Three Foundational, Research-Based
Issues in ELL Instruction
Issues to Guide our Instruction for ELL Academic SuccessPresented by Marcia Gaudet • ELL Instructional Coach
I
Our Objectives today:
Our Content Objective today:I can identify three foundational issues in ELL instruction that have been identified in research.
Our Language Objective today:Pre: I will identify and describe concerns I have with instruction for ELL students by thinking, writing down, and discussing these with a partner.
Post: At the end of our time together today I will identify which issue category one concern fit under, discuss with a partner one idea on how to support and deal with this concern, and write it on an exit card.
What are three foundational issues in ELL?
1. Acculturation
2. Language Acquisition
3. Classroom Instruction that Works
Stephen Krashen’s 5-pronged theory of Language Aquisition1. Language acquisition is a subconscious and intuitive process much like how children pick up their first language.
2. The monitor: If students learn language through rules rather than naturally fluency will be delayed.
3. The natural order of acquisition: ELs will first acquire that which has the most meaning, form comes later.
4. Providing comprehensible input – to acquire language.
5. The affective filter: a cognitive shut-down if anxious.
What challenges are we facing?
No prior literacy
Literacy in L1
Literacy + study of English
Sociolinguistic DevelopmentLevel 6
Advanced Fluency Abstract language more accessible May need help with college essays
Level 5
Advanced Fluency 5 – 7 years Decontextualized, abstract vocab
SD Exits ELs
Level 4 4.8 Composite
Intermediate Fluency 3 - 5 years 12,000 receptive words 4.0 Read/Write
3 - 5 years to attain
Level 3 Often quiet, don’t
Speech Emergence: 1 - 3 years 7,000 receptive words ask questions
2-3 years to attain
Level 2 1,000 receptive words
Early Production: 6 months to 1 year
Level 1
Pre-Production: 0-6 months 1-2 receptive words
Note: In America 6 year olds in English speaking homes have 10,000 to 24,000 words of English in 1st grade when learning to read.
Stage CharacteristicsThe student…
Approx.Time
Teacher prompt
Level 1Preproduction
•Has minimal comprehension•Does not verbalize•Nods “yes” and “No.”•Draws and points
0 – 6 months
•Show me…•Circle the…•Where is…?•Who has…?
Level 2Early Production
•Has limited comprehension•Produces one or two word responses.•Uses key words and familiar phrases.•Uses present-tense verbs.
6 months to 1 year
•Yes/no questions•Either/or questions•Who…..?•What…?•How many….?
Level 3Speech Emergence
•Has good comprehension•Can produce simple sentences•Makes grammar and pronunciation errors•Frequently misunderstands jokes
1 – 3 years
•Why…?•How…?•Explain…•Questions requiring phrase or short-sentence answers.
Level 4Intermediate Fluency
•Has excellent comprehension•Makes few grammatical errors
3 -5 years
•What would happen if…?•Why do you think…?•Questions requiring more than a sentence response
•(
Age & Rate of Acquisition of Academic
LanguagePrior Academic Experience
Age on Arrival
Years needed in School to Acquire CALP
Students with literacy in the backgrounds
5-7 year oldsMay take 5-8 years
8-11 year old May take 4-5 years
12 years & older
May not catch up in 5 years.
Students without literacy in their backgrounds
Academic English takes 9-13 years to develop native speaker standards.
How we serve ELLs in the SFSD
Level 4,5, & 6 ELL
Regular Content & Classrooms
Level 2 & 3 ELL
Regular Classrooms & Content
Level 1 ELL
Immersion
Centers
Elem – Pull-out/Push-in
MS,HS - Sheltered
SFSD Serving 1800+ ELLs
270 Level 1 Immersion Programs
1300 + 2s & 3s
S.I.O.P. training is coming!
BICS & CALP
BICS - basic interpersonal communication skills (social language)– 1 to 2 years to acquire, context embedded
CALP - cognitive academic language proficiency (academic language)– 5 to 7 years, context reduced
To facilitate language learning we must re-embed lessons in context and make the language accessible and comprehensible to all our learners.
Examples of BICS & CALP
BICS…Social LanguageListening: Follows general classroom directions
Speaking: Converses easily about social situations with peers and teachers. May speak English without an accent.
Reading: may decode reading material with ease, but may not comprehend what is read.
Writing: Can fill out school forms. Can find and copy the answers to questions in textbooks.
CALP…Academic English
Listening: Can follow specific directions for academic tasks.
Speaking: Expresses reasons for opinions. Asks for clarification during academic tasks.
Reading: Reads academic materials with good comprehension.
Writing: Can write an essay supporting a point of view.
Nurture Ways we are less like people
IndividualUnique
Experiences,
Insights, reflections
ACCULTURATION
The adaptation to a new
Culture: language, etc.
ENCULTURATIONHow we learn to interpret the world-culture of caregivers:
language, beliefs, tastes, humor, behavior, etc.
THE BASICS OF BEING HUMANThings all are born with: Sensory abilities, linguistic wiring, genetic &
biological heritage, innate abilities, etc.
Ways we are less like people.
Ways we are more like people.
Acculturation - the process of adaptation and integration into a new cultural environment
(Collier).
OR – the chaos of moving…
between cultures!
Home culture….School culture 3rd Culture Kids!
The Transition Experience
Settled
Engagement
CommitmentStatusIntimacy
Settled
Re-Engagement
CommitmentStatusIntimacy
Leavin
g
TransitionEntering
Unsett
ling
Chaos
ResettlingPreparationCelebrationDenial
StatuslesnessAnxiety
ObservationIntroductionVulnerability
Unpacking your mind
Lasts about 1 year
The better youleave the betteryou enter.
Everyone goes through acculturation when they move – whether it is someone moving from the US to another country
or from another country to the US!
Cycle of Culture ShockCycle of Culture Shock
Adjustment/Recovery Basic needs met & routine
established Improvement in transition
language skills More positive experiences with
new culture. May experience stress in ‘home’
culture.
Mental Isolation Misses ‘home’ culture. Feels like outsider in new. May limit or avoid all contact
with new culture. Spends more or all of one’s time
with own cultural group.
Fascination Finds the new interesting and
exciting. Listens to the new sounds,
intonations, and rhythms of the new language.
Tries doing/saying things in the new culture/language that are interesting.
Tries out new activities, words and attitudes with a lot of enthusiasm.
Disenchantment Encounters Problems.
-At First: Basic Needs.
-Later: More Complex problems.
Misunderstandings Related to language, customs, mannerisms occur.
Cognition & Culture
The concept of things that particular people use as models of perceiving, relating, and interpreting their environment.
The process by which individuals perceive, relate to, and interpret their environment.
Therefore: Any effort to assess or provide intervention with cognitive development
must be done within the cultural context.
Acculturation - the process of adaptation and integration into a new cultural environment
(Collier).
ELL students go through many phases of development as they are with us…
Looking at these phases and the reasons for them can help us to better understand & accommodate for the needs created by these factors.
Take a minute and share with a partner, an experience you have personally had as a new person in a new culture: a new food you have tried, a lesson learned the hard way, a wrong assumption you made, etc.
Common Side Effects of Acculturation Process
Heightened Anxiety
Confusion in Locus of Control
Withdrawal
Silence/unresponsiveness
Response Fatigue
Code-switching
Distractibility
Resistance to Change
Disorientation
Stress Related Behaviors
Acculturation can also be referred to as Culture Shock
These are NORMAL side effects of acculturation NOT indications of disabilities.
The appropriate intervention for these is to ‘treat’ the impact of culture shock, which is not a disability.
Terms you will hear… ELL - English Language Learner LEP - Limited English Proficiency ESL - English as a second language ENL - English as a new languageTESOL - Teachers of English to
speakers of other languages
Who are ELLs?
Who are ELL students in South Dakota?– Refugee students - placed through the UN & Secondary refugee students (no financial help)– Students who are immigrating on other types of
visas: Ethiopia - Diversity visa, Mexico, etc.– Students born in the USA whose home language
is other than English– International students who have been adopted!– Students who are children of visiting
professionals and higher ed students (studying at Augustana, etc.)
Where do ELLs come from?
In the SFSD there are over 50 language groups
There is no Me without You - by Melissa Greene - Crisis in Ethiopia
At the Immersion Center we are now seeing students from:
• Iraq, Yemen (Arabic)• Somalia,Kenya,Tanzania,
Congo,Ethiopia, Burundi • Burma, Thailand• Mexico, Guatemala
What do teachers need to know to be effective with ELLs?
1. If teachers speak English, they have what students need!
• Speak clearly, not too fast, explain idioms
2. Hands on learning, visuals, props, etc. • Marzano’s Nonlinguistic Representation, context embedded
3. Remember 90%+ of communication with ELL’s is nonverbal - they see & feel everything! • They need to feel safe and that they belong in order for their brains to learn.
Classroom Instructional Resources
Marzano’s Classroom Instruction that Works with ELLs
Marzano’s Building Background Knowledge
SIOP is coming!
SIOP!
Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol • Lesson Preparation
• Building Background
• Comprehensible Input
• Strategies
• Interaction
• Practice/Appliction
• Lesson Delivery
•
Sheltered Instructional Observation ProtocolS.I.O.P. – 8 Components, 30 Features
Lesson Preparation
Building Background
Comprehensible Input
Strategies
Interaction
Practice/Application
Lesson Delivery
Review/Assessment
Comprehensible Input:Nonlinguistic
RepresentationWords alone cannot convey meaning to ELLs.
Nonlinguistic representation help ELLs.
Nonlinguistic representations include real objects, pictures, pictorgraphs, diagrams, physical models, video clips, recorded sounds, gestures, and movement.
Seeing is remembering.
Maisha ya kipepeo
Demale anajaalia ya wazima kwamba alikuwa yai mbolea na wa kiume. Hatches ya yai katika vidogo larba.Ya larva anakula na kukua kiasi kubwa. The larva inaona yenyewe na aina twig na nje ngumu shell. A kikamilifu-grown wazima kipepeo anaibuka kutoka chrysalis. Wazima kuishi kwa muda mfupi tu. Wao hawawezi kula; wao kunywa tu kupitia stra yao kama cirkel proboscis. Watakuwa kuruka, mate, na kuzaliana.
Kipepeo LifecycleMetamorphosis ya Butterfly ya Rouanez
wote yai
yai
Watu wazima wa kike aliandika kwamba alikuwa yai fertilzed na wa kiume
Yai hatches katika larva vidogo (kiwavi)
kiwavi ya kula na kukua kiasi kubwa
kiwavi ya kujishikiza jani la na aina ngumu nje shell
Kijani Pupa
A butterfly kikamilifu mzima anaibuka kutoka chrystalis ya
Ndani ya Chrysalis mabadiliko ya kiwavi katika kipepeo
Watu wazima kuishi kwa muda mfupi tu
Marzano’s 6 Steps for Effective Vocabulary Instruction:
1. The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the new term. Research shows that just giving students a definition does not “appear to be a useful instructional tool, particularly in the initial stages of learning a new word.” Therefore, the teacher uses conversational descriptions, explanations, and examples when talking about the word with students.
Question: What does this look like with ELL students? • Talk with an elbow partner
Marzano’s 6 Steps for Effective Vocabulary Instruction:
1. The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
2. Students restate the explanation of the new term in their own words.
3. Students create a nonlinguistic representation of the term.
4. Students periodically do activities that help them add to their knowledge of vocabulary terms.
5. Periodically students are asked to discuss the terms with one another.
6. Periodically students are involved in games that allow them to play with the terms.
Resources Available to teachers…
Acculturation: – ELL Teachers - ELL Working Files
– Home School Liaisons
Language Acquisition– WIDA Website; Can Do Descriptors
– Teacher & Parent ACCESS Reports
Classroom Instruction that Works – Document Library – ELL Handbook
– Instructional Resources Wikki-ELL: SIOP
What are three foundational issues in ELL?
1. Acculturation
2. Language Acquisition
3. Classroom Instruction that Works
Our Objectives today:
Our Content Objective today:I can identify three foundational issues in ELL instruction that have been identified in research.
Our Language Objective today:Pre: I will identify and describe concerns I have with instruction for ELL students by thinking, writing down, and discussing these with a partner.
Post: At the end of our time together today I will identify which issue category one concern fit under, discuss with a partner one idea on how to support and deal with this concern, and write it on an exit card.