Practical strategies for integrating multilingual students in university classes
Dr. Valia Spiliotopoulos Director, Centre for English Language Learning, Teaching and Research (CELLTR) Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Faculty of Education, SFU
Overview 1. GuidingQues-onsandIssues2. Teachingandlearningcontext:Interna-onaliza-oninhighereduca-on3. Ourstudents4. Speaking,Listening,andGroupWork5. ReadingandWri-ng6. Assessment&Feedback7. Concludingremarks
Guiding questions
1. Howmightwerethinkcurriculumandinstruc-ongiventherealityofinterna-onalized‘EnglishMediumofInstruc-on’ins-tu-onsandthemul-lingualcontext?
2. Whatarethemosteffec-vestrategiesthatmightassistfaculty/instructorstointegratemul-linguallearnersintheirclasses?
Defining terms • EAL• EMI• Mul-lingual/plurilingual• ContentandLanguageIntegratedLearning;Content-BasedInstruc-on;Disciplinary
languageandliteracy
Teaching and learning context
Faculty/Instructor Perceptions • Instructorsexpressconcernsthatinadequatelanguageskillsare
impac-ngtheacademicsuccessofsomemul-lingual/EALstudents.
• Instructorsarefrustratedwiththechallengesofteachingmul-lingualstudents
• Mul-lingualstudentsdonotnecessarilyneedtospeakEnglishtofunc-oneffec-velyinVancouver…lackofprac-ceinEnglishimpactsthefurtherdevelopmentofproficiency
From periphery to curricular core
• NeedforafundamentalandsignificantshicregardingEnglishlanguageservicesandsupport,movingfromadeficitremedia-onperspec-vetoanapproachofdevelopmentalsupport
• EALsupportsmustmovefromtheperipherytothecurricularcore/mainstream
Myths of ‘mainstreamed’ multilingual students • Theywillslowtheclassdown(make-meforques-ons)• Groupworkbecomeschallenging• Mul-lingualstudentsworkdemandstoomuch-metoreadandmark• Theydon’tpar-cipateinclass• Theydon’tknowaboutCanadaandtopicscoveredinclass–buttheycancontributewhattheydoknowabouttheirowncultureandofferuniqueperspec-ves
• Theyneedtotryharder–canbetrueforboth;theyarenolesscapable• Domes-cstudentsholdresentmentagainstmul-lingualstudents;inclusivedialogue
Myths • MythofTransience(Rose,1985)–“studentsneedacourseortwotoremediateor‘fix’aperceiveddeficiencyinwri-ng.Assump-onthatifonecanwritewellinonecourse,onecanwritewellinallcoursesandalldisciplines”
The plurilingual context in multicultural Canada
• “Plurilingualismdoesnotdescribeseparatecompetencesinfixedandlabelledlanguages,butviewslanguagesas”mobileresources”withinanintegratedrepertoire”(Moore,2010)
Our Students • “Theyarehere”(Shaunessy,1998)• China,India,SouthKorea,Taiwan,France,Germany,SaudiArabia,etc.• Interna-onalstudents• ‘Parachute’kids• Genera-on1.5
Student Success • Since‘theyarehere’–howcanwehelpthemsucceedoncetheyarehere?• Standardizedtests/GPAfromhighschool–poorindicatorsofacademicsuccess• Whatisourroleinsuppor-ngallstudents’academicsuccess?
Learning Styles and Cultural Issues • ‘Eye’vs.‘Ear’learners• Teacher-centredclassroom–notaccustomedtodialogue,discussion,askingques-ons,andpeerreview
• Roleofindividualchoice• Toleranceofambiguity• Privateownershipofintellectualproperty(academicintegrity)Source:Hafernik&Wyan(2016).Integra(ngMul(lingualStudentsintoCollegeClassrooms:Prac(calAdviceforFaculty
Inclusive classrooms: Some strategies • Adoptanaotudeof‘difference-as-resource’,ratherthan‘difference-as-deficit’• Helpstudentsbecomemembersoftheacademyandengageinacademicculture• Helpstudentsbecomeinsidersintheirdiscipline(eachdisciplinehasitsownspecificdiscourse)
Inclusive Classrooms • “Helpstudentsimagineforthemselvestheprivilegeofbeing‘insiders’,andimaginethattheyhavearighttospeakandbeheard.Thestudentsineffecthavetoassumeprivilegewithouthavingany”(Bartholomae,2003)
Types of Knowledge students need for academic success
• Linguis-c–i.e.vocabularyandgrammar• Pragma-c–communica-vetasks• Schema-c–backgroundknowledge(content;concepts)
Critical Incident #1
• Instructor breaks students up in small teams; some students in the team speak to each other in their home language; other students feel excluded; instructor feels disrespected
How can I view my learners’ bilingualism as an asset to the learning environment, yet still ensure everyone feels included, as well as encourage EAL learners to communicate in English?
Critical Incident #2 I have noticed that my students have bought a translated book of the textbook I’m using. They have understood the concepts and quantitative skills expected in the course, but can’t articulate them in long answer questions in English on the exam. How can I assess them so that their learning of the concepts/skills is recognized, even though their English language use does not accurately represent what they know?
Critical Incident #3 I have noticed that my students’ in-class writing is quite different in terms of language use for take-home assignments. How can I assess students’ own work and design assignments that prevent plagiarism?
Academic Speaking Tasks • Speeches• Debates• Leadingdiscussions• Presenta-ons• Smallgroupdiscussions
• Interac-onswithfacultyandpeers(inperson/onthephone)
• Peerinstruc-on
Academic Speaking • Beawareofanxietyandcreate‘low-stakes’tasksandlotsofsmallgroupdiscussion-me
• Giveclearguidelinesandclarifyrolesinteampresenta-ons• Makeassessmentcriteriaexplicit(i.e.rubrics)• Usespeechesandpresenta-onsgivenbyprofessionalsasmodels(includethosewithanaccent)
Academic Speaking • Encouragestudentstolookuppronuncia-on(intelligibility,notana-ve-speaker)• Encourageprac-ce(recordings)• Encouragestudentstodrawupontheirindividualknowledge(cultural,non-Englishwordtoexplainconcept).
• Consider‘plurilingualpedagogies’wherestudentscanusetheirfirst/homelanguagetotranslateorunderstandaconceptasameansofdevelopingdisciplinarylanguageinEnglish.
Academic Listening Tasks (or ‘Comprehensive Input’)
• Lectures• Panels(grouppresenta-ons• Presenta-ons(student/instructor/guestspeaker)• Videos/mul-mediapresenta-ons• Podcasts• Direc-ons/instruc-onsforclassroomac-vi-es,assignments,exams
Active Listening Strategies (Promoting Comprehension)
• Knowledgeofvocabularyandexpressionsparamount;needtoteachexplicitly• Encouragestudentstodoreadingsbeforeclass• Useandemphasizecuesandmarkersofimportantinfo• Encourageac-velisteningthroughnotetaking• Askstudentstowritedownwhattheyhavelearnedorques-onstheyhave(anonymously)
• Havepeersevaluateclasspresenta-ons• Askstudentstoincludeques-onsorcommentsonstudentpresenta-onsonon-linediscussionforuminLMS
Academic Listening Strategies • Considerusingamicrophone• Exposuretoaccentsbeneficial• Avoidspeakingwithyourbacktotheclasswhenwri-ngontheboard(studentsneedvisualcues)
• Repeatques-onsorcommentsfromstudents• Useavarietyofdeliverymethods• UseLMStouploadlecturepodcasts,PowerPointslides,assignments,andotherclassinforma-on.
Speaking & Listening: Small Group Activities
• Focusoncommunica-veinterac-on• Createaspaceforeveryonetospeak• Encouragehandoutsandself-reflec-veac-vi-esforac-velistening• Assigngroupstomaximizeinclusiveness:
– Randomly(studentsdrawnumbers)– Students’contentinterest/assignmentpreference– 3to5students/group– Rotategroupsforeachassignment
Academic Reading • Readingacademictexts–acogni,velydemandingtask• Addi-onalpersistencerequiredofmul-linguallearnerstoengagewithacademictexts
• Mul-lingualstudentsshouldnotbelookingupeveryunfamiliarword;studentsshouldkeepreadingandguessmeaningfromcontext
• Considerprovidingsomeclass-meforcertainreadings(jigsawac-vity)• Importantforstudentstoannotate(keywordsandphrases),summarize,andaskques-ons
Academic Reading • Studentsshouldnotenotonlylistsofvocabularywords,butwordphrases(colloca-onincorpuslinguis-cs:www.linguee.com)
• Consideraddi-onalresourcesor‘modified’material• Encouragepeerreview(orreadingotherstudents’wri-ng)• Alwaysprovideandreviewcomprehensionques-onswithstudents,highligh-ngkeyconcepts,disciplinaryvocabularyandphrases
Second language writers: What differences do we see?
• Writers?• Texts?• Wri-ngprocess?• …otherstuff?
Academic Writing
• Canagarajah(2006:603):view‘diverseliteracytradi-ons’asa‘resource,notaproblem’
some things to consider about l2 writers
• Secondlanguageacquisi-ontakes*me• Learnersmustbedevelopmentallyreadytoacquirewhatisbeingpresentedtothem;teachingisnoguaranteeoflearning.
• “Rule”knowledge,,doesnotguaranteeprac(calknowledge(i.e.,accuratespontaneouslanguageuse).
• NotallL2writersofdifferentoreventhesamelanguagebackgroundsarethesame;notalllanguageerrorshavethesamecause.
See:Williams,J.(2002).Undergraduatesecondlanguagewritersinthewri-ngcenter.JournalofBasicWri(ng,21,73–91.
Uniqueness of L2 writers’ processes and texts (Silva, 1993)
• TEXT
– L2writers’textsgenerallyseemtobeshorter– L2writerstendtomakemoreerrorsoverall– L2writers’textstendtoreceiveloweroverall“quality”ra-ngsfromreaders– L2writers’textualstructuresmaymoreocendeviatefromexpectedWestern/NorthAmericandiscoursepanerns
• PROCESS
– L2writerstendtodolessplanningingeneral,andspendmore-me‘geongstarted’(understandingthetopic,comingupwithideas,genera-ngmaterialfortheassignment)
– L2writerstendtohaveaslowerwri-ngprocess,pausingmoreocen– L2writerstendtospendless-mereviewing,rereading,revising
However… • Generaliza-onsbasedon“L2writer”orL1iden-tyarenot(always)helpful:genera-on1.5,transna-onalmigra-on,”Book”userofEnglishvs“ear”user,etc.
STEPS FORWARD • Moreexplicitteachingof:
– Expecta-onsingeneral(length,structure,process,etc.)– Wri-ngstrategies– Revising(workshops,inclass,etc.)
• Ac-vi-estoconsider:
– Brainstorming/freewri-ngw/oralcomponent– Peerfeedback– Bothwrinenandoralinstructorfeedback– Low-stakes/wri-ng-to-learnac-vi-es
L2 writers and academic integrity • L2writersmaybemorelikelyto:• Relymoreheavilyonlanguagefromsourcetextswhenwri-ngsummaries(Shi,2004)• Havetroubledis-nguishingbetween“properly”paraphrasedtextsandthosewithinappropriatetextualborrowing(Chandrasegaran,2000)
• “Plagiarize”uninten-onally(e.g.,engageinpatchwri-ng,misunderstandcita-onprac-ces,notacknowledgedifferencebetweensecondaryandprimarysources)(Pecorari,2003)
• Seestrategiessuchasmemorizing,copying,andimita-ngasusefulorposi-vetoolsforlearningtowrite(Bloch,2012)
• Lackconfidenceorfeelunableto“usetheirownwords”(Fazel&Kowkabi,2013)• Havedifferentunderstandingsofthemeaninganduseof“commonknowledge”(Chandrasoma,Thompson,&Pennycook,2004)
STEPS FORWARD
• Shicfocusfrom“prototypicalplagiarism”to,e.g.,patchwri-ngandinappropriatetextualborrowing
• Preven-onvs.detec-on(“know-what”and“know-how”)• “Designingout”plagiarism(e.g.,changingtasksandassessmentsyear-by-year)• Breakingdownassignments(Fazel&Kowkabi,2014)• Explicitteachingofconven-ons–linguis-c,cultural,anddisciplinary• Respondingpedagogicallynotpuni-vely
Treatable & untreatable errors • Atreatableerroris"relatedtoalinguis-cstructurethatoccursinarule-governedway.Itistreatablebecausethestudentwritercanbepointedtoagrammarbookorsetofrulestoresolvetheproblem"(23).
• Anuntreatableerroris"idiosyncra-c,andthestudentwillneedtou-lizeacquiredknowledgeofthelanguagetoself-correctit"(23).Thatis,someerroristreatableonlythroughyearsofexperiencereading,wri-ng,andspeakingEnglish.
Ferris, D. (2002). Treatment of Error in Second Language Student Writing. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. (http://www.csus.edu/wac/wac/teachers/esl_error.html)
Academic Writing • Studentsstrugglewiththetransi-onfromworkplace,social,informal,orhigh-schoolwri-ngtoacademicwri-ng
• One-shotwri-ngassignmentsaremorelikelytotestastudent’sabilitythanitistoencourageitsgrowth
• Feedbackgivenattheendofthesemesterhasnowheretogo• Themoremeaningfulanddevelopmentalanassignmentis,themoreengagedthelearnerwillbewithboththecontentandtheform.
• Pardue&Haas,2003;Koffolt&Holt,1997;Angelova&Riazantseva,1999;Holt,1997;Wang&Bakken,203
Academic Writing • EncouragestudentstofocusonHigher,Lower,andMiddleOrderConcerns(andprovidefeedbackaccordingly)
• Providerubricsorguidelines• Providemodelsorsampleessaysforassignments
Academic Writing • Buildinopportuni-esforpeerfeedback• Takethetradi-onalpaperorprojectandbreakitdownintoitselements,andspreaditoutover-me:chunkitupandspreaditoutoverthesemester.
• Providefocusedfeedbackonthechunks;thelastchunkshouldrequirelinlefeedbackaseachchunkshouldbebuildingonthepreviousone;feedbackshouldhavebeenimplementedoneachsuccessivechunk.
Feedback & Assessment Planned,Applicable,Early,Ongoing• Feedbackshouldbeinlinewiththelearningoutcomesofanassignment.• Feedbackcandifferforeachassignment–theinstructordoesnotneedtopayanen-ontoallaspectsofthewri-ngforeachwrinenassignment,
• Ifgrammarandlanguageuseareanissue,addressitbyfocusingcommentson1or2paragraphs.Studentscanthenberesponsibleforfindingandfixingotheroccurrencesintheirtext.
• Applicable:Thinkoffeedbackintermsofhowstudentscanapplyittothenextassignmentortotheirwri-nggenerally.
• Focusontwoorthreeconceptsperassignment.Thisistheamountstudentscanabsorb.
Feedback • Earlyon:Givingfeedbackearlyonallowsstudentswhohaveseriousissuesintheirwri-ngorlearningtoseekhelpthroughthedura-onofthesemester.Manystudentsareunawareofhowserioustheirwri-ngproblemsare.
• Ongoing:Providingshorter,morefocusedfeedbackmoreocenallowsfeedbacktobecomeaconversa-on.It’snotjustaboutthisoneassignment;it’saboutthisstudent’slearningofthecontentandhis/herdevelopmentofwri-ngskills.
Holt,1997;Straub,2000;Wang&Bakken,2003’Koffolt&Holt,1997;Zamel,1985;Robbetal,1982;Wang&Bakken,2003
Assessment • Shouldmul-lingualstudentsbegivenextra-meonexams?(notunlessallstudentsaregivenextra-me)
• Shouldmul-lingualstudentsbeallowedtousedic-onaries?(notunlessallstudentsareallowed)
Assessment • FocusonAssignmentdesigntopreventacademicintegrityissues• Considerin-classwri-ngassignments• Thinkabouttowhatextentlanguageissues/grammar/sentencestructurewillimpactstudents’mark
Other Strategies/Frameworks • CBI/CLIL• DisciplinaryLiteracy• Meta-cogni-ve/Reflec-vestrategies
TeachingcontentinL2withfocusonformandfunc-on(Cenoz,Genessee&Gorter,2014;Lindholm-Leary,2013;Lyster,2007)
Content based instruction (CBI)/Content and language integrated learning (CLIL)
Towards a disciplinary model of support • Supportstudentstodevelopskillsandstrategiestothink,expressandreflectlikea
memberofthediscipline(ascien-st,engineer,historianetc…)
• Requirestudentsto‘do’thedisciplinenotjustshowwhattheyknowinthediscipline
• Modeldisciplinaryinquiryprocesses
• Demonstratedeepermeaninganalysisthroughthinkalouds
• Modeldecision-makingprocessestoshowwhatcountsasevidenceinthediscipline
Jang&S(lle,2015
Towards a disciplinary model of support • Iden-fyandencourageuseofvocabularyrequiredtounderstanddisciplinaryconcepts;
buildconceptualknowledge
• Teachlanguagefunc(ons,thepurposesoflanguageuseinspecificacademictasks(ie.askingques-ons,tes-nghypotheses,makingpredic-onsbasedonempiricalevidenceinsciencecourses)
• Highlighttextformandfeatures–howcontentiswrinen,presented
• Scaffoldreading,assignments
• Providesuccesscriteriaandrubricsforassignments
Concluding Thoughts • Thinkaboutandbeexplicitaboutlanguage-relatedgoalsandhowtheyconnectwithcontent-relatedgoalsandacademicandassessmenttasks
• Encourageinclusiveness• Helpstudentsbecomemembersandengageinthediscourseoftheirdiscipline• Recognizeandsupportdiversityandstudentsuccess
Contact:[email protected]
Your thoughts? Discussion… Whatareyourchallengesinteachingandsuppor-ngstudentwithinthismul-lingualcontext?
Key References/Resources • Angelova,M.&Riazantseva,A.(1999).“Ifyoudon’ttellme,howcanIknow?”:Acase-studyoffourinterna-onalstudentslearningtowritetheU.S.way.”WrinenCommunica-on,16(4).
• Arkoudis,S.,Baik,C.,Richardson,S.(2012).EnglishLanguageStandardsinHigherEduca(on:FromEntrytoExit.AustralianCouncilforEduca-onalResearchPress.
• Bartholomae,D.(2003).Inven-ngtheuniversity.InC.Glenn,M.A.GodlthwaiteandR.Connors(eds)TheSt.Mar(n’sGuidetoTeachingWri(ng.Boston:Bedford/St.Mar-n’s.
• Cammarata,L.(2016).Content-basedForeignLanguageTeaching:CurriculumandPedagogyforDevelopingAdvancedThinkingandLiteracySkills.Routledge.
• Canagarajah,A.S.(2006).Understandingcri-calwri-ng.InPK.Matsuda,M.Cox,J.JordanandC.Ortmeier-Hooper(eds).SecondLanguageWri(ngintheComposi(onClassroom:ACri(calSourcebook(pp.210–224).Boston:BedfordSt.Mar-n’s.
• Coste,D.,Moore,D.,&Zarate,G.(2009).Plurilingualandpluriculturalcompetence.Strasbourg,France:CouncilofEurope.Retrievedfromwww.coe.int/t/dg4/linguis-c/publica-ons_en.asp?toprint=yes&-40
Key References and Resources cont’ • Cummins,J.(2003).BICSandCALP:Originsandra-onaleforthedis-nc-on.InC.B.Paulston&G.R.Tucker(Eds.)Sociolinguis-cs:Theessen-alreadings.(pp.322-328).London:Blackwell.
• Hafernick,J.J.&Wiant,F.M.(2012).Integra(ngMul(lingualStudentsintoCollegeClassrooms:Prac(calAdviceforFaculty.Mul-lingualManers.
• Jang,E.&S-lle,S.(2015).DisciplinaryLiteracy:EmergentFindingsfromOntarioEducators.Presenta-onforOntarioMinistryofEduca-on,CurriculumandAssessmentPolicyBranch.Toronto,Canada
• Marshall,S.&Moore,D.(2013).2Bornot2Bplurilingual?Naviga-nglanguages,literacies,andplurilingualcompetenceinpost-secondaryeduca-oninCanada,TesolQuarterly,47(3),472–499.DOI:10.1002/tesq.111
• Koffolt,K.&Holt,S.L.(1997).Usingthe“wri-ngprocess”withnon-na-veusersofEnglish.NewDirec-onsinTeachingandLearning,70,53-60.
• Murray,N.(2016).StandardsofEnglishinHigherEduca(on:Issues,Challenges,andStrategies.CambridgeUniversityPress.
References and Resources cont’ • Saba-er,C.&Dagenais,D.(2009).LanguageAwareness:ExaminingtheRoleofLanguageinSociety.AmericanCouncilonImmersionEduca-on(ACIE)Newslener.TheCenterforAdvancedResearchonLanguageAcquisi-on(CARLA).UniversityofMinesota.3.
• Shanahan,T.&Shanahan,C.(2008).TeachingDisciplinaryLiteracytoAdolescents:RethinkingContent-AreaLiteracy.HarvardEduca-onalReview:April2008,Vol.78,No.1,pp.40-59.
• Smit,U.&Dafouz,E.(2012).Integra(ngcontentandlanguageinhighereduca(on:Anintroduc(onintoEnglish-mediumpolicies,conceptualissuesandresearchprac(cesacrossEurope.AILAReview,25,1.JohnBenjamins
• Straub,R.(2000).ThePrac(ceofResponse:StrategiesforCommen(ngonStudentWri(ng.Cresskill,NJ:HamptonPress,Inc.
• Waye,L.(2008).AssignmentDesignandEffec(veFeedback.UniversityofVictoria
• ZamelV.&SpackR.(eds.),1998.Nego(a(ngAcademicLiteracies:TeachingandLearningAcrossLanguagesandCultures.Mahway,NJ.LawrenceErlbaum
