Esp and Needs Analysis

Many of their learning needs are similar to those of other children and young people learning in our schools. However, these learners also have distinct and different needs from other learners by virtue of the fact that they are learning in and through another language, and that they come from cultural backgrounds and communities with different understandings and expectations of education, language and learning”. (NALDIC, 1999).

Effective teachers who used the SIOP Model in their lesson plan become an expert in linking language and content in their instruction and expand their quality to accommodate different levels of proficiency in their classrooms. To provide support to ELLs and mainstream students teachers must use all of the components of scaffold content and language instruction in their lesson plans. The difference between teaching ELLs and mainstream students is the level of proficiency and approach of students, to help narrow the achievement gap between ELLs and mainstream students ESL teachers must write clearly define language objectives and share it with the students at the beginning of every lesson, model academic language in the target language

As an ELPT, I was well informed and trained in the laws, rules, and responsibilities with running English as a second language and Bilingual Programs. I screened students using the W-APT screener for proper placement of our EL students. I monitored the progress of transitional students and worked collaboratively with their teachers to offer interventions. I understood how to use ACCESS data to inform instruction and meet the linguistic needs of our EL population. With this knowledge, I was able to work collaboratively, coach, model, and facilitate the learning of adults on how to best use data to design and differentiate instruction for our students success.

As a course lecturer my responsibilities in identifying and meeting the needs of my learners will start from the initial interview with them when I will assess if the learner has any additional needs. This will carry on throughout their time at Oaklands College periodically. This enables me to arrange for additional learning support for example. If they have any medical conditions or a criminal background I will take steps so as to ensure this does not affect their learning or the learners around them. This equality allows all learners the same chance on the course selected.

In this paper I will complete a needs assessment and explain how I used the assessment to help complete my course project. By doing so, I hope to help the reader understand the process involved in developing a training strategy to address the needs that will be identified.

A needs assessment encourages supportive relationships to reduce the risk of abuse and neglect, a demonstration of a needs assessment is as follows: Needs assessment is the key to ensuring that the required range and capacity of services is available and accessible to service users and their families in a local area. A good need assessment process will:

Recognising that the learner’s needs are important so gathering as much understanding of the learner is important. Gathering information of student’s knowledge/understanding through an initial assessment. Learners can have literacy, numeracy and ICT skills tests prior to being accepted on the course or during the course so that understanding of any learning needs can be determined.

* Identify needs; normally done before any teaching, agreeing Individual Learning Plan, signposting to other professional bodies. Being aware of your own boundaries and limitations, determining a suitable physical learning environment for the learning experience to take place that factors individual learner needs.

The ESL scales have been developed to help teachers clearly understand the level at which each non- English background student is working in all of the language skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing. These skills develop differently, at different stages and the role of the ESL scales is to identify the level and strategies needed to improve the student’s proficiency. “A knowledge of the ESL scales supports all learning areas and enables those involved in education to cater more effectively for students whose first language is not English.”(ESL scales,)

Learners’ particular literacy, language, numeracy and ICT needs can be established through initial assessment, talking to learners, observing them completing activities or using simple self assessment tests.

 It is important that you identify the needs of your learners so you can design the course to reflect individual differences. Although this is usually described as the first stage in the teaching/training cycle it is a process that may have to be deferred until you meet your learners for the first time and usually should be a continuing requirement throughout the learning journey. However, some organisations interview their learners before the course, or there may be an application process where learner needs can be identified.

Nowadays, the roles of English around the world have changed rapidly. English only served as the first or the second language of certain countries some years ago. Recently, English has a new role as a language which is used as a means of communication between people with different

ESL students are students that speak English as a second language. Presently, there is many different system to characterize this type of students (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). For example, they can be seen as “English Language Learners (ELL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), English Language Development (ELD), English Language Service (ELS), and

In contemporary society the Standard variety of English is the most commonly used as it is respected and associated with a higher prestige. Its usage is also advocated by prescriptivists who believe that it is the ‘correct’ and only variety that should be used. Standard English is usually seen in formal settings, where its usage is necessary for official and public purposes. However, contextual factors play a vital role in determining the most appropriate variety to be used, which is supported by the Principle of Appropriateness. Certain contexts where a non-standard variety is necessary are in social media settings and in communities of different ethnicities, where they are undeniably required to create solidarity between speakers.

Specification – Edexcel IGCSE in - Exemplar Coursework Edexcel IGCSE EnglishEnglish Language (Specification A) (4EA0) – Issue 1 – September 2008 © Edexcel Limited 2008