Service-Learning for Diverse Communities

This book on service-learning for pre-service teachers learning Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) techniques addresses the needs of the English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States-- the fastest-growing segment of the United States population. Our schools and communities are greatly impacted by this changing population. This book details a highly effective service-learning project which assists pre-service teachers in learning the value of critical pedagogy, and how mentoring ELLs can improve TESOL techniques, impact schools, and empower ELL using the National TESOL Standards. It does this in a way that is replicable and able to be implemented effortlessly in any educational facility that is training teachers in TESOL or has ELLs, and wants to create partnerships in the community. The focus of this work, though, is not just to detail a project that addresses federal and state standards. Critical pedagogy is an approach to the classroom which encourages students to question current practices and thinking in their world. This book is designed to help readers understand how students in service-learning projects can learn to think critically about issues related to our growing diverse communities, to become strong advocates in empowering their ELLs to become contributing members of the community, and to alter their thinking about their role as a teacher in our society. It is essential that our higher education programs develop teachers who can work successfully in these communities, think critically about how our culture responds to cultural diversity, and develop partnerships which empower all members of the community. (author)