21
Aug
Welcome Back!
Welcome to SAS Middle School. You are an ESOL student this year, and we are really looking forward to working with you. ESOL students have many advantages over students who are monolingual (mono=one; lingual=language), and we’re here to help you take advantage of your special skills.
At SAS there are two levels of support for ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages): Pull-Out and Push-In:
Pull-out As a pull-out student you will come to our ESOL classroom instead of a foreign language. During this time we will work together on your language skills, and teach you strategies that you can use to help you with your work in each of your core subjects. Our goal is to help you to be more successful in school.
Push-in As a push-in student you will attend a foreign language class (Mandarin, French, or Spanish) but will receive support from us in different ways. We will be in many of your core classes, and we will also be available at other times during the school day. During the first quarter, you will be required to attend a writing elective run by the ESOL department. In addition, you are expected to check in with us once a week. A great time to do this would be during H.O.T. (Homework Opportunity Time) after school. Alternatively, you can see us before school, at lunch, or other days after school.
Here are some of the opportunities you will have as an ESOL student:
• Preview and review core material with your ESOL teacher
• Learn strategies that will assist you in your other classes
• Core subject tests may be taken in the ESOL room with the ESOL teacher
• The ESOL teacher will review Proof of Preparation (POP) for tests.
• You may attend pre-test reviews for core subject tests
• You have access to an ESOL teacher during H.O.T. and other times
E.S.O.L. (English for Speakers of Other Languages)
…or “English as a Second or Other Language”
Shanghai American School (SAS) is committed to providing an ESOL program for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This program aims to give our students the specific skills necessary to achieve academic success in the mainstream classroom, and to help them participate fully in the life of the school.
Students who speak English as a second or additional language have the same range of needs as every other student in the school. They also have the additional need to learn English. ESOL students and their and their families are often highly successful in academic environments. Attending SAS, where they initially may be restricted in their ability to achieve that success can be frustrating. It is part of our mission at SAS to ensure that students are able to develop their English proficiency. In this way students will achieve their academic and social potential. This is an important task and can only happen when all members of the community work together to help address ESOL needs.
In order to provide students with the most effective language learning environment, our ESOL program operates in a pull-out and push-in format.
What is pull-out?
The ESOL specialist directly instructs language acquisition skills in a small group setting. The pull-out program does not take any time away from CORE curriculum, and is designed to support language and learning that occurs in CORE subjects (Humanities, Math, Science).
What is push-in?
The ESOL specialist and the CORE teachers often co-plan and co-teach in order to provide targeted instruction for ESOL students in the classroom.
ESOL students receive linguistic and academic support in the CORE classes.
ESOL students have access to authentic English language from their mainstream teacher, their English-speaking peers, and the ESOL specialist during their CORE classes.
In other words, at SAS Middle School, we aim to ensure that language learning happens in every class. We have fantastic teachers here at SAS and it is our job as ESOL teachers, to be resources to both our mainstream teachers and all ESOL students.