TESOL 2015 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXPO 25-28 MARCH TORONTO CANADA FRAN MURRAY...

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Fran Murray TESOL Conference 2015, CANADA

Some gems from the convention

Identification/names/labels

In USA and Canada:- English Second Language students are in ESL classes and are mainly ‘Newcomers’ (our New Arrivals)

- English Language Learners (ELL) students are those ESL students in mainstream classes

- What do we think about our English Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) label and the students it may apply to?

Fran Murray TESOL Conference Toronto 2015

Explore…

University of Michigan Teacher Training and Applied Linguistics resources at

www.press.umich.edu/elt/

Texts such as

- Keys to teaching Grammar

- The ART of Teaching Speaking

- Understanding Cultural Narratives

and many more…….

Don’t Myth a Volume series

Assessment myths, Pronunciation Myth, Second Language Acquisition Myths, vocabulary Myths, Listening Myths, Writing Myths


We could teach them a thing or two about….

Task based teaching Finland is moving to ‘Topic-based

teaching’ away from subjects and content…….

In other words – backward design or outcomes-based teaching

- Plan end task, the outcome, the criteria, write the rubric, plan the process (teaching and learning)


Centre for Applied Linguistics presentation

Principles of effective instruction for English Language Learners

1. Learn about, value and build on the languages, experiences, knowledge and interest of each student to affirm each student’s identity and to bridge to new learning

2. Use multiple tools and sources of information to continually learn about and observe student performances, using the knowledge gained to teaching.

3. Involve every student in authentic, challenging, and engaging and academic experiences, including tasks that prompt them to use critical thinking skills and that relate to their lived experiences.

4. Plan for and develop all four language domains (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through meaningful, task-based content instruction.

5. Involve every student in academic interaction with peers who represent a variety of proficiency levels and with proficient speakers and writers, including the teacher

6. Scaffold instruction so that every student is able to participate in academically challenging grade level content instruction while developing academic language and literacy

7. Engage and communicate with all stakeholders of students’ success, especially with students’ families and communities.


CAL: factors beyond instruction that affect students’ successTeachers backgrounds and the way in which they relate

to students and to English learners in particular

At the school level ……. program design

How is diversity viewed?

Not just on bulletin boards but in every interaction between administrators, teachers and students.

- Do students feel their cultural and linguistic backgrounds are valued?

- What is the availability and accessibility of appropriate services and extracurricular activities?

- Does the school strive to reduce barriers to these?

- Is the school aware of them?

- Empowering parents to participate in their child’s education and promoting family literacy can be invaluable in promoting ELL’s academic achievement and personal development.


More from CAL

Understanding Literacy in Academic Contexts

- What is literacy?

- A Brief History of Literacy

- Literacy as a Social Practice

- Literacy as Power

- Multimodal Literacy (language, visuals, sound, gesture, action, space).

- Apply the above to subject content. It looks different in different fields


Major Orientations to Literacy

Autonomous orientation (an individual’s ability to read and write)

Social Practices orientation (something a person does with oral or written texts)

Ideological Orientation (literacy is considered a tool of power; literacy practices are associated with institutional power)

Multiliteracies/multimodal orientation (an ability to understand and use an array of sign systems to convey meaning; it goes beyond reading, writing and language)


CAL: Strategies/activities for developing Academic Literacy LanguageInside/outside circles

Sentence Stems

Numbered Heads Together

Most Important Words Together

Snowballs

Talking Chips

Video Observation Guide

Visual Puzzle Activity

Sentence Generation

Domino Discussion

Soundgrams


Workshop: Strategies for developing Key Uses of Academic Language Workshop Outcomes

Genre-based explanation – praised the work of Systemic Functional Linguists in Australia


Three Types of Assessment :O

Fran Murray TESOL Conference Toronot 2015

Diagnostic Assessment: A for L

Formative assessment : A as L

Summative Assessment – A of Le.g. assessment of planned RICH TASKS

Occurs before learning

Occurs during learning

Occurs after learning

Identifies students’ strengths and needs prior to instruction

Identifies where students are in terms of their learning progress

Measures students’ achievement in relation to curriculum expectations

Allows teachers to tailor their instruction to individual students’ needs

Allows teachers to monitor each student’s learning progress and to reflect on and adjust their teaching program as necessary

Allows teachers to measure student learning and to determine the effectiveness of their program

Informs initial planning and teaching decisions

Informs instruction to meet the needs of individual students

Assists teachers in the determination of a summary statement of students achievement

STEM & ELLSScience Technology Engineering MathematicsMoving from Silos to integration


Identify academic language of science and mathematics

Designing solutions to a problem

WHY? ELLs didn’t identify with Science/scientists

STEM & ELLSScience Technology Engineering MathematicsMoving from Silos to integrationTrans-disciplinary approach to inquiry and problem-based learning that fosters creativity and innovation with all students, inclusive of ELLs

Facilitated the change in the role of ESL Specialists as school leaders

ESL specialists as the STEM specialists or teachers could or work with/inform the Science and Maths teachers

All kids to do STEM

Resources:

kids books (Omnivores Dilemma, That’s a Possibility, Mr Ferris and hi Wheels,

film: the boy who harnessed the wind – TED talk

Technology: foodmiles.com

Informative texts: manuals, information on food labels

Media: television, internet

TASK e.g. develop a commercial/advertisement on a topic of relevance


CAL and the SIOP model

Eight interrelated concepts

1.Lesson preparation

2.Building background

3.Comprehensible input

4.Strategies

5.Interaction

6.Practice/application

7.Lesson delivery

8.Review-assessment

www.cal.org/solutions/seven


JIM Cummins - Keynote http://www.softconference.com/tesol/2015_webcast/Evidence.html

Don’t believe everything you are told! Developing a healthy skepticism about “scientifically proven” policies

Two examples:

Interpreting low ELL performance after 1 year of learning English as an indicator of “bad teaching”

Failure to acknowledge that systematic phonics teaching is largely unrelated to reading comprehension after grade 1.


Evidence-free Policy Making: Reading (1)

The (US) National Reading Panel (NRP) (2000) adopted a narrow focus

regarding what constituted legitimate research (only experimental and quasi-experimental research was considered)

A major finding of the NRP was that there is “strong evidence

substantiating the impact of systematic phonics instruction on learning to read” (p. 2-132)

The $6 billion Reading First program predominantly funded programs that incorporated an intensive phonics focus in the early grades

The role of print access and literacy engagement was ignored despite extensive research documenting its impact on reading comprehension


Evidence-free Policy Making (2)

Evidence-free Policy Making: ELL

ELL students typically require at least 5 years to catch up academically to native-speakers; by contrast, basic conversational fluency is usually acquired within 1-2 years.

For example: After three years of English-only instruction, a mere 12 percent of English language learners in California had acquired sufficient academic

English to be re-designated as English-proficient

Parrish, T., Merickel, A., Perez, M., Linquanti, R., et al. (2006).

Effects of the implementation of Proposition 227 on the education of English learners, K-12: Findings from a five year evaluation (final report). Palo Alto and San Francisco: American Institutes for Research and WestEd.

Therefore, it is unbelievably stupid and irresponsible to interpret low ELL performance after 1 or 2 years of learning English as indicative of inadequate instruction.




$6 Billion largely wasted because research was ignored

Reading First Impact Study: Final Report (November 2008)

“Reading First did not produce a statistically significant impact

on student reading comprehension test scores in grades one, two or three.” (2008, p. xv)

“Reading First produced a positive and statistically significant

impact on decoding among first grade students tested in one school year (spring 2007).” (2008, p. xvi)

“Reading First had no statistically significant impacts on student

engagement with print.” (p. xxii)


What is the nature of academic language and how does it relate to literacy development?

We need to distinguish between:

Conversational fluency

Discrete language skills

Academic language proficiency

What Is English Language Proficiency?

Conversational Fluency

The ability to carry on a conversation in familiar face-to-face situations

Developed by the vast majority of native speakers by the time they enter school at age 5

Involves use of high frequency words and simple grammatical

Constructions

ELL students typically require 1-2 years to attain peer appropriate

levels.



What the NRP Actually Found

Policy-makers and many researchers ignored the fact that for normally achieving and low achieving readers, systematic phonics instruction showed no relationship to reading comprehension beyond Grade 1.

Ehri, Nunes, Stahl, and Willows (2001) acknowledge this pattern as

Follows:

“Among the older students in 2nd through 6th grades . . . phonics

instruction was not effective for teaching spelling (d = 0.09) or

teaching reading comprehension (d = 0.12)” (p. 418).

“[R]eaders in 2nd through 6th grades classified as low achieving (LA)

revealed no overall effects of phonics instruction…” (p. 418).


What Is English Language Proficiency?Discrete Language Skills

Refers to the rule-governed aspects of language (phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.)

Can be developed in two independent ways:

(a) by explicit instruction, and

(b) through immersion in a literacy-rich home or school environment where meanings are elaborated through language and attention is drawn to literate forms of language (e.g. letters on the pages of books)

ELL students can learn these specific language skills concurrently with their development of basic vocabulary and conversational fluency. However, there is little direct transference to other aspects of language proficiency (e.g. vocabulary).


What Is English Language Proficiency?

Academic Language Proficiency

Includes knowledge of the less frequent vocabulary of English as well as the ability to interpret and produce increasingly complex written language

ELL students typically require at least 5 years to attain grade expectations in language and literacy skills

In order to catch up to grade norms within 6 years, ELL students must make 15 months gain in every 10-month school year

Because academic language is found primarily in books, extensive reading is crucial in enabling students to catch up

Frequent writing, across genres, is also crucial in developing academic writing skills.


What teaching strategies are most effective for developing bilingual/ELL students’ language and literacy competencies?

Key insight:If academic language is found primarily in printed text, then it is not surprising that print access and literacy engagement are of central importance in promoting academic language proficiency.



Understanding Literacy Development in Multilingual School Contexts: What the Research Is Saying

↑Literacy Achievement

↑Print Access/Literacy Engagement

↑

Scaffold Meaning(input and output)

↔

Connect to students’ lives

↔

(activate priorknowledge)

Affirm

Identity

↔

Extend

Language↔

The Centrality of Literacy Engagement

Amount and range of reading and writing Use of effective strategies for deep understanding of text Positive affect and identity investment in reading and

writing

Guthrie notes that in all spheres of life (e.g. driving a car, doing surgery, playing golf, gourmet cooking, etc.) participation is key to the development of proficiency. He notes that “certainly some initial lessons are valuable for driving a car or typing on a keyboard, but expertise spirals upward mainly with engaged participation” (2004, p. 8).


Literacy engagement plays a key role in promoting reading comprehension

OECD’s PISA Study

Data on the reading attainment of 15-year olds in 27 countries showed that “the level of a student’s reading engagement is a better predictor of literacy performance than his or her socioeconomic background, indicating that cultivating a student’s interest in reading can help overcome home disadvantages” (OECD, 2004, p. 8).


Scaffold LanguageScaffolding refers to the provision of instructional supports that enable

learners to carry out tasks and perform academically at a higher level than they would be capable of without these supports.

Graphic organizers

Visuals in texts

Demonstrations

Hands-on experiences

Collaborative group work

Encouraging L1 use (e.g., writing) as a means of transferring knowledge and skills from L1 to L2

Learning strategies (planning tasks, visualisation, grouping/classifying, note-taking/summarising, questioning for clarification, making use of multiple resources fortask completion)

Language clarification (explanation, dictionary use, etc.)


What Do We Know about Learning?

Bransford, Brown, & Cocking (2000) How People Learn

Engaging prior understandings

“new understandings are constructed on a foundation of existing understandingsand experiences” (Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p. 4).

Integrating factual knowledge with conceptual frameworks

“deep understanding of subject matter transforms factual information into usable knowledge” (Bransford et al. p. 16).

Using metacognitive strategies to take active control over the learning process

“a ‘metacognitive’ or self-monitoring approach can help students develop the ability to take control of their own learning, consciously define learning goals, and monitor their progress in achieving them” (Donovan & Bransford, 2005, p.

10)


Learning= the Integration of New Information and Skills with Existing Information and SkillsSnow, Burns and Griffin (1998: 219) express the

centrality of background knowledge as follows:

Every opportunity should be taken to extend and enrich children’s background knowledge and understanding in every way possible, for the ultimate significance and memorability of any word or text depends on whether children possess the background knowledge and conceptual sophistication to understand its meaning.


The importance of the affective dimension (identity investment) in determining students’ academic engagement

Key insight:

Devaluation of identity is a cause of underachievement.

Gloria Ladson-Billings:

“The problem that African-American students face is the constant devaluation of their culture both in school and in the larger society” (1995, p. 485).


Factors impacting on low achIEvement and learning disadvantageStudent Background

Linguistically Diverse

Low SES Marginalised status

Source of potential disadvantage

Failure to understand instruction due to home/school language differences

Inadequate pre-natal careInadequate nutritionLack of cultural and material resources in the home due to povertyLimited range of language interactionInadequate access to print at home and at school

Societal discriminationLow teacher expectationsStereotype threatIdentity devaluation

Evidence-based Instructional reponse

Scaffold comprehension and production of language across the curriculum

Maximise literacy engagement

Connect instruction to students’ lives

Reinforce academic language across the curriculum

Affirm students’ identities in association with literacy engagement

“Inadequate access to print at home for academic language development, therefore the school has to do it.”


Devaluation of Identity as a Cause of UnderachievementExtensive evidence from both the sociological/anthropological and

psychological research literature demonstrates the impact of societal power relations on minority group achievement

Students who come from social groups whose identities (culture,

language, religion, etc.) have been devalued in the wider society

tend to experience disproportionate academic failure.


The Deeper Roots of UnderachievementIsidro Lucas (1981): Study of Puerto Rican drop-out students in Chicago:

“All my dropout respondents spoke good understandable English. They hadn’t learned math, or social sciences, or natural sciences, unfortunately. But they had learned English…No dropout mentioned lack of English as the reason for quitting. As it evolved through questionnaires and interviews, theirs was a more subtle story—of alienation, of not belonging, of being ‘push-outs’…

To my surprise, dropouts expressed more confidence in their ability to speak English than did the stay-ins (seniors in high school). For their part, stay-ins showed more confidence in their Spanish than did dropouts…I had to conclude that identity, expressed in one’s confidence and acceptance of the native culture was more a determinant of school stay-in power than the mere acquisition of the coding-decoding skills involved in a different language, English”. (p. 19)



What Image of the Child Are We Sketching in Our Instruction?

Capable of becoming bilingual and biliterate?

Capable of higher-order thinking and intellectual accomplishments?

Capable of creative and and imaginative thinking?

Capable of creating literature and art?

Capable of generating new knowledge?

Capable of thinking about and finding solutions to social issues?


Affirm Student Identities Newcomer students are often in a vulnerable position – they are unable to show

their intelligence, personality, sense of humour, etc. to teachers and peers.

They may have gone from a school situation where they were very competent academically to one where they now feel incompetent.

When newcomer students feel welcomed in the school and classroom by teachers and peers, they will engage academically much more actively and effectively.

Identity Texts: a tool for literacy engagement and identity investment

Identity texts refer to artefacts that students produce. Students take ownership of these artefacts as a result of having invested their identities in them.

Once produced, these texts (written, spoken, visual, musical, or combinations in multimodal form) hold a mirror up to the student in which his or her identity is reflected back in a positive light.

Students invest their identities in these texts which then become ambassadors of students’ identities. When students share identity texts with multiple audiences (peers, teachers, parents, grandparents, sister classes, the media, etc.) they are likely to receive positive feedback and affirmation of self in interaction with these audiences.


Segment 5Getting on the same page – a whole-school approachSegment 5

Getting on the same page – a whole-school approach

Key insight:

Research evidence matters!

If policy-makers are promoting evidence-free policies that simultaneously hinder learning among bilingual/ELL students and damage teacher effectiveness and morale, then educators within schools must develop school-based policies that reflect the empirical evidence and express the collective educational identity of the school.


Planning Instructional Change within Schools:Articulating Choices and Taking Collective Action

Instructional Options CurrentRealitiesWhere AreWe?

Vision for theFutureWhere Do WeWant To Be?

Getting it DoneHow Do We GetThere?

Content

How do we adapt curriculum materials to link with students’ prior knowledge and cultural background (e.g.

purchase dual language books) and also to promote critical thinking about texts and issues (e.g. whose perspectives are represented in a text)?

Cognition

How can we modify instruction to evoke higher levels of literacy engagement and critical thinking? Tools

How can we use tools such as computers, digital cameras, camcorders, web pages, etc? Assessment

How can we complement mandated standardized assessments in order to present to students, parents, and

administrators a more valid account of student progress? (e.g. a role for portfolio assessment?)

Language/Culture

What messages are we giving students and parents about home language and culture? How can we enable

students to use their L1 as a powerful tool for learning? Can we increase students’ identity investment by means

of bilingual instructional strategies (teaching for transfer)?

Parental Involvement

How can we engage parents as co-educators in such a way that their linguistic and cultural expertise is harnessed

as fuel for their children’s academic progress?


ELL Students’ L1 as a Resource Within the Classroom

Invite students to:

Complete dual-language assignments such as a bilingual advertisement (e.g. to attract visitors to a country or region) or a dual language story or book;

Work with same-language partners to discuss a problem and clarify information in the L1 before reporting back in English (e.g. think, pair, share in L1)

Create multilingual displays or signs (e.g., high school science teacher gives extra marks for multilingual posters of bodily systems for presentation to younger students from diverse backgrounds).

Write first drafts, notes, journal entries, and outlines in L1;

Provide bilingual support for newcomers (e.g. class partners or cross-grade

tutors who speak the language of the newcomer can highlight or translate key concepts).

(Based on Ontario Ministry of Education (2006) Many Roots, Many Voices.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/manyroots/)

Fran Murray TESOL Conference toronto 2015

Cultural Diversity as a Resource Within the Classroom

Geography: Have students present a climate graph on their country of origin to use their personal and previous experiences as a basis for information.

Physical education: Have students teach the class a game or activity from another country – including key words and phrases related to the game.

English/language arts: Invite students to create poems in their two languages. If they are newcomers they may write first in their L1 and then translate the poem to English (with help from classmates, community volunteers, or bilingual teachers); if they are more fluent in English than L1, they can write first in English and then get help from classmates, parents, or teachers to translate the poem into the L1.

All subject areas: Ask English language learners and English-speaking students to work together to create dual-language posters or brochures on topics being studied.

(Ontario Ministry of Education (2006)Many Roots, Many Voices.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/manyroots/)Fran Murray TESOL Conference Toronto 2015

The Knowledge Base

The language of academic success in school is very different from the language we use in everyday conversational interactions.

ELL students typically require at least 5 years to catch up academically

to native-speakers; by contrast, basic conversational fluency is usually acquired within 1-2 years.

Sustained growth in reading and writing skills is strongly related to students’ level of literacy engagement.

All learning builds on a foundation of pre-existing knowledge and skills.

Students’ L1 is an important cognitive resource in scaffolding instruction – can be mobilized as a stepping stone to English academic skills


Resources www.multiliteracies.ca (Multiliteracies project)

Dual Language Showcase (http://www.thornwoodps.ca/dual/index.htm)

ell.stanford.edu (Understanding Language Project, Stanford University; highly relevant articles on the nature of academic language and how to teach it)

Literacy, Technology and Diversity: Teaching for Success in Changing Times (Jim Cummins, Kristin Brown, & Dennis Sayers; Allyn & Bacon, 2007)

(http://www.allynbaconmerrill.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=020538935X&rl=1)

IdentityTexts: The Collaborative Creation of Power in Multilingual Schools (Edited by Jim Cummins and Margaret Early; Trentham Books, 2011)

http://trentham.styluspub.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=2417

http://www.multiliteracies.ca/index.php/folio/viewProject/219


Also go to this website for a good ppt to use when you are presenting PD to the staff at your school

http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie/assets/Language-Literacy-Development-among-EAL-Pupils_Jim-Cummins.pdf

Cheers

Fran Murray

Education Consultant

www.walktalkteach.com.au


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TESOL 2015 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXPO 25-28 MARCH TORONTO CANADA FRAN MURRAY...

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