(October 19, 2007) Illinois State University and Northeastern Illinois University received a new Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education to assist the growing number of English language learners (ELLs) in Illinois schools.
George Padavil, project director at Illinois State, says, “I plan to recruit 50 faculty members in the teacher education program who would be willing to include ELL issues in their courses.” Through the project, a series of four workshops will be conducted with the goal of expanding the knowledge and skills of faculty members about the instruction of ELLs. Additionally, six online-accessible curricular modules will be set up.
With nearly 10 million ELLs in the schools throughout the country, several states have developed similar programs for teachers. The Illinois State University and Northeastern Illinois University partnership will be one of the first to provide this training to teacher educators.
Faculty members who are interested in participating in this project should contact George Padavil.
