Teaching ESL Adults - Essay Example

However, good times are not always why people seek overseas settlement (Yen, 2012). According to the United States 2010 Population Census, of the 26.4 million immigrants in the United States, almost 80% are adults (Yen, 2012). English as a Second Language (ESL), as a result, has turned into the fastest growing and developing segment in government financed adult education program. A majority of the adult ESL students do not have much education in their home country, and hence, lack proper study skills vital for academic success and accomplishment.

They tend to face great financial distress, as well as family responsibilities, which oftentimes avert them from focusing on their education, as well. Educating them can be a vital challenge for both the curriculum developer and the teacher (Yen, 2012). Therefore, a proper lesson plan should be devised, which seeks to incorporate all adult ESL students in the classroom. The title of the lesson will be "Finding a Job: An Introduction to Applying for Entry Level Positions". The plan will incorporate 15 adult students of varying ages, origins and language proficiency who are concerned in discovering what it takes to find employment.

The course will run for two-hours, twice a week for eight weeks. The three main goals of the lesson plan will include enabling to listen actively, speak so others can understand and also enable adult ESL learners to read with understanding. In Colorado state, the capability of listening and understand English incorporates goals, which mainly revolve around survival and personal safety (Fullan & Stiegelbauer, 2008). A case of a survival skill at an indispensable stage is understanding when a person asks for your name.

Also, in Colorado, understanding someone can be positively influenced by education. Not being understood is annoying for a non-native English speaker. An easy goal is the ability to inquire the price of an item in the market especially a crowded one (Starr, 2013). A higher goal is the ability to hold a discussion with your child's teacher at school, or to give details about a book adequately, which a librarian can assist in locating the title. Understanding and interpreting the written English language is also vital.

The skill to understand and interpret road signs or pick a meal from a menu is a recessed skill, while a high-level skill is the capacity to select suitable classes from a college course catalog (Starr, 2013). This talent permits the adult language learner to feel more contented and happy in a language, which is not his or her own. Many adult ESL learners find this the most natural place to begin their English language acquirement. Benchmark standards of the adult ESL students with regards to Colorado state standards include: All ESLs have to take state educational achievement tests in language arts, apart from ESLs who have been in the United States for less than one year.

If available from the state, ESLs students can seat for these language arts tests in their native languages so as to understand how the vocabularies are used in language. Adult ESLs students who have been in United States for three successive years should be tested in language arts/reading using an examination written in English, even though on a case-by-case basis, this phase can be prolonged up to five years. Adult ESLs students as a group should meet annual targets of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

States, districts, and