English as a Second Language

English as a Second Language (ESL) is a program intended to support students that come from homes that primarily speak a language other than English. Tennessee rules and regulations require that students whose first language is other than English and who are limited in their English language proficiency be provided with a specially designed alternative language program. Students are identified when they register for school. The ESL curriculum is a general set of English language acquisition standards that should be used in conjunction with content standards. These standards address the language support necessary to enable the English Learner (EL) to access the grade level content curriculum by a bridge for EL's to the academic content curriculum. ESL focuses on support of English language acquisition in four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.