Teaching English Language Learners (TELL)

TELL 370  Sociocultural Foundations for Working with English Language Learners in ECEL Settings  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): ECEL 200. This course examines the schooling of English learners from a sociocultural and historical perspective. Students learn about the nature of the immigration experience, the cultural psychology of bilingual-bicultural development during early and middle childhood, additive approaches to language and culture in school settings, and building successful home-school partnerships with culturally and linguistically diverse families.

TELL 371  Language Development and Bilingualism in Early Childhood and Elementary Education  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): LNGN 220. In this course, students examine first and second language acquisition during the preschool and elementary years, the theory and practice of supporting English language development across the curriculum, strategies to maintain the home language in English immersion settings, and language proficiency and dialectal variation in the classroom. Students also learn about the nature of language and linguistic subsystems (phonology, morphology, vocabulary, grammar, pragmatics).

TELL 472  Literacy and the Bilingual Learner in Early Childhood and Elementary Education  (3 credits)

Corequisite(s): ECEL 410. Prerequisite(s): READ 399. Students examine the reading, writing and academic language development of bilingual students during the preschool and elementary years. They examine the social and policy context of ELL literacy achievement, the theory and practice of teaching reading and writing in a second language, ways to create culturally responsive and engaging literacy environments, and appropriate strategies for assessing bilingual literacy. This course should be taken concurrently with Clinical I placement in a setting that includes ELL students.

TELL 473  Second Language Content Area Learning in Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): TELL 371. Students examine principles and features of effective instruction to support young English learners' mastery of core grade-level content across the curriculum. They learn to identify the language demands of everyday tasks in math, science, social studies and language arts, and to modify instruction to appropriately scaffold learning for ELL students at differing levels of English proficiency while building academic language.

TELL 474  Practicum in Teaching English Language Learners in Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms  (3 credits)

Prerequisite(s): TELL 472. Students observe and support learning and instruction in a general education preschool or elementary classroom setting that includes English language learners (ELLs). They examine the practical applications of theory and best practice in teaching ELLs and engage in strategies to enhance student learning outcomes. Practicum students meet once per month with a university instructor on the MSU campus to critically analyze their practicum experiences. This course may be combined with a Clinical I (ECEL 410) placement in a setting that includes ELL students. A total of 22 field hours is required.