English Language Teaching in Oregon (First Article)

Kimberly Melton
"More Oregon students are learning English, state report shows"
The Oregonian
December 14, 2010
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/12/more_oregon_students_are_learn.html


Summary:


Topic: A study of the progress that Oregon made in English language teaching

The article stated at the beginning that the number of students who were learning English language in 2009-2010 school year in Oregon was nearly 40 percent higher than the number in the previous year. Each year, the state measures that progress of students learning English. Typically, 10,500 to 12,000 new students are identified each year as needing English language services. And Oregon nearly reached that goal in 2009-10. There are lots of numbers used in this article to show how Oregon made its progress in English language teaching. As there are different school districts in Oregon, this article also compared the English language teaching in several school districts. It said some school districts, such as Forest Grove, Banks and Newberg, did a good job, while some school districts, such as Portland Public School and Hillsboro, were at the bottom of the group. But all the schools are making efforts to help more and more English Language learners learn English in the future.

Intended audience: All the teachers and educators who concern about ESOL teaching.

Key points: 1. The willingness of the teaching staff to learn new techniques and spend more time collaborating was one of the major reasons for the districts' success.
2. As our state continues to cut K-12 funding, we must nor lose sight of the fact that demand for specialized services like English language development is at an all-time high.

Relevance: ESOL teaching is now a big topic in Oregon. How to support all these ESOL teachers is the first important thing to be considered.