












































 
 

ISSN #2331-6845 

 
Empowering English Language Learners 

through Social-Action Projects 
By Melanie Carter 

Georgia State University 
 mlcarter@student.gsu.edu  

 
 
Introduction 

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) school reforms in 2002 dealt teachers of English for 

speakers of other languages (ESOL) a heavy burden. Policies mandated that ESOL students in 

elementary and middle grades were to take content-area Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests 

(CRCT) after only one year of being enrolled in the U.S. public education system. Schools were 

held accountable for the test scores of these language learners. Insufficient test scores on a large 

scale has led to loss of funding and even school closure. Recently, new policies such as Race to 

the Top have supplanted NCLB in Georgia. However, these new policies continue to emphasize 

annual testing and student accountably for the general population and English Language 

Learners (ELLs) alike. Additionally, Race to the Top policies now tie individual teacher salaries 

to student performance on standardized tests. Public education policies such as these run contrary 

to contemporary second language acquisition research which state that ELLs need up to seven 

years to develop English language proficiency in academic content areas (Cummins, 2008).  This 

schism between policy and reality has caused many teachers of culturally and linguistically 

1                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 

mailto:mlcarter@student.gsu.edu


diverse students to go into “test panic” and revert to rote teaching strategies that emphasize 

“teaching to the test” in order to increase the test scores of students.  These strategies are in 

direct contrast to proven student-centered educational theories which emphasize communicative 

competence, task-based learning, critical thinking skills, authentic inquiry-based project learning, 

empowering and liberatory education (Dewy, 1916; Ellis, 2003; Freire, 1978; Hymes, 1972; 

Shor, 1992). “Teaching to the test” strategies are theoretically based in the banking concept of 

education. In this model, students are viewed as an empty account waiting to be filled with 

knowledge by the instructor. Friere (1970) explains that this type of learning "transforms 

students into receiving objects. It attempts to control thinking and action, leads men and women 

to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power" (p. 77).  It is critical that ESOL teachers 

avoid these teaching tactics and maintain a high degree of professionalism even during times of 

the predominance of high-stakes testing accountability.  

Instead, curriculum for language learners must be grounded in researched-based second 

language acquisition pedagogies. This includes a focus on authentic learning that is acquired 

through communicative, project-based education. This type of learning should allow students to 

acquire language and content-area knowledge and apply the knowledge to new real-world 

contexts to create measurable outcomes. ESOL professionals should consider themselves 

curriculum designers and engineers and use creativity and innovation to create learning 

environments where this type of learning can take root. It is equally as important, for ESOL 

professionals to ensure ELLs, a marginalized section of society, are provided with critical skills 

that serve to empower students (Ajayi, 2009). 

Empowering ELLs and providing opportunities for students to critically engage with the 

world will ensure students mature to fully functioning, democratic participants in society 

2                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



(Cummins, 1996). In order allow these qualities to grow and flourish in our ESOL learning 

communities and classrooms, teachers must go beyond “teaching to the test” with the aim of 

creating fully functioning students, capable of interacting productively in the world.  

Incorporating social action projects into the ESOL classroom is a way of addressing this need by 

empowering students as critical participants in society through communicative, project-based 

learning. 

 Social action projects provide ELLs with language, literacy, and content-area skills while 

emphasizing collaboration and critical thinking.  Through designing their own student led 

projects, ELLs learn that they have the ability to affect social change. Initially, students identify a 

social issue that is impacting themselves or their communities. Next, students investigate the 

problem through current and historical research of the issue and through accessing their own 

expertise on the issue. Finally, students, as a group, create a project of their own which aims to 

provide solutions the problem and raise awareness.  

Social action projects are rooted in critical pedagogy. Critical pedagogy aims to create a 

transformative effect within students to cut the bonds of oppressive traditional education and 

empower students to engage in unfettered thinking and learning, in order to become agents of 

change. Freire (1970) describes critical education as “‘the practice of freedom’ the means by 

which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate 

in the transformation of their world” (p.34). Giroux (2010) goes on to say that through critical 

pedagogy, “students develop consciousness of freedom…connect knowledge to power and the 

ability to take constructive action.”  Constructive action is the key to empowering students to 

become active change-makers in society, and it is the pivotal component of the action project.   

3                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



Social action projects inspire students to act consciously to make changes for the 

betterment of their communities and the world through critical consciousness. Students are 

empowered to create innovative strategies to attack complex, societal issues. Students identify 

problems in society, create real-world methods of alleviating these problems, and finally 

implement these solution methods. Action is the key to the social action project. Students’ main 

goal within the project is to use the knowledge they learn to take action within their immediate 

communities and to encourage others to take action, as well, to expand the sphere of influence of 

the project. This type of education empowers students to take learning into their own hands and 

use the knowledge they gain to create a better world for humanity and future generations. 

Classroom Social Action Project 

  During my student-teaching experience in a 4th grade ESOL class, my students and I 

conducted a social-action project.  The ESOL Reading/English Language Arts class consisted of 

seven students: six Mexican American students and one student originally from Ghana. The 

class’s language proficiency level was fairly homogenous, as all students scored with in a level 

IV, according to World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) tests conducted the 

previous school year.  All of the students were classified as economically disadvantaged by 

county guidelines. 

The project involved the three major steps (1) identifying a social issue, (2) investigating 

the issue, and (3) creating an action project to alleviate the problem and inspire others to get 

involved.  In the project, students explored real-world issues while developing cross-curriculum 

language and content-area skills.   The leadership roles of the teacher and student alternated 

during the duration of the unit.  The shifting roles of power were used to ensure equity between 

all participants (Friere, 1979; Shor, 1992). This allowed students to openly express their ideas 

4                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



through collaborative inquiry, in an environment where their thoughts would be acknowledged 

and respected by the group. Literacy practices, and their connections to solving real world 

problems, were a focal point of the project. Students used a variety of literacy practices 

throughout the three stages of the project to identify social problems, conduct research, and 

create their final project.  Using an interdisciplinary approach to learning, social studies 

curriculum was tied into the project.  

Step 1: Identifying a Problem 

  The project idea originated in reaction to the escalation of school violence and social 

violence taking place nationally and locally. Students began the project with a roundtable 

discussion where they were asked to identify a social problem.  This type of discussion ensures 

every participant has an equal opportunity to communicate with one another. For ELLs, this is an 

important confidence-building practice that emphasizes listening and speaking skills. This style 

of discussion encourages students to actively engage with classmates. Students must be active 

listeners while interacting with one another in the exchange of ideas. Higher order thinking skills 

are also needed to participate in these discussions as students are encouraged communicate their 

personal beliefs and understandings as opposed to simply recalling facts. Therefore wait-time is 

an important aspect of a roundtable discussion. I regarded my role in the group as a facilitator, as 

opposed to teacher, questioning students about the problems they faced in their own lives and 

drawing out their own expertise on the topic. I often would draw out deeper answers from 

students by asking leading questions or challenging their current assumptions. 

Through this form of discussion, the students identified violence as a major problem in 

their communities. Students identified many examples of violence, such as the Sandy Hook 

school shooting, bullying in school, police brutality, deportation, and anti-immigrant prejudices.  

5                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



This phase of the social-action project gave students a safe space to openly discuss their feelings 

surrounding these issues.   

  Students often internalize fear associated with issues that they feel they have no power 

over, which can lead to a host of future emotional problems impacting school performance 

(Bower, 1992). In order to promote favorable educational outcomes for ELLs, teachers must 

address the socio-emotional needs of students within the academic context (Genesee, 1994). The 

roundtable discussion draws students’ emotions out into the open to be acknowledged and even 

shared by the group. Students openly express their feelings of fear, anxiety, and helplessness 

surrounding these issues. Our discussions bolstered a sense of community, comfort, and safety, 

where students were able to identify with one another. Breaking through the isolation opened 

opportunities for growth and transformation.  

Step 2: Investigating the Problem 

During this stage of the project, students worked together to become experts on the 

violence in communities. Students collaboratively worked in small groups to develop research 

questions and then sought to find answers to those questions. Students were encouraged to take 

ownership of their own learning throughout this process. 

At this time, I introduced fourth grade civil rights Social Studies curriculum to the class. I 

provided students with texts that discussed how past community violence was dealt with in 

innovative ways. Students studied literature in the form of books, articles, and websites regarding 

Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Gandhi and other non-violent visionaries. Integrating our 

social action project with the fourth grade civil rights curriculum brought the idea of real world 

social-action movements to life. As the students began to assess the contemporary world within a 

historical context, the curriculum became less static and more relevant to the students’ lives. 

6                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



During this period of investigation, students conducted online research, outlined texts, 

took notes, held student-directed literature circles, watched film clips documenting non-violent 

movements of the past, and acted out non-violent protests through dramatic play. Several 

students conducted personal interviews with family members. A broad range of Common Core 

Reading, ELA, and Social Studies standards were explored during this time. This varied 

approach to investigating the issue motivated students to practice reading writing, speaking, and 

listening in diverse ways, appealing to the varied learning styles and multiple intelligences.   

Step 3: Creating a Solution Project and Inspiring Others 

This stage of the project required students to create a solution project and inspire others 

to get involved in the project.  Non-violence was identified as the solution to the problem of 

violence by students.  In another round-table discussion, students discussed the class’s vision of 

non-violence and what their schools and communities would be like if they truly reflected this 

ideal. Recalling the quote by Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the word,” students 

decided that they wanted to make personal non-violent commitments to inspire change in their 

families, classrooms, and communities. For their action project, students made a banner to 

display their personal commitments for non-violence to inspire others. Students made thirty day 

commitments to nonviolent actions such as “not eating animals [that had been violently killed],” 

“using only kind words,” “playing only non-violent video games,” and “no more gossiping,” 

After the students finished the banner, they presented it to neighboring classrooms. 

Students first gave a brief history of nonviolent movements involving Gandhi and MLK. 

Students then explained their own non-violent movement and gave examples of the non-violence 

commitments they made. Students encouraged the other classes to join the movement and take 

action themselves.  United by a common goal, my students eagerly rallied their peers. The other 

7                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



classes, inspired by the presentation, felt moved to make their own commitments. Students added 

commitments to our banner one after the other, until the banner was completely full. Then a 

classroom down the hall made their own banner, which they presented to other classes. More and 

more students in my school made commitments to non-violence. By the end of the week, the 

halls of the school were filled with commitments of non-violence.  

The class further extended the non-violence social-action project to a broader sphere of 

influence by reaching out to members of the community at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga.  

At the time, the college was preparing for an up and coming event that celebrated non-violence 

which involved a weeklong event of seminars, discussions, and ceremonies honoring peace-

building global activists. Morehouse College and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a peace-building 

Morehouse honoree, were in the midst of creating a national initiative to promote non-violence.  

Working with volunteers on the project, I proposed extending the non-violence initiative by 

promoting non-violence social-action projects in classrooms around the country.  My students 

shared their non-violence project with Morehouse organizers. Soon volunteers from Morehouse 

and from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s non-profit organization took up the cause whole heartedly. A 

task force of volunteers was organized that would work specifically on “schools outreach”. We 

began sending out emails to schools and reaching out to colleagues to get teachers and students 

around the country involved in non-violence social-action projects.  As of today, over a dozen 

schools from Brooklyn to San Francisco have taken up the initiative to create and implement 

student led non-violence social actions projects.   

Conclusion  

 For students from my classroom, seeing the far reaching effects of their actions proved to 

be a truly empowering experience. This action project gave ELLs the understanding that they can 

8                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



truly have a positive effect on social problems by working together to create change and 

inspiring those within their sphere of influence to take part in these changes as well.  

 Embedded within this project were common core standards from content areas. These 

standards were explored in an authentic manner which provided for a greater transferability of 

these skills and knowledge to real world aspects of students’ lives. Through this project ELLs 

acquired language skills by engaging in the process of democratic collaboration and problem 

solving. Students discovered the symbiotic relationship between communication, actions, and the 

world, thus acknowledging each individual’s ability to act and create change in the world.  

Social-action project-based learning provides a viable method of empowering ELLs 

while engaging with content-area discourse.  The learner-centered approach to social action 

projects allow students to take ownership of their learning. Students are the instrumental, 

creative force behind every step of the project, from brainstorming to final project 

implementation.  Collaboration of class members allows students to exercise communication 

skills and gain confidence through interdependent relationships with peers. Social action projects 

address genuine issues that are relevant to students’ lives inspiring and motivating students 

beyond the classroom. 

Next Steps 

For educators who are interested in conducting social action projects within their own 

classrooms, I have including a list of critical pedagogical resources below. These resources 

include content-area curriculum guides, lesson plans, and extension activities that emphasize 

empowering students through social and community involvement. However, I must emphasize 

that these should be used only as guides. There is no better resource than your own students. 

9                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 



Truly empowering projects create a space for students to investigate what inspires them, and 

allows them the opportunity to create original action-projects focused around these interests.  

• Zinn Education Project 
http://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/ 
 

• Education for Liberation Network 
 www.edliberation.org/resources/edsearch_form 
 

• Highlander Research and Education Center 

http://highlandercenter.org/about-us/mission/ 
• Project South 

http://www.projectsouth.org/movement-building-projects/trainings-and-tools/toolkits/ 
 

• Teachers for Social Justice 
http://www.teachersforjustice.org/search/label/all%20curriculum 

  

10                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 

http://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/
http://www.edliberation.org/resources/edsearch_form
http://highlandercenter.org/about-us/mission/
http://www.projectsouth.org/movement-building-projects/trainings-and-tools/toolkits/
http://www.teachersforjustice.org/search/label/all%20curriculum


 
References 

 
Ajayi, L. (2009). English as a second language learners’ exploration of multimodal texts in a 

junior high school. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52(7), 585-595 

Bower, G. H. (1992). How might emotions affect learning. The handbook of emotion and 

memory: Research and theory, 3-31. 

Cummins, J. (2008). BICS and CALP: Empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. 

Encyclopedia of language and education, 2, 71-83. 

Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society (pp. 

1-368). Ontario, CA: California Association for Bilingual Education. 

Dewy, J. (1916). Democracy and education. An introduction to the philosophy of education 

(1966 ed.).  

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press. 

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.  

Genesee, F. (Ed.). (1994). Educating second language children: The whole child, the whole 

curriculum, the whole community. Cambridge University Press. 

Giroux, H.A., 2010. Lessons from Paulo Freire. The Chronicle Review, 17 October.  

Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. Sociolinguistics, 269293. 

Shor, I. (1992). Empowering education: Critical teaching for social change. University of 

Chicago Press, Book Orders, 5801 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637-1496  

 

11                                                                   GATESOL in Action, Vol. 1, Spring 2014 


