Washington Academy of Languages

At WAL’s Intensive English Program, we meet new students from faraway countries every 5 weeks. We spend time together as a group, and build a bond with them, and then POOF! Some leave right after their one-session stay, and we don’t always hear back from them or know how they are doing once they return home. It can be quite sad, actually.

But thank goodness for the internet and EMAIL!

In the past, we would have to send a fax, letter, or postcard to stay in touch. Today, there’s email, social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, blogs (like this one!) and yes – phone calls and “snail” mail still works.

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Romanian children learn to read

Originally uploaded by operation.blessing

Even native-English-speaking children have trouble shifting from informal playground English to Academic English. Academic English involves relating a single event to other events, discussing events of long ago, making comparisons, justifying a choice, knowing different forms and inflections of words, and modes of expression specific to one discipline or another. At some point the student has to be able to read and write in academic language.

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My Classroom, I

Originally uploaded by Robert Pollack

Recently I have been observing several ESL teachers doing their practicum as a final step in achieving an Endorsement. I have noticed five behaviors in these very multicultural classrooms that struck me as almost paradoxical for an ESL teacher. I will raise these in the form of questions and hopefully some you can share your thoughts.

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final exam

Originally uploaded by dcJohn

One of the most common questions we receive regarding our Teaching English as a Second Language program is: “What can I do with a TESL Certificate?”

At Washington Academy of Languages, we offer both a TESL Certificate and an ELL Endorsement. The latter is a state-regulated endorsement applied to an active Teaching Certificate. So, if a teacher would like to teach K-12 ELL in the public schools, they will need a Teaching Certificate as well as an ELL Endorsement.

The TESL Certificate, on the other hand, is offered for teachers who would like to teach ELL abroad or, where a certificate is sufficient, in the United States. Our courses cover pedagogy strategies for all ages, and help our teachers build knowledge of first and second language acquisition theories. After earning the TESL Certificate, what do our teachers do?

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