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Otterbein Project Helps Students and Teachers
Department: Education
The tall, lanky sophomore enters the biology classroom and picks up his textbook. He has been speaking and reading English since he immigrated to Columbus from war-torn Somalia two years ago. His teacher has been specially trained to help him learn and holds a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) endorsement, but time with her is limited. The language used in his biology textbook and class are often beyond his current understanding.

Around the corner, a Middle Schooler with black curly hair, born in the United States to a Spanish speaking family, tries to understand her sixth grade math lesson and fights back tears when she can’t accomplish the task her teacher assigned the class.

These are the faces of the growing population of students who speak English as a second language in Central Ohio.

Meeting the academic needs of these students presents Central Ohio educators with new challenges to help every student succeed. Enter Otterbein and the Central Ohio English Learner Education Collaborative (COELEC), a project funded through a $373,537 U.S. Department of Education grant.
“English Language Learners receive limited instruction in reading, writing, and speaking in English from a teacher who has a TESOL endorsement. Then they leave the TESOL-endorsed teacher and go to their other courses like math, science, social studies, and English literature. The students are expected to be able to achieve at the same level as their peers, but they are often not receiving the English language support that they need to comprehend the instructional materials,” says Dr. Bev Good, director of the COELEC and former English as a Second Language Coordinator for Westerville City Schools.

The Collaborative will help math, science, and other content area teachers learn how to make their materials more easily accessible to English Language Learners through a Summer Academy.
“Thirty current and future teachers have the opportunity to enroll free in The Summer Academy. They will be given high quality graduate instruction that will increase their understanding and their skills in working with English Learners,” explained Dr. Sue Constable, chair of the Education Department and the grant recipient. The participants will get practical experience tutoring a PK-12 English Learner and local students who are English Learners will receive tutoring.

Additionally, COELEC is increasing the teaching and learning capacity of several groups of educators -- adult English Learners, regional faculty, and local teachers. The Career Ladder Program helps adult English Learners reach employment the field of Education. Local college and university faculty are learning new ways to teach teachers of English Language Learners, and local teachers are learning best practices best practices for teaching English learners content area materials (math, science, etc.). The grant began this summer and can be renewed for 5 years.

For more information about the full details of the grant click here. Interested persons can contact the COELEC office at 614-823-1460 or email Dr. Good at bgood@otterbein.edu