Lexia Learning eBook

Strategies to SupportEnglish Learners

Many literacy educators are concerned about meeting the diverse needs of English

Learners (ELs), and rightly so. Using dual-language education programs, educational

technology, and in-class instructional support, educators have made strides in

helping students learn and master the English language.

However, progress still needs to be made. Despite advances in English teaching,

research shows that ELs continue to lag behind their native-English-speaking peers

in school.

We created this eBook to clear up common misconceptions about this often

misunderstood population, and to provide educators with actionable strategies to

support ELs in the classroom.

This eBook includes the following chapters:

1.) 5 Things You May Not Know About English Learners

2.) Project-Based Learning: A Beneficial Approach for English Learners

3.) 4 Surprising Ways Comics and Graphic Novels Can Benefit English Learners

— Lexia Learning

About This eBook

5 Things You May Not KnowAbout English Learners

English Learners are often thought of as a homogenous group, but in reality, they

are extremely diverse. Although you likely know these common facts about ELs,

you may not be as familiar with the underlying complexities of this often

misunderstood population. 

Here are five things you may not know about English Learners:

Fact #1: English Learners compose one of the fastest-growing student populations

in the country.

But did you know…? There are about five million ELs in the United States (about

nine percent of all public school students), and the number is increasing. In fact, by

the year 2025, nearly one out of every four public school students will be an

English Learner. Since the passage of the Bilingual Education Act in 1968, all public

schools are required to offer ELs an appropriate level of education.

Fact #2: All students have the same natural ability to acquire language skills, unless

diagnosed with a language disorder.

But did you know…? Based on their native language, some students have a more

difficult time learning English. For example, students whose first language uses the

Latin alphabet or has a sentence structure similar to English may have an easier

time acquiring English language skills compared to those whose native

language uses characters (like Mandarin) or is written from right to left (like Arabic

5 Things You May Not KnowAbout English Learners

or Hebrew). Additionally, depending on culture and parental literacy, ELs can face a

number of challenges with regard to oral English language development, including

limited exposure to spoken English in the home.

Fact #3: Being bilingual promotes all areas of cognitive functioning.

But did you know…? People who speak two languages have also been shown to

have more efficient monitoring systems. In a study from the International Journal of

Cognitive Science, monolinguals and bilinguals responded similarly when their

brains' monitoring system was not under stress, but in conditions requiring high

monitoring demands, bilinguals were faster. The bilingual brain is used to handling

two languages at the same time, which aids in developing functional skills such as

inhibition, switching attention, and working memory.

Fact #4: Not all ELs are immigrants.

But did you know…? More than half of EL students were born in this country.

According to the National Education Association, second-generation students—

defined as children born in the U.S. to at least one immigrant parent—currently

constitute 23 percent of the nation’s children and 75 percent of elementary English

Learners. According to the Obama-Biden Transition Project, 75 percent of EL

students in grades K–5 and 57 percent of those in grades 6–12 are native-born.

Fact #5: Spanish is the most common mother tongue of English Learners in the U.S.

But did you know…? According to the Migration Policy Institute, English Learners

in the U.S. speak more than 150 languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and

French/Haitian Creole. Of the top 10 first languages spoken by ELs, six (Chinese,

Korean, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, and Hmong/Miao) are not based on the Latin

alphabet.

What does this mean for teachers?

The number of English Learners in the United States is growing rapidly, including

many states that have not previously had large immigrant populations. In an excerpt

from his book with fellow teacher Katie Hull Sypnieski, blogger Larry Ferlazzo looks

at a few basic ways to reach students who are learning English as well as the

subject at hand:

Modeling

Model for students what they are expected to do or produce, especially for new

skills or activities, by explaining and demonstrating the learning actions, sharing

your thinking processes aloud, and showing good teacher and student work

samples. Modeling promotes learning and motivation, as well as increasing

student self-confidence.

Rate of speech and wait time

Speak slowly and clearly, and provide students with enough time to formulate

their responses, whether in speaking or in writing. Remember, they are thinking

and producing in two or more languages! After asking a question, wait for a few

seconds before calling on someone to respond. This "wait time" provides all

students with an opportunity to think and process, and especially gives ELs a

needed period to formulate a response.

Use of non-linguistic cues

Use visuals, sketches, gestures, intonation, and other non-verbal cues to make

both language and content more accessible to students. Teaching with visual

representations of concepts can be hugely helpful to ELs.

Giving instructions

Give verbal and written instructions. This practice can help all learners,

especially ELs. In addition, it is far easier for a teacher to point to the board in

response to the inevitable repeated question, "What are we supposed to do?"

Check for understanding

Regularly check that students are understanding the lesson. After an

explanation or lesson, a teacher could say, "Please put thumbs up, thumbs

down, or sideways to let me know if this is clear, and it's perfectly fine if you

don't understand or are unsure, I just need to know." This last phrase is

essential. If you want students to respond honestly. Teachers can also have

students quickly answer on a Post-It note that they place on their desks. The

teacher can then quickly circulate to check responses.

The increasing number of English Learners entering the education system presents

unique challenges for teachers and educational leaders. While these students may

have certain learning needs in common, it is important to understand that the EL

population, like any population, is a great deal more diverse than one may think.

While the above list is certainly not exhaustive, consider incorporating them and

other strategies into your daily instruction to give your English Learners the

support they need.

      Project-Based Learning:      A Beneficial Approach for

English Learners

Project-based learning is a popular teaching practice built around student-driven

projects, done either independently or collaboratively, that are often shared with

one or more groups of students. This way, students are encouraged to learn by

doing, which may lead to more interest, excitement, and energy in the classroom.

The question is, can this practice apply to EL students, too?

The answer is a resounding yes. In 2012, for example, education practitioners

from Stanford University launched a new initiative, “Learning English in

action,” designed to help classroom teachers of English learners embrace and

incorporate the Common Core State Standards. Moving beyond the more

traditional practice of focusing on vocabulary and other aspects of language

acquisition, the Stanford initiative goes a step further by outlining ways for

students to “show what they know.” This particular effort was connected to ELA

standards, and, as one example, included an assignment asking students to do a

“deep dive” into the Gettysburg Address.

After wrestling with Lincoln’s famous Civil War speech, students would then delve

into other challenging documents, such as Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have a Dream”

speech. Finally, students would be given the chance to create their own persuasive

texts, after working closely with their teachers and their peers. Stanford education

professor Kenji Hakuta described the benefits of this approach with enthusiasm,

Project-Based Learning: ABeneficial Approach forEnglish Learners

saying this collaborative model “speeds up students’ language acquisition” by

moving the classroom “beyond the old, sequential mode of teaching grammar and

then having students apply their language knowledge to the real world.”  

The Stanford approach is designed for students who are at the intermediate level

with their English language skills. So, what should teachers do when they are

working with students at various other levels of language acquisition, who may

walk into the classroom knowing only a word or two of English? In New York City,

for example, students at one high school arrive with a rainbow-like array of native

languages, making English—regardless of skill level—the common classroom

language. An instructive article for teachers, “Mastering English through project-

based learning,” describes just such a classroom and walks teachers through a

sample lesson.

The lesson aims to help students grasp the scientific concept of hydroponics—

growing plants without soil. The teacher, Jordan Wolf, groups students together at

small tables and then puts them to work helping one another “label drawings with

leaves, stems, nodes, and soil, all in English.” The idea is to help the students

develop a working definition of the word “structure” by seeing how it applies to a

“spindly green bean shoot” situated before them in a cup of soil.

The article describes a joyously thriving classroom of students engaged in

conversation in English. Science teacher Schwerta Ratra points out that although

the students become “tongue-tied” when asked to address the whole class, they are

lively and talkative in their small groups. The benefit is that these EL students are

learning vocabulary and other language skills while working together and poring

over meaningful content.

Project-based learning puts ELs at the center of dynamic teaching practices, casting

students as active agents in their own learning. This is a departure from previous

teaching practices, according to Ratra, who says frankly, “We have evolved as

teachers.”

4 Surprising Ways Comics andGraphic Novels Can Benefit

English Learners

English Learners face a variety of challenges as they develop literacy skills in a new

language. In addition to learning clear-cut vocabulary and grammar rules, EL

students must also become proficient in understanding cultural context, expression,

and figurative speech in English. With all of these considerations, it can be difficult

to find materials that help ELs develop crucial reading skills while also covering

subject matter in an interesting and age-appropriate fashion.

Luckily, comics and graphic novels have found their way into the classroom as an

effective learning tool for ELs. Here are four surprising ways reading comics and

graphic novels can benefit English Learners.  

1. They explain figurative language

In an article on figurative language instruction for the English Learner, teacher

Barbara Palmer and her colleagues explained that idioms, metaphors, and other

figures of speech can be extremely difficult for ELs to decode. However, the

illustrated panels of comics and graphic novels provide a wealth of visual

information that give helpful context. For example, students can more easily infer

that the phrase "Penny for your thoughts" is an idiom if a panel shows two

characters having a discussion rather than literally exchanging money.    

4 Surprising Ways Comics andGraphic Novels Can BenefitEnglish Learners

2. They explore complex, age-appropriate interests

Since graphic novels have the length to support well-developed plots, storylines,

and characters, they can be used to teach complicated subjects that are appropriate

for older students. For example,  Dawn Wing taught her 11th-grade EL

students using Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, "Maus," which describes the

experiences of a Holocaust survivor. The literacy lessons Ms. Wing taught using the

graphic novel were much more accessible than a textbook and even inspired her

students to further their own studies about the Holocaust. Using illustrated

mediums such as graphic novels encourages older students to learn about subject

matter that is interesting and relevant to them while also providing visual support

for decoding.  

3. They demonstrate punctuation and emphasis

Although literacy skills often focus on silent reading or writing, oral reading skills

are just as important. On the bilingual education site Colorin Colorado, Karen Ford

explained the relationship of fluent reading and oral development in English for ELs.

"As students practice reading English text accurately, automatically, and

prosodically, they are gaining valuable information about the sounds and cadences

of spoken English," said Ford. The dialogue and writing style used in comics can be

useful in this capacity, as many comic strips use frequent punctuation and the

bolding of key words to demonstrate how a phrase would be said aloud. The

accompanying illustration gives additional visual clues to how the dialogue should

be read. Consider asking EL students to read aloud from comics or graphic novels to

practice their oral language development and reading fluency.  

4. They denote unfamiliar cultural norms

For EL students, challenges may arise not only from the complexities of learning a

new language, but from learning a new culture as well. A policy research brief

produced by the National Council of Teachers of English noted that EL students may

be facing a variety of socio-cultural factors that affect English language

learning. Unlike text-only passages, the visuals that accompany comic panels show

how speakers use facial expressions, gestures, and position when they speak. As in

traditional novels, short stories, and poetry, comics and graphic novels reinforce

cultural values, such as how children are expected to relate to their parents and

peers, and how to handle a wide range of social issues. The visual nature of

comics and graphic novels helps students make inferences and connections to

their own daily lives in a way that text-only resources cannot.

Comics and graphic novels may not be traditional classroom texts, but they offer a

wide range of opportunities for English Learners. Whether studying concrete

literacy concepts (such as inflection, emphasis, and punctuation) or more abstract

ideas (such as complex social issues, innuendo, and cultural norms), comics and

graphic novels provide engaging visual support for students. In your classroom,

look for age-appropriate comic strips or longer graphic novels to help ELs decode

new information, make inferences, and learn more about an unfamiliar culture.

Both Lexia's curriculum and assessment solutions help EL students develop critical

reading skills while providing educators with real-time student performance data

to pinpoint exact skill gaps and strengthen interventions.