Implementing the Common

Core State Standards for

English Learners:
The Changing Role
of the ESL Teacher
A Summary of the
TESOL International Association
Convening
April 2013
Table of Contents

Background................................................................ 2
TESOL’s Theoretical Framework................................. 3
Findings of the Meeting............................................. 5
ESL Teachers’ Roles That Most Effectively
Foster ELs’ Achievement............................................ 9
Promising Strategies for Supporting
ESL Teachers as They Work With the CCSS................11
Conclusion.................................................................14
About the Author......................................................14
References................................................................. 15
Appendix A. Convening Agenda...............................16
Appendix B. Attendees............................................. 17
Appendix C. About TESOL.........................................19
 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Implementing the Common Core State Standards

for English Learners:
The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher
Diane Staehr Fenner
TESOL/NCATE Coordinator
President, DSF Consulting

O n 14 February 2013, TESOL International Association brought together 30 ESL

teachers1 and administrators, education experts, researchers, and thought leaders
from Maryland and the District of Columbia to start a conversation on how the Common
Core State Standards (CCSS) will change the roles of those who teach English as a second
language (ESL). With its mission of advancing excellence in English language teaching
and learning worldwide, TESOL saw the urgent need to give ESL teachers a venue to
speak about the CCSS. ESL teachers have been largely absent from the conversation
around this important education reform, yet they will play a critical role in its successful
implementation for English language learners. This report summarizes the discussions
that took place at the convening and highlights the topics that emerged from the
conversation. It first provides background on the role of the ESL teacher in the CCSS
and then shares findings that arose from the convening. It also weaves in authentic ESL
teacher and administrator voices from convening participants.

1
Depending on the context in which they work, ESL teachers may be referred to as ESOL teachers. For the purposes of this document,
the term ESL teacher will be used.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Background

T he CCSS is a voluntary, state-led movement that seeks to provide consistent and rigorous
expectations of what students should learn in key academic content areas. Indeed, in
terms of ensuring excellence and equity for all students, the CCSS is the most promising
initiative in decades of education reform in the United States. A number of academicians and
advocates have begun to ponder how the CCSS will affect the fastest growing population of
PreK-12 students in the United States: English learners (ELs). But those efforts have yet to
focus on the role of ESL teachers in fulfilling the promise of the CCSS for ELs. As 45 states and
the District of Columbia implement the CCSS, many critical questions regarding the role and
capacity of ESL teachers remain unanswered. For example, ELs are expected to meet the CCSS,
but which teachers are responsible for helping them reach the standards and in what ways?

In the history of education reform, teachers have too often been an afterthought. This notion
holds especially true for ESL teachers. Yet the success of any educational policy hinges on
its implementation. TESOL International Association believes that ESL teachers can and
should play a critical role in the success of the CCSS. There are currently an estimated 24,000
elementary and 21,000 secondary ESL teachers in U.S. schools who can significantly affect
the education of ELs within the CCSS framework (National Center for Education Statistics,
2007–2008). Although ESL teachers have not been part of policy conversations, the CCSS
presents an opportunity to use ESL teachers’ expertise in ways that the field of English
language teaching has been discussing for some time.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

TESOL’s Theoretical Framework:

Critical Components for Effective EL Education

T o provide effective education for ELs, policy makers and administrators must understand
that content-area2 and ESL teachers work within a system that has three critical
components: teachers, standards, and assessment. These components constantly interact
and influence each other, forming a triangle of interaction that leads to ELs’ academic
achievement (see Figure 1; Staehr Fenner & Segota, 2012). For ELs to learn content (as defined
by the CCSS) and language simultaneously, all three components must be equally developed.
If one component is neglected, the other two will not flourish.

Figure 1 shows the relationships between the three components critical to effective EL
education: the CCSS, English language proficiency (ELP) or English language development
(ELD) standards; content-area assessments and ELP/ELD assessments; and content-area and
ESL teacher expertise.

Content-Area
and ESL
Teachers

Academic
Achievement
for ELs
Content-Area Content-Area
and ELP/ELD and ELP/ELD
Standards Assessments

Figure 1. The triangle of interaction: Critical components for effective EL

education (Staehr Fenner & Segota, 2012)

2
For purposes of this report, the term content-area teacher includes any teacher who is a teacher of record. This term includes
secondary content-area teachers (e.g., teachers of mathematics, science, English language arts) as well as general education teachers
at the elementary level.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Content-area and ESL teachers must have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to work
with ELs so that these students are instructed effectively. All teachers must know the TESOL
P–12 Professional Teaching Standards (TESOL, 2010), and they must also be able to apply that
knowledge in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers must have a desire to work with ELs and
support them in their efforts to achieve. Teachers must also design their instruction for ELs
around CCSS standards that outline the rigorous content for which students are responsible.
In addition, teachers must determine the academic language3 ELs need to acquire at each
stage of English language proficiency so that students can access that content. All teachers of
ELs must also share responsibility for ensuring that ELs are prepared for CCSS as well as ELP/
ELD assessments.

Unfortunately, the preparation of content-area and ESL teachers to teach ELs seems to be the
weakest part of the system that leads to EL achievement. Given the emphasis on standards
and assessment, teachers are usually provided with the what, which are CCSS and language
standards for students. However, teachers are often not provided with the how: professional
development to support them as they teach ELs and prepare ELs for assessments. Teachers’
needs and levels of preparation to teach ELs should be central to teacher education and
professional development, but they are frequently not the focus.

Questions Framing the Convening

TESOL’s CCSS convening was framed around three overarching intended outcomes that were
captured in the form of research questions. These three questions guided the dialogue that
took place during the convening, and they will be used to present the findings that arose from
the conversation.
1. What are ESL teachers’ current roles in implementing the CCSS for ELs?
2. What should ESL teachers’ roles be to ensure that ELs achieve with the CCSS?
3. What are the most promising strategies to support ESL teachers as they teach the
CCSS?

Structure of the Convening

As important as the content of the convening was the structure in which the dialogue took
place. (For the agenda, see Appendix A.) To highlight ESL teachers’ expertise as professionals
and to allow them a strong voice in the discussion, TESOL first gave ESL teachers and district
administrators the floor to share their experiences implementing the CCSS in their diverse
contexts with ELs. While the ESL teachers were speaking in this large group discussion, the
thought leaders, researchers, and experts were only allowed to listen and ask questions to
clarify the teachers’ and administrators’ statements. Multiple participants later commented

3
While several definitions of academic language exist, many researchers have defined academic language as being distinguished
from nonacademic language on several cross-cutting levels: lexical/vocabulary, grammatical/syntactical, and discourse/organizational
(Bailey, 2010; Gottlieb, Katz, & Ernst-Slavit, 2009; Scarcella, 2008, 2003).

4
 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

that they found this structure respectful of teachers’ and administrators’ expertise and that
it modeled a collaborative, collegial approach to discussing these complex issues. In the
second part of the convening, thought leaders, researchers, and experts were invited into
the conversation, which was now informed by what they had heard from practitioners. This
structure created a high level discussion that was grounded in the reality of ESL professionals.

Findings of the Meeting

T he findings from the convening were culled from notes taken by several TESOL staff
members, written responses from ESL teachers, and participants’ notes from the breakout
groups.

ESL Teachers’ Current Roles in Implementing

the CCSS for ELs
In defining ESL teachers’ current roles in implementing the CCSS, participants described
several challenges that seemed to suggest that the ESL teacher is lower in status than the
content-area teacher. Participants discussed several reasons underlying the perceived
lower status of ESL teachers, including ESL teachers’ varying roles, a lack of recognition and
uniformity in the TESOL field, and a low level of ESL teacher involvement in policy decisions at
the school and district levels.

Varying Roles and Status of ESL Teachers

Participants reported a wide variance in the role of the ESL teacher in different contexts
caused by the heterogeneity of the EL population as well as state and local capacity. For
example, the stakeholders shared that the number of ESL and bilingual specialists has not
kept pace with growth in the EL population, resulting in a limited workforce. Administration’s
perspective also has a major impact on the success of the ESL teacher. For example, when an
administrator champions ELs and their ESL teachers, he or she creates a climate that helps ESL
teachers play a more important role in the CCSS-based instruction of ELs.

Though several ESL teachers described structures that allowed them to assume an expert role
in their schools, those structures were not always pervasive. In many instances, ESL teachers’
roles remain undefined at the local level, resulting in ESL educators being asked to provide
services that often do not directly lead to their ELs’ achievement. For example, some ESL
teachers noted that often, while working in a coteaching model with a content-area teacher,
ESL teachers are often relegated to the role of the instructional assistant and do not use their
expertise in the direct instruction of ELs. One participant shared that coteaching was “like an
arranged marriage”—sometimes the professional pairing clicks and other times it does not.

5
 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Stakeholders also said that not all content teachers are willing to consult with ESL teachers,
so ESL teachers are not able to leverage their expertise in lesson design and scaffolding of
instruction for ELs.

Lack of Recognition and Uniformity in the TESOL Field

The status of ESL teachers also depends on the Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) definitions
from the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002). However, ESL is not recognized as a core
academic content area under NCLB, and thus is not included among the HQT definitions.
Moreover, those definitions are built around content-area expertise and so would fail to
recognize the unique pedagogy and expertise required in the TESOL field. Thus, the HQT
requirements for the TESOL field have been left up to the states to interpret, resulting in
a broad spectrum of definitions. As of a result of this variation, coupled with the lack of a
definition in some states, the status of the ESL teacher is diminished.

The ESL teacher’s role is also affected by the variation in teacher training and credentialing
systems. The current state of preparation for K–12 educators in the TESOL field in the United
States represents a patchwork of programs, requirements, and credentials. Credentialing
requirements for ESL teachers can be vastly different depending on the state and can consist
of an endorsement, a certificate, certification, or a license. For example, the credential for
ESL educators in Massachusetts is a license that requires a bachelor’s degree, a masters-level
course of more than 40 hours, and passing two separate licensure exams. In Illinois, the ESL
credential is an add-on endorsement that requires a valid teaching certificate in an area other
than ESL, 18 credit hours of graduate work in ESL, and ESL clinical experience equal to 100
clock hours or three months teaching experience with ESL students. This wide variation in
teacher preparation and credentialing programs creates ambiguity in roles for ESL teachers in
preK–12 classrooms across the country.

Content-Area Teacher Preparation

Compounding the ESL teacher training issue is the fact that, although most ELs spend the
majority of their school day with content-area teachers, no national standards exist for
teacher education programs to prepare content-area teachers to work with ELs. For example,
only 20 states require that all teachers have training in working with ELs, but the breadth,
depth, and quality of this training varies widely (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & Levy, 2008). Also,
many preservice teacher training programs have not yet aligned their curricula with the new
demands of the CCSS in general or for ELs in particular. Thus, teachers can be licensed without
having an understanding of the CCSS or how to work with ELs.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

ESL Teachers’ Degree of Involvement in Policy

Convening participants noted that ESL educators have not had a voice in policy decisions
related to implementing the CCSS. For example, although many current initiatives focus on
CCSS and English language development standards and their accompanying assessments,
there are no guidelines for how to use these standards to instruct ELs efficiently.

The degree to which ESL teachers and administrators saw themselves as being involved
in implementing the CCSS for ELs in their context varied widely. For example, one teacher
reported that a colleague asked her why she was attending a CCSS meeting recently held at
her school, suggesting that her colleague did not see the ESL team as part of the school’s
CCSS implementation. At the other end of the spectrum, a district ESL leader discussed the
importance of “leveraging the capacity and linguistic knowledge of ESL teachers” when
implementing the CCSS and making sure that they have a place at the table during CCSS
planning.

Importance of Academic Language

Another theme that suggested the need for a shift in ESL teachers’ roles was the importance
that the CCSS places on academic language. Academic language extends beyond mere
vocabulary words and grammar in isolation to articulate the ways in which students must
use specific types of language to interact with content as well as with peers and teachers.
The CCSS stresses that all students—including ELs—must master academic language so
that they can successfully perform such CCSS-required tasks as persuading, citing evidence,
and engaging with complex informational texts. Even though they bring many strengths to
the academic environment, ELs may face more challenges than native English speakers in
acquiring the academic language they will need to access the CCSS. To that end, all teachers
of ELs, including content-area teachers and ESL teachers, face the challenge of teaching
complex academic language simultaneously with challenging content.

Expertise of ESL Educators

Given the new demands that the CCSS places on ELs and their teachers, participants
overwhelmingly agreed that ESL teachers’ expertise will be in demand in an unprecedented
way. Participants’ noted two areas in which ESL teachers’ expertise can be of benefit during
CCSS implementation. The first area was teacher training. Participants pointed out that many
ESL teachers have had considerable training in such areas as second language acquisition,
linguistics, language pedagogy and methodology, and language and literacy development. In
contrast, most content-area teachers have not received enough training in these subjects. As a
result, content teachers will most likely need guidance from ESL teachers to effectively teach
their ELs, who are at varying levels of English language proficiency.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

The second area was advocacy for ELs, who often require an extra level of support. ESL
teachers are well versed in serving in many ways as advocates for ELs, and they often work
with content-area teachers and administrators to ensure that ELs will be better prepared
to achieve academically. For example, ESL teachers tend to be more aware of community
resources for ELs, such as multicultural counseling services. In addition, ESL teachers usually
determine ELs’ content-testing eligibility and requirements, and they often advocate for ELs’
equitable inclusion in assessment. Advocacy for ELs will need to be reframed with the CCSS
and assessments, and ESL teachers are poised to lead those efforts.

When schools draw on ESL teachers’ training and expertise as advocates, all teachers may rise
to share the responsibility for teaching ELs. Content-area teachers may feel overwhelmed with
teaching ELs within the CCSS framework and may see ELs as students who slow down the rest
of the class. As a result, some content teachers may feel that EL students are the ESL teachers’
sole responsibility instead of forging a joint effort with ESL teachers to integrate the students
with the rest of the class. In such cases, if school administrators send a message that ESL
teachers have much expertise to leverage and that ELs are “everybody’s kids,” CCSS planning
and implementation can become more collaborative, creating a school culture in which the
entire staff shares responsibility for ELs’ success.

>>> Teachers’ Voices

I fear that there will be an increase in the number of students, especially English learners, who are
referred to special education as a result of the CCSS. For example, I work as an intervention resource
teacher. In this job, I work with students prior to them being referred for special education testing.
Often the students that I work with are identified for need based on assessment results.

At one of the schools that I work for, it was brought to my attention that a particular grade level
needed assistance in math. Based on assessments, many of the students—a majority of which were
English learners—scored basic or, in the administrator’s view, were failing. I tested the students’ math
and number knowledge using an assessment that did not involve reading or writing. Not surprisingly,
many of the students did not show a need for the extra help. Many of the students I tested struggled
in reading and writing. Once I looked at the test that determined who needed assistance, I understood
why they were scoring poorly. There was a lot of reading involved. I was told that the questions on the
assessment were aligned to the new CCSS.

This example reminds me how important it will be for our EL students to be part of the dialogue when
the CCSS are fully implemented. ESOL teachers more than ever will need to rely on their advocacy
skills. In these test-crazed schools, I hope that the data or tests recognize the unique needs of our
English learners.

Heidi Platt
Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

ESL Teachers’ Roles That Most Effectively

Foster ELs’ Achievement

G iven the current roles of ESL teachers and the shifts in instruction that must take place
for ELs to achieve within the CCSS framework, participants agreed that the time has
come to describe how ESL teachers’ roles will also need to change. Participants noted that
ESL teachers must be redefined as experts, advocates, and consultants, and that the roles of
principals and administrators also need to shift to support the CCSS and ESL teachers’ new
responsibilities.

ESL Teachers as Experts, Advocates, and Consultants

Multiple participants argued that implementing the CCSS requires the role of ESL teachers to
evolve. ESL teachers should be recognized as experts, consultants, and trainers well versed in
teaching rigorous academic content to ELs.

Often overlooked is ESL teachers’ expertise in understanding and teaching academic

language. When implementing the CCSS, content-area teachers will need to know how to
create language objectives as well as—or integrated with—their content objectives. Without
proper training, however, content teachers will not have the necessary knowledge base to set
academic language goals in their classrooms and help students achieve them. ESL teachers
can play a critical role in helping content teachers analyze the academic language demands of
their content areas, design lessons that teach academic language and content simultaneously,
and implement CCSS-based instruction for ELs.

Convening participants also felt that ESL teachers are best positioned to understand and
describe how content-area teachers can use ELs’ first language and culture most effectively
during CCSS-based instruction. In addition to helping content teachers with academic
language, ESL teachers could, for example, help design a plan for how to draw on ELs’ first
language and culture during CCSS-based instruction.

Although the role of the ESL teacher must evolve, time and staffing of ESL teachers remains a
challenge because of the wide variety of ways in which ESL teachers serve their schools. For
example, some ESL teachers are itinerant, with a caseload of two to three schools (or more)
per ESL teacher. This situation creates the need for a more consultative model, in which the
ESL teacher not only teaches ESL at the school but also works with content-area teachers on
how to support ELs through CCSS-based lessons.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

To successfully consult with content-area teachers, ESL teachers must also be able to
demonstrate that they understand content teachers’ complex situation and demonstrate
support. They must recognize that the CCSS places new demands on content-area teachers
as well as ELs. To foster a deeper level of collaboration, ESL teachers would benefit by
attending content-area department meetings and engaging in discussions with others at the
department, school, and district levels.

>>> Teachers’ Voices

The Common Core is a challenge and an opportunity for us, as English language professionals,
to continue to bring the learning needs of ELs to the center of the conversation about student
achievement. We are well positioned to broaden the conversations about what developing skills in
all language domains looks like with all teachers working on all four modalities to support content
attainment. The Common Core requires students to engage with their peers over challenges that
depend on critical thought and develop the ability to synthesize materials presented through diverse
media. Learning challenges will have to be designed in order to facilitate a high level of interaction.
And all teachers will have to weave together language and content objectives. I am looking forward to
the challenge and hope for a system-wide approach to supporting ELs’ efforts to meet these rigorous
standards.

Anne Marie Foerster Luu

2013 TESOL Teacher of the Year
Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland

Role of Principals and Administrators

Participants pointed out that, when implementing the CCSS, school principals and
administrators play an important role in recognizing and elevating the status of ESL teachers.
Participants felt that when principals and administrators are aware of ESL teachers’ expertise
in language and culture, they are more likely to promote an inclusive school culture that
will support ELs as well as ESL teachers. Although schools depend on administrators, some
administrators are not aware of what high expectations for ELs and ESL teachers actually look
like in practice.

Administrators can also serve as advocates for ESL teachers by making several changes at
the school level that will elevate the ESL teachers’ status. These changes include changing
the way state teacher evaluations are handled to make them more inclusive of ELs and ESL
teachers and introducing linguistic and cultural diversity into the school’s environment.
In addition, stakeholders stressed that administrators must be willing to fully support ESL
teachers as experts and consultants as the CCSS are implemented.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Promising Strategies for Supporting ESL Teachers

as They Work With the CCSS

A fter describing the ESL teachers’ current roles and a vision for how those roles will need
to change when implementing the CCSS, participants recommended a variety of ways
to support ESL teachers. Recommendations included giving ESL teachers a stronger voice in
policy decisions, improving teacher training and professional development, and developing
frameworks for instruction.

Building ESL Teachers’ Voices in Policy

The stakeholders overwhelmingly agreed that ESL educators need to participate fully in
policy discussions at the school, district, and state levels. Instead of waiting to be invited,
however, ESL teachers must often find their own leadership voices to ensure that they are
heard and consulted on decisions that affect them and their students. To increase their impact
on policy decision-making teams, ESL teachers may require training to define and enhance
their leadership skills so that they can be better prepared to advocate for themselves and
their students in important policy decisions. Also, their administrators must believe that ESL
teachers can lend professional expertise when it comes to making policy decisions that affect
ELs.

Teacher Training
Teacher education programs should implement an ESL teaching component so that all
new teachers will be qualified to address the language needs of EL students. All preservice
teachers, including ESL teachers, should be trained and informed about the CCSS and how
they will affect their PreK–12 EL students. In addition, teacher preparation programs need to
ensure that preservice teachers are capable of reaching out to parents of ELs so that parents
understand how the demands of the CCSS affect their children.

Professional Development
Participants offered many suggestions for how professional development will need to change
to ensure that ESL teachers are included in the CCSS implementation in a meaningful way.
They noted that professional development related to the CCSS must be functional, practical,
and quick to use. Several stakeholders suggested that professional development should also
be robust and job-embedded for both ESL educators and their content-area peers, making the
most efficient use of teachers’ time. Further, professional development must contain authentic
activities, examples, and modeling of effective strategies to enable teachers to support ELs
within the CCSS framework.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Stakeholders noted that ESL teachers and content teachers would need professional development
on CCSS-related collaboration, instruction, and teacher evaluation. In terms of collaboration,
participants felt teachers would need extensive professional development on how to collaborate
effectively to implement the CCSS for ELs. ESL teachers could use their expertise to serve as peer
educators. Participants also suggested that administrators first create a structure in which ESL and
content-area teachers could collaborate on writing CCSS-based lesson plans that are scaffolded
for ELs. Then ESL teachers could observe content teachers as they carried out the lesson plans
and provide feedback on how it worked with ELs. In addition, they suggested that professional
development be provided on how to make teacher evaluation inclusive of ELs and their teachers.
Professional development of this type could include videotaping students and teachers during
classroom observations, giving teachers time for self-assessment, and having administrators
observe the EL students as well as their teachers.

>>> Teachers’ Voices

Over the past few years, the Division of ESOL/Bilingual Programs has been examining and discussing
the instructional implications of the CSSS for teachers of ELs in Montgomery County Public Schools
(MCPS). To deepen our knowledge-base as a team, we have attended workshops, webinars, and
various meetings to gain a better understanding of the impact that these changes will pose for
teachers and ELs in our district.

Last summer, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) resource teachers and other middle and
high school leadership teams attended professional development sessions about the CCSS for English/
language arts. Other ESOL educators attend summer academies with their leadership teams to learn
about the revised CCSS Framework for Maryland and practice operationalizing these standards for
lesson planning at various grade levels.

It is evident that the CCSS for English/language arts articulate rigorous grade-level expectations to
prepare ELs and all students for college and career readiness. While we have consistently focused on
providing instruction that explicitly teaches academic language, we realize that we need to adjust our
strategy to maintain the academic gains that are currently in place for ELs in MCPS.

For several years, we have maintained a dual focus on effectively addressing the linguistic and
academic needs of the ELs in our school district. Our primary focus has been to provide curriculum
resources, coaching, and professional development to ESOL teachers to support the delivery of
effective English language development instruction at all levels. Secondly, we collaborate with leaders
at the central office and school levels to support the academic success of ELs, ensuring that they can
access the content curriculum.

Sonja Bloetner
ESOL Supervisor, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Framework for Instruction of ELs

Participants noted that ESL teachers will need new instructional strategies adapted to the
rigor demanded by the CCSS. They said that ESL teachers often have to prepare their own
instructional materials and integrate them with CCSS at the K–12 level. They felt a revamped
ESL curriculum should be based on a thorough analysis of students’ language needs in the
CCSS and English language development standards. In addition, stakeholders suggested the
ESL curriculum should focus on depth and rigor and not rush through the materials.

In particular, participants pointed out that CCSS strategies and materials will need to focus on
certain populations of ELs that can present more challenges, including young dual language
learners at the preschool level, ELs at the beginning level of English language proficiency,
and long-term ELs. In terms of preschool students, stakeholders felt the gap between
preschool and kindergarten ELs needs to be closed and noted the need for more enrichment
programming.

Models for Instruction of ELs

ESL teachers and administrators expressed a strong desire to have numerous, authentic
model lessons grounded in the CCSS that they can use with ELs at different levels of English
language proficiency. Such authentic lessons would include relevant academic language
objectives to allow ELs to access the CCSS. Grade-level lessons and goals would need to be
differentiated by ELs’ proficiency level. Multiple participants noted that content-area teachers
and administrators need to have a clearer idea of what successful teaching of the CCSS to
ELs actually looks like. In addition, content teachers would need more guidance on how to
recognize and teach grammatical structures and academic language through such model
lessons.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Conclusion

I n this shifting educational landscape, the time has come to examine the roles of ESL
teachers to chart a course that will enable ELs to achieve within the new CCSS paradigm.
Because TESOL International Association identified the need to give ESL teachers a venue
to voice their ideas around implementing the CCSS, it brought together ESL teachers,
administrators, thought leaders, researchers, and policymakers to conduct a collaborative
dialogue.

TESOL International Association is committed to supporting ESL teachers during the CCSS
implementation as they take on increased instructional, leadership, and advocacy roles
for their ELs and for the field. TESOL is contributing to the conversation around academic
language in the content areas and is collaborating with other associations to help shape
the role of ESL teachers during the CCSS implementation. The association is dedicated to
advocating for ESL teachers so that they are recognized as the experts that they are at this
important time in the history of education in the United States.

>>> About the Author

Diane Staehr Fenner earned her doctorate in multilingual/multicultural education from
George Mason University with an emphasis in literacy. In addition to her work on policy
and practice issues at the national, state, and local levels, she has an extensive instructional
background in K–12, including 10 years teaching and assessing ELs in Fairfax County Public
Schools (Virginia) as well as experience teaching English as a foreign language as part of a
Fulbright Scholarship.

She is president and founder of DSF Consulting, a woman-owned small business based in the
Washington, DC area, that specializes in the achievement of ELs in K–12 settings in the United
States. Since 2007, Dr. Staehr Fenner has supported TESOL International Association as its
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) program coordinator. In this
ongoing consulting role, she oversees the application of TESOL’s P–12 professional teaching
standards to ESL teacher education programs throughout the United States.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

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Ballantyne, K. G., Sanderman, A. R., &Levy, J. (2008). Educating English language learners:
Building teacher capacity. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English
Language Acquisition.

Gottlieb, M., Katz, A., & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2009). Paper to practice: Using the English language
proficiency standards in PreK–12 classrooms. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2007–2008). Schools and Staffing Survey: Public
school teacher and BIE school teacher data files. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, § 115, Stat. 1425 (2002).

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Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition. Retrieved from http://www.ncela.
gwu.edu/webinars/event/1/

Scarcella, R. (2003). Academic English: A conceptual framework (Tech. Rep. No. 2003-1).
Irvine: University of California, Linguistic Minority Research Institute.

Staehr Fenner, D., & Segota, J. (2012). Standards that impact English language learners.
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article/50848/#authors

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. (2010). TESOL/NCATE standards for

the recognition of initial TESOL programs in P–12 ESL teacher education programs.
Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Appendix A. Convening Agenda

The ESL Teacher and the Common Core State Standards
Thursday, February 14, 2013
12:00–4:00 pm
Alexandria, VA

AGENDA

Thursday, 14 February 2013

12:00–12:45 Introductions over lunch

12:45–1:00 TESOL vision and overview of the meeting

1:00–1:30 Large group discussion: a focus on the role of ESL teachers

1:30–2:30 Small group discussions: What do the ESL teachers need in order to be
successful in the CCSS? Preliminary recommendations.

2:30–2:45 Break

2:45–3:45 Large group discussion and debrief

3:45–4:00 Conclusion and next steps

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Appendix B. Attendees
Supreet Anand Ellen Forte
Office of Elementary and Secondary edCount
Education
U.S. Department of Education Giselle Lundy-Ponce
American Federation of Teachers
Beatriz Arias
Center for Applied Linguistics Luis-Gustavo Martinez
National Education Association
Diane August
American Institutes for Research Kia Myrick McDaniel
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Michelle Blakey-Tuggle
Office of the State Superintendent of William Moreno III
Education National Education Association

Sonja M. Bloetner Heidi Platt

Montgomery County Public Schools Prince George’s County Public Schools

Lydia Breiseth Charlene Rivera

Learning Media Department, WETA The George Washington University Center
for Equity and Excellence in Education
Donna Christian
Center for Applied Linguistics Michelle Rush
E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
Virginia M. Cofie
Prince George’s County Public Schools Cynthia Ryan
Office of English Language Acquisition
Tim Collins U.S. Department of Education
National-Louis University
Diana Schneider
Anne Marie Foerster Luu Office of English Language Acquisition
Montgomery County Public Schools U.S. Department of Education

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Richard Schreck, Ph.D. TESOL Staff Members

Capella University
Rosa Aronson
Bryan Sebobo Executive Director
Office of the State Superintendent of [email protected]
Education
John Segota
Deborah Short Associate Executive Director
Academic Language Research & Training, [email protected]
LLC
Diane Staehr Fenner
Betty Smallwood Consultant
Center for Applied Linguistics [email protected]

Lydia Stack Sarah Sahr

Understanding Language Education Programs Manager
Special Projects
Gabriela Uro [email protected]
Council of the Great City Schools
Craig Triplett
Joanne Urrutia Digital Content Manager
Office of English Language Acquisition [email protected]
U.S. Department of Education

Karine A. Welsh
Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools

Karen Woodson
Montgomery County Public Schools

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 Implementing the CCSS for ELs: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

Appendix C. About TESOL

TESOL International Association (TESOL) (www.tesol.org) is an international membership
association founded in 1966 for English language teachers, researchers, administrators, and
policy makers. TESOL‘s mission is to advance professional expertise in English language
teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide. Headquartered in
Alexandria, Virginia, TESOL encompasses a network of approximately 60,000 educators
worldwide, consisting of more than 14,000 individual members and an additional 45,000
educators within more than 100 TESOL affiliate associations. Through professional interest
sections, professional development programs, publications, and advocacy efforts, TESOL
enables thousands of educators, researchers, and administrators worldwide to become more
effective and knowledgeable, and to have a voice in shaping policies that affect their work.

As the largest organization focused exclusively on English language teaching for speakers of
other languages, TESOL annually hosts more than 6,500 people from across the United States
and around the world at its international convention, regarded as the foremost professional
development opportunity for English language educators worldwide. Educators at all levels
attend to find a productive exchange of ideas and information and to feel the embrace of a
dynamic professional community.

Representing a multifaceted academic discipline and profession, TESOL offers members serial
publications, books, and electronic resources on current issues, ideas, and opportunities in the
field of English language teaching. In addition to an annual convention, TESOL also conducts a
variety of workshops and symposia.

From the earliest days of the standards-based reform movement, TESOL International
Association has played an active role in shaping the field of EL education. With the Common
Core State Standards, a new national paradigm has been created in preparing students for
college- and career-readiness. English learners—as all students—will be held to the same
expectations outlined in the Common Core, so schools and teachers will need the tools and
resources to help in that effort. TESOL International Association has a unique history of work
established in the areas of English language proficiency standards and, more important,
capacity building for ESL teachers, as well as all teachers of ELs, to support ELs’ success with
the CCSS.

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>>> TESOL Press
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TESOL Journal, newsletters, white papers, and other publications to help English language
teaching professionals and their students succeed in the classroom and beyond. For more
information, please visit the TESOL Press web page.

Copyright © 2013 by TESOL International Association

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