No matter how many resources a school has access to, it is the leadership of a an ESL team and a well-developed program students will be successful in second language acquisition. However, leadership means more than being the boss of a team. It means taking initiative when it is needed, consistently evaluating and making improvements, knowing the students that the program is, and inspiring others in the school to invest in the ESL program. Bruce Sheppard's Leadership, Organizational Learning and the Successful Integration of Information and Communication Technology in Teaching and Learning shows how investmemt and commitment to a program by teachers will create better learning for the students and an improvement is school culture (which realtes well to the concept of sociopolitics and creating a multicultural school).
Leadership can be directed toward colleagues for professional development or towards the students. An option of professional leadership would be to support new teachers in understanding how the BC ESL program works and how to support ELLs. Most often these are the teachers who have the most questions and need the most support. Below is a presentation that could be used to introduce them to the goals of ESL delivery, how students enter the ESL system, who is involved in the support team, and ways to address challenges of ESL delivery.
Leadership directed toward students aims to get them involved in the school community and develop their language acquisition. I created a club for high school students that looked to bring ELLs and native speakers together in a social setting. Many schools have great leadership programs and students who like to be active and take part in activities. This type of "club" would really attract native-English speakers, but also ELLs as it would provide them with Canadian cultural experiences that they may be looking to take part in. A goal of the group would be to always have an activity that is based around being social. Going to see a movie does not provide the best opportunity to be social with peers, and it something that ELLs could do on their own. But playing on a team or having a paint night would provide valuable time opportunities to communicate with others.
A challenge of the program that leaders would need to be aware of is that there would sometimes be costs with activities. If it is a free activity, such as a hike, transportation would still be a cost. There are also activities, such as a trip to Science World, bowling, or going out for dinner, where a cost would explicitly be present. The hope would be that some activities could be done at the school (ex. sports nights in the gym, paint or craft nights in the art room, etc.). It would be a good challenge for the teacher rep. and the students, to find affordable, local activities that they are interested in taking part it. The brainstorming process for activities would be a big part of the bonding experience. Below is a sample poster of how the club could be advertised.
A challenge of the program that leaders would need to be aware of is that there would sometimes be costs with activities. If it is a free activity, such as a hike, transportation would still be a cost. There are also activities, such as a trip to Science World, bowling, or going out for dinner, where a cost would explicitly be present. The hope would be that some activities could be done at the school (ex. sports nights in the gym, paint or craft nights in the art room, etc.). It would be a good challenge for the teacher rep. and the students, to find affordable, local activities that they are interested in taking part it. The brainstorming process for activities would be a big part of the bonding experience. Below is a sample poster of how the club could be advertised.