IRIS modules: Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices

IRIS Module 3: Completion Guidelines

Module #3

Go to the website: http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/Click at the top on IRIS Center ResourcesThen Click IRIS Resource LocatorClick on DiversityClick on ModulesScroll down and click on the module that is titled: Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices

Click on, browse through, and complete each section: a) challenge; b) thoughts; c) perspectives & resources; e) wrap upComplete the advanced organizers (attached) as you go through the module—type your responses under the corresponding headings. Upload to D2L on the assigned due date.

This module should take about 1-2 hours to complete.

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IRIS Module 3:Teaching English Language Learners:

Effective Instructional Practices

1.What are some general instructional practices that can be beneficial to students who are learning to speak English?

One can activate background knowledge which helps the student make learning easier and more meaningful, stimulates their interest in the subject matter, and boosts motivation. Teaching vocabulary helps ELLs to make sense of English, and to understand what they are reading and hearing. Teaching reading comprehension influences whether ELL students can understand content across subject areas. Because each subject area requires some reading, all teachers should incorporate reading-comprehension strategies into their instruction. Another way to support English language learners is to differentiate instruction. This involves presenting information or allowing students to access information, encourages students to make sense of the information, and allows students to demonstrate their learning. Teachers can support ELLs by providing opportunities to practice not only their academic skills but also their use of the English language. Before students practice a task, teachers should ensure that they understand its demands, both linguistic and academic. In addition to creating ample opportunities for practice, teachers should provide corrective feedback, constructive comments on the student’s performance.

2.What are the common misconceptions about students who are learning a second language?

Math is easy for English language learners because numbers are universal. Immersion is the best way to learn a second language. A student’s first language interferes with his or her ability to learn a second language. It takes between five to seven years to become proficient enough in a second language to succeed in an English-only classroom.

3.Click on all the tabs on page 2 to read about all five stages of language acquisition.Explain the difference between BICS & CALP.

BICS refers to social skills that an ELL might use in the lunchroom or on the playground to talk to their friends and such. CALP is the language skills an ELL student needs to succeed in the classroom.

4.List some ways teachers can focus on comprehensible input.

Monitoring their speech, modeling what they want the student to do, and using a variety of modalities in their instruction

5.Complete the activity:Culturally Responsive Instruction In addition to sheltered instruction, teachers should provide instruction in a culturally responsive way. When doing so, teachers access their students'

cultural knowledge, prior experiences (e.g., personal, cultural, academic), and interests during lessons. When providing culturally responsive instruction, teachers accept, acknowledge, and value their students' differences, thereby increasing their students' success in the classroom. Look at the list to see some of the things a teacher can do to promote culturally responsive instruction. Select from the drop-down menu to learn more about each. Describe each below:

You can communicate high expectations by calling on students and expecting things out of them. A teacher who believes in their students has students who believe in themselves. You can promote learning within the context of culture by varying their instructional techniques to better meet the student’s cultural needs. You can use culturally mediated instruction to make sure that students understand multiple different ways to interpret information. A teacher should also facilitate learning by getting students involved in the lessons, rather than just having them repeat factual information. Also teachers should encourage a learning atmosphere that is cooperative, collaborative, and community oriented.

6.Complete the activity:Based on Cummins' framework, do you think the lesson taught in the Challenge is cognitively demanding or undemanding? Is context embedded or reduced? Explain your answers.

I thought that the lesson was cognitively demanding and the context was embedded. If I did not have a basic understanding letters and was not able to read the words on the bottle I would have had no clue what she was talking about. I do not think that her hand signals were clear enough to engage a non-native speaker and keep them interested in what was going on.

7.After your reading, now what are some general instructional practices that can be beneficial to students who are learning to speak English that you can now add after what you have learned so far?

I think that just being engaging visually and audibly and making sure that ELL students are involved in the lesson is what is really going to help them learn the language.

8.What can activating background knowledge do?

Activating background knowledge makes learning easier and more meaningful, stimulates interest in the subject matter, boosts motivation.

9.Teaching vocabulary is important. Complete the activity: Read the math word problem below. In two weeks George will attend Boy Scout camp. His mother will provide ingredients for s'mores. There are nine boys in his troop. Each Scout will prepare two s'mores. Each s'more has marshmallows, one half of a bar of chocolate, and one graham cracker. Calculate the quantity of ingredients George's mom will have to provide for all of the boys.

Are there any words above that a student from a different cultural background might not understand? List them here: One half, calculate, quantity, attending, each, provide, boy scout, ingredient, S’mores, troop, marshmallows, bar, graham cracker.

10.As a teacher, how can you help a student who has recently moved to the United States to complete word problems such as this one?

I could teach the vocab words a head of time, model them in the classroom, encouraging the students to rephrase the problems, and ask the students to illustrate the problems.

11.Describe strategies to increase comprehensionBefore reading:

Preview words from the passage, using visuals whenever possible. Check for student comprehension by asking the student questions and actively listening to his or her responses. Activate background knowledge by asking students to brainstorm what they already know about a topic. Ask students to predict what they think will happen in a story when reading narrative text or what they think they will learn when reading informational text. Before reading assignments in English, allow students to read them in their native language to aid in their comprehension.

12.During Reading:

Teach students to monitor their understanding as they read. Teach students strategies to use context clues and knowledge of word parts to determine the meaning of unknown words. Ask students to identify the main idea for each section of text they read. Make nonfiction texts available to older ELLs who are reading below grade level. Older students may find nonfiction written at their reading level to be more interesting than fiction written at a level that they are able to read but which may not be appropriate to their reading level. Use multicultural literature to increase student interest.

13.After reading:

Ask students to generate and answer their own “teacher-like” questions. Provide students with question stems to help them come up with questions of their own. Ask students to

summarize or retell what they read. Teach students to use or create visuals (e.g., charts, diagrams, timelines, semantic webs) to improve their understanding.

14.What does differentiated instruction mean?

This is where the teacher adjusts their teaching to the student, rather then having the student adjust to the teacher’s teaching. This can be done by presenting information or allowing students to access information, encourages students to make sense of the information, and allows students to demonstrate their learning.

15.When providing opportunities for ELLs to practice skills or concepts, teachers should:

They should allow their students the choice of multiple different mediums to show what they have learned and let them have the opportunity to work in pairs or groups.

16.Please provide additional comments and details about what you learned by doing this module. Include any past ways of think being transformed in to new ways of thinking.

Most of what I learned in this module went along with what I had already thought. But I have learned that about what it might be like to be in the shoes of an ELL student. I learned that it would definitely be helpful to represent things visual with either graphics or hand motions, especially since as a music educator I am more focused on sound and audible things.

17.Overall what were the three things you found interesting from the module?

I found Cummins’ Frameworks to be very interesting. The idea that some kinds of language comprehension is envelopes different ideas for learning. I also found BICS and CALP to be interesting as well. Also, the lesson where I had to understand a Spanish teacher and try and do the lesson was very interesting, because it helped to put me in the shoes of aa ELL student.

18.Over all what were three issues you disagreed with from the module.

I really did not disagree with this module. All of these techniques could be incredibly effective in teaching ELL students in the classroom

19.Overall, what stereotypes were revealed? How has this module impacted your own feelings, believes, and personal stereotype you might have had or encountered?

It really has not reveled any stereotypes to me. I still feel the same way about teaching ELL students as I did before, just now I have more ideas on how to effectively reach these kids.

20.On a scale from 1-10 (10=best), how valuable was this module? Explain why you chose this number.

I would say seven. I got a couple of new ideas from it but it wasn’t something that absolutely changed my life.