'Empowering English Learners For Classroom Success' Offers First Look At The Power Of Social-Emotional Learning In Fueling Academic Success

CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ Five million U.S. students, approximately one in ten, are classified as English Learners (ELs) who speak a language other than English at home. While they are the fastest-growing student population in the country, 70 percent of teachers report that they have had no training to support EL students. In Empowering English Learners for Classroom Success, authors Mawi Asgedom and Dr. Johanna Even reveal that social-emotional growth is the key to academic success for EL students.

In the book the authors share practices and strategies grounded in research on academic and social-emotional growth against the backdrop of their unique backgrounds: Asgedom, as a former English learner from Ethiopia who carries out his mission to inspire EL success through Mawi Learning, and Even, as an experienced educator and leader in schools with high populations of English learners.

"There is nothing more powerful than an education, and this especially rings true for English learners. While all students have the same potential, English learners have different levers to unlock social-emotional growth," said Asgedom. "Our goal with this book is to give educators the tools they need to enable this growth and ultimately close the achievement gap between EL and non-EL students."

Language isn't the only barrier to education for EL students. They have unique cultural challenges and experience higher levels of trauma, poverty and stress and may lack the social and emotional skills needed to overcome these obstacles. Research shows that those same skills translate into academic success by creating confident learners and proactive problem solvers.

While social-emotional growth fuels academic achievement, it can be difficult to assess and measure it within each unique EL student. The book introduces the English Learner Growth Framework as a means to understand and map the progression of EL students from beginner to advanced across six competencies: growth mindset, agency, family and culture, school connections, language acquisition and coping mechanisms.

The EL Growth Framework can serve as an important tool for teachers to not only assess and develop students, but to also work with EL students and their families to establish clear goals for social and emotional development. The book also offers educators a variety of tools to drive success, including proven classroom strategies, hands-on lesson ideas, ready-to-use activities, reflection guides and mini case studies.

Empowering English Learners for Classroom Success will be released on December 5 but is available for pre-order today through Amazon.

About the Authors

Mawi Asgedom is a former English learner from Ethiopia who overcame many challenges to graduate from Harvard. He has spoken to over one million students and educators, including at the international TESOL conference to over 3,000 educators. Mawi Learning's Super ELL courses and professional development are used by districts worldwide to inspire English learner success. He has sold more than 500,000 copies of his leadership books and his bestselling memoir, Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard, has been read in thousands of classrooms.

Johanna Even has been an elementary bilingual teacher, a principal, an instructional and leadership coach and a curriculum developer in schools across the United States. She has over 25 years of experience working with English language learners in a range of settings including transitional bilingual, dual immersion and sheltered English immersion. Even received her undergraduate degree in Latin American History and Literature from Harvard University and her EdD in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Empowering English Learners for Classroom Success
Publisher: Mawi Learning
Publication Date: December 5, 2017
ISBN-10: 0986077216
ISBN-13: 978-0986077210

For media inquiries:

Stephanie Degenais, SD Marketing Communications
stephanie@sdmarcom.com
(312) 590-9749

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SOURCE Mawi Learning

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