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AIU Leads Path to English Proficiency for 30+ Years
The AIU’s K-12 English as a Second Language Program has provided direct instruction for English learners across the region for more than 30 years. The program currently serves 13 public school districts, two charter schools, and one private school. This fall, the program’s 34 certified ESL teachers provided services to more than 1,300 students from more than 75 countries.
The AIU currently provides ESL instruction to students at the following districts and schools:
Allegheny Valley
Avonworth
Bethel Park
Carlynton
Elizabeth Forward
Fox Chapel Area
Catalyst Academy
Environmental Charter School
Highlands
Mt. Lebanon
North Hills
Northgate
Moon
Ringgold
West Jefferson Hills
Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (on behalf of Steel Valley)
“Having proficiency in English is essential for a student’s academic progress and growth,” said Kelly Noyes, Ed.D., director of Educational Support Services at the AIU.
“Proficiency allows them to understand content, to develop skills. That’s why this work is so important, because it’s the foundation for those other skills to come along.”
Having proficiency in English is essential for a student’s academic progress and growth. Proficiency allows them then to understand content, to develop skills. It is the foundation for all that follows.
It starts with building their comfort level and confidence. “Sometimes they’re quiet because they’re unsure,” Noyes said. “So, the teachers do a lot of work helping them feel safe and secure and confident—so they are willing to try, and to share an understanding that you’ll make mistakes, and that’s okay.”
TOP 5 LANGUAGES spoken by students receiving ESL services through the AIU in the 2023-24 school year:
Spanish
Portuguese
Arabic
Nepali
Russian
“Research tells you that to go from very little exposure to English to proficiency is a five-to-seven-year process,” Noyes said. “Conversational skills come along a lot more quickly. Those can happen in a few months to the first year or so. But then it can take a number of years to reach full proficiency in academic language, like being able to read a history textbook and understand it.”
The four domains of English Language Proficiency are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students must master all four to become proficient in academic language. Lessons usually focus on several of those domains at a time.
“It’s a journey,” Noyes said. “But the students do typically make pretty good leaps and bounds from one year to another.”
Click to learn more about the AIU's K-12 ESL Program
