U of A, Arkansas Tech Partner to Offer ESL Graduate Academy at Several Sites

Certified Arkansas teachers may qualify to attend an ESL Graduate Academy this summer funded by the Arkansas Department of Education through which they can earn endorsement in English as a Second Language.

The University of Arkansas and Arkansas Tech University collaborated on a proposal accepted by the state education department for the two campuses to offer the academy for the next three years.

U of A alumni Mary Bridgeforth, ESL director for Springdale Public Schools, and Judy Hobson, former ESL director for the district, have been involved with the academy for many years and were leaders in putting the proposal together.

Teachers must have an Arkansas teaching certificate and a contract to teach in Arkansas for the upcoming school year in order to be eligible for the program, which includes paid tuition, books, food during the training, and some lodging, depending on the location.

"We have a high need for teachers in regular classrooms to get these skills and knowledge," said Janet Penner-Williams, assistant dean for education in the College of Education and Health Professions at the U of A. "In places such as Springdale, a teacher is not going to have a classroom that doesn't include some English language learners."

Northwest Arkansas has the highest concentration of students in the state who speak English as a second language, Penner-Williams said.

"Some teachers also want this training to make themselves more marketable to districts with high concentrations of English learners," she said. "They want to stay in their content areas but add the ESL endorsement to their teaching license."

Information about the academy and a link to the application are available on the Department of Curriculum and Instruction website. The academy will offer the training in Russellville, Hope, Little Rock and Springdale.

The state education department has funded the ESL Academy since 1996 with various changes over the years. Penner-Williams said the proposal from U of A and Arkansas Tech incorporates more sustained follow-up support for teachers after the weeklong intensive training in the summer. The teachers will meet for six days in June and then for an additional four days on one weekend in the fall and one weekend in the following spring.

"We have national experts in the field delivering content in the summer," she said. "Then, the teachers complete coursework through online modules during the spring and fall for 12 hours of graduate credit. We feel like this is a better model that allows us to follow up with teachers and help them apply concepts in their classrooms. We're excited about that."

The speakers at the summer sessions and the instructors of the online modules will cover four areas of study: second language acquisition, ESL instructional methodology, ESL assessment, and the relationship of culture and language to classroom practice.

The use of distance technology is also more fully incorporated than in previous academy offerings, Penner-Williams said. Teachers in the program will be required to videotape themselves in their classrooms applying information and techniques they learn and submit the video to their instructor for feedback on Blackboard.

The academy can take up to 500 students, divided between the U of A and Arkansas Tech.