© 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium Introduction to the WIDA English Language Development

© 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium www.wida.us

Introduction to the WIDA English Language Development Standards

Intro to WIDA ELD Standards 2WIDA Consortium

WIDA Terms

Why does WIDA distinguish between “language proficiency” and “language development?”

• WIDA uses the name English language development (ELD) standards to articulate the language acquisition process as fluid, flexible, and ongoing

• WIDA uses the term language proficiency to reflect a student’s current level in the language acquisition process at a particular point in time• Levels 1-6 are still referred to as “proficiency levels”• ACCESS for ELLs is an English language proficiency

assessment


Language & Content

Language proficiency involves the language associated with the content areas.

Content knowledge reflects the declarative (what) and procedural knowledge (how) associated with the content.


ELD & State Standards

State Content StandardsAcademic achievement

Content-based

Reflective of conceptual development

Representative of the school’s academic curriculum

ELD StandardsAcademic language development

Language-based

Reflective of the varying stages of second language acquisition

Representative of social and academic language contexts


Variations of Language

Adapted from Zwiers (2008)

WIDA Performance Definitions – Listening and Reading Grades K-12

WIDA Performance Definitions – Speaking and Writing Grades K-12


WIDA’s ELD Standards

Academic Language

Standard 1 Standard 2 Standard 3 Standard 4 Standard 5


GRADE 8

ELD STANDARD 4 - The Language of Science EXAMPLE TOPIC: Forms of energy

Organization of MPIs within the 2012 Standards

STRAND

MPI


Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

Process, understand, interpret and evaluate spoken language in a variety of situations

Process, understand, interpret and evaluate written language, symbols and text with understanding and fluency

Engage in written communication in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences

Engage in oral communication in a variety of

situations for a variety of purposes and audiences

Language Domains


Language Domains


GRADE 8

ELD STANDARD 4 - The Language of Science EXAMPLE TOPIC: Forms of energy

CONNECTION: Next Generation Science Standards, May 2012 Draft, Energy b-d (Middle School): Use representations of potential energy to construct an explanation of how much energy an object has when it’s in different positions in an electrical, gravitational, and magnetic field. Plan and carry out investigations to show that in some chemical reactions energy is released or absorbed. Use and/or construct models to communicate the means by which thermal energy is transferred during conduction, convection, and radiation.

EXAMPLE CONTEXT FOR LANGUAGE USE: Students decide with peers the types of energy transfers that occur in various situations from everyday life (e.g., glow sticks, thunderstorms, simple engines) to demonstrate the conservation of energy.

Standards Connection

Topic-related Language

Cognitive Function

Example Context for Language Use


Standards Connection

• Provides a direct connection to grade-level content standards, including:

• The Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

• The Next Generation Science Standards

• Other state standards

• The example below draws from the CCSS:


Example Context for Language Use

• Highlights the importance of teaching language in a meaningful context

• Provides examples for teachers to think about possible:• instructional tasks• audiences• registers• genres


Cognitive Function

• Adopted terms from Bloom’s revised taxonomy

• All MPIs across a strand now relate to a common cognitive function

• Expect higher cognitive functioning from ALL students


Cognitive Function


Topic-Related Language

• Gives students access to a grade-level language-rich environment while they are acquiring English

• Grade 3 Language of Mathematics example:

TOPIC-RELATED LANGUAGE: Students at all levels of English language proficiency interact with grade-level words and expressions, such as: square unit, unit squares, length, width, area


The Elements of the MPI

The Language Function

The Content Stem/Example Topic

The Support


Elements of Model Performance Indicators

The Model Performance Indicator (MPI) consists of three elements:

• Language function: describes how students use language to demonstrate their proficiency

• Content stem/example topic: specifies context for language instruction; derived from state content standards

• Support: sensory, graphic, or interactive resources embedded in instruction and assessment that help students construct meaning from language and content


Elements of MPIs

Follow oral directions to design area maps using manipulatives and illustrated examples in small groups

Content Stem/Example Topic

Language Function

Instructional Support


The Model Performance IndicatorLanguage Function


The Model Performance IndicatorContent Stem


The Model Performance IndicatorSupport or Strategy


Support Examples


Specific Examples of Sensory Supports


Example Use of GraphicOrganizers


Expanded Strands

• “Expanded” strands display the features of academic language:

• Provide concrete examples of language at discourse, sentence, and word/phrase levels

• Show how MPIs are connected to Performance Definitions

• Inform teachers’ planning and instruction

Linguistic Complexity

(Discourse Level)

Language Forms &

Conventions

(Sentence Level)

Vocabulary Usage

(Word/Phrase Level)

An Expanded Strand


CAN DO Descriptors

• Provide teachers with information on the language students are able to understand and produce in the classroom in within all five ELD standards.

• Available in both English and Spanish for the following grade-level clusters:

PreK-K Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12

Grade 1-2 Grades 9-12

Grades 3-5


Let’s plot Jose Carlos’ ACCESS for ELLs results on the CAN DO Descriptors:

Listening 4.1 Speaking 6.0 Reading 5.0 Writing 3.8


4.1

6.0


3.8

5.0

Documents

© 2012 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium Introduction to the WIDA English Language Development