What is ESL?

In St. Tammany Parish School District, ESL classes provide individualized instruction for English Language Learners (ELL's), so that they may acquire English language skills, continuously raise proficiency and competency levels, and learn to achieve at the sam high academic levels as their peers.

Students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP acquire language in stages and through predictable patterns. While Basic Interpersonal Communications Skills (BICS), the language used in social interactions, may be acquired in a relatively short period of time, it usually takes much longer to gain Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), the more specialized language used in the classroom. In order to meet the varied needs of ESL students throughout the district, our program offers different levels of support to students from kindergarten through high school based upon individualized language acquisition plans. Developed by their ESL instructors, each student's plan addresses his or her academic and proficiency level needs, learning style, personality, cultural and linguistic background.

In addition to K-12 classes, the ESL Department also provides language instruction to the entire family in the evenings. This program seeks to engage the family in helping each other learn English, become familiar with American institutions, culture, and the American way of life, so that they may successfully overcome the barriers facing them as they enter mainstream society together. The program invites parents in to the school where both parent and child become "learning partners" in a safe environment where they can gain new skills as a family.

ESL Instructors support students' academic, cultural, and language learning in the classroom, and also serve as advocates outside of class, of then acting in roles normally assumed by a guardian and parent. It is a goal of the ESL Department to serve as a cultural bridge by advocating for both students and their families to ensure a successful, comfortable transition into their new school, community, and country. The ESL Department, along with its instructors, aspire to the highest level possible in serving the St. Tammany Parish English language learner's needs.