Austin ISD issued the following announcement.
How will AISD serve emergent bilingual students (English learners) in a virtual classroom?
For students who are learning English, AISD provides dual language, transitional bilingual and ESL (English as a Second Language) programs. In addition, students who already speak English at home can participate in two-way dual language programs. Students enrolled in dual language, transitional bilingual, or ESL will continue in those programs whether they engage in instruction remotely or face-to-face in the school building. These programs will be taught by certified bilingual and/or ESL teachers as required by law. Some students will have a different teacher for each language.
What will dual language look like in a virtual classroom?
Remote instruction for students in dual language programs will be balanced between both program languages. In a Spanish/English dual language program, at least half of instruction will be in Spanish. Student schedules will indicate what is taught and practiced in each language.
Just as they do in face-to-face instruction, dual language teachers will use instructional strategies in a virtual setting that help students to successfully learn grade level content in both languages. Students will be given regular opportunities to develop all four language domains — listening, speaking, reading and writing — using both technology tools and non-technology activities. They will have interactive opportunities with the teacher and classmates and also home activities that they can do alone or with other family members.
It will be important for families to communicate directly with dual language teachers in order to help students progress.
Will dual language look the same in middle and high school?
In middle and high school, dual language students take at least two classes in Spanish each year — one Spanish language class and one content class like math, science or social studies.
The middle and high school dual language teachers will organize their lessons and activities through our district’s learning platform, Blend, just like other teachers do. Blend is where students will connect to teachers for synchronous learning, or learning where teachers and students are present at the same time via a remote platform. Blend is also where students will find the activities and lessons to do on their own as part of asynchronous instruction, or learning where teachers and students do not need to log in at the same time.
Dual Language teachers will hold virtual office hours for parents and students to meet with their teachers to ask questions about their learning and assignments
What will remote instruction look like for students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs?
Students in ESL programs will continue to get their instruction from ESL certified teachers remotely. ESL teachers will use instructional strategies to help students learn grade level content and develop their English proficiency. These strategies are part of an approach called sheltered instruction. Some examples include building background knowledge, using graphic organizers, using interactive activities and providing students with sentence frames to help them talk about academic content.
Students will be at different levels of English proficiency, so it will be important to connect directly with teachers during office hours to make sure they are understanding and participating successfully in the virtual classes.
How can I help my children to develop language while they are learning at home?
Parents can help most by communicating regularly with their own children in their home language: talk to them, listen to them, read to them and encourage them to write. Also encourage them to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing in the other language. There will be online resources available through Blend, the Parent Portal and the website for students to develop language skills in both Spanish and English (as well as Vietnamese and Mandarin for students in those programs). There will also be non-technology resources available that don’t require a computer or internet connection.
When students who speak a language other than English enroll in school, districts are required to test their English proficiency to see if they are eligible for bilingual or ESL services. When will that testing happen for new students?
Texas Education Agency (TEA) guidelines state that this language testing must take place face-to-face, not virtually. However, because schools are closed for COVID-19, they waived the four week timeline for conducting this testing and will allow districts to test the students when they return to school in person. AISD will develop timelines and protocols based on local health conditions to allow this testing to take place safely and in accordance with state law.
What about English proficiency testing for emergent bilingual students to see if they qualify for reclassification as English proficient and for exiting from ESL and bilingual programs?
Many of our students completed the state’s TELPAS testing last spring before school was closed for COVID-19. For these students, the TELPAS results can be used to determine if students are ready to be reclassified as English proficient. For students who did not complete the TELPAS but may be ready for reclassification, face-to-face language testing will need to be administered as described in question 6 above.
What will World Languages (LOTE) look like in a virtual classroom?
Students participating in a World Language class will have access to authentic language learning through both asynchronous and synchronous lessons. Lessons created in BLEND will be delivered using a modified flipped classroom model. Teachers will engage in high leverage teaching practices allowing students the opportunity to create and produce authentic language at the appropriate level.
Original source can be found here.
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