Q & A

What is Social-Emotional Learning?

Social-emotional learning is the process through which children and young adults develop the skill to relate to others, manage their own emotions, and to make responsible choices. Essentially, students who have strong social-emotional skill sets tend to have better academic and behavioral outcomes.  It is well-known that early childhood is a sensitive period when children develop social-emotional skills among other skills. Adolescence, a transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, is a second window of opportunity to improve skill sets in the social-emotional domain. 

Programs that target social-emotional learning can reduce students’ behavioral problems and improve their academic outcomes. According to research, the best social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are not individual blocks of lessons, but the content to improve the social-emotional domain is fully integrated into the curriculum.  SEL programs that aim to satisfy the four physiological needs of adolescents, which also leads to improved school climate. Theses needs are (1) to stand out (2) to fit in (3) to measure up and (4) to make commitments to goals, . Ultimately, the goal for educators is to create a supportive, motivating and challenging learning environment for all students including English language learners. 

Who is considered an English Language Learner?

English language learners (ELLs) are students who are in the process of acquiring English as a second language. In the United States, there are more than 5 million English language learners and that number continues to grow. These learners face many unique challenges, not only with learning a new language but getting accustomed to a new and different culture. 

What Does the Research Say about Social-Emotional Learning for ELLs?

According to research, K-12 students benefit from SEL programs that aim to address the four physiological needs of adolescents. However, there is limited information available on social-emotional learning specifically targeted for English language learners.  During, my research I adopted a socio-cultural lens through which I was conducting my research. I relied highly upon Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory which proposed that learning takes place in social settings. Thus, the learning process is influenced by sociocultural factors. In light of that, I concluded that the ideal learning environment for ELLs is where (1) the pedagogy is culturally relevant, (2) students have access to text with social-emotional content, (3) students’ affective filters kept low and (4)the learning material is differentiated.

What is Available on the Website?

The website features articles and resources mainly for secondary EL teachers. However, content and elementary EL teachers might find certain resources on this website helpful. The resources and articles that I created are distributed under four main categories: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Social-Emotional Content, The Affective Filter and Differentiation.