ESL in a Nutshell

Presented by

Joyce Vanderscheuren

ESL Teacher and Literacy Coordinator

Patrick Henry High School

What do you already know about ELL students? Take five minutes to write down as much as you

know about ESL students. Skip every other line; your work will not be graded

on grammar or punctuation. Your thoughts will be shared with the rest of the

class, but your name will not be identified as your paper is read.

(This activity is called a Type I Writing, from the Collins Writing Strategies)

Educational Jargon

ESL= English as a Second Language

(I went to school for training to become an ESL teacher.)

ELL= English Language Learner

(I teach ELLs)

LEP=Limited English Proficient

L1=1st language of the ELL

L2=2nd language of the ELL

In Minnesota, an ELL:

Is a student who, according to the parents, first learned a different language prior to learning English

Comes from a home where the language usually spoken is a language other than English

Usually speaks a language other than English

(From MDE Website)

Students also qualify for ESL Services if . . . They lack the skills necessary to participate fully

in classes taught in English, as determined by: Teacher judgment Teacher observation Parent recommendations Developmentally appropriate assessment instruments

TEAE TESTS (Test of Emerging Academic English, grades 3-12)

MCA TESTS (Grades 3-8,10, 11) or BST ( grade 8)MDE

Website 11/01/05

Little-Known Facts about ESL Services ELL(s) are eligible for services from kindergarten

through age _______.

Parents have the right to refuse ESL services

Students are not removed from LEP status on school and state records until they reach proficiency on the TEAE test, even if they are not receiving ESL services.

Second Language Acquisition Theory

Predictable Stages of Language DevelopmentStage I: The Silent Stage

-Can last from 10 hours, to six months-Can understand 500 vocabulary words

Stage II: The Early Production Stage

- Happens six months after Stage I -Can understand and use 1000 words- Can speak in one or two words phrases- Can answer “yes” and “no” questions

Stages of Second Language Development, cont.

Stage III: Speech Emergence May last for another year 3000 word vocabulary can use simple sentences and short phases to ask questions

like: “Can I go to the restroom?” Attempt to produce longer sentences, but have many errors

that interfere with effective communication Stage IV: Intermediate Proficiency

May take up to another year after speech emergence 6000 word vocabulary Can start stating opinions, asking for clarification, sharing

their thoughts, speaking at a greater length

Stages of Second Language Development

Stage V: The Advanced Proficiency Stage Can take five to seven years

Students have developed specialized content-area vocabulary

Can participate fully in grade-level activities if given occasional extra support

Students can speak English using grammar and vocabulary comparable to that of same-age native speakers

Second Language Acquisition Theory

Comprehensible Input Theory

Second language learners acquire language by “intaking” and understanding language that is slightly beyond their competence. (Stephen Krashen)

Example: “Go get your crayons.”

“Go get my crayons.”

Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis A student’s emotions can directly interfere,

or assist in the learning of a new language. Learning a new language is different from

learning other subjects because it requires public practice.

Speaking out can cause anxiety, embarrassment, or anger; these negative emotions can create a filter that blocks the learner’s ability to process language.

Jim Cummins’ Work

BICS AND CALPS

BICS

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills: language used on the playground and in class.For example…..“Are you going to Pizza Luce tonight?”“No, I’ve got that project due for Torres tomorrow.”“Dude--you’d better go---everybody’s gonna be there!”(It takes from 1-5 years to completely develop social

language. BICS are not necessarily related to academic success.)

CALPS

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency These are the language skills needed to

undertake academic tasks in the classroom, including content-specific vocabulary.

It takes at least four to seven years to become proficient in CALPS!!!

“What I wish my teachers knew about me. . .” “Culturally, My tribe is a wide spread tribe

in West Africa. We eat a lot of starches food as our diets due to our fore-father love for starches food. The tradition must continue so it does. The Madingoes according to history, were warriors. Mandingoes founded the Mali and Songhai Empire in West Africa. Some of the rulers were Sundaita Keita, Sumakulu,etc.”

Aliyou

What I wish teachers knew about me. . .

“I wish the teachers in order classes could have more time for student from other countries like have torturials every 4 days of the week, classes like civics because it’s a new government that I’ve never grow up knowing and so I’m starting to learn it from the start.”

Rethabile

“What I Wish My Teachers Knew About Me. . .

The wen I am come to America I like to America and hard to speck English adcnot speek English. I am go to school the gif to me som pepar a do no how to reght. They helpe me every day thechar. And I am bother techar.becos the are not adastand me, I am not andarstand English. All I am spek my langug.

Im sory I dono how to ekspilen for you.

Hikmal

What I Wish My Teachers Knew About Me. . .

I wat to lang how to read if there is a way you can hlap me how to read.

Demba

What I My Teachers Knew About Me. . .

I born in Ethiopia that mean Hararo Ge Stiy. Iwas doing well in school. because I knoweverything. If the teacher explen I Know or andeourstan as well as I can. every teacher

was like me the reason that happened. but when I came her in the USA every thing diffaclat to me. The reason why happened that I can not anderstand them stil know. When they talking fast (It’s like) they are talking or singing.

Abdisa

What I Wish My Teachers Knew About Me. . .

. . . That when you help anyone that’s not cheating and the Reason say this I because when I came here first I start at Olson Middle School and I was in 7th grade and my first hour was English class when I walk in the class the teacher give me a worksheet and the worksheet was about who is the best student in class, how look good, how dress neat, etc question like this and I was new to this school, my first day how the hell you want me to know all this question, then one of

Raghni

my classmates came to help me and the teacher told her not to help me that’s why I said helping is not bad thing.

JoseI was born in New York. When I was 4 or 5 I move to Mexico because my parents wanted me to meet my grandparents. I started kindergarten in Mexico and went to 1st and 2nd grade. My parents decided to move back to New York, so I can start school there and start 3rd grade. One of my father’s friends called him to come visited Minnesota and we did. Wild ther I went to 4th grade, but in the middle of fourth grade we returned to N.Y. I went half of 4th and to 5th grade. My dad decided to move back to Minnesota because the schools in New York were weak and I was not learning nothing. So we moved, the teachers in M.N. were more helpful than the ones in New York.

Van

When I first came to the united state. It’s was hard for me. . . Because I don’t know how to speak English. I can’t remember if I go to preschool, or kindergarden. My Dad & Mom don’t speak English. . .Everywhere they go they sometime take me with them because they need help on their English. They took me to the store, insurance company, and also when people called them, they let me translate for them.

Ikram

I wish you kown me better and really undotant me better and kewn my backround not what they read about me and not people telling her my this and my that and not judgeing my aperinse. That what I want her to kown. I don’t care what people think am just say what I have to say.

Tou

I am very artistic and like to have fun a lot. Like go to parties or play games. When I was in 1st grade it was very hard. Because my parents (not dad he’s always at work) didn’t know how to do subtracting and adding. So I didn’t know how to do my homework.

Xoua

I wish my teacher can explain it better when I don’t get something. They can explain it better to me by putting words into easyer word that I could understand

Leng

I wish that my teachers will give us less work and work with us more.

Chi Nou

I wish the teacher knew that they have to explain clearly first so I could understand like give me sample. When the teacher talk I can’t do my work. I can’t learn if the teacher talk to fast.

What surprised you the most?

What factors contribute to an ELL’s success as a student?

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE SPEED AT WHICH STUDENTS ACQUIRE CALPS

Age at arrival to school

Level of education in the native language

Degree of support for academic proficiency

How are students exited from ESL services?

-ELL who reach a level of English proficiency that no longer prevents them from fully accessing the curriculum of the school may be exited from ESL programs

-ELL who score on the highest range on both the TEAE Reading (Level 4) and the TEAE Writing (Level 5) will be removed from district and state records as being ELL

(Minnesota Department of Education)

Tips for Providing a Quality Education to ELL(s)

Avoid using Auditory-Only method of instruction (lecturing, interviewing, oral reports, etc.)

Include: videos, maps, graphs, charts, cartoons, posters, diagrams, graphic organizers, picture books, drawing, board games, projects, experiments, recorded books, group activities, etc.

Tips for Classroom Instruction

Assess students’ listening comprehension skills by simply taking a minute to talk with them

Learn about their educational background, culture, and life experiences, and adjust your instruction to include something that’s familiar to them.

Tips for Classroom Instruction

- Always assess background knowledge- Make a plan for filling in the gaps as you plan

your lesson/unit-Assume that ELLs will not have experience with the

concepts being taught in American schools. For example, concepts like freedom, democracy, and right-to-privacy may be different, or non-existent, in their culture.

-Use real objects, pictures, and hands-on activities as much as possible.

Tips for Classroom Instruction Help students make connections between their

own experiences and what you’re teaching by using teacher-made outlines and study guides.

Write assignments on the board to avoid confusion about homework or classwork expectations.

Print, rather than use cursive writing; many students have not learned how to write in cursive, and cannot read it!

Tips for Classroom Instruction

Allow ELLs to talk in their native language to help one another. Although the ultimate goal is for them to learn English, they can help each other bridge gaps of understanding, and serve as valuable resources to one another, particularly in the content-area classrooms.

Tips for Classroom Instruction

Teach study skills explicitly. Students need to learn how to: organize information, select the main idea and supporting details, how to sequence and summarize. Highlighting, labeling diagrams, using word banks, reading map, graphs, time lines, and flow charts are all important skills that will remain a mystery to them unless they are taught these skills.

Tips for Classroom Instruction

Realize that when you use idioms in speech, ELLs have no idea what you’re talking about, because they’re lacking the context of the idiom.

Examples: “It’s raining cats and dogs!”

“I feel like a fish out of water.”

Reading and ELL(s)

Make sure the students understand the purpose for reading

Are they reading to enjoy a story, or to gain information?

What do you want them to do with the information they’ve read when they’re finished reading?

Reading and ELLs

Teach students about text structure:-Show them how books and newspaper articles have titles, heading, and subheadings to help readers focus on what’s important. -Teach them strategies to use these structures to help them remember and summarize information they’ve read.-If reading a short story, chapter book, or novel, teach them the basic story elements within that genre (setting, characters, conflict, resolution)

Reading and ELLs

Provide a wide range of reading materials

to address the wide range of reading abilities

Reading Range of Students

Formula:2/3 (chronological age) = Reading Range (in years)

2/3 (6) or first grade = 4 years2/3 (7) or second grade = 4.72/3 (8) or third grade = 5.32/3 (9) or fourth grade = 6 years2/3 (10) or fifth grade = 6.72/3 (11) or sixth grade = 7.32/3 (12) or seventh grade = 8 years2/3 (13) or eighth grade = 8.72/3 (14) or freshman level = 9.32/3 (15) or sophomore level = 10 years 2/3 (16) or junior level = 10.72/3 (17 &/or 18) or senior level = 11.3 - 12

years

Even if we are doing a good job, we can still expect reading ranges in a heterogeneous classroom to be 2/3 of their chronological age:

1. What is the range of the students you currently teach?

2. What are you doing to bridge this gap?

3. What is the readability of the materials you use in your course?

Reversing the Lesson Triangles

Design of the 1950s Design of the 2000s

assignment

Read

Discussion to see if students read and if they remember & understand

the proper concepts

Frontloading – pre-reading activities: discussion, prediction,

questioning, brainstorming, vocabulary

Guided Active Silent Reading

Discussion to clarify,

reinforce & extend

The teacher leads the journey

Guided discovery

Pre-reading

Setting the stage, setting a purpose

“tools to hold their thinking”

Difference between a strategy and an activity

StrategiesTaught as process

Focus on process and content

Intentional connections to outcomes

Clear expectations

Teacher/student directed

Connects new to known

Process transferred to real life

ActivitiesTaught in isolationFocus on content onlyAccidental connections to

outcomes

Vague expectationsTeacher directedNo connection to the knownLittle/no transfer to real life

Adapted from: High Schools That Work,Staff development presentation packet, Nov. 10-11,2003

A few good strategies. . .

…that will teach students how to remember and reuse information from text.

…that will help students become more thoughtful about their reading.

…that helps students create meaning because they are purposefully engaged in thinking while they read.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The “training wheels” of your content. These “training wheels” help support the students

until meaning is achieved.

Before Reading Vocabulary Prediction strategies (+brainstorming) Read around the text Activate/build prior knowledge and set a purpose for

reading Why am I reading this?Teacher Prepares: What is essential for students to know? What will you model that will help students negotiate

the text / difficult parts? What do they need to do with the information they are

reading? How will they hold their thinking while they read?

g

Book Pass Activity Can be done in small groups, or as a class Ask students to note the title and author of the

book, and then sample the book by looking at pictures, chapter titles, and graphics

Students write comments about what they’ve learned, or questions they have about a topic

Limit time for each book to two to four minutes Students can chart their comments and questions

as background knowledge or inquiry for the new unit they’re about to begin.

(from Janet Allen, Tools for Teaching Content Literacy)

READ AROUND THE TEXT

• TThe Teacher first previews the text

Talk and read around the selection with the students, like a tour guide!

Note important features • Make your thinking about

the text “transparent”

Key Word Predictionselect 10-15 words from text

place around circle within box

place topic in circle

connections?

read to check

Athens

Olive wreaths

new events

cuisine

2004 climate

budget

events

controversy

Olympics

Nessel & Baltas, Thinking Strategies

Concept Ladder Before beginning a reading assignment, inquiry

project, or major unit of study, read a piece of text aloud that is rich and meaningful in context.l

Ask students to generate questions that they think expect to be answered with further reading and research

Students should write the concepts down Students can record the answers as they are

discovered(This activity also establishes a purpose for reading)

During Reading - Metacognition

Double Entry Journals

Graphic Organizers

Fix-up Strategies

Student Owned Strategies - “Fix-up Strategies” Make a CONNECTION between the text and:

-Your life -Your knowledge of the world -Another text. Make a PREDICTION STOP and THINK about what you have already read. ASK yourself a QUESTION and try to answer it. REFLECT in WRITING on what you have read. VISUALIZE. Use PRINT CONVENTIONS RETELL what you’ve read. REREAD. Notice PATTERNS in text structure. ADJUST your reading RATE: slow down or speed up.

Adapted from: Tovani, C. I Read It, But I Don’t Get It. p. 50-56

How do I know I am stuck?• Voice inside head isn’t interacting with text

• Camera inside head shuts off

• Mind wanders

• Can’t remember what’s read

• Can’t answer clarifying questions

• Reencounters a character but can’t recall• Cris Tovani I Read It, But I Don’t Get It

After Reading Double Entry Journals

Text Connections (self, text, world)Connection + So What? Tovani Do I Have to Teach Reading?

Key Word PredictionRevisit, add, adapt,write a summary using words

NOW. . . LET’S PRACTICE! USE THE BOOK PASS ACTIVITY TO

QUICKLY BRAINSTORM A WAY THAT YOU MIGHT INTRODUCE A UNIT ON THE CIVIL WAR

RECORD YOUR IDEAS ON THE SHEET CHANGE BOOKS EVERY TWO TO FOUR

MINUTES BE PREPARED TO “SHARE OUT” YOUR

BEST IDEAS!