PREFACE

The curriculum guide is designed for ESL teachers of students in grades K through12. It is organized to meet the requirements of Bilingual Education Code NJAC 6A: 15 which requires that an ESL curriculum be aligned to the ESL Standards for Pre-K – 12 Students (TESOL 2006) and the WIDA Standards (2007). This guide addresses the instructional needs more effectively as it ensures that every student will be prepared to meet the core curriculum content standards and be productive citizens in the mainstream society. I. Philosophy English as Second Language (ESL) students are from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The ESL Program must equip them with the skills to compete in American society. The program is one in which the limited English proficient (LEP) student receives at least one period of instruction per day. Students must also develop academic skills along with their general program while additionally learning English. As they are in transition from their native language to English, the emphasis must be on developing academic skills that comply with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) and the WIDA Standards. A diversity of teaching techniques in a variety of learning contexts is employed in order to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of each individual student. The syllabus allows for flexibility in methodology affording both the teacher and the student the opportunity to instruct and to learn according to preferred learning styles. Some of the language teaching approaches and methods (as noted in the Guidelines for Development of Program Plan and Services), which have most recently applied to the teaching of ESL include