Standards Alignment
Introduction
In its ongoing research, Sube recognizes the constant time and effort of Language teachers to align their curriculum with national and state standards.We have developed the following guidelines to help make this task easier. You can download the complete guides below.
National TESOL Standards
The most important ESL standards are created by TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and we have adapted them for Spanish learners as well. TESOL is used internationally to refer to the discipline of teaching English to non-native English speakers, including English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The term is also used to refer to English Language Learners (ELL) and to its major international professional organization, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), which has conferences and publications worldwide.
The TESOL standards are internationally recognized and provide a comprehensive set of standards that have been used as a model for decades. For this reason we chose them as our model and have adapted them for Spanish Language Learners (SLL) as well.
The organization of the ESL standards is divided into (1) Goals, (2) Standards, and (3) Descriptors.
Goals
The goals reflect three all-encompassing areas in which students need to develop competence in English:
- social language,
- academic language, and
- sociocultural knowledge.
Each of the three goals is supported by three content standards (see following detailed descriptions). Upon meeting all three of these standards, students will be proficient in English as a second language.
Standards
The nine content standards indicate more specifically what students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction.
The third standard of each goal specifically targets the use of learning strategies to enhance knowledge of the social, academic, and sociocultural purposes of using English.Descriptors
Descriptors
Under each of the TESOL Standards are descriptors that are broad categories of representative behaviors that students exhibit when they meet a standard. SUBE ESL offers students the opportunity to use English effectively and respond accurately to personal, social, and academic circumstances. These descriptors help curriculum developers and classroom teachers to identify curriculum objectives.
The descriptors that are used in teaching Sube SSL and ESL can be noted by the teacher in the Overview Planners and Notes sheet provided to create a Sube Spanish and English curriculum that can be used and expanded repeatedly for: lesson plan preparation; alignment with school and state requirements; and use by administrators in ESL/ELD grant proposal writing.