What does fair and appropriate instruction look like for English language learners with disabilities? What are the unique characteristics of different disabilities and how do they impact language learning? How does culture impact responses to disabilities and communication with learners and their families? What strategies support English learners with disabilities to achieve their potential? This course will engage you in important discussions and answer difficult questions about issues facing education professionals who work English learners with exceptional needs. Get the answers you need in this interactive 6-week program.

Topics covered include:

• How disability is viewed across cultures.
• Asset-based mindsets about diverse learners.
• Categories of disability and the impact of various disabilities.
• Strategies and practices for collaboration in both ESOL and EFL settings.
• Assessment, programming, interventions and services for ELs who have disabilities.

This six-week course will be interactive, with discussion, interactive lectures and activities, individual and group reflections, and projects related to your day-to-day teaching practice. Activities and projects are tied to your actual role and teaching environment wherever possible.

TESOL is authorized by IACET to offer 6 CEUs for this online course. No partial CEUs will be given to registrants who do not complete the course. For more information about CEUs, please go to www.tesol.org/CEUs.

This course is appropriate for all US-based and international educators interested in the intersection of English language teaching and supporting learners with exceptional needs, especially English language educators teaching English as a second or additional language, as a foreign language, and as an international language. It is also appropriate for special educators, general educators, coaches, and building-level or system-level administrators and school leaders.

For maximum professional learning, schools may consider encouraging teams of educators to complete the course and discuss the concepts together over the six weeks of active learning.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify varied conceptions of disability and the impact of various disabilities on language learning.
• Analyze characteristics of various disabilities to select appropriate strategies to support students with those disabilities.
• Apply asset-based frameworks and the Universal Design for Learning framework and explain their relevance to inclusive practice for English learners with disabilities.
• Recognize and apply elements of an effective assessment and evaluation process for English learners who may have disabilities.
• Identify key components in the process of collaborative planning to support English learners who may have disabilities.
• Differentiate and apply classroom-based strategies and supports for English learners with disabilities who need lower-intensity supports vs high-intensity supports.