50 Strategies: Section I

Dr. Megan J. Scranton

Neumann University

Theoretical Overview By 2030: More than 50% of school-age (K – 12)

population in U.S. will be ELLs Vital for teachers to understand language acquisition

research so they can provide scaffolding for students

This knowledge helps teachers plan instruction, interact verbally, correct mistakes, & assess ELLs

Goal: To produce academically successful students who stay in school & are given every opportunity to participate fully & equitably

Language Acquisition Theory

Traditional methods of teaching foreign language in the United States differ from how students acquire English

- More than repetitive drills & translating

long passages using dictionaries Linguists Krashen & Cummins have been

researching & offering new approaches to language acquisition

Krashen

Makes a distinction between language acquisition and language learning

What is the difference? Why is this distinction important?

Language Acquisition vs. Language Learning

Language Acquisition – unconscious learning of language in naturalistic settings; focus on meaning

Language Learning – conscious rule learning in formal instructional settings; emphasis on form

Language Acquisition

Gradual Natural Based on receiving and understanding

messages Building a listening vocabulary Slowly attempting verbal production of the

language Highly supportive, non-stressful setting

Language Acquisition & the Teacher

Teacher is responsible for providing the understandable language

(comprehensible input) Supports necessary for students to understand Using approaches and materials that add context

to the language (props, gestures, pictures) Rely on using assessment of learner’s needs,

present level, and motivation

Comfortable Rate

Need to be allowed to move into speaking at a comfortable rate

Students must hear and understand messages and build a listening vocab first, before speaking (silent or preproduction period)

Must still involve the ELLs in classroom activities, but structured so the ELLs can participate at a comfortable level How? (Turn & Talk)

Leo van Lier

Most important aspect of effective teaching is understanding the learner Do you agree?

ZPD AAA curriculum

Awareness Autonomy Authenticity

Lier’s AAA Curriculum Awareness: Attention & the role of perception are

vital for teachers & learners

- Must know what doing & why

- Be consciously engaged

- Reflect on the learning process Autonomy: Self-regulation, motivation, & deep

processing – must take responsibility, be accountable, & have free choice in learning activities

Authenticity: Teaching & learning language as it is used in life, being relevant, & basing all learning activities on true communication

Stages of Second Language Acquisition

• Preproduction (AKA Silent Period): Communicates with gestures, actions, & formulaic speech; silent; building receptive vocab. (0 – 6 months after starting L2)

• Early Production: Can label & categorize info.; can say, “I don’t understand” (6 months – 1 year)

• Speech Emergence: Use language purposefully; can produce complete sentences (1 – 3 years)

• Intermediate Fluency: Can produce connected narrative; can use reading & writing within the context of a lesson; can resolve conflicts verbally; can write answers to higher-level questions (3 – 5 years)

• Advanced Fluency: Cognitive academic language production (3 – 7 years)

KEY POINTS Second language

develops much like the first language

Learning a 2nd language is complex

People learn language at different rates

Social language is different than academic language

First language development affects 2nd language development

Students can transfer what they know in their 1st language to their 2nd language

ELLs are diverse Cultural differences can

affect students’ understanding

Collaboration b/t classroom & ESL teachers is essential

Academic standards are for all students

Classroom Environment Students need many opportunities for language

interaction A classroom where children work together to solve

problems and produce projects supports their language development

Give them authentic reasons to communicate & support in refining their language production

Provides students with realization that their verbal communication is not always understood by others

Help students move from receptive, semantic processing (listening to understand) to expressive, syntactic processing (formation of words & sentences)

In 1991 Shifts started…

SHIFTS

Product to process focus Teacher-controlled to student-involved

classrooms Preplanned, rigid curricular to flexible,

open-ended curricula Measuring only performance to gauging

competence & potential Praising correct answers to building on

approximations

How?

Seven Functions of Language

Understanding the functions of language plays an important role in documenting students’ growth in language

Most ELLs will acquire instrumental functions first, to have their needs met

Functions of language: Instrumental Regulatory Representation Interactional Personal Heuristic Imaginative

Seven Functions of Language, cont…

Instrumental – To cause things to happen Regulatory – To control events or the behavior of

others Representation – To communicate facts or knowledge Interactional – To get along with others Personal – To express personality, feelings, or

emotions Heuristic – To acquire knowledge Imaginative – To create an imaginative world for

pleasure or play

Affective Filter

Role of emotions on acquisition of language When a learner is placed in a stressful

situation (where language production is demanded), the student’s ability to learn/produce language is impaired What are the implications of this for the classroom

teacher?

BICS vs CALP

Jim Cummins differentiates between

BICS - Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills

(social language, 1 - 3 years to acquire)

CALP - Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (academic language, 5 – 7 years or more to acquire)

BICS vs CALPBICS = Social Language (1 – 3 yrs. to develop)• The day-to-day language needed to interact socially with

other people• Social interactions usually occur in a meaningful context• Conversations are not demanding cognitively, so the

language required is not specialized

CALP = Academic Language (5 – 7 yrs. or longer to develop)• Refers to academic learning about subject area content

material; specialized language• Academic language acquisition includes skills such as

comparing, classifying, synthesizing, evaluating, & inferring

Cummins’s Quadrant

Helps us understand what must be added to instruction to make it comprehensible to students

Identifies 2 dimensions of language: Its cognitive demand Its context embeddedness

- By adding context, students’ have better

understanding of cognitively demanding language

Strategies that Support the Progress of ELLs

Planning language objectives for lessons in all curricular areas

Building academic vocabulary development into all lessons

Building & activating background knowledge Providing opportunities for extended academic English

interaction Integrating vocabulary & concept review throughout

lessons Providing both modeling & feedback related to language

usage in both speech & writing

Five Premises of Effective Instruction of ELLs*

Comprehensible Input Increase verbal interaction in classroom

activities Provide instruction that contextualizes

language Reduce anxiety of the students Offer opportunities for active involvement of

the students

The Role of Assessment

Beginning ELLs often understand much more than they are able to express

Therefore, teachers must create a variety of ways for ELLs to demonstrate their understanding

Teachers need to adjust their teaching strategies as a result of assessments

“Use data to drive instruction” - Differentiation

Jigsaw Activity

Observation and Anecdotal Records Performance Sampling Language Development Profiles Portfolio Assessment

Conclusion: It is crucial that teachers recognize the essential ways in which they must adapt lessons & assessments to meet the unique needs of their ELLs. Effective Strategies to follow…