Professional development to support teachers in building the oral language of English learners

The shift toward educating English learners in an inclusion setting rather than in pull-out classes has in some cases meant less opportunity to practice oral language. For English learners, oral language practice is essential for both developing language and improving reading comprehension. This capstone explores research around oral language proficiency and reading comprehension, best practice in instructing English learners and components of effective professional development. Based on this research, three one-hour professional development sessions were created to be presented to the staff of an elementary school. These sessions emphasize using the components of Sheltered Instruction, and increasing student interaction and talk time. The goal of these sessions is to support teachers in building the oral language of English learners in order to improve their language proficiency and reading comprehension