Cross Cultural Communication and Understanding satisfies one of five coursework requirements for Category 1 State ESOL Endorsement. It is designed to prepare participants to plan and implement curriculum, instruction, and assessment activities that will meet the educational needs of English Language Learners.The course will demonstrate awareness of linguistic and cultural issues of the district’s diverse student population.

Duration: 8 weeks
Inservice: 60 points
Audience: Instructional K-12
Access to Students: Yes

Syllabus

Week 1: Valuing Diversity
Week 2: The Nature Of Culture
Week 3: Adjusting to a New Culture
Week 4: Beneath the Surface
Week 5: Creating an Environment of Understanding
Week 6: Culture and Learning Styles
Week 7: Community Outreach and Family Involvement
Week 8: Final Project

Specific Objectives

Participants will:

• identify factors of sociolinguistic diversity that affect ELL's learning outcomes.
• identify government policies that affect ELL's participation and achievement in U.S schools.
• identify social trends that affected the education of ELLs.
• analyze the elements of culture and their impact on instruction.
• identify methods of increasing multicultural sensitivity.
• identify social trends that have affected the education of ELLs.
• identify characteristics of different stages of the acculturation process.
• identify levels of cultural adaptation (e.g., assimilation, acculturation).
• identify ways student participation, learning, and behavior can be affected by cultural differences (e.g. religious, economic, social, family)
• analyze elements of culture and their impact on instruction.
• identify major professional organizations, publications and resources that support ELL's learning.
• identify resources that address cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences.

Implementation

Evidence that the course content has been transferred to daily instruction might include:

• demonstration of the background and requirements of the 1990 META Consent Decree to ensure compliance
• demonstration of the teacher’s role and responsibilities to ensure that ELL students achieve at their highest potential
• demonstration of second language acquisition by implementing instructional programs that address the needs of second language learners
• participation in the completion and updates of the English Language Learners Student Education Plan to include the programmatic assessment and academic placement of ELL students

Inservice

• complete all assignments
• participate each week in the Discussion Area
• complete Course Appraisal
• score at least 80% or higher on post test

To receive the inservice points, all course requirements must be completed independently by the participant and not plagiarized from any other source or person.

Materials

In order to complete this online course, participants need to be able to access web-based content, including multimedia presentations, professional articles, and various interactive websites. 

Prerequisites

Participants must possess the following computer skills and software to participate in this course:

• an understanding of your computer’s operating system and software
• the ability to access the Internet and knowledge of Internet search techniques
• the ability to download and install files from the Internet
• an up-to-date antivirus software package