[EnglishLanguage 4014] Re: Credentialing for adult ESOL teachersrobinschwarz1 at aol.com robinschwarz1 at aol.comMon Mar 9 12:52:29 EDT 2009
Kimberly and Glenda Lynn--thank you VERY much for sharing your information.? I believe Wisconsin has an arrangement very similar to that of Minnesota-- certification in K-12 ESOL permits a teacher to teach adult ESOL.? I agree with Kimberly that it is unfortunate that K-12 certification is considered adequate--even desirable-- for teaching adult ESOL when those of us who have taught at both settings know the issues are often extremely different.?? Even more important is that I believe adult ESOL educators should have a firm grounding in adult pedagogy as well as adult language acquisition.? This information is VERY helpful to our thinking.? It is encouraging that there is an increasing expectation that adult educators will continue their PD and will be increasingly expected to have some training or education about teaching adults.?? Thanks again for helping us out!? Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: Kimberly A. Johnson <kjohnson60 at gw.hamline.edu> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov Sent: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 5:01 pm Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4003] Re: Credentialing for adult ESOL teachers Hi there, Robin. Things are pretty complicated up here in Minnesota! Adult Basic Education is housed within the K-12 system, so ABE ESL teachers working within an ABE program connected to a school system (this is the vast majority of our ABE programs) are required to have a valid teaching license (either a K-12 license or an ABE license) OR they need to have an MA-TESOL. For ESOL teachers working in ABE as part of smaller, community-based organizations, the organizations can determine necessary qualifications. Some require a license and some do not. One of the infuriating inequities in this system, in my view, is that a K-12 license -in any area- is enough to qualify a teacher to teach any ABE subject, including ESOL. (Of course, the reverse is not true...you cannot teach K-12 with an ABE license.) To maintain licensure, all licensed teachers are required to earn 125 CEUs every five years, and there are a couple of specific relicensure areas such as "reading" and "adapting curriculum to meet the need of diverse learners." I coordinate a program designed to provide professional development to ABE practitioners throughout MN and all of our PD options give teachers opportunities to earn CEUs. One thing that we have done at my institution is create an 8-credit Certificate for Adult ESL (http://www.hamline.edu/education/academics/certs/esl_adult.html ). The eight credits can be used to satisfy some CEU requirements and the certificate credits can be applied toward an MA-TESOL degree here at Hamline. We find that many teachers take the certificate courses just because they do not feel prepared to work with adult ESOL students, even if those teachers have no intention of continuing on for the MA. BTW, these courses are all online and we do have practitioners from outside of MN who enroll. There you go! Let me know if you have questions, Kimberly Johnson ATLAS Coordinator (www.hamline.edu/atlas ) Hamline University St Paul, MN >>> <robinschwarz1 at aol.com> 3/5/2009 2:30 PM >>> HI listers-- I am working with a group at my school to improve an in-house credentialing requirement the school has for teachers.? We are wondering what other schools. programs, states do about credentialing adult ESOL teachers.?? Do any of you have requirements for CEU's?? If so, are there specifications for those?? Do you or does anyone you know hire only teachers with some kind of credential or qualification that can be obtained externally?? Once hired, do teachers have to continue their PD to stay hired or get a raise??? I'd be really grateful for information and feedback on this issue. Robin Lovrien Schwarz ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Email delivered to robinschwarz1 at aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20090309/4efd75ac/attachment.html
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