Applying a Literacy Framework to Career Decisions Based on Language Development. PROPOSAL SECTION 1: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

For a while now, a new outlook on literacy, as well as learning processes using which literacy may be acquired, is seen to be emerging. A broad range of educational disciplines has influenced this latest outlook on literacy and its instruction. The perspective is not a collection of old ideas presented under a different name, but instead, denotes a profound move from the traditional text-driven approach to literacy, to one that involves active text transformation (Hiebert, 2014). I am an educator for ELLs (English Language Learners), and I believe the proposed literacy framework will prove immensely valuable in preparing the ELL professionals for future prospects. It can potentially aid my school district and school design a sound career-based plan for the ELL students. The influence on my school will also be very profound; also, the school district can will have the prowess to strategise an agenda as well as logistics for framing our literacy instruction. Furthermore, teachers will be benefited as well, since they can plan better lessons depending on the literacy guide they are provided with. The pupils will also have a sound learning plan and can monitor personal progress via self-advocacy and self-sufficiency by applying metacognitive skills. Ultimately, the high-school level ELLs will be empowered with focus and direction, as well as a ready plan for career when they leave high school. Thus, the plan will prove extremely valuable to the school district, our students, and the teachers.

Literature Review

Historical Background

A recent California Dropout Research Project report by Santa Barbara's University of California revealed that English Language Learners constitute 11% of students across the nation. Considering the pupils who were, at one time ELLs, the percentage rises to 20%. ELLs represent a continuously changing demographic; the most linguistically and scholastically proficient among the group exit it as soon as they achieve grade-level educational competency and English proficiency (Amos, 2013).

A high ELL dropout rate has been observed over time; data reveals that a large number of these students fail to obtain undergraduate college or advanced degrees. Historically, the share of such pupils within the educational "opportunity gap" (i.e., poverty-ridden students, ELLs, and disabled students) increased by roughly half in standard rigor classrooms (for instance, ELLs grew in number in schoolrooms that teach standard-level curriculum from roughly 15 to 22%) (Smith, 2015). Fairfax County's Public School dropouts in 2012 comprised of 18.16% LEP (Limited English Proficient) pupils, 10% Native Hawaiian students, 6.8% American-Indian pupils, and 19.49% Hispanics (Smith, 2015). Thus, I believe it is imperative to have in place a career-centered plan rooted in a sound literacy agenda. I aim towards helping meet writing and reading literacy benchmarks to enable efficient organization of career plans for students. Research indicates that ELLs do not receive structured career-centered plans for their future progress, which is why they lag behind other students.

Organizational Context

I work in the organizational setting of Fairfax County schools. FCPS (Fairfax County Public Schools), Virginia, has adopted a varied and holistic approach for guaranteeing superior-quality supports and instruction for ELL students. ESL (English as Second Language) professionals, administrative support and mainstream educators factor into our school systems' complex approach towards serving the diverse student population, which comprises of 30,000 ELLs hailing from over 200 different nations, and speaking 140 different languages (Smith & Varlas, n.d.).

Teaching ELLs may be challenging for mainstream educators, a majority of whom possess no or limited expertise when it comes to multicultural education and Language 2 development. Hence, training and support are vital. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) professionals are integrated into the school's central office as a critical constituent of all grade-level teams: early childhood, primary, middle school, high school, as well as adult education. They offer staff development to both ESOL educators and other staff members who work with ELLs. In all semesters, FCPS collaborates with one or other local university to offer three-credit program titled, "Working with ELLs," for educators teaching lower elementary, upper elementary, as well as secondary school students (Smith & Varlas, n.d.). The project I propose will undoubtedly have an immense positive impact upon my specialization as also on my current organization. With regard to the latter, the school management will acquire a literacy framework through which it can strategize towards effectively countering present predicaments. The framework will function in the form of a guide for all educators to enable them to develop lesson plans related to English literacy in line with the guide. Regarding my area of specialization, given that the...

Thus, the curriculum guide has immense significance and benefits for me and others in this capacity, and will aid future research, as it will enable professionals in the field to teach pupils more competently and, more notably, will enable pupils to monitor personal progress against literacy benchmarks they are required to meet for getting into any given profession. Before students graduate from high school, they will be capable of monitoring their progress, in addition to effectively choosing their career path. Most importantly, they will certainly feel rather at ease to have some plan in mind while graduating, instead of being unsure about career prospects
Migration into America has reached monumental numbers, implying that migrant adults and children have to try assimilating into the nation's culture (Waters, 2007). Together with this need to understand a foreign culture, children of migrants need to learn ESL in pursuit of and in addition to ingraining core, mainstream academic subjects. Waters believes that in the past 12 years, ELL enrollment in American schools has risen 150%. As per state governmental agency estimates, 5,074,572 ELLs joined American schools, from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade, in the 2005-06 academic year (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Educational Programs, 2008). ELL students' mastery over English is an indicator of success (Rioux, 2009).

Organization of the Project

The project will involve creation of an informative classroom PowerPoint presentation for ELL and mainstream educators seeking innovative ways to help their pupils acquire English proficiency while assimilating into American culture. Strategies and ideas will be inclusive of, though not limited to the following:

(a) Planning and implementing lessons in partnership;

(b) Co-teaching strategies and models; and (c) Countering textbook bias.

Data for the initiative will be supplied by references offered in the project and by educational community experts. Further, the presentation will also be printed, so as to be given to teachers as handouts after completing in-service.

Target Audience

The project is directed at all ELL and mainstream teachers teaching Kindergarten through 8th grade. High school educators working with ELLs might want to have access to this project. However, it must be borne in mind that teachers in the high school level typically spend as much less time with pupils compared to lower-level teachers. Moreover, department chairs and instructional supervisors will find the project of interest, as well.

Theoretical Framework

Theories of Language Acquisition

Acquisition of language would be a simple process of deciphering and memorizing words if knowledge of a language was a straightforward issue of awareness of many words. Instead, in language acquisition, learners have to acquire the language's own distinctive grammar, together with associated rules and components. Unlike words, rules will never be clearly described, which implies that children cannot simply commit them to memory: they somehow need to figure out the rules by themselves. Numerous theories have developed, explaining the language acquisition process. One theory, which has enjoyed considerable support in all these years, is: The language ability of humans is, at least partly, inborn (Bergmann, Hall, & Ross, 2007). Additionally, learning is impacted by the extent of student interest in, and attraction to, any given topic. Type preferences relate to student interest in diverse content areas and the manner in which the matter is taught to them. While taking into consideration the significance of mismatch or match, one must bear in mind that individual subjects turn off some types, while turning on others. As learner success is impacted profoundly by application (i.e., their persistence in paying attention and task-performance assiduity), Myers regarded application as a key factor to consider when taking into account individual preferences' significance (Tatarintseva, 2002).

The Innateness Hypothesis

One language acquisition theory that will be considered maintains that the 'language ability' aspect is inborn for humans. In other words, human beings are genetically inclined to acquiring and using a language. The theory states that newborns possess awareness of the fact that a language has patterns, and have capacity to look for and understand these patterns. Some language theorists even argue that human beings have intrinsic knowledge of a few core characteristics that are common to every language (e.g., the verb and noun components of grammar). These fundamental features that all languages share are known as linguistic universals, while the theoretically innate series of structural elements all languages share is called universal grammar. Nobody knows universal grammar's precise contents, although this is, at present, an active linguistics research rigor (Bergmann, Hall,…