primary language. These English Language Learners (ELLs) typically become proficient in "social" English within 2-3 years but require several more years to become proficient in "academic" English. It is primarily the latter that determines advancement in American society so bringing English Language Learners up to grade-level competence in academic English becomes a top priority.
To ensure our English Language Learners' success, teachers will need a working knowledge of the unique challenges these students face and how the brain learns language so they can meet their needs head-on.
The course How the ELL Brain Learns, offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne, provides an understanding of the problems faced by English Language Learners and offers strategies for addressing them in contexts devoted to teaching English across all required subjects. Now is the perfect time for K-12 teachers to put these strategies to use so they can watch their English Language Learners quickly close their language barriers!
Benefits of the Course How the ELL Brain Learns
In this course, How the ELL Brain Learns, brain mechanisms for language learning are presented and referenced throughout the text for a broad understanding of how English Language Learners acquire language. Identified and highlighted within this course are teaching methods specific to educators' needs for teaching English Language Learners. Here are some additional topics you can expect to learn from this informative course.
Topics include:
- Value the experiences, cultures, and accomplishments that English Language Learners bring to the classroom.
- Work effectively with the distinction between social English and academic English.
- Understand the brain regions that handle languages and how they may differ across ages, sexes, and first languages.
- Develop a mindset that combines teaching English as a new language with teaching grade-appropriate content.
- Know various methods to assess the progress that does not add stress beyond that usually felt by anyone learning to function in a new language.
- Be able to identify learning difficulties by looking beyond linguistic performance to English Language Learners' academic abilities.
- Be able to locate, evaluate, and utilize multiple Teaching Tips when teaching the English language and required content area subjects.
- Know sources of practical and research information to consult when in need of additional help.
How the ELL Brain Learns Course Contents
Completing the course, How the ELL Brain Learns will lead to long-lasting benefits for yourself and your English learning students. It may also impact your professional career by allowing you to leverage your new skills towards salary advancement, license renewal, or recertification. Students are encouraged to seek approval from their district or state before enrolling.
Contents include:
- Learning, comprehending, and processing the first language
- Learning a new language (English)
- Teaching English language listening, speaking, reading, and writing
- Teaching English Language Learners across content area subjects
- Recognizing and addressing problems in learning English
- Identifying English Language students with disabilities
- Identifying gifted English Language students
- Acquiring social and academic language
- Correlating instruction with stages of second-language acquisition
- Differentiating instruction
- Programs for English Language Learners
Upon completing this course, teachers will learn how to apply specific instructional methods to meet English Language Learners’ needs. All content is self-paced, written in a user-friendly format, and accessible online 24/7 or via PDF format delivered directly to your email inbox.
This three-credit course, How the ELL Brain Learns, can be applied toward the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne. Other popular course options for this timely certificate include:
- The Multicultural Classroom
- Teaching Gifted and Talented Students
- ABCs of Effective Mainstreaming and Inclusion
- The Differentiated Classroom
- Achieving Success for English Language Learners
- ADD/ADHD Strategies and Interventions for the Classroom
- Designing Learning for the Common Core
- Understanding Autism
- Teaching Students with Mild Disabilities
- Personalized Learning: A Powerful Solution to an Urgent Need for Change
- And much more!
Note, the University of La Verne is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Since requirements may vary, students should check with their school district or state department of education before enrolling in a course.
How to Register
How the ELL Brain Learns is completed in an online or via an emailed PDF format. All books and materials are mailed to the student regardless of the format selected. This course is open for registration at any time during each semester. Students also have access to live chat support and can expect a quick turnaround to receive their grades. Upon completion, students receive graduate, non-degree semester credit on official transcripts from the University of La Verne, an accredited university in La Verne, California.
Registration is simple and can be done online or over the phone. Students may enroll in courses on a rolling basis during three standard semesters, and you can begin whenever you are ready! Students may enroll in up to a maximum of 15-semester credits at any time during each semester.
The registration dates are:
Fall: September 1 – January 31
Spring: February 1 – May 31
Summer: June 1 – August 31
How the ELL Brain Learns translates current research into easily-applied strategies and techniques for immediate application within the classroom, including working with struggling English Language Learners. Get ready to transform your instruction and watch your students' English skills soar!