Educating Ells

Produced under a grant from the Anni e E.
Casey Foundati on
Educating English
Language Learners:
I mplementing I nstructional P ractices
The Nati onal Counci l of La Raza (NCLR) the l argest nati onal Hi spani c ci vi l ri ghts and advocacy
organi zati on i n the Uni ted States works to i mprove opportuni ti es for Hi spani c Ameri cans. Through i ts
network of more than 300 affi l i ated communi ty-based organi zati ons (CBOs), NCLR reaches mi l l i ons of
Hi spani cs each year i n 41 states, Puerto Ri co, and the Di stri ct of Col umbi a. To achi eve i ts mi ssi on, NCLR
conducts appl i ed research, pol i cy anal ysi s, and advocacy, provi di ng a Lati no perspecti ve i n fi ve key areas
assets/ i nvestments, ci vi l ri ghts/ i mmi grati on, educati on, empl oyment and economi c status, and heal th. I n
addi ti on, i t provi des capaci ty-bui l di ng assi stance to i ts affi l i ates who work at the state and l ocal l evel to
advance opportuni ti es for i ndi vi dual s and fami l i es.
Founded i n 1968, NCLR i s a pri vate, nonprofi t, nonparti san, tax-exempt organi zati on headquartered i n
Washi ngton, DC. NCLR serves al l Hi spani c subgroups i n al l regi ons of the country and has operati ons i n
Atl anta, Chi cago, Los Angel es, New York, Phoeni x, Sacramento, San Antoni o, and San Juan, Puerto Ri co.
For more i nformati on, pl ease vi si t www.ncl r.org
Thi s publ i cati on was produced by the Nati onal Counci l of La Raza (NCLR) wi th the support of the Anni e E.
Casey Foundati on and i n consul tati on wi th The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi tys Northeast and
I sl ands Regi onal Educati onal Laboratory, a program funded by the I nsti tute of Educati on Sci ences (I ES), U.S.
Department of Educati on, under Contract Number ED-01-CO-0010. Opi ni ons, fi ndi ngs, and concl usi ons or
recommendati ons expressed i n thi s materi al are those of the authors al one and do not necessari l y refl ect
the vi ews of I ES, the U.S. Department of Educati on or any other agency of the U.S. government, or the
sponsori ng organi zati ons. Thi s publ i cati on may be reproduced for educati onal or schol arl y purposes
provi ded no fee for the use or possessi on of such copi es be charged to the ul ti mate consumer of the copi es.
NCLR and The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty request that proper credi t be gi ven i n the event of
reproducti on. Thi s book i s di stri buted wi th the understandi ng that NCLR, The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown
Uni versi ty, and the authors are not engaged i n renderi ng l egal servi ces.
Copyri ght 2005 by the Nati onal Counci l of La Raza
and The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty.
Pri nted i n the Uni ted States of Ameri ca
Al l ri ghts reserved
Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ners:
I mpl ementi ng I nstr ucti onal Practi ces
The Nati onal Counci l of La Raza
By Jacquel i ne Vi al pando
and Jane Yedl i n
wi th Carol i ne Li nse,
Margaret Har r i ngton,
and Geral di ne Cannon
2005 by the Nati onal Counci l of La Raza
and The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty.
Al l Ri ghts Reserved.
About the Writers
Jacqueline Vialpando, former Assi stant Di rector of Li teracy and Language at
the Nati onal Counci l of La Raza (NCLR), currentl y teaches Engl i sh l anguage
l earners at Bel l Mul ti cul tural Hi gh School i n Washi ngton, DC. Jacquel i ne
parti ci pated i n the devel opment and wri ti ng of and was the project di rector for
the charter school gui de seri es Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s.
Jacquel i nes professi onal experi ence i ncl udes bi l i ngual , Engl i sh as a second
l anguage (ESL), and bi l i ngual speci al educati on cl assroom i nstructi on i n
Ari zona, Cal i forni a, and Maryl and. Jacquel i ne earned a bachel ors degree i n
Engl i sh from Georgetown Uni versi ty and a masters degree i n Educati on and
Human Devel opment from George Washi ngton Uni versi ty.
Jane Yedlin is on the staff of The Education Alliance at Brown University. She
participated in the development and writing of this volume of the charter school
guide series Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s. Janes professional experience
includes teaching English as a second and foreign language and conducting
workshops for teachers in the U.S. and in Mexico. Jane has taught graduate
courses in language, literacy, and methodology at Brown and at other institutions.
She is the author and co-author of several ESL texts and of The Education Alliance
print and web materials on English language learners (ELLs). Jane earned a
doctorate in Language and Literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of
Education, where she conducted research on literacy instruction for ELLs.
Caroline Linse revi sed and edi ted the charter school gui de Educati ng Engl i sh
Language Lear ner s: Under standi ng and Usi ng A ssessment. Carol i nes
professi onal experi ence i ncl udes bi l i ngual , ESL, and Engl i sh as a forei gn
l anguage (EFL) cl assroom i nstructi on. She has wri tten assessment
i nstruments and documents for both publ i c and pri vate enti ti es. Carol i ne
earned a doctorate i n Teachi ng Curri cul um and Learni ng Envi ronments from
the Harvard Graduate School of Educati on.
Margaret Harrington i s a consul tant wi th The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown.
She participated in the development and writing of this volume of the charter
school guide series Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s. Margaret is a bilingual
teacher with 28 years of experience. She earned her doctorate in Language,
Literacy, and Cultural Studies from Boston University. She is coauthor of the
book Li ter acy and Bi l i ngual i sm: A Handbook for Al l Teacher s. She currently
teaches a fourth-grade Spanish bilingual class in Providence, Rhode Island.
Geraldine Cannon i s a consul tant wi th The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown.
She parti ci pated i n the wri ti ng of thi s vol ume of the charter school gui de
seri es Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s. Geral di ne has been a juni or hi gh
school ESL teacher and a readi ng speci al i st i n an urban school di stri ct for 25
years. She has taught undergraduate courses i n young adul t l i terature and has
wri tten about the l i teracy needs of adol escent Engl i sh l anguage l earners.
Geral di ne earned a masters degree i n ESL from Rhode I sl and Col l ege and a
doctorate i n Adol escent Li teracy from the joi nt Educati on Program of Rhode
I sl and Col l ege and the Uni versi ty of Rhode I sl and.
About the Sponsoring Organizations
The National Council of La Razas Center for Community Educational Excellence ( C
2
E
2
)
exists to increase educational opportunities, improve achievement, and promote equity in
outcomes for Latinos by building the capacity and strengthening the quality of the community-
based education sector.
For more information about C
2
E
2
and the National Council of La Raza, visit www.nclr.org, or
contact:
National Council of La Raza
Center for Community Educational Excellence
Raul Yzaguirre Building
1126 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 785-1670
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization dedicated to helping build
better futures for disadvantaged children in the U.S. Recognizing that strong families and strong
neighborhoods are interdependent, the Casey Foundation is supporting broad strategies for
neighborhood development and family transformation in 22 urban communities around the
nation through its Making Connections initiative.
For more information about the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Making Connections
initiative, visit www.aecf.org/ initiatives/ ntfd/ making.htm, or contact:
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
(410) 547-6600
webmail@aecf.org
The Education Alliance at Brown University has 25 years of experience helping educational
organizations, agencies, and communities improve schooling. Issues of equity and diversity have
long been central themes of the Alliances work, with particular emphasis on immigrant, migrant,
refugee, and other populations wherein cultural and linguistic backgrounds both strengthen and
challenge educational institutions. Many of The Education Alliances activities and publications
focus on the education of English language learners (ELLs).
For information about The Education Alliance at Brown University, visit the Alliances homepage
http:/ / www.alliance.brown.edu/ or its Teaching Diverse Learners page
http:/ / www.alliance.brown.edu/ tdl/ or contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown University
222 Richmond Street
Suite 300
Providence, RI 02905
(800) 521-9550, ext. 339
TDL@alliance.brown.edu
Other guidebooks available in this series from the National Council of La Raza are:
Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s: Under standi ng and Usi ng Assessment
Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s: Desi gni ng and I mpl ementi ng Hi gh-Qual i ty Progr ams
Acknowledgments
Thi s publ i cati on draws on the excel l ent work of many peopl e and organi zati ons, i ncl udi ng:
NCLR thanks the Anni e E. Casey Foundati on for supporti ng the devel opment of thi s gui debook.
The project di rector grateful l y acknowl edges the gui dance and support of Ari ana Qui ones-
Mi randa, former Deputy Vi ce Presi dent of the NCLR Center for Communi ty Educati onal
Excel l ence (C
2
E
2
), who saw the urgent need for thi s seri es, Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s.
She establ i shed the fundamental framework for these gui des, whi ch are desi gned to hel p charter
school s better address the needs of Engl i sh l anguage l earner (ELL) students.
We al so acknowl edge the assi stance of the tal ented, creati ve, and dynami c i ndi vi dual s who
contri buted thei r i deas, experti se, ti me, and encouragement to the compl eti on of thi s gui debook,
i ncl udi ng: Bruno Manno, Mari a Pacheco, Adal berto Andi no, Deni se Vi al pando, Dahl i a Agui l ar,
Cynthi a Nambo, Carmen Ramos-Watson, Adaora Nwi gwe, Mel i ssa Col on, and Roberto
Rodri guez. A speci al thanks to I rene Cuyn, Di rector of Speci al Projects, who coordi nated the
publ i cati on of thi s gui de. Cri sti na Bryan, NCLR consul tant, provi ded substanti ve edi tori al
gui dance i n the preparati on of thi s gui de; Nancy Wi l berg, Assi stant Edi tor, and Jenni fer Kadi s,
Di rector of Qual i ty Control , edi ted thi s gui debook for fi nal publ i cati on; Ofel i a Ardn-Jones,
Producti on Manager/ Sr. Desi gn Speci al i st, and Magdal ena Lezama, Producti on Admi ni strati ve
Assi stant i n NCLRs Graphi cs, Desi gn & Publ i cati ons uni t, prepared thi s gui de for publ i cati on;
and Gustavo Mui z, consul tant, desi gned the front and back covers. Thanks are al so due to the
project di rectors parents. To her father, who remi nds her of what matters and what needs to be
done. Gr aci as a mi quer i da madr e qui en en vi da si empr e demostr amor y or gul l o por su l engua y su
cul tur a, y una compasi n i nfi ni ta haci a otr os.
Fi nal l y, we thank the founders, l eaders, staff, parents, and students of NCLR-affi l i ated and
nonaffi l i ated charter school s. Thei r i nsi ght and experi ence greatl y i nspi red the desi gn and
content of thi s handbook.
BUENO Center at Uni versi ty of
Col orado, Boul der
The Center for Appl i ed Li ngui sti cs
The Center for Research on Educati on,
Di versi ty and Excel l ence, Uni versi ty of
Cal i forni a, Santa Cruz (CREDE)
The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty
The George Washi ngton Uni versi ty Center for
Equi ty and Excel l ence i n Educati on
The Nati onal Associ ati on for Bi l i ngual
Educati on (NABE)
The Nati onal Cl eari nghouse for Engl i sh
Language Acqui si ti on and Language
I nstructi on Educati onal Programs (NCELA),
formerl y the Nati onal Cl eari nghouse for
Bi l i ngual Educati on (NCBE)
Nati onal Associ ati on of Bi l i ngual Educati on
Teachers of Engl i sh to Speakers of Other
Languages, I nc. (TESOL)
Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
I ntroducti on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i i i
Chapter 1: Engl i sh Language Learners i n U.S. School s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2: Language I nstructi on and Academi c Devel opment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Chapter 3: Cul tural l y-Responsi ve I nstructi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Chapter 4: I nstructi onal Practi ces, Strategi es, and Techni ques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 5: Putti ng i t al l Together: Staff Devel opment and ELL I nstructi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Appendi x A: Gl ossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Appendi x B: I nstructi onal Practi ces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Appendi x C: Bi l i ngual Educati onal Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Appendi x D: Sampl e Language Profi ci ency Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Appendi x E: Professi onal Devel opment Resources and Overheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Appendi x F: Web Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Appendi x G: Bi bl i ography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
NCLR s Educa t ing English La ngua ge Lea rners: Implement ing Inst ruct iona l Pra ct ices
Preface
Thi s gui de i s desi gned for teachers, academi c coaches, staff devel opers, and
school l eaders; ESL, bi l i ngual , and general educati on teachers especi al l y
shoul d fi nd i ts i nstructi onal strategi es, techni ques, and gui del i nes hel pful for
engagi ng Engl i sh l anguage l earners (ELLs) and other di verse l earners. Thi s
gui de emphasi zes i mpl ementati on by charter school professi onal s, but i ts
i nformati on woul d be of use to any K-12 school wi th ELLs i n the U.S., Puerto
Ri co, Guam, or Trust Terri tori es. Thi s gui de represents an attempt to
synthesi ze an abundance of i nformati on and to present i t i n a format that i s
comprehensi ve and accessi bl e.
Each chapter of thi s gui de begi ns wi th basi c tenets of i nstructi on, background
i nformati on, and the theoreti cal underpi nni ngs of the chapter. The chapters
contai n numerous charts and tabl es desi gned to make i nformati on easi l y
accessi bl e. The many cl assroom vi gnettes provi ded i l l ustrate cl assroom
i mpl ementati on of i nstructi onal techni ques and strategi es. The di scussi on
questi ons can be used i n professi onal devel opment setti ngs to enhance
understandi ng for cl assroom appl i cati on.
Resources are l i sted at the end of thi s gui de. Sources have been noted for
those i nterested i n obtai ni ng further i nformati on, references, and websi te
URLs.
About the Guidebook Series
Thi s gui de i s part of a seri es, Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s, desi gned to
assi st charter school educators and others i n devel opi ng thei r capaci ty to
provi de appropri ate curri cul a, i nstructi on, and assessment for ELLs and to
i ncrease educators awareness of how to access rel evant resources. These
gui des were devel oped i n response to a descri pti ve study conducted i n
partnershi p wi th the Nati onal Cl eari nghouse for Bi l i ngual Educati on (now
known as the Nati onal Cl eari nghouse for Engl i sh Language Acqui si ti on and
Language I nstructi on Educati onal Programs) to i denti fy the strengths and
weaknesses of charter school s i n servi ng l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent (LEP)
students, or Engl i sh l anguage l earners. The study determi ned that the degree
and qual i ty of l anguage support servi ces at a charter school i s conti ngent upon
the knowl edge and experi ence of staff wi th second l anguage acqui si ti on, or
bi l i ngual educati on, and the staffs ski l l i n fi ndi ng and usi ng the most hel pful
resources.
There are two additional guidebooks in this series:
Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s: Under standi ng and Usi ng A ssessment
provi des i nformati on rel evant to operators, teachers, and teacher trai ners on
the devel opment of an effecti ve assessment program for school s servi ng
i
Engl i sh l anguage l earners. The No Chi l d Left Behi nd (NCLB) assessment
admi ni strati on requi rements, bi l i ngual educati onal resources, web resources,
and scenari os for professi onal devel opment are featured.
Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s: Desi gni ng and I mpl ementi ng H i gh-Qual i ty
Pr ogr ams provi des i nformati on rel evant to founders and operators of charter
school s servi ng ELLs on how to desi gn an appropri ate l anguage support
program, what factors to consi der, and where materi al s can be obtai ned to craft
a successful model .
ii
Introduction
I t i s i mportant that charter school s operated by educators, parents, and school
l eaders take i nto consi derati on the needs of al l l earners. Who are the students
who wi l l attend these school s? What strengths and needs do these students
present, and how wi l l they be addressed? School -based curri cul um and
i nstructi on devel opment teams are general l y knowl edgeabl e and wel l -
i nformed about factors such as stages of cogni ti ve devel opment and speci al
educati on needs, but educators repeatedl y underesti mate or do not predi ct the
number of Engl i sh l anguage l earners who wi l l enrol l i n thei r charter school s.
Often, charter school operators, admi ni strators, and staff do not possess
knowl edge of or experi ence wi th second l anguage acqui si ti on theory,
i nstructi onal practi ce, and eval uati on necessary to di fferenti ate or recogni ze
the cul tural and l i ngui sti c strengths and educati onal needs of ELLs. Wi thout
thi s i nformati on to gui de school pl anni ng and the devel opment of i nternal and
external support systems, teachers and admi ni strators can become frustrated
wi th and even resentful of the students whose needs they do not know how to
meet.
Thi s publ i cati on, Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s: I mpl ementi ng
I nstr ucti onal Pr acti ces, i s part of a seri es devel oped to i nform and assi st charter
school s servi ng Engl i sh l anguage l earners. Thi s gui de i s based, i n part, on
presentati ons and workshops desi gned to answer techni cal assi stance requests
from the Nati onal Counci l of La Razas (NCLR) educati onal affi l i ates, charter
school s, and charter school al l i es. The i ncl usi on of ELLs i n the assessment
and accountabi l i ty requi red by the No Chi l d Left Behi nd Act (2002)
underscores the i mportance of hi gh-qual i ty i nstructi on for ELLs.
Thi s body of work i s a product of NCLRs Center for Communi ty Educati onal
Excel l ence (C
2
E
2
). The mi ssi on of C
2
E
2
i s to i ncrease educati onal
opportuni ti es, i mprove achi evement, and promote equi ty i n outcomes for
Lati nos by bui l di ng the capaci ty and strengtheni ng the qual i ty of the
communi ty-based educati on sector. Creators of thi s gui de si ncerel y hope that
i t wi l l hel p meet current needs and encourage charter school professi onal s to
publ i sh and share thei r successful experi ences and chal l enges i n addressi ng
ELLs strengths and needs.
Programs desi gned from the most up-to-date and appl i cabl e research offer the
best i nstructi on for ELLs. Such curri cul a shoul d hel p students wi th di fferi ng
l evel s of Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency and di fferent cul tural backgrounds
obtai n the ski l l s necessary for a hi gh l evel of academi c achi evement. Thi s
publ i cati on i s desi gned to provi de i nformati on that assi sts charter school
educators as they stri ve to hel p ELL students.
iii
I t i s i mportant not onl y to have a pedagogi cal l y sound curri cul um, but al so to
ensure that the curri cul um i s i mpl emented usi ng state-of-the-art strategi es and
techni ques. The strategi es and techni ques shoul d be sel ected based on the
students academi c needs, l anguage profi ci ency l evel s, and cul tural
backgrounds. The teachers shoul d al so have the trai ni ng and support
necessary to i mpl ement the strategi es that wi l l l ead to i mproved academi c
achi evement.
Labels and Terms
The term Engl i sh l anguage l earner (ELL) i s used i n thi s gui de, except when
references are made to federal , state, or l ocal government documents,
agenci es, or l egi sl ati on; i n such cases the term l i mi ted Engl i sh profi ci ent
(LEP) wi l l be used. We recogni ze that any l abel can be probl emati c, but
Engl i sh l anguage l earner puts focus on one commonal i ty among a di verse
group of students they are al l l earni ng the Engl i sh l anguage.
There are other l abel s for these students. For exampl e, wi thi n cl assrooms i n
the Uni ted States, common terms are l anguage-mi nori ty and bi l i ngual . The
terms l anguage-mi nori ty and l i mi ted Engl i sh profi ci ent are both offi ci al
desi gnati ons under federal l aw. However, each of these l abel s has i ts
probl ems. For exampl e, i n many communi ti es, l anguage-mi nori ty students
are i n the numeri cal majori ty. Many of these bi l i ngual students are on thei r
way to becomi ng bi l i ngual , but i n the earl y grades do not understand, speak,
read, or wri te two l anguages. A term such as l i mi ted Engl i sh profi ci ent
focuses on the negati ve, on what students cannot yet do, rather than on thei r
strengths. Even the term second l anguage does not accuratel y descri be a
student for whom Engl i sh i s a thi rd or fourth l anguage. The student
popul ati on i s l i ngui sti cal l y and ethni cal l y di verse. Students are often
mul ti l i ngual wi th mul ti cul tural backgrounds. To avoi d the mi snomer second
l anguage l earners, some nati onal organi zati ons such as the Nati onal Board for
Professi onal Teachi ng Standards refer to these students as Engl i sh as a new
l anguage (ENL) l earners. There are sti l l other enti ti es, such as the Northwest
Regi onal Educati onal Laboratory, who favor the term Engl i sh as an addi ti onal
l anguage, because i t i ndi cates that students are addi ng Engl i sh to an exi sti ng
l i ngui sti c and cul tural knowl edge base.
For a charter school operator, i t i s i mportant to become fami l i ar wi th the
commonl y-used terms of the state or di stri ct for i denti fyi ng students who are
not nati ve Engl i sh speakers, and use these same i denti fi cati on terms for
reporti ng purposes. The gl ossary i n the back of thi s gui de l i sts and defi nes
such terms.
iv
T her e i s no equal i ty of tr eatment mer el y by pr ovi di ng students wi th the same
faci l i ti es, textbooks, teacher s, and cur r i cul um; for students who do not under stand
Engl i sh ar e effecti vel y for ecl osed fr om any meani ngful educati on.
Lau v. Ni chol s, 1974
English Language Learners and School Environments
Engl i sh l anguage l earners i n publ i c school s consti tute the fastest-growi ng
student popul ati on i n the Uni ted States. Accordi ng to the Nati onal
Cl eari nghouse for Engl i sh Language Acqui si ti on, i n 2002 state departments of
educati on reported approxi matel y 5,127,037 Engl i sh l anguage l earners (ELLs)
enrol l ed i n grades preK-12.
1
Regardl ess of the l abel s used, ELL students represent a myri ad of backgrounds
and experi ences, and many students are newl y-arri ved i mmi grants or refugees
l earni ng the l anguage and getti ng acquai nted wi th U.S. cul ture. Others are
chi l dren of sojourners (peopl e from other countri es who are worki ng or
studyi ng i n the U.S. for a fi ni te peri od of ti me). Other ELLs are chi l dren born
i n the U.S. or a U.S. terri tory who speak l anguages other than Engl i sh i n thei r
homes or communi ti es.
The formal educati onal experi ences of these students are as di verse as thei r
backgrounds. Some students enter U.S. school s wi th a strong educati onal
background i n thei r fi rst l anguage. They have had consi stent school i ng and
are abl e to compl ete work i n thei r nati ve l anguage at thei r grade l evel .
However, there are other students who for soci al , pol i ti cal , or economi c
reasons have not been fortunate enough to attend school regul arl y, and there
may be major gaps i n thei r educati on. There are even those who have never
attended school . Furthermore, attendance i n U.S. school s does not al ways
ensure a consi stent or appropri ate educati on for ELLs. Students who have
moved from one di stri ct to another or even from school to school wi thi n a
di stri ct may have experi enced a confusi ng assortment of curri cul a, programs,
and i nstructi onal strategi es.
2
When students are i denti fi ed as l i mi ted Engl i sh profi ci ent, Ti tl e I I I of the
El ementary and Secondary Educati on Act (2001), al so known as No Chi l d Left
Behi nd or NCLB, requi res thei r school di stri ct to provi de appropri ate programs
to hel p them devel op the Engl i sh ski l l s necessary for l earni ng and for
1
English Language Learners
in U.S. Schools
1
CHAPTER
2
performi ng ri gorous academi c work i n Engl i sh. Si mi l arl y, Ti tl e VI of the Ci vi l
Ri ghts Act (1964) affi rms that di stri cts must hel p ELL students overcome
l anguage barri ers and ensure that they can parti ci pate meani ngful l y i n the
di stri cts educati onal programs.
3
Programs for ELLs must hel p students devel op both Engl i sh l anguage
profi ci ency and academi c ski l l s. Such programs vary accordi ng to many
factors such as the number of students, thei r grade l evel s, home l anguage(s),
and state l aws governi ng educati on. I n some programs, Engl i sh i s the onl y
l anguage used for i nstructi on. Other programs use the chi l drens home
l anguages to keep students from fal l i ng behi nd i n thei r academi c cl asses. Yet
other programs stri ve to support academi c l anguage and l i teracy devel opment
i n Engl i sh and another l anguage.
4
To sel ect or create an appropri ate ELL program model , i t i s necessary to know
about the l ocal ELL popul ati on. The Educati on Al l i ances 2003 publ i cati on,
Cl ai mi ng Oppor tuni ti es: A H andbook for I mpr ovi ng Educati on for Engl i sh
Language Lear ner s T hr ough Compr ehensi ve School Refor m, provi des a set of
questi ons to hel p school s or di stri cts di scuss and l earn about thei r ELL
popul ati ons. The publ i cati on provi des a Student Popul ati on Di scussi on Tool
wi th questi ons to hel p a teacher frame the di scussi on:
How many or what percentage of students i n the school have a home
l anguage other than Engl i sh?
What l anguages are spoken i n thei r homes?
What pl aces of ori gi n are represented?
Are students from urban or rural backgrounds?
What communi ty organi zati ons represent vari ous groups?
What educati onal backgrounds are represented? (Conti nuous or
i nterrupted pri or school i ng, no pri or school i ng, school i ng i n home country,
rural or urban school i ng, preschool , ki ndergarten?)
Are some students l i terate i n another l anguage?
Are ELLs the subject of many di sci pl i nary referral s or acti ons i n your
school ?
How many or what percentage of students i n the school are actual l y
cl assi fi ed as ELL?
q How many students currentl y recei ve l anguage servi ces?
q How are these students di stri buted across grade l evel s?
q What are thei r l evel s of Engl i sh profi ci ency?
q What l anguage servi ces do ELLs currentl y recei ve?
q I n what types of cl assrooms do they recei ve l i teracy and content
i nstructi on?
q What are these ELLs academi c strengths and weaknesses? (What i s the
evi dence?)
How many students (for whom Engl i sh i s a second l anguage) have met
exi ti ng cri teri a and are now cl assi fi ed as Engl i sh profi ci ent?
q How are these students di stri buted across grade l evel s?
q What servi ces, such as moni tori ng or transi ti onal support, do exi ted
ELLs currentl y recei ve?
q How do they perform i n mai nstream cl asses? (What i s the evi dence?)
q What are thei r academi c strengths and weaknesses? (What i s the
evi dence?)
When sel ecti ng and i mpl ementi ng ELL program model s, i t i s i mportant to take
i nto consi derati on pri nci pl es that support a hi gh-qual i ty ELL envi ronment.
The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty al so proposes a set of ni ne such
pri nci pl es for bui l di ng an ELL-responsi ve l earni ng envi ronment whi ch wi l l
hel p to prepare students for hi gh-stakes assessments.
5
They posi t that ELLs are most successful when:
School l eaders, admi ni strators, and educators recogni ze that educati ng
ELLs i s the responsi bi l i ty of the enti re school staff.
Educators recogni ze that ELLs are a heterogeneous group who di ffer
greatl y i n respect to l i ngui sti c, cul tural , soci al , fami l i al , and personal
backgrounds.
Students l anguages and cul tures are uti l i zed as a resource for further
l earni ng.
There are strong l i nks connecti ng home, school , and communi ty.
ELLs are afforded equi tabl e access to school resources and programs.
There are hi gh expectati ons of al l ELLs.
There are qual i fi ed teachers who are wel l -prepared and wi l l i ng to work
wi th ELLs.
Language and l i teracy are i nfused throughout the educati onal process,
i ncl udi ng i n curri cul um and i nstructi on.
Assessment i s val i d and purposeful and i ncl udes consi derati on of both
fi rst- and second-l anguage l i teracy devel opment.
Assessment Determines the Need for ELL Services
Li sted bel ow i s a bri ef summary of some of the i ssues rel ated to the process of
i denti fyi ng Engl i sh l anguage l earners. (For a more detai l ed descri pti on of the
process, refer to the NCLR publ i cati on Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s:
Under standi ng and Usi ng A ssessment and to The Educati on Al l i ance websi te on
Assessment of Di verse Learners:
http:/ / www.al l i ance.brown.edu.tdl .assment/ i ndex.shtml .)
3
Screening Process
The federal government requi res that al l students enrol l i ng for the fi rst ti me
i n a school di stri ct be screened to ascertai n i f they are l i mi ted Engl i sh
profi ci ent. Each school / di stri ct i s responsi bl e for establ i shi ng i ts own cri teri a
to determi ne el i gi bi l i ty for ELL programs and servi ces. Di stri cts must al so
i mpl ement procedures to i denti fy and assess Engl i sh l anguage l earners and to
gather accurate l anguage profi ci ency and academi c i nformati on so that
l earners recei ve appropri ate educati onal servi ces.
6
The fi rst step of screeni ng may be compl eted through a home l anguage survey
that contai ns questi ons regardi ng l anguage used at home wi th caregi vers,
si bl i ngs, and peers. The questi ons on the survey are rel ated to the cri teri a set
at the school or di stri ct l evel used to cl assi fy a student as an Engl i sh l anguage
l earner. These students are then referred for l anguage profi ci ency assessment
to determi ne i f ELL program servi ces are appropri ate. I f a student i s
determi ned not to be an ELL under the school s or di stri cts cri teri a, then no
speci al ELL servi ces are requi red, unl ess the student has previ ousl y been
i denti fi ed as an Engl i sh l anguage l earner and has not yet achi eved academi c
benchmarks. I n such a case, the student woul d be pl aced i n the appropri ate
l anguage support model (bi l i ngual educati on/ ESL) offered at the speci fi c
school or wi thi n the school di stri ct.
Assessment
The proper assessment of potenti al ELLs i s i mportant. By usi ng assessments
appropri atel y, a school or di stri ct can:
I denti fy students i n need of Engl i sh l anguage support servi ces
Pl ace students i n an appropri ate program
Moni tor student progress i n programs
Adjust program servi ces when necessary
Determi ne exi t cri teri a
Assessment of Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency shoul d i ncl ude measurement of
the students l i steni ng comprehensi on, speaki ng, readi ng, and wri ti ng ski l l s i n
Engl i sh. Gi ven the numerous di mensi ons of l anguage and the compl exi ty of
the l anguage requi red by vari ous school tasks and subjects, i t i s unl i kel y that a
si ngl e test coul d accuratel y tel l us al l we need to know about a students
l anguage profi ci ency. Consequentl y, when determi ni ng students el i gi bi l i ty
for ELL servi ces, i t i s i mportant to draw upon other sources of i nformati on,
i ncl udi ng the home l anguage survey, previ ous school achi evement,
i nformati on from parents or guardi ans, and i nformal teacher assessments. I n
addi ti on, an assessment of students Language 1 (nati ve l anguage) ski l l s can
provi de val uabl e i nformati on on l anguage devel opment and academi c
achi evement.
4
Many l anguage profi ci ency assessment i nstruments are commerci al l y
produced and are norm-referenced and cri teri on- and standards-based. Base
the sel ecti on or creati on of a l anguage profi ci ency assessment i nstrument on
your school or di stri ct ELL student strengths, needs, and demographi cs. Keep
i n mi nd that i t i s i mportant to proceed cauti ousl y when sel ecti ng a speci fi c
test i nstrument. I n addi ti on, check wi th the appropri ate di stri ct or state
educati onal agency to determi ne whether parti cul ar l anguage profi ci ency
assessment i nstruments are mandated. (A l i st of l anguage profi ci ency
assessment materi al s i n Engl i sh, Spani sh, and other l anguages i s avai l abl e i n
Appendi x D. For more i nformati on and resources on thi s topi c, refer to the
NCLR publ i cati on Educati ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s: Under standi ng and
Usi ng A ssessment. A comprehensi ve searchabl e database of Engl i sh l anguage
profi ci ency tests whi ch i ncl udes test descri pti ons, purchasi ng i nformati on,
grade l evel s assessed, purposes of tests, and l anguages addressed can be found
at the Center for Equi ty and Excel l ence i n Educati on Test Database Websi te:
http:/ / eri cae.net/ eac/ )
Whi l e tests are fundamental assessment tool s, they do not provi de al l the
i nformati on that a school or di stri ct needs to ensure that ELLs recei ve the
most favorabl e program pl acement.
7
The fol l owi ng are questi ons that shoul d
be answered duri ng i ni ti al assessment and screeni ng:
Can the student parti ci pate i n the oral l anguage of a mai nstream
cl assroom?
Can the student read and wri te Engl i sh at l evel s si mi l ar to hi s or her
mai nstream grade-l evel peers?
Does the student need ESL or bi l i ngual servi ces?
Does the student need an ESL or bi l i ngual program?
I f the student needs an ESL or bi l i ngual program, what shoul d hi s or her
pl acement be?
Does the student read and wri te hi s or her nati ve l anguage at grade l evel ?
Are the students academi c ski l l s near grade l evel i n the nati ve l anguage?
What speci fi c ski l l s of Engl i sh l anguage grammar/ vocabul ary does the
student l ack?
I s the student progressi ng i n devel opi ng oral or wri tten Engl i sh l anguage
ski l l s?
Acquiring an Additional Language
Devel opi ng profi ci ency i n a second l anguage i s a compl ex and l i fe-al teri ng
process. The fol l owi ng i s a descri pti on of thi s process:
Ones whol e person i s affected i n the struggl e to reach beyond the confi nes of
a fi rst l anguage and i nto a new l anguage, a new cul ture, a new way of
thi nki ng, feel i ng, and acti ng. Total commi tment, total i nvol vement, and a total
5
physi cal , i ntel l ectual , and emoti onal response i s necessary to successful l y
send and recei ve messages i n a second l anguage.
8
Di fferences among second l anguage l earners i n the speed of l anguage
acqui si ti on and the l evel s of l anguage profi ci ency attai ned can be attri buted to
such i ndi vi dual di fferences as moti vati on, personal i ty, atti tude, soci ocul tural
tradi ti ons, and age as wel l as to contextual factors such as amount, type, and
qual i ty of i nstructi on, opportuni ti es for posi ti ve i nteracti ons wi th profi ci ent
speakers, and school or communi ty characteri sti cs.
Questi ons about the process of second l anguage acqui si ti on have resul ted i n
what Rod El l i s, head of Appl i ed Li ngui sti c Studi es at the Uni versi ty of
Auckl and, New Zeal and, cal l s a pl ethora of frameworks, model s, and
theori es. Research i n second l anguage acqui si ti on i nvesti gates di verse topi cs
such as l earners grammati cal devel opment, vocabul ary growth, the abi l i ty to
speak appropri atel y across setti ngs, pronunci ati on, comprehensi on, and
rel ati onshi ps between fi rst and second l anguage profi ci ency. Studi es exami ne
l earners of di fferent ages i n di fferent types of cl assrooms and i n other setti ngs.
Learni ng the grammati cal rul es and structural patterns of another l anguage
does not necessari l y l ead to fl uency i n the l anguage. Some i ndi vi dual s study a
l anguage but cannot use i t. Others pi ck up l anguages wi thout formal
i nstructi on. Some l earners can communi cate fl uentl y and effecti vel y, but not
wi th grammati cal correctness. Others may speak hal ti ngl y as they l abori ousl y
construct grammati cal l y-correct sentences. Most of those who speak a second
l anguage have had the experi ence of speaki ng spontaneousl y and catchi ng
themsel ves about to make a grammati cal error and tryi ng to correct i t as they
speak. Stress and anxi ety mi ght al so have negati ve effects on how wel l one
communi cates i n a second l anguage.
A Review of the Academic Literature
The second l anguage acqui si ti on theori es of Steven Krashen, a theori st whose
work has strongl y i nfl uenced practi ce i n the U.S. si nce the 1970s, provi de one
set of expl anati ons for the experi ences descri bed above. Hi s theori es provi de a
good starti ng poi nt for a di scussi on of second l anguage acqui si ti on i ssues and
theori es.
Krashen di sti ngui shes between two di sti nct ki nds of l anguage l earni ng: 1)
pi cki ng up or acqui ri ng a l anguage subconsci ousl y through exposure and 2)
l earni ng a l anguage through the consci ous study and appl i cati on of
grammati cal rul es. I n Krashens vi ew, i ndi vi dual s become fl uent when they
acqui re a l anguage through meani ngful exposure to the l anguage, and they do
not become fl uent when they study grammar patterns and rul es. Krashen
further speci fi es that pi cki ng up or acqui ri ng a l anguage requi res exposure to
l anguage that i s meani ngful and i nteresti ng, and can be parti al l y understood.
Thi s ki nd of l anguage i s referred to as meani ngful , comprehensi bl e i nput.
6
Al though Krashen pl aces l i ttl e i mportance on speci fyi ng the i deal l evel s of
comprehensi bi l i ty, other researchers such as Rod Ellis and Jane Yedlin cl ai m
that the most useful l anguage i nput i s adjusted for the l earner i n response to
the l earners profi ci ency l evel , pri or knowl edge, and i nterests.
Al though El l i s does not recommend a steady di et of grammar rul es and dri l l s,
he has found that when l earners are prompted to pay attenti on to l i ngui sti c
features of a message (e.g., the fact that adjecti ves precede nouns: red house,
ol d man, i mportant chapter), i ntake and l anguage acqui si ti on are enhanced.
Addi ti onal l y, whi l e Krashen focuses on the rol e of the l anguage i nput, other
researchers remi nd us of the i mportance of l anguage output, where l earners
move from l i steni ng and readi ng to speaki ng and wri ti ng. Merrill Swain
expl ai ns that messages can be understood wi thout l i ngui sti c anal ysi s, but
l earners must pay attenti on to l anguage structure. Moreover, soci al
constructi vi st theori sts emphasi ze the i mportance of soci al i nteracti on for
second l anguage acqui si ti on. Lily Wong-Fillmore contends that l anguage
l earners must i nteract wi th peopl e who are fl uent i n the l anguage.
Conversati onal i nteracti ons wi th fl uent speakers provi de several benefi ts.
Conversati on provi des opportuni ti es for i nput and output i n face-to-face
si tuati ons that hel p make l anguage more understandabl e. Frequent
conversati onal practi ce hel ps l earners devel op fl uent speech wi thout frequent
hesi tati on. Fi nal l y, i n conversati on, l anguage l earners get di rect feedback as
to whether or not they communi cated successful l y and whether they shoul d
reformul ate the message.
I n conversati ons, fl uent speakers can hel p l anguage l earners by adjusti ng thei r
speech to the l earners comprehensi on l evel and by aski ng questi ons,
paraphrasi ng, and provi di ng cl ari fi cati on. These i nteracti ons support and
extend the l earners abi l i ty to communi cate i n the second l anguage (as noted
by Craig Chaudron, Rod El l i s, and Claude Goldenberg). I n Krashens vi ew,
knowl edge of grammati cal rul es or grammati cal structure charts does not
contri bute to fl uency, but thi s type of knowl edge does hel p l anguage l earners
moni tor and edi t thei r speech and wri ti ng for accuracy. Studyi ng rul es
wi thout opportuni ti es for acqui si ti on i s thought by Krashen to resul t i n overl y
moni tored hal ti ng speech. Wong-Fi l l more and C.E. Snow cl ai m that l anguage
acqui si ti on wi thout attenti on to l anguage form often resul ts i n persi stent l ong-
term grammati cal errors, cal l ed fossi l i zati on. Wong-Fi l l more and Snow stress
that cl assrooms must provi de opportuni ti es to use and to l earn about l anguage.
A fi nal feature of Krashens model i s hi s Affecti ve Fi l ter hypothesi s, i n whi ch
he suggests that l anguage cannot be acqui red i f emoti onal states such as
anxi ety, boredom, or di si nterest bl ock l anguage i nput to the brai n. Al though
the mechani sm i s not agreed upon, most educators and l anguage l earners
woul d agree that posi ti ve emoti onal states and posi ti ve rel ati onshi ps faci l i tate
l anguage acqui si ti on and l anguage producti on or output.
7
Susana Dutro and Carrol Moran have conducted research on second
l anguage teachi ng and l earni ng and have revi ewed several second l anguage
acqui si ti on theori es. These experi ences have contri buted to the vi ew that a
cl assroom shoul d provi de trai ni ng to pi ck up l anguage and l essons about
l anguage. The teacher shoul d provi de l earners wi th opportuni ti es to l i sten, to
i nteract, and to speak i n a nonthreateni ng cl assroom envi ronment, where
thei r home l anguage and worl d knowl edge are both acknowl edged and used.
Dutro and Moran formul ate si x i nstructi onal pri nci pl es for devel opi ng hi gh
l evel s of l anguage profi ci ency:
9
Teachers must:
1. Bui l d on students pri or knowl edge of l anguage and content
2. Create meani ngful contexts for functi onal use of l anguage
3. Provi de comprehensi bl e i nput and model (dai l y appl i cabi l i ty) forms of
l anguage i n a vari ety of ways connected to meani ng
4. Provide a range of opportunities for practice and application to develop fluency
5. Establ i sh a posi ti ve and supporti ve envi ronment for practi ce wi th cl ear
goal s and i mmedi ate correcti ve feedback
6. Refl ect on the forms of l anguage and the process of l earni ng
James Cummins offers another key perspecti ve on second l anguage
acqui si ti on. Accordi ng to Cummi ns, l anguage profi ci ency i s, to some degree,
transferabl e across l anguages. Cummi ns descri bes a common underl yi ng
component of l anguage profi ci ency i n whi ch knowl edge of each l anguage
enri ches and contri butes to the other.
Lynne Diaz-Rico and Kathryn Weed have exami ned the l i teracy ski l l s that
transfer from Language 1 to Language 2 as refl ected i n the fol l owi ng chart:
8
Print has meaning
Reading and writing are used for various
purposes
Concepts about print
Book orientation concepts (how to hold,
to turn pages)
Directionality (left to right, top to bottom)
Letters (letter names, lower case, upper
case)
Words (composed of letters; spaces mark
boundaries)
Knowledge of text structure
Use of semantic and syntactic knowledge
Use of cues to predict meaning
Reading strategies (hypothesizing,
constructing meaning)
Confidence in self as reader
CONCEPTS and SKI LLS shown to transfer from
first language literacy to second language literacy
Many bi l i ngual students seem to be profi ci ent i n Engl i sh, yet do poorl y on
academi c tasks. Thi s i s usual l y due to the fact that the l anguage of everyday
soci al i nteracti on devel ops more qui ckl y than the more compl ex l anguage
needed to read, wri te, and di scuss more chal l engi ng concepts. The mi staki ng
of conversati onal l anguage profi ci ency for academi c l anguage profi ci ency has
often resul ted i n premature pl acement of some ELLs i n general educati on
cl assrooms before they have devel oped the requi si te academi c l anguage ski l l s.
There i s evi dence that al though l earners can devel op conversati onal ski l l s
wi thi n two years, i t may take fi ve or more years to devel op the necessary
academi c l anguage.
Cummi ns devi sed a framework to hel p expl ai n the l anguage demands i nvol ved
i n academi c tasks.
Wi thi n the framework are two conti nua of communi cati on, one representi ng
the cogni ti ve demand pl aced on the l earner i n the si tuati on (from not very
demandi ng to hi ghl y demandi ng) and the other representi ng the amount of
contextual support that the l earner i s gi ven (from context-embedded to
context-reduced). Communi cati on i s sai d to be context-embedded when
supports to meani ng, such as fami l i ar routi nes, acti ons, gestures, pi ctures,
vi deo, objects, or even i ntonati ons, are provi ded to the l earner to faci l i tate
understandi ng. Context-reduced communi cati on provi des fewer cl ues to
support comprehensi on.
Students are frequentl y exposed to cogni ti vel y-demandi ng communi cati on i n
the cl assroom when they are asked to anal yze or eval uate i nformati on. They
are l i kel y to be i n l ess cogni ti vel y-demandi ng si tuati ons when they are on the
pl ayground or soci al l y i nteracti ng wi th other students. Cummi ns theory has
i mportant i mpl i cati ons for the educati on of ELLs. I f these students are
expected to l earn chal l engi ng academi c materi al , then they must be gi ven the
proper contextual and l i ngui sti c supports to be successful . Currentl y a
number of researchers are exami ni ng academi c l anguage i n di fferent setti ngs
to arri ve at a better descri pti on of the standards ELLs must meet.
10
9
context
A
cognitively
undermanding
B
context
embedded
C
cognitively
demanding
D
reduced
Figure 1.
Cummins Continuum
1-
ENTERING
Stages and Levels of Language Development
Most theori sts acknowl edge that second l anguage l earners progress through
certai n devel opmental stages when acqui ri ng a second l anguage, though the
ti me peri od for each stage vari es dependi ng on the i ndi vi dual l earner. I n
recent years, work has been undertaken to devel op a framework that can be
used to descri be l earners progress i n the devel opment of these Engl i sh
l anguage ski l l s, whi ch l ead to the Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency necessary for
academi c success.
Li sted bel ow are the l anguage profi ci ency l evel s used for the strategi es and
techni ques found i n thi s gui debook.
11
The fi ve l anguage profi ci ency l evel s are
used by Worl d-Cl ass I nstructi onal Desi gn and Assessment (WI DA), a
consorti um that has grown from three states Wi sconsi n, Del aware, and
Arkansas to i ncl ude Rhode I sl and, Vermont, New Hampshi re, Mai ne, I l l i noi s,
and the Di stri ct of Col umbi a, to provi de benchmarks i n the progressi on of
l anguage devel opment. The l anguage profi ci ency l evel s are l i nked to
speci fi cal l y expected performance, and they descri be what Engl i sh l anguage
l earners can do wi thi n each domai n (l i steni ng, speaki ng, readi ng, and wri ti ng)
of the standards. Fi gure 2 depi cts the l evel s of l anguage profi ci ency as
steppi ngstones al ong the pathway to academi c success. The progressi on i s
conti nued i n Fi gure 3, where Engl i sh l anguage l earners cross the bri dge from
Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency to meet state academi c content standards.
10
5-
BRIDGING
Figure 2. The Levels of English Language Proficiency
Figure 3. The Bridge Between English Language
Proficiency and Academic Achievement for English
Language Learners
3-
DEVELOPING
4-
EXPANDING
2-
BEGINNING
5-
BRIDGING
Attainment of state academic
content standards
The performance defi ni ti ons provi de an overvi ew of the l anguage acqui si ti on
process and serve as a summary and synthesi s of the model performance
i ndi cators for each l anguage profi ci ency l evel . Three cri teri a or descri ptors
have been used to form the defi ni ti ons. They are based on the students
i ncreasi ng (1) comprehensi on and use of the techni cal l anguage of the content
areas; (2) l i ngui sti c compl exi ty of oral i nteracti on or wri ti ng; and (3)
devel opment of phonol ogi c, syntacti c and semanti c understandi ng or usage as
they move through the second l anguage acqui si ti on conti nuum.
Fi gure 4 provi des performance defi ni ti ons for the fi ve l anguage profi ci ency
l evel s of the Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency standards.
11
5-
Bridging
4-
Expanding
3-
Developing
2-
Beginning
1-
Entering
the technical language of the content areas;
a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguistic complexity in extended oral or
written discourse, including stories, essays, or reports;
q oral or written language approaching comparability to that of English
proficient peers when presented with grade level material
specific and some technical language of the content areas;
a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguistic complexity in oral discourse or
multiple, related paragraphs;
q oral or written language with minimal phonological, syntactic, or semantic
errors that do not impede the overall meaning of the communication when
presented with oral or written connected discourse with occasional visual
and graphic support
general and some specific language of the content areas;
expanded sentences in oral interaction or written paragraphs;
q oral or written or written language with phonological, syntactic, or semantic
errors that may impede the communication but retain much of its meaning
when presented with oral or written, narrative or expository descriptions with
occasional visual and graphic support
general language related to the content areas;
phrases or short sentences;
q oral or written language with phonological, syntactic, or semantic errors that
often impede the meaning of the communication when presented with one
to multiple-step commands, directions, questions, or a series of statements
with visual and graphic support
pictorial or graphic representation of the language of the content areas;
words, phrases, or chunks of language when presented with one-step
commands, directions, WH-questions, or statements with visual and graphic
support
At the given level of English language proficiency, English language learners will process,
understand, produce, or use:
Figure 4. Performance Definitions for the K-12
English Language Proficiency Standards
Usi ng the WI DA domai ns, standards, and defi ned profi ci ency l evel s wi l l hel p
teachers and admi ni strators l ay a foundati on on whi ch to bui l d thei r
curri cul um and i nstructi onal pl an. The WI DA domai ns and standards are
currentl y under revi ew by TESOL for potenti al recommended use nati onwi de.
12
13
Language Instruction and
Academic Development
2
CHAPTER
Chi l dr en of di ver se l i ngui sti c and cul tur al gr oups i n the Uni ted States face obstacl es
i n havi ng thei r educati onal needs addr essed i n ways that ar e appr opr i ate and
consi stent wi th thei r pr i or l ear ni ng.
Bertha Perez
Developing Suitable Programs for ELLs
Each school communi ty i s di sti nct, wi th i ts own set of ci rcumstances and
needs. Each school must devel op l anguage pol i ci es and educati onal goal s
speci fi c to, and appropri ate for, i ts popul ati on. When the school popul ati on
i ncl udes Engl i sh l anguage l earners, the school must consi der i ts uni que
l anguage and academi c needs. To meet these academi c needs, school s shoul d
desi gn a program for ELLs wi th the ai m to:
Hel p students devel op grade-l evel academi c l anguage profi ci ency
Hel p al l students achi eve and meet hi gh academi c standards
I ntegrate soci ocul tural content that i s l i nked to l earners ethni c
communi ti es and to soci ety at l arge
These three overarchi ng ai ms can hel p school s as they devel op thei r mi ssi on
statements and deci de on program model s that wi l l meet the needs of thei r
ELLs.
1
To devel op a hi gh-qual i ty program, i t i s necessary to remember that
language proficiency includes both conversational and academic language.
Although it is usually easier to become fluent in conversational language,
students must learn the sociocultural nuances of the language, such as when to
speak and how formally, how to speak to children versus adults, and so on. Even
when they are in mainstream classrooms, it is likely that ELLs will continue to
need support in developing proficiency in both written and spoken English.
To hel p Engl i sh l anguage l earners achi eve hi gh academi c standards, i t i s
i mportant for school s to hel p students navi gate the bri dge between thei r home
cul tures and the school cul tures. Teachers and admi ni strators foster a posi ti ve
educati onal cl i mate when they show respect for students home cul tures and
use students l anguage and pri or knowl edge as resources to bui l d upon. Thi s
i mportant poi nt i s devel oped i n Chapter 3: Cul tural l y-Responsi ve I nstructi on.
Our academi c expectati ons for ELLs shoul d be the same as those for nati ve
Engl i sh speakers. Thi s means that curri cul um and i nstructi on shoul d not be
watered down for ELLs because of thei r l i mi ted l anguage profi ci ency.
Rather, teachers shoul d use strategi es that provi de ELLs wi th the scaffol di ng
necessary to hel p them l earn new concepts and achi eve hi gh standards. The
i nstructi onal strategi es sel ected wi th ELLs i n mi nd shoul d be based on a
combi nati on of l anguage and academi c goal s wi thi n the framework of
establ i shed academi c achi evement ti mel i nes.
What are Language Goals?
School goal s for students l anguage devel opment vary across di fferent setti ngs.
Someti mes they are expl i ci tl y i ncl uded i n a mi ssi on statement. I n other cases,
l anguage goal s have never been expl i ci tl y di scussed or wri tten down. Often
members of the same school communi ty do not have the same goal s for
chi l drens l anguage devel opment. Choosi ng and i mpl ementi ng effecti ve
educati onal programs for ELLs requi res careful consi derati on of the l anguage
goal s of the school or di stri ct, i ts avai l abl e resources, and the needs and
characteri sti cs of i ts students and the communi ty they represent. I n sel ecti ng
a program model , the fi rst questi on shoul d be, What are the l anguage goal s?
Your answers to the questi ons bel ow wi l l hel p to determi ne the appropri ate
program model that i s consi stent wi th the l anguage goal s.
I s the goal for students i n your school to:
Acqui re oral and wri tten Engl i sh as qui ckl y as possi bl e?
Acqui re oral and wri tten Engl i sh and mai ntai n oral fl uency i n thei r nati ve
l anguage?
Be bi l i ngual and bi l i terate i n Engl i sh and thei r nati ve l anguage?
Recognized ELL Program Models
Several model s exi st for the practi cal i nstructi onal program desi gn for the
educati on of Engl i sh l anguage l earners. The ones l i sted bel ow are based on
second l anguage research.
2
The types of programs that are i mpl emented i n
the nati ons school s vary wi del y and are usual l y the resul t of school -based
deci si ons, gui ded by avai l abl e resources and personnel .
Si nce i t takes ti me to l earn Engl i sh, the most favorabl e program model s for
promoti ng the academi c achi evement of l anguage-mi nori ty students are those
whi ch enabl e students to conti nue to devel op academi c ski l l s whi l e they are
l earni ng thei r new l anguage. Such i nstructi onal programs bui l d upon the
ski l l s and knowl edge that students bri ng to school , and often i ncorporate thei r
l i ngui sti c and cul tural heri tage. I nstructi onal program model s for ELL
students must cater to the speci fi c needs of the gi ven ELL popul ati on i n a
parti cul ar di stri ct and school . Consequentl y, no si ngl e program model works
favorabl y i n al l si tuati ons; the i nstructi on model must be chosen to refl ect the
school s l anguage educati onal goal s for the l earners. The fol l owi ng are
descri pti ons of i nstructi on program model s.
14
Bilingual Program Models
These model s use the students home l anguage, i n addi ti on to Engl i sh, for
i nstructi on. These i nstructi onal programs are most easi l y i mpl emented i n
school s/ di stri cts wi th a l arge number of students from the same l anguage
background. Students i n bi l i ngual programs are grouped accordi ng to thei r
fi rst l anguage, and teachers must be profi ci ent i n both Engl i sh and the
students home l anguage.
15
BILINGUAL PROGRAMS
Transitional bilingual programs (also referred to as early exit) are designed to help
children acquire the English skills required to succeed in an English-only mainstream classroom.
These programs provide some initial instruction in the students first language, primarily for the
introduction of reading, but also for clarification. Instruction in the first language is phased out
rapidly, with most students mainstreamed after two or three years. The choice of an early-exit
model may reflect community or parental preference, or it may be the only bilingual program
available in schools or districts with a limited number of bilingual teachers.
Developmental bilingual programs (also referred to as maintenance or late exit) differ
from early-exit programs primarily in the amount of English and the duration of time that
English is used for instruction as well as the length of time students are to participate in each
program. Students remain in late-exit programs throughout elementary school and continue
to receive 40% or more of their instruction in their first language, even when they have been
reclassified as fluent English proficient.
Two-way bilingual or dual-language programs group English language learner students
from a single language background in the same classroom with native English-speaking
students. Ideally, there is a nearly 50/50 balance between ELLs and native English-speaking
students. Separation of languages is an important principle, and lessons are never repeated or
translated into the second language. There are two primary approaches used: 90/10 and 50/50.
In the 90/10 model, 90% of the school day is in the minority language (the language less
supported by the broader society) for kindergarten and first grade. Following the
introduction of literacy and math through the minority language in kindergarten and first
grade, the majority language is introduced into the curriculum in grades two through
three, and time spent using the majority language gradually increases, until the
curriculum is taught equally through both languages by grades four or five. This model
offers a bilingual immersion experience for the English speakers and a bilingual
maintenance experience for the language-minority students.
The 50/50 model provides instruction in each language for half of each school day.
Thus, half of the instructional time is in English and the other half is in the native
language, for grades K-12. However, concepts taught in one language are reinforced
across the two languages. In some programs, the languages are used on alternating
days. Others may alternate morning and afternoon, or they may divide the use of the
two languages by academic subject. Students in both model variations serve as native-
speaker role models for their peers. These classes may be taught by a single teacher
who is proficient in both languages or by two teachers, one of whom is bilingual.
One-way bilingual immersion program model may use either the 90/10 or 50/50
approach, and generally includes students from the same language background: either all
non-native English speakers or all native English speakers.
I t shoul d be noted that ESL i nstructi on i s requi red for ELLs i n bi l i ngual
i nstructi on programs. Students may recei ve i nstructi on i n thei r nati ve
l anguage, as descri bed i n the above bi l i ngual i nstructi on program model s.
However, as part of the bi l i ngual i nstructi on programs, students must recei ve
speci al i zed ESL i nstructi on. Thi s i nstructi on i s ai med at hel pi ng students
acqui re the Engl i sh l anguage ski l l s necessary for academi c success.
Engl i sh as a Second Language (ESL) I nstructi onal Programs may be more
appropri ate i n di stri cts where the l anguage mi nori ty popul ati on i s di verse and
represents many di fferent l anguages. ESL i nstructi on programs can
accommodate students from di fferent l anguage backgrounds i n the same cl ass,
and teachers do not need to be profi ci ent i n the home l anguage(s) of thei r
students. I n ESL programs, the i nstructi on i s tai l ored to meet the needs of
ELLs.
16
ESL PROGRAMS
ESL pull-out is generally used in elementary school settings. Students spend part of the
school day in a mainstream classroom, but are pulled out for a portion of each day to
receive instruction in English as a second language. Although schools with a large number of
ESL students may have a full-time ESL teacher, some districts employ an itinerant ESL
teacher who travels to several schools to work with small groups of students scattered
throughout the district. A variation on this model is ESL push-in, whereby the ESL teacher
comes to the mainstream classroom for a designated amount of time each day or week to
work with the ELLs in the class.
The ESL class period is generally used in middle school settings. Students receive ESL
instruction during a regular class period and usually receive course credit. They may be
grouped for instruction according to their level of English proficiency.
The ESL resource center is a variation on the pull-out design, bringing students together
from several classrooms or schools for varying time periods. The resource center
concentrates ESL materials and staff in one location and is usually staffed by at least one
full-time ESL teacher.
OTHER PROGRAMS
Sheltered English or content-based programs (also known as SDAIE, Specially Designed
Academic Instruction Delivered in English) gather language-minority students from different
language backgrounds together either in mainstream or self-contained classes where
teachers use English as the medium for providing content area instruction, adapting their
language to the proficiency level of the students. They may also use gestures and visual aids
to help students understand. Teachers should have training in sheltered English methods,
ESOL, TESOL, or an ESL teaching credential. Although the acquisition of English is one of
the goals of sheltered English and content-based programs, instruction focuses on content
rather than language.
Structured immersion programs use only English, but there is no explicit ESL instruction
included. As in sheltered English and content-based programs, English is taught through the
English Submersion
Submersi on i s the si nk-or-swi m approach not an i nstructi onal program
model , but unfortunatel y a real i ty for many students. Thi s i s most common i n
school s that have a sudden i nfl ux of ELLs because of ei ther redi stri cti ng or a
sudden i nfusi on of new arri val s. ELLs are put i nto mai nstream (al l -Engl i sh
l anguage) cl assrooms wi th no formal i nstructi onal or l anguage support. Few
mai nstream cl assroom teachers have any trai ni ng i n second l anguage
acqui si ti on and are therefore unprepared to serve ELLs adequatel y. Because
these students are often l earni ng to read for the fi rst ti me, they l ack the abi l i ty
to transfer nati ve-l anguage l i teracy ski l l s to Engl i sh. The submersi on process
can resul t i n students becomi ng profi ci ent i n conversati onal Engl i sh rel ati vel y
qui ckl y but fal l i ng behi nd academi cal l y i n the content areas. Thi s method i s
not i n compl i ance wi th U.S. federal standards defi ned as a resul t of the Lau v.
Ni chol s Supreme Court deci si on whi ch determi ned that al l students have a
ri ght to educati on that i s appropri ate for thei r needs.
Standards for Academic Achievement
Regardl ess of the ELL program sel ected, i t i s i mportant to mai ntai n standards
for Engl i sh l anguage devel opment. TESOL has establ i shed three broad goal s
for ELLs at al l age l evel s, whi ch i ncl ude personal , soci al , and academi c uses of
Engl i sh. Each goal i s associ ated wi th three di sti nct standards that wi l l be met
as a resul t of the i nstructi on that students recei ve. Li sted bel ow are TESOL
PreK-12 Goal s and Standards.
3
17
OTHER PROGRAMS CONT.
content areas. Structured immersion teachers should have basic oral and comprehension
skills in their students first language and have a bilingual education or ESL teaching
credential. The teachers use of the childrens first language is limited primarily to clarification
of English instruction. Most students are mainstreamed after two or three years.
Newcomer programs were developed for newly-arrived immigrant students in some
schools/districts. The instructional program combines teaching ESL with content instruction,
as well as some L1 (Language 1) academic support whenever possible; social service
information is provided to assist families with adaptation to this country. For legal reasons
associated with desegregation, students are not generally kept in a separate newcomer
program for more than one or two years.
Al though the TESOL standards can be qui te useful , they do not provi de as
much detai l as educators need to ensure that ELLs achi eve hi gh standards i n
al l content areas. WI DA has created speci fi c standards for ELLs, whi ch serve
as a bri dge to hi gh standards for al l l earners.
4
WI DA standards are cl ustered
around grade-l evel groupi ngs and l evel s of l anguage acqui si ti on and l i teracy
devel opment. Presented bel ow i s one secti on of the WI DA Readi ng Standards
for ELLs.
18
TESOL PREK-12 GOALS AND STANDARDS
Goal 1: To use English to communicate
in social settings
A primary goal of ESL instruction is to assist
students in communicating effectively in
English. This goal does not suggest,
however, that students should lose their
native-language proficiency.
Goal 2: To use English to achieve
academically in all content areas
English competence is critical for success in
school settings. Students are expected to
understand content in English and to
compete academically with native-English-
speaking peers. This process requires that
learners use spoken and written English in
their schoolwork.
Goal 3: To use English in socially- and
culturally-appropriate ways
Students need to be able to understand and
appreciate people who are different,
culturally and linguistically and who
communicate effectively with them. Such
communication includes the ability to
interact in multiple social settings.
Standards for Goal 1
Students will:
1. Use English to participate in social
interaction
2. Interact in, through, and with spoken and
written English for personal expression
and enjoyment
3. Use learning strategies to extend
communicative competence
Students will:
1. Use English to interact in the classroom
2. Use English to obtain, process,
construct, and provide subject matter
information in spoken and written form
3. Use appropriate learning strategies to
construct and apply academic
knowledge
Students will:
1. Use the appropriate language variety,
register, and genre according to
audience, purpose, and setting
2. Use nonverbal communication
appropriate to audience, purpose, and
setting
3. Use appropriate learning strategies to
extend their sociolinguistic and
sociocultural competence
19
Grade Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Level Entering Beginning Developing Expanding Bridging
Cluster
Identify
environmental
print (such as
signs around
school or the
community).
Identify topics
from pictures,
words, or
phrases (such
as daily
routines
associated
with time
periods).
Locate facts or
information on
socially-related
topics (such as
the school
dance).
Match
everyday
information to
visuals.
Identify text
features or web
resources used
for
assignments
(such as titles
or authors).
Extract
information
from environ-
mental print
(such as signs,
bulletin boards,
or menus).
Identify explicit
messages from
visually-
supported,
nontechnical
text (such as
from language
experience
stories).
Connect facts
or information
on socially-
related topics
to examples.
Identify main
idea from
everyday
information
supported by
visuals.
Match text
features or web
resources with
their uses for
assign-ments
(such as using a
table of
contents to find
topics).
Restate
information
found in
visually-
supported print
(such as school
schedules, field
trips, or
celebrations).
Identify main
ideas from
visually-
supported
explicit text
(such as from
school
permission
slips and notes
about school
events).
Compare/contr
ast facts or
information on
socially-related
topics.
Summarize
everyday
information,
supported by
visuals (such
as on
billboards, ads,
or instructions).
Match types of
books or web
resources with
information
needed for
assignments.
Summarize
information
found in
visually-
supported print
on classroom
or school
activities.
Identify main
ideas and
major details
(such as from
school
announce-
ments, dress,
or discipline
codes).
Interpret facts
or information
on socially-
related topics.
Identify details
or related
information
that support
the main idea.
Use text
features or web
resources to
confirm
information for
assignments
(such as
indexes or
glossaries).
Interpret rules
and
procedures
(such as from
the classroom
or school).
Make
inferences
about main
ideas and use
details as
supporting
evidence (such
as from comic
books).
Apply facts or
informa-tion on
socially-related
topics to new
situations.
Infer what to
do based on
everyday
information.
Scan entries in
books or
websites to
locate
information for
assignments.
K-2
3-5
6-8
9-12
Sample WI DA Standards for ELL Students
Domain: Reading process, interpret, and evaluate written
language, symbols, and text
The fol l owi ng chapters provi de i nstructi onal standards, techni ques, and
cul tural l y-responsi ve approaches. The val ue of cul tural l y-responsi ve
i nstructi on i s di scussed as i t rel ates to hi gh academi c achi evement. Sampl e
Nati onal Counci l of Teachers of Engl i sh (NCTE) and Nati onal Readi ng Panel
evi dence-based techni ques and strategi es are presented to hel p one provi de a
posi ti ve i nstructi onal envi ronment for ELLs.
20
T he good teacher i s abl e to l ook at di ver se l ear ner s and see thei r ar eas of need, but
the teacher who i s cul tur al l y r esponsi ve al so sees thei r ar eas of str ength.
Jane Yedl i n
Engl i sh l anguage l earners are cul tural l y- and l i ngui sti cal l y-di verse l earners.
Teachers do not necessari l y come from the same cul tural and l i ngui sti c
backgrounds as thei r l earners. I n part because of thi s, i t i s essenti al that
teachers make consci ous, sustai ned efforts to l earn about thei r students and to
embrace and honor the di versi ty they represent. Teachers must al so make
consi stent and sustai ned efforts to make sure that thei r i nstructi on i s
responsi ve to di verse cul tures.
The Role of Culture in I nstruction
Cul ture i s a vi brant and compl ex concept. There was once a wi despread bel i ef
that cul ture onl y encompassed the three Fs of food, festi val s, and fun.
1
Cul ture i s far more compl i cated and sophi sti cated than that, and i t deserves
attenti on i n every i nstructi onal program. Cul ture i nvol ves val ues, bel i efs, and
ways of doi ng thi ngs (or customs). A sound i nstructi onal program shoul d be
cul tural l y responsi ve to the needs of the l earners.
Teachers shoul d l earn about thei r l earners cul tural backgrounds, i ncl udi ng the
students bel i efs and val ues. Teachers can use courses, workshops, and books
as a way to l earn speci fi c cul tural content as wel l as to gai n the strategi es
necessary to be good cul tural observers. I n addi ti on, probabl y one of the most
effecti ve methods i s observati on. I t i s i mportant for teachers to pay attenti on
to thei r l earners, the fami l y members of thei r students, and others who may
al so represent thei r l earners cul tural backgrounds.
Teachers shoul d often acknowl edge thei r own assumpti ons, and then suspend
those assumpti ons so that they can connect wi th thei r l earners; they must
become as open as possi bl e to cul tural bel i ef systems that di ffer from thei r
own. Educators may have unconsci ous assumpti ons regardi ng what i s
appropri ate and i nappropri ate behavi or i n a cl assroom. For exampl e, a teacher
may pat a young l earner on the head as a si gn of endearment. However, i n
many cul tures (Southeast Asi an cul tures, for exampl e), patti ng on the head i s
reserved for ani mal s and i s not appropri ate for chi l dren. Whi l e most U.S.
teachers expect and eval uate chi l drens verbal parti ci pati on i n cl ass, Southeast
21
Culturally-Responsive
Instruction
3
CHAPTER
Asi an chi l dren may have been brought up to be seen and not heard when
adul ts are present. Si mi l arl y, a teacher who tel l s young l earners to l ook her i n
the eye may confuse some chi l dren wi th a demand that runs counter to home
val ues, where i t can be consi dered rude for a chi l d to l ook an adul t i n the eye.
Educators must be aware of i nstances when thei r own assumpti ons are i n
confl i ct wi th thei r l earners cul tural val ues and adjust thei r assumpti ons so
that they honor and respect thei r students and thei r fami l i es cul tural norms.
Culturally-Responsive Pedagogy
I n a cul tural l y-responsi ve pedagogy, the home cul tures and experi ences of the
students are used as resources for teachi ng and l earni ng. The fi rst step i s to
l earn about and honor the students val ues and bel i ef systems.
Once an atmosphere of cul tural respect has been establ i shed, i t wi l l be easi er
to i ncorporate the l earners cul tural backgrounds i nto i nstructi on. From i ts
extensi ve research studi es wi th at-ri sk chi l dren, the Center for Research on
Educati on, Di versi ty and Excel l ence (CREDE) has devel oped a set of pri nci pl es
to gui de school systems i n thei r work wi th students of di verse backgrounds
and cul tures. Several of the CREDE pri nci pl es are si mi l ar to the
characteri sti cs that researchers have observed i n hi gh-poverty school s, whi ch
are al so hi gh-performi ng.
2
22
CREDE PRINCIPLES HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOL SUCCESS
I. Joint Productive Activity: Facilitate
learning through joint productive activity
among teachers and students.
II. Language Development: Develop
students competence in the language
and literacy of instruction throughout all
instructional activities.
III. Contextualization: Contextualize
teaching and curriculum, using the
experiences and skills of home and
community.
IV Challenging Activities: Challenge
students toward cognitive complexity.
V. Instructional Conversations
Collaborative decision-making
Teachers accept their role in student
success or failure
Strategic assignment of staff
Caring staff and faculty
Dedication to diversity and equity
(Not discussed in the research)
Regular teacher-parent communication
Believe that all students can succeed at high
levels
High expectations
Pedagogi es that i ncl ude students cul tural references i n al l aspects of thei r
l earni ng shoul d be endorsed. Gl ori a Ladson-Bi l l i ngs, for exampl e, proposes a
model of teachi ng that she terms cul tural l y rel evant, whi ch woul d assi st
students i n embraci ng thei r own cul tural i denti ty, whi l e at the same ti me
encouragi ng them to l ook wi th a cri ti cal eye at soci al i nequi ti es.
3
She ci tes an
exampl e of one cl ass of Afri can Ameri can mi ddl e school students whose
school , l ocated i n a poor communi ty, was surrounded by l i quor stores,
whereas school s i n the more affl uent part of town were free from thi s
exposure due to zoni ng regul ati ons. Students wrote reports and edi tori al s and
drew up maps and graphs to expose the i nequi ty. L.C. Mol l and others have
done extensi ve research wi th teachers who have expl ored, i denti fi ed, and bui l t
upon the bodi es or funds of knowl edge that students bri ng wi th them from
thei r homes and communi ti es. I n one Cal i forni a school , for exampl e,
i mmi grant and refugee parents knowl edge of farmi ng was used as a resource
and a poi nt of departure for l essons i n pl ant sci ence, readi ng, wri ti ng, and
other content areas.
4
There are many approaches or strategi es that school personnel can use to
l earn about thei r students communi ti es. These i ncl ude both smal l - and l arge-
scal e efforts. On a smal l scal e, teachers can use word assi gnments i n such a
way that they i nvi te students to share thei r cul tural backgrounds.
Furthermore, teachers shoul d l earn about the many resources wi thi n thei r
students communi ti es whi ch coul d be uti l i zed for teachi ng and l earni ng.
Consi der the fol l owi ng vi gnette from a bi l i ngual resource teacher who was
i nvol ved i n an ethnographi c study of her students fami l i es:
As I read some of the early journal entries I made for this project, I realize how I have
changed my views of the household. As I read these entries, I realize that I had discussed
my students in terms of low academics, home-life problems, alienation, and SES
(socioeconomic status), and that I was oriented towards a deficit model. I no longer see the
families I visited that way. Since I am looking for resources, I am finding resources, and I
recognize the members of the family for who they are and for their talents and unique
personalities. We now have a reciprocal relationship where we exchange goods, services,
and information. I have also discarded many myths that are prevalent in our region and
that I myself used to believe.
5
Culturally-Responsive Teaching
I n her essay Toward a Theory of Cul tural l y-Rel evant Pedagogy, Gl ori a
Ladson-Bi l l i ngs del i neates certai n cri teri a for cul tural l y-rel evant teachi ng. For
her, teachers must:
Hel p students devel op academi cal l y.
Val ue and bui l d on students home cul ture.
Devel op a soci opol i ti cal or cri ti cal consci ousness.
23
To devel op students academi cal l y means that students read and wri te
chal l engi ng materi al that i s at a hi gher cogni ti ve l evel . To devel op hi gher-
order cogni ti ve ski l l s, whi ch are essenti al for academi c success, teachers
shoul d provi de i nstructi on to whi ch l earners can rel ate wi thi n a cul tural
context.
Students shoul d not wal k through the school house doors and be expected to
l eave thei r ri ch cul tural heri tage behi nd when they engage i n academi c tasks.
The curri cul um shoul d be adjusted to embrace the cul tural backgrounds and
bel i ef systems of the l earners. For exampl e, l earners can speak about and
l earn to debate i mportant i ssues that are rel evant to them and thei r
communi ti es. They sol ve compl ex probl ems and work i n cooperati ve groups
to fi nd sol uti ons and/ or revi ew them wi th thei r peers. Teachers show
appreci ati on of students home cul tures when they i ncorporate features of
those cul tures i n thei r dai l y teachi ng. For exampl e, when teachi ng about the
val ue of pl ants for medi ci nal purposes, teachers can l i st the types of medi ci nal
pl ants used by the students fami l i es for headaches, stomach aches,
toothaches, etc. Fi nal l y, teachers hel p students to express thei r i deas about
probl ems i n the school and i n thei r communi ti es, and hel p them devel op tool s
for recogni zi ng, understandi ng, and cri ti qui ng them.
LAB at Brown, a program of The Educati on Al l i ance, features Teachi ng Di ver se
Lear ner s on i ts websi te.
6
Thi s pi ece outl i nes the characteri sti cs of cul tural l y-
responsi ve teachi ng:
1. Positive Perspective on Parents and Families
Teachers can l earn about thei r students and thei r students backgrounds
through consi stent di al ogue wi th parents. Addi ti onal l y, both teachers and
parents can express thei r desi res and expectati ons for students educati onal
progress.
2. Communication of High Expectations
Students of al l cul tures and backgrounds shoul d be expected to l earn and
achi eve hi gh standards. Everyone i nvol ved i n the students l earni ng shoul d
communi cate cl ear expectati ons and create a l earni ng envi ronment that
fosters respect for the students and a genui ne fai th i n thei r abi l i ty to l earn.
3. Learning Within the Context of Culture
Chi l dren who come from homes whose customs and cul tures do not refl ect
those of the school communi ty often feel i sol ated and al i enated at school . By
varyi ng thei r teachi ng strategi es and i ncl udi ng l earni ng styl es fami l i ar to thei r
students, teachers can hel p students bri dge cul tural gaps.
24
4. Student-Centered I nstruction
I n student-centered i nstructi on, students l earn i n cooperati ve, col l aborati ve,
and communi ty-ori ented setti ngs. They work on sel f-i ni ti ated projects that are
cul tural l y and soci al l y meani ngful .
5. Culturally-Mediated I nstruction
Learni ng shoul d take pl ace i n an envi ronment that consi ders di fferent
vi ewpoi nts and di fferent cul tural perspecti ves. Through cul tural l y-medi ated
i nstructi on, students l earn that there i s more than one way to vi ew a si tuati on
or i nterpret an acti on.
6. Reshaping the Curriculum
Curri cul a shoul d be rel evant and chal l engi ng to the students to devel op
hi gher-order ski l l s. An i ntegrated curri cul um, one that supports new
knowl edge i n one subject area wi th previ ous knowl edge from l i fe experi ences
and study i n other subject areas, hel ps students make meani ngful connecti ons
between home and school .
7. Teacher as Facilitator
Teachers shoul d create a l earni ng envi ronment that gui des the students i nto
maki ng connecti ons between home and school . They must be medi ators and
advocates for the students, and they shoul d fi nd ways of maki ng content more
si gni fi cant for the l earners. They can do thi s by l earni ng more about the
students cul tures and home l i fe, varyi ng teachi ng styl es to accommodate al l
students, and uti l i zi ng communi ty resources.
Teachers do not al ways i ntegrate cul tural l y-responsi ve characteri sti cs i nto thei r
teachi ng. Many teachers i nvol ve students i n the creati on of cl assroom rul es,
desi gni ng a l earni ng envi ronment wi th student i nput. However,
unconsci ousl y, teachers mi ght be aski ng students to fol l ow the teachers bel i ef
system rather than thei r own, whi ch does not necessari l y al l ow for
connecti ons between home and school . When teachi ng i s overl y teacher-
centered, the teacher i s sendi ng the message that her cul ture and cul tural
bel i ef system are more i mportant than that of the l earners. A teacher can be
more cul tural l y responsi ve by bei ng careful i n the formati on of questi ons and
varyi ng her teachi ng styl e to accommodate students cul ture and home l i fe.
For exampl e, i nstead of aski ng students what good rul es are, a teacher coul d
start the process by aski ng, What types of rul es woul d I need to fol l ow i f I
were a student vi si ti ng your home? I woul d want to be pol i te. Woul d I need
to take off my shoes when I wal k i n?
I n Chapter 4, I nstructi onal Practi ces, Strategi es, and Techni ques, there are
numerous suggesti ons for ensuri ng that i nstructi on i s cul tural l y responsi ve.
25
I nstructional Conversations
I t i s especi al l y i mportant for students from l i ngui sti cal l y di fferent backgrounds
to be gi ven the opportuni ty to i nteract i n Engl i sh i n meani ngful ways. A
cul tural l y-responsi ve pedagogy promotes an i nstructi onal di scourse that makes
conversati ons between teacher and students, and among students themsel ves,
rel evant to thei r l i ves and pri or experi ences. Eugene Garci a endorses the use
of i nstructi onal conversati on (I C) as an effecti ve way to engage l anguage-
mi nori ty students i n such meani ngful i nteracti ons. He descri bes i nstructi onal
conversati on as a way to take advantage of natural and spontaneous
i nteracti ons, free from di dacti c characteri sti cs normal l y associ ated wi th formal
teachi ng ... they al l ow for a hi gh l evel of parti ci pati on wi thout undue
domi nati on by any one i ndi vi dual , parti cul arl y the teacher.
7
He l i kens thi s
type of cl assroom di scourse to the types of i nteracti ons students have outsi de
the cl assroom.
I n i nstructi onal conversati ons, students and teachers sel ect a topi c or theme to
di scuss. Parti ci pants respond to what has been sai d and bui l d upon each
others i deas. The teacher acts as a faci l i tator of the group, questi oni ng and
chal l engi ng onl y when necessary to deepen students understandi ng or to
gui de students to see al ternati ve poi nts of vi ew. I nformati on and background
knowl edge are provi ded by the students, and di scussi ons are more extensi ve;
shari ng di fferent i deas or al ternati ve sol uti ons to a probl em i s encouraged.
Mary Ann Lachat has created suggesti ons for teachers whi ch are di rectl y
rel ated to cul ture.
8
These suggesti ons are fundamental for educators worki ng
wi th cul tural l y- and l i ngui sti cal l y-di verse l earners and can be used as a gui de
to determi ne whether or not teachers are bei ng cul tural l y responsi ve. She
bel i eves that teachers shoul d be abl e to:
26
Devel op authenti c performance tasks that connect to students cul tural
backgrounds, i nterests, and pri or knowl edge.
Understand how l anguage and cul ture i nfl uence student l earni ng.
Understand di fferences i n the communi cati on and cogni ti ve styl es of
vari ous cul tures and what these mean for student parti ci pati on i n
l earni ng tasks.
Accommodate di fferent l earni ng styl es i n performance assessments,
refl ecti ng l earni ng styl es that are i nfl uenced by cul ture.
Provi de ways of eval uati ng the l anguage demands and cul tural content
of l earni ng tasks.
I mpl ement strategi es to i ncl ude al l students i n cl assroom di scourse.
Work wi th di fferent cul tural communi ti es.
I n the fol l owi ng chapter, you wi l l fi nd an arsenal of practi ces, techni ques, and
strategi es that can hel p del i ver cul tural l y-responsi ve i nstructi on to ELLs. You
wi l l al so fi nd vi gnettes desi gned to hel p you refl ect on the i ssues i mpacti ng
cul tural l y-responsi ve i nstructi on i n an NCLB era.
27
28
I have come to a fr i ghteni ng concl usi on. I am the deci si ve el ement i n the
cl assr oom. I t i s my per sonal appr oach that cr eates the cl i mate. I t i s my dai l y
mood that makes the weather. A s a teacher, I possess tr emendous power to make a
chi l ds l i fe mi ser abl e or j oyous.
Dr. Hai m G. Gi nott
Approaches to I nstruction
Teachers of al l grade l evel s and of al l subjects want thei r students to
comprehend and to appl y what they have been taught. Typi cal l y, teachers
make new materi al understandabl e by connecti ng i t to and bui l di ng upon
students pri or knowl edge.
I n the case of ELLs, a di fferent set of l i fe experi ences may make i t harder for
the teacher to know how to connect and what to bui l d upon. Dependi ng upon
the subject, there are speci al i zed words and concepts that must be made
understandabl e. I n the case of ELL students, there may al so be general
vocabul ary and compl i cated sentences that they do not understand.
I t i s i mportant for teachers to use a vari ety of basi c i nstructi onal practi ces to
foster students understandi ng of the Engl i sh l anguage and academi c content.
ELLs need a vari ety of di fferent exposures and experi ences wi th content to
understand and appl y i nformati on. Furthermore ELLs, l i ke al l l earners, are
i ndi vi dual s wi th di verse l earni ng modal i ti es and styl es.
Thi s chapter i s a compi l ati on of research-based suggesti ons for i nstructi ng
ELLs. The teachi ng suggesti ons are presented here i n three groups: basi c
i nstructi onal sequences, i nstructi onal strategi es, and i nstructi onal techni ques.
29
Instructional Practices,
Strategies, and Techniques
4
CHAPTER
Basic I nstructional Sequences
Pr e-teach the l anguage
Pre-teach the l anguage that l earners wi l l need to accompl i sh the objecti ve and
ful l y parti ci pate i n the l esson. For i nstance, i f students wi l l be doi ng a l esson
on the anci ent Mayans, be sure they understand the past tense and ti me
expressi ons such as ago and century, as wel l as other necessary vocabul ary
i tems.
Pr ovi de a meani ngful exper i ence
Present the content i n a way that i s meani ngful to students. Look at Chapter 3
for suggesti ons on cul tural l y-responsi ve ways to present materi al . Al so, be
sure to use al l three l earni ng modal i ti es or l earni ng channel s (ki nestheti c,
vi sual , and audi tory). I f you are teachi ng a uni t on anci ent Mayans, for
exampl e, bri ng i n or have students construct three-di mensi onal model s of
Mayan pyrami ds.
Recor d the exper i ence
Teach l earners how to record the experi ence. For i nstance, you mi ght want to
present the i nformati on about the Mayan empi re and then show students how
to record the content usi ng one of the graphi c organi zers descri bed on the
fol l owi ng pages. Tal ki ng and wri ti ng about hands-on experi ences can be very
producti ve for ELLs. Wri ti ng for a bul l eti n board di spl ay, an exhi bi t, or short
nonfi cti on pi cture books (for younger students) can moti vate wri ti ng, revi si ng,
and edi ti ng.
Model the expectati ons
Show l earners what you expect them to do wi th the content. For i nstance, i f
you want them to create a model of the Mayan empi re, show them exactl y
how to begi n and what the fi ni shed products mi ght l ook l i ke. You can al so use
30
Basic Instructional Sequences
Instructional Strategies
Instructional Techniques
A sequence of teaching procedures that can be
applied to instruction in any content area. These
can be considered teaching habits that support
students comprehension, language acquisition and
literacy, and academic development.
Structured plans of action involving established
steps and guidelines, frequently cited in reading
and writing methodology texts, which are adapted
here for use with ELLs.
Instructional activities often focusing on a specific
task; these are generally narrower in scope than
strategies.
bul l eti n boards and l arge sheets of newspri nt to provi de model s for what
students are expected to do.
Gr oup students wi th other l ear ner s
Provi de l earners wi th opportuni ti es to work wi th the content i n smal l groups.
Thi s wi l l encourage communi cati on and hel p them to l earn the academi c
content more ful l y. There are benefi ts to vari ous types of groupi ngs, for
exampl e, ELL students grouped wi th Engl i sh-profi ci ent students and/ or wi th
others who speak the same home l anguage.
Put students together i n pai r s
Provi de l earners wi th opportuni ti es to work wi th the content i n pai rs. Thi s
wi l l hel p them to work through and l earn the academi c content more ful l y.
Consi der cul tur al di ffer ences i n content
Consi der and be sensi ti ve to cul tural di fferences i n the content, such as
di fferences i n fami l y confi gurati ons, percepti ons of hi story, and styl es of
communi cati on. For exampl e, be aware that chi l drens grandparents, aunts,
uncl es, cousi ns, and godparents may be consi dered nucl ear rather than
extended fami l y and may be i mportant parti ci pants i n chi l drens dai l y l i ves.
I n some fami l y setti ngs, songs and/ or Bi bl e verses may be more of a ri tual
than a bedti me story. Chi l dren may be encouraged to l i sten to stori es wi thout
bei ng asked to offer i nput. Al so, consi der the di fferent perspecti ves on
hi stori cal events such as Vi eques I sl and, the Al amo, the Vi etnam War, and the
U.S. presence i n I raq.
Moni tor and suppor t compr ehensi on
I n a nonthreateni ng manner, moni tor ELL students comprehensi on frequentl y
and cl ari fy mi sunderstandi ngs before movi ng ahead. Ask for nonverbal
responses such as poi nti ng to l i nes of l ongi tude and l ati tude, or hol di ng up a
pi cture card i l l ustrati ng a vertebrate and then an i nvertebrate. Use short-
answer questi ons such as Was France an al l y or an enemy? or I s thi s
fracti on proper or i mproper? Start i ncompl ete sentences for students to fi ni sh
such as Pl ants need many thi ngs to grow. Pl ants need...
El abor ate on shor t answer s
When possi bl e, el aborate on l earners short answers, i ncorporati ng them i nto
grammati cal l y-compl ete, more detai l ed answers. So i f a student descri bes the
Boston Tea Party by sayi ng that Peopl e di dnt l i ke the taxes, you can respond,
Thats ri ght. The col oni sts were protesti ng taxati on wi thout representati on.
They wanted the Ki ng to l i sten to them.
I nstructional Strategies
Li sted bel ow are the i nstructi onal strategi es, whi ch are based on the Nati onal
Counci l for Teachers of Engl i sh (NCTE) standards. NCTE devel oped these
31
standards wi th the bel i ef that al l students must have the opportuni ti es and
resources to devel op the l anguage ski l l s they need to pursue l i fes goal s and to
parti ci pate ful l y as i nformed, producti ve members of soci ety.
Strategy: Dialogue Journals
Research-Based Strategies: NCTE 4 and 12
Purpose: To hel p students devel op wri ti ng fl uency.
To hel p students l earn to use wri ti ng as a tool to communi cate wi th a teacher
and as a means to hel p cl ari fy questi ons rel ated to academi c content.
English Proficiency Levels: Begi nni ng, Devel opi ng, Expandi ng, Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: K-12
Content Area: Al l
Background
Di al ogue journal s can be used to moni tor student l earni ng, especi al l y for
students who may be rel uctant to speak up i n cl ass due to cul tural or other
reasons. Frequent use of di al ogue journal s can become a powerful medi um
for promoti ng fl uency i n wri ti ng.
1
(Di al ogue journal s can al so be used to
l earn about students cul tures.)
Students and teachers wri te back and forth on a regul ar basi s. Teachers may
provi de a wri ti ng prompt or suggesti on each ti me students wri te, or may al l ow
students to wri te whatever they choose; for exampl e, Whi ch part of the story
i s most cl osel y rel ated to your own l i fe. I n what way i s i t rel ated?
2
Wi th careful l y-worded prompts, students can be encouraged to refl ect on the
content they are studyi ng and extend i t to the content of thei r l i ves.
Regardl ess of the prompt, teachers respond i n wri ti ng to l earners comments
i n a posi ti ve and supporti ve manner.
32
STRATEGIES STANDARD-BASED PRACTICE
Dialogue Journal
Learning Logs
Literature Circle
Creating Innovations from Pattern Books
and Repetitive Songs
Language Experience Approach
Cloze Procedure
Graphic Organizers
Standard 4 and 12
Standard 6
Standard 3
Standard 12
Standard 9
Standard 5
Standard 6
Special Considerations
The teacher may respond after every entry, or every second or thi rd entry,
dependi ng on the number of students i n the teachers cl ass or cl asses.
Teacher responses are the moti vati ng factor i n students responses.
Teacher commi tment to ti mel y and thoughtful responses contri butes to the
success of thi s acti vi ty.
Just as one woul d not edi t a fri ends correspondence wi th red i nk, nei ther
shoul d teachers make correcti ons i n a students di al ogue journal . Use your
responses to i nstruct, cl ari fy, i nform. The teachers repl y can al so serve as
l i ngui sti c feedback, model i ng correct forms and encouragi ng further
communi cati on. For exampl e, i f a student wri tes, I no l i ke fi tes, the
teacher can repl y, I dont l i ke fi ghts ei ther! I f a student wri tes I mi ss my
ci ty, the teacher can repl y, I understand your feel i ngs of mi ssi ng your
ci ty. I mi ssed my fami l y and I mi ssed the l ake very much when I l eft
Chi cago to go to col l ege i n New York. Tel l me about some of the thi ngs
you mi ss the most about Guadal ajara.
These journal s can provi de teachers wi th a wi ndow i nto students l i ves,
cul tures, and customs. Be consi derate and sensi ti ve i n your reacti ons to thi s
type of i nformati on.
Students need to understand that al though most of what they wri te wi l l be
confi denti al , certai n subjects, such as chi l d abuse, must be reported to the
school authori ti es. I n addi ti on, students must consi der the appropri ateness
of subject matter and l anguage i n l etters they wri te to thei r teachers and
cl assmates. Some teachers l i ke to tel l students that what they wri te shoul d
not be offensi ve to a grandmother.
33
Beginning Developing Expanding Bridging
Invite students to
write key words
they are learning.
They can also draw
pictures of key
concepts.
Provide students with
questions that can be
answered using
complete sentences
with the question
embedded. For
example,
Who was your favorite
character in the story?
The learner would
respond,
My favorite character
was Tiny Tim.
several questions that
can be used to elicit
sentences. For
example, Which
character did you find
to be the most
interesting? Why do
you think so?
Avoid yes/no
questions.
the same type of
dialogue journal
prompts that are used
with general education
students. Provide
prompting questions if
necessary.
Classroom Examples (See di al ogue entri es bel ow)
The Classroom Examples vi gnette and questi ons bel ow are i ntended to
sti mul ate di scussi on of the i nstructi onal strategi es among i n-servi ce and
pre-servi ce educators.
Ms. Doherty used dialogue journals with her eighth- and ninth-grade English class. Once a week
students had to write about something related directly to their assignments, and once a week they
could write about anything of their choosing.
Look at the following example of a dialogue journal from a student who emigrated from
Mexico to the United States.
34
Dialogue Journal Entries
November 20
Dear Ms. Doherty,
I m readi ng Fl owers for Al geron. I real l y l i ke thi s book because i s sad but
i t has part that are very funny. When I start readi ng thi s book i t was ki nd
of di ffi cul t because i t brought me bad memori es (and goods too) about my
brother. Before I started readi ng thi s book I had thi s thought, i t was more a
questi on, thi s questi on was Why di d my brother had to be di fferent? Why
coul dnt God make hi m l i ke everyone el se? Then i n thi s book I read thi s
part and i t sai d that noone anyone shoul d had the ri ght to try to make
someone smarter because i f God wanted that person to be smarter he
woul d had made that person smarter. Now I understand better.
yours, Carol i na
December 14
Dear Carol i na,
What a terri fi c l etter (November 20)! I t shows you put a l ot of thought i nto
your wri ti ng. You are one of my students who al ways thi nks when she
wri tes. I hope you conti nue to be such a good student. I n hi gh school ,
next year, you wi l l have the opportuni ty to sel ect col l ege prep courses. You
dont have to be thi nki ng of goi ng to col l ege to take them but si nce you get
such good marks on your report card they mi ght be the ki nd of courses you
woul d fi nd very i nteresti ng and chal l engi ng.
How i s i t goi ng wi th Fl owers for Al gernon? I too found i t both funny and
sad. When I fi rst read i t I remember l aughi ng and cryi ng. I fel t so happy
when the medi ci ne (or was i t an operati on?) was successful and Charl i e
was abl e to communi cate on a hi gher l evel wi th the doctors. When you
fi ni sh the book be sure to wri te and l et me know how you fel t about the
endi ng. I am anxi ous to di scuss i t wi th you.
Ms. Doherty
Discussion Questions
1. Why di d Ms. Doherty choose to communi cate her advi ce to Carol i na i n
wri ti ng, rather than speak to her i n person about the advanced courses?
What were the cul tural reasons for choosi ng to wri te rather than to speak
wi th her i n cl ass? What possi bl e probl ems coul d have occurred i f Ms.
Doherty had spoken to Carol i na face to face i n front of other l earners i n
the cl ass?
2. Ms. Doherty di d not understand why Carol i na sai d that she woul d go to l aw
school ri ght after hi gh school . Thi s i s an i nstance of cul tural confusi on.
How can Ms. Doherty fi nd out why Carol i na sai d that she pl anned to go to
l aw school ri ght after hi gh school ? Who i n the school or i n the communi ty
coul d hel p Ms. Doherty understand the cul tural confusi on?
3. What shoul d Ms. Dohertys response be to Carol i na? How can Ms. Doherty
be supporti ve of Carol i na?
Suggested Reading
Peyton, J.K. and J. Staton, Di al ogue Jour nal s i n the Mul ti l i ngual Cl assr oom.
Norwood, N.J.: Abl ex, 1993.
Atwel l , N.,Wri ti ng and Readi ng Li terature from the I nsi de Out, Language A r ts,
Vol . 61, 1984, pp. 240-252.
Davi s, F.A., Why You Cal l Me Emi grant, Di al ogue Jour nal Wr i ti ng Wi th Mi gr ant
Youth, November-December, 1984.
35
Dialogue Journal Entries Cont.
December 18
Dear Ms Doherty,
Thanks for your l etter i t al ways makes a student fel l good when a teacher
sai d good thi ngs about hi m or her. I ve been thi nki ng about what I l l do
after hi gh school and I have l ots of pl ans. Fi rst thi ng, ri ght after hi gh
school , I m goi ng to l aw school . Then after Law School I l l get a good job
wi th the hel p of God (of course).
Oh by the way I have been cryi ng more than I have been l aughi ng. I dont
thi nk i t i s a very good story cause i t i s just too sad.
Carol i na
Strategy: Learning Logs
Research-Based Strategies: Usi ng Synthesi s and Determi ni ng I mportance
Purpose: To hel p students determi ne key concepts they have l earned.
To hel p students synthesi ze what they have l earned.
To provi de an effi ci ent way for teachers to ascertai n what students are
l earni ng, havi ng di ffi cul ty wi th, etc.
English Proficiency Levels: Begi nni ng, Devel opi ng, Expandi ng, Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: K-12
Content Area: Al l
Background
Learni ng l ogs can be used to hel p l earners col l ect data, pose and sol ve
probl ems, and thi nk vi sual l y about any and al l matters concerned wi th thei r
content area subject matter.
3
Learni ng l ogs are an effi ci ent way for students
to communi cate what they do and do not understand. They are al so a way of
l etti ng teachers know what students do or do not understand. Some teachers
encourage thei r students to keep detai l ed l earni ng l ogs. Excel l ent exampl es
can be found i n Toby Ful wi l ers T he Jour nal Book, the semi nal work on usi ng
journal s i n the cl assroom from fourth grade math to hi gh school chemi stry.
Using Learning Logs
Students wri te about what they are l earni ng and studyi ng i n cl ass on a regul ar
basi s. Thi s hel ps ELLs to moni tor the growth of thei r own comprehensi on, to
synthesi ze what they are l earni ng, and to determi ne what i s i mportant.
4
Students can be assi gned a l earni ng l og every day or after bei ng taught a
parti cul arl y di ffi cul t concept.
Questi ons such as the ones l i sted bel ow can be used to frame students
responses.
1. What were you studyi ng? Pl ease descri be what you l earned.
2. What was the most i mportant thi ng that we l earned today, thi s week, etc.?
3. What was the hardest or most confusi ng part?
4. What was the easi est part?
5. What coul d make i t easi er the next ti me?
Teachers can respond di rectl y to the l earni ng l ogs wi th si mpl e comments that
show encouragement. I t i s i mportant for teachers to remember that the
purpose of the l earni ng l og i s to hel p students l earn how to communi cate a
message rather than focus on grammar and punctuati on.
36
When ELLs fi rst start usi ng l earni ng l ogs, teachers can hel p them by provi di ng
the frami ng l anguage needed to wri te about thei r l earni ng. For exampl e, We
ar e l ear ni ng about..., T he most i mpor tant thi ng we l ear ned was how.../ how to.../
that......
The teacher may respond after every entry or every second or thi rd entry.
Use your responses to i nstruct and cl ari fy. Your repl y shoul d serve as
l i ngui sti c feedback, model i ng correct forms and encouragi ng further
communi cati on.
Classroom Examples
sti mul ate di scussi on of the i nstructi onal strategi es among i n-servi ce and pre-
servi ce educators.
Mr. Tokareva used learning logs with his sixth-grade math class. He used them, in part,
because all the problems his students must solve on the statewide math assessment are word
problems.
Look at the following example of a learning log from one of his students.
37
Provide students
with a very simple
question to which
they can draw their
responses if need
be.
What new words
did you learn?
questions with which
they make a selection
between two or three
choices. For example,
Which was more
difficult, the
guesstimating or the
ratios?
Ease students into the
task by asking two
linked questions:
What new words did
you learn?
What new ideas did
you learn?
Encourage students to
use their learning logs
to create a summary
of the content that has
been covered during a
week, month, marking
period, semester, or
year.
What three things did
you learn this week
about ratios and
proportions?
1. Why di d Mr. Tokareva assi gn l earni ng l ogs?
2. What shoul d Mr. Tokareva do about the grammati cal mi stakes i n the
l earni ng l ogs?
3. What di d Mr. Tokareva di scover or l earn from Raquel s l earni ng l og?
4. What types of comments di d Mr. Tokareva make?
5. Di d Mr. Tokareva correct the errors or mi stakes? Why or why not?
6. How mi ght Mr. Tokareva adjust hi s teachi ng based on what Raquel sai d?
How coul d he change the way he presents the materi al as wel l as the
homework assi gnments he gi ves?
Suggested Reading
Gomez, E.L., What Di d I Learn and How Can I Use I t? Dai l y Math Jour nal ,
1999: pp. 187-194.
Strategy: Literature Circle
Research-Based Strategies: Strategi es vary dependi ng on rol e of l earner
Vi sual i zi ng Maki ng Connecti ons Questi oni ng
Purpose: To hel p students determi ne key concepts that they have l earned.
To hel p students synthesi ze what they have l earned.
38
Math Log: Sample Questions/ Responses
Raquel Camacho
Math Uni t/ Chapter Refl ecti on
Penny Stacki ng: Rati o and Proporti on
Di recti ons: Read each questi on. Use compl ete sentences i n your
expl anati ons.
1. What were we expl ori ng?
We wer e expl or i ng r ati os. We wer e al so conver ti ng deci mal s to fr acti ons.
We measur i ng stacks of penni es. Great summary.
2. What was the hardest part of thi s l esson?
Doi ng the r ati os.
3. What i s the most i mportant thi ng you l earned i n thi s uni t?
Rati o can come i n di ffer ent for m such as fr acti ons and the col on thi ng.
Very good point.
4. What coul d be changed to hel p you?
Show us how to do mor e befor e we have homewor k. I will try to give
more examples, even teachers need to learn.
To provi de an effi ci ent way for teachers to ascertai n what students are
l earni ng and/ or havi ng di ffi cul ty wi th.
To devel op ELL students academi c l anguage ski l l s.
English Proficiency Levels: Devel opi ng, Expandi ng, and Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: K-12
Content Area: Al l
Background
The l i terature ci rcl e i s an approach to l earni ng based on the premi se that
tal ki ng about a pi ece of l i terature wi th others al l ows students to expl ore hal f-
formed i deas, to expand students understandi ngs of l i terature through heari ng
others i nterpretati ons, and to become readers who thi nk cri ti cal l y and deepl y
about what they read.
5
The l i terature ci rcl e i s a student-l ed group di scussi on
of a pi ece of wri tten work such as a novel , a book of poetry, or an hi stori cal
document. Wi thi n the group, each student has a parti cul ar comprehensi on
rol e to fi l l both duri ng the i ndependent readi ng of the book and the fol l ow-up
group di scussi on. (See Tabl e 1.) Teachers of ELL students prepare them for
parti ci pati on by model i ng the behavi ors and l anguage requi red for each
comprehensi on rol e and provi di ng opportuni ti es for students to practi ce.
6
These mi ght i ncl ude questi on forms for di fferent l evel s such as: What i s...?
When di d...? H ow does the r eader know that...? Why do you thi nk that ...? What
woul d have happened i f...? and connecti ng l anguage such as I t r emi nds me of...I t
makes me thi nk about...
39
1. Discussion Director: Creates various levels of questions to guide the group in discussion
of passage.
2. Connector: Makes connections between text and school work/outside world including
self, other people, events, problems, and books.
3. Wordsmith: Identifies five new or challenging words. Uses dictionary to write the
definition of each according to its use in the text. Creates an original sentence for each
word. Presents words, definitions, and original sentences to group for discussion.
4. Read Aloud Master: Identifies and explains the significance of five sections of the text
noteworthy for their humor, interest, or importance.
5. Summarizer: Incorporates important details, events, and characters in a brief summary of
the days reading.
6. Illustrator: Draws a picture that depicts an important character, event, setting, or problem.
Explains its significance to the group.
Table 1
Literature Circle Comprehension Roles
Using Literature Circles
The i ntroducti on of each new segment of the text sets i n moti on a new cycl e
requi ri ng the formati on of a new l i terature ci rcl e and the rotati on of the
comprehensi on rol es (see bel ow).
The cycl e repeats i tsel f four addi ti onal ti mes, wi th rol es rotati ng among the
students:
1. Choose new rol e, read segment.
2. Prepare for rol e/ di scussi on by organi zi ng materi al .
3. Di scuss readi ng segment.
40
Day One
1. Teacher groups students by reading levels, curriculum needs, or interests. (By
providing a variety of genres in both fiction and nonfiction, most students interests will
eventually be met.)
2. Teacher presents several books. Students choose one.
3. Together, teacher and students divide the reading material evenly into five segments,
either by number of pages or chapters, and set timeframe for completion of all five
segments.
Days Two to Four
1. Depending on the class, reading is completed independently in school and/or for
homework.
2. Each student reads the first segment independently and prepares for his/her assigned
comprehension role by identifying the parts of the text (with sticky paper/highlighter) that
are necessary to carry out that role. For example, the Discussion Director notes parts of
the text that would be useful for developing pertinent questions.
3. Students organize their role material into written form such as paragraph, questions, etc.
Last Day
With students assuming assigned roles, the reading segment is discussed.
Table 2
Steps in a Literature Circle Cycle
Al though the ti tl e i s Li terature Ci rcl e, thi s strategy can be used wi th
nonfi cti on as wel l . I t i s i mportant to remember that many boys, i ncl udi ng
ELLs, do not connect as wel l to fi cti on as they do to nonfi cti on.
41
Listed below are guidelines:
Student Responsibilities
1. Become fami l i ar wi th the concept of l i terature ci rcl es and each of the
comprehensi on rol es.
2. Commi t to the assi gned readi ng (i n school and/ or at home).
3. Prepare for the assi gned comprehensi on rol e duri ng i ndependent
readi ng of the materi al .
4. Contri bute to the di scussi on usi ng materi al gathered to compl ete the
assi gned rol e.
Teacher Responsibilities
1. I ntroduce concept of col l aborati ve readi ng as exempl i fi ed i n l i terature
ci rcl es.
2. Model each comprehensi on rol e.
3. Amass an extensi ve col l ecti on of readi ng materi al appropri ate for
l i terature ci rcl es, i ncl udi ng:
Graphi c novel s
Novel s
Book chapters
Poetry col l ecti ons
Nonfi cti on
Pri mary source documents
Secondary source documents
4. Sel ect readi ng materi al for, and organi ze, each l i terature ci rcl e.
5. Moni tor group di scussi on.
6. Conduct mi ni -l essons and/ or i ndi vi dual conferences, as needed.
Classroom Examples
Ms. Finke had her fourth graders use the Literature Circle approach with the nonfiction
material they had read about Asian immigration through Angel Island. She had her students
report on the roles they played with the Literature Circle activity. Mariela was the Connector;
she took her job very seriously and wrote down the contributions of two members of the group.
1. Di d Mari el a understand the assi gnment? Di d she show connecti ons
between the ELLs i n her group and the readi ng passage? Di d she
summari ze the mai n i deas for her group?
2. How coul d Ms. Fi nke hel p her ELLs feel better about the negati ve
experi ences that they had comi ng to the U.S.? What coul d Ms. Fi nke do as
a posi ti ve step wi thout si ngl i ng out and potenti al l y embarrassi ng l earners
i n front of thei r peers?
3. Was i t appropri ate for Ms. Fi nke to assi gn students the task of di scussi ng
somethi ng so personal and potenti al l y di squi eti ng on thei r own?
4. How shoul d Ms. Fi nke respond to Mari el as wri tten summary? What are
some comments she coul d make?
Suggested Reading
Dani el s, H., Li ter atur e Ci r cl es: Voi ce and Choi ce i n the Student-Center ed
Cl assr oom. New York: Stenhouse,1994.
Nol l , E., Soci al I ssues and Li terature Ci rcl es Wi th Adol escents, Jour nal of
Readi ng, Vol . 38, 1996: pp. 88-93.
42
Developing Expanding Bridging
Buddy less proficient ELLs
with students who are more
proficient in English.
Allow students to select the
role that they want for the
literature circle.
Give students extra time to
preview the selection before
working in groups.
Faouzi said he knew how the Chinese felt cuz ah the border control guy at the
airport. The border control guy shouted. He was mean. Then someone
came over that spoke bad Arabic. It was just like some of the mean guys on
Angel Island. Wanjei said her Mom was really scared cuz his baby looked
sickly. They were afraid they would be thrown back to China cuz ah SARs. It
was just like the quarantine station.
Strategy: Creating I nnovations from Pattern Books and
Repetitive Songs
Research-Based Strategy: Maki ng text-to-sel f, text-to-worl d, and text-to-text
connecti ons.
Purpose: To ease students i nto wri ti ng by provi di ng a model and templ ate.
To hel p students by i nserti ng thei r own words i nto exi sti ng text.
English Language Proficiency Levels: Devel opi ng, Expandi ng, Bri dgi ng
Content Areas: Engl i sh, l anguage arts, readi ng, wi th potenti al adaptati ons for
other content areas
Grade Levels: K-12
Background
Pattern books and repeti ti ve songs are characteri zed by patterns that are
repeated throughout the song (see bel ow).
Pattern Story: Basic
43
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Marti n and Carl e,1967
Brown Bear,
Brown Bear,
What do you see?
I see a red bi rd
l ooki ng at me.
Red bi rd,
Red bi rd,
What do you see?
I see a yel l ow duck
l ooki ng at me.
Yel l ow duck,
Yel l ow duck...
Pattern books are frequentl y used i n el ementary school s to support earl y
comprehensi on and oral fl uency. Pattern books and repeti ti ve songs can be
used effecti vel y wi th Engl i sh l anguage l earners at al l grade l evel s to promote
Engl i sh l anguage devel opment. Pattern books and repeti ti ve songs resembl e
substi tuti on dri l l s, whi ch are a hal l mark of the audi ol i ngual approach of
forei gn- and second-l anguage i nstructi on.
7
A substi tuti on dri l l consi sts of a
l anguage pattern of repeated words fol l owed by substi tuted words.
For exampl e, the fol l owi ng i l l ustrates how di fferent ani mal s are substi tuted:
I see a r ed bi r d.
I see a yel l ow duck.
I n addi ti on, as students begi n to engage i n the choral reci tati ons, they have
occasi on to i ncrease oral fl uency, appl y decodi ng and readi ng strategi es, and
devel op Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency.
8
Creating I nnovations with Pattern Books and Repetitive Songs
Pattern books and repeti ti ve songs can be used as a basi s for i nnovati ons.
I nnovati ons are student-authored substi tuti ons of exi sti ng books and songs.
The structure of a pattern or rhyme can be al tered i n a myri ad of ways to
afford ELLs practi ce i n i mprovi ng Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency and to make
text-to-text and text-to-sel f connecti ons.
For exampl e, i n Brown Bear:
1. Change modi fi er: I see a grizzly bear, a tropical bi rd, etc.
2. Change acti on: 1) bi rd, flying toward me; 2) duck, waddling toward me
3. Change tense: Brown Bear.... What did you see? I saw...
4. Change subject and object: Math teacher, math teacher what do you see?
I see a paral l el ogram l ooki ng at me.
5. Change the questi on/ answer: Brown Bear...What did you hear? I heard
a red bird chirp in my ear; I heard a yellow duck quack in my ear.
I n addi ti on, pattern books can be easi l y used wi th speci fi c subject areas.
Students can use the patterns as the basi s for thei r own books about
chal l engi ng academi c content.
Change the theme for chemi cal el ements, for exampl e:
Ms. CR Chr omi um what do you see? I see Mr. MN Manganese l ooki ng at me. Mr.
MN Manganese what do you see?
Students woul d then i l l ustrate thei r books wi th pi ctures of the structure of
each el ement.
44
To create a nonthreateni ng, confi dence-boosti ng envi ronment, use
sequences, events, i deas, and si tuati ons wi th whi ch students are at l east
mi ni mal l y fami l i ar.
Knowl edge of your students and of the story l i nes i s key to choosi ng
pattern books that wi l l be effecti ve wi th Engl i sh l anguage l earners. For
exampl e, students ages, thei r Engl i sh l anguage profi ci ency, and thei r l i fe
experi ences are al l factors i n book sel ecti on. The books syntacti c
compl exi ty, the di ffi cul ty l evel of the grammati cal structure, and the
chal l enge of vocabul ary are addi ti onal consi derati ons.
Songs wi th patterned l anguage can al so be used for pattern book acti vi ti es.
Popul ar tradi ti onal songs transl ated from a home l anguage can hel p avoi d
some of the sti gma that mi ght be associ ated wi th younger chi l drens
pi cture books. For ol der students, readi ng to and maki ng books for
younger chi l dren can encourage students feel i ngs of di gni ty and
moti vati on.
Parti cul ar attenti on i s necessary when choosi ng pattern poems, as some
poeti c l anguage can be chal l engi ng for Engl i sh l anguage l earners.
Variation
Have students create thei r own verses for exi sti ng songs that fol l ow a pattern.
Thi s may i ncl ude songs from l earners nati ve l anguages whi ch have been
transl ated i nto Engl i sh, or vi ce versa (for exampl e, The Lonel y Boys song,
Heaven). Thi nk about other ol di e but goodi e favori tes such as songs by
El vi s, Janet Jackson, and Madonna.
45
Have students
create innovations
or substitutions
using pictures.
Have students change
one word in each
pattern. For example,
students could easily
create their own
version of Brown
Bear, Brown Bear by
merely changing the
colors of the animals.
Later, they could
change a second
word.
Have students provide
their own innovations
for several words in
the pattern.
Have students select
different pattern books
or songs that they
would like to use as a
basis for their own
innovations.
Classroom Examples
The Cl assroom Exampl es vi gnette and questi ons bel ow are i ntended to
servi ce educators.
Ms. Torres has been working with second graders. She has found that writing innovations
help her students better understand the text structure. Her ELLs enjoy pattern books. T hey
created their own version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear about birds. Ms. Torres was
delighted with her students work and showed two pages of the book to the school principal.
T he text for the two pages read:
Or ange Pj ar o, Or ange Pj ar o, what do you see?
I see Pur pl e Fl ami ngo l ooki ng at me.
T he principal said that he did not understand why the students wrote partly in Spanish.
Ms. Torres explained that the students were making very good text-to-self connections.
She went on to say that text-to-self connections are a well-recognized research-based
strategy.
1. Why was the use of Spani sh words a very good way to bri ng i n ELLs home
cul tures? How do you thi nk her l earners fel t about usi ng Spani sh words i n
the story?
2. What coul d Ms. Torres do to hel p the pri nci pal understand the i mportance
of cul tural l y-responsi ve pedagogy?
3. Why was Ms. Torres pl eased wi th what her students wrote? How coul d Ms.
Torres expl ai n to the pri nci pal that the chi l dren cl earl y understood the
di fference between the two l anguages?
Suggested Reading
Bri dge, C., Predi ctabl e Materi al s for Begi nni ng Readers, Language A r ts, Vol .
50, 1979, pp. 503-507.
Cunni ngham, P., Begi nni ng Readi ng wi thout Readi ness: Structured Language
Experi ence, Readi ng H or i zons, Vol . 19, 1979, pp. 222-227.
Heal d-Tayl or, G., Predi ctabl e Li terature Sel ecti ons and Acti vi ti es for Language
Arts I nstructi on, T he Readi ng Teacher , Vol . 41, 1987, pp. 6-12.
46
Strategy: Language Experience Approach
Research-Based Strategy: Maki ng text-to-sel f, text-to-worl d, and text-to-text
connecti ons
Purpose:
To hel p students make connecti ons between oral and wri tten l anguage.
To ease students i nto wri ti ng.
To provi de students wi th meani ngful materi al .
English Language Proficiency Levels: Begi nni ng, Devel opi ng, Expandi ng,
and Bri dgi ng
Content Area: Al l
Grade Levels: K-12
Background
The l anguage experi ence approach has been used over the past few decades to
compl ement the vari ous methods used to teach young chi l dren how to read.
I n thi s approach, students use thei r oral , aural , decodi ng, and encodi ng ski l l s
to create thei r own readi ng materi al based on vocabul ary, concepts, and
experi ences wi th whi ch they are fami l i ar. After parti ci pati ng i n an acti vi ty
such as a fi el d tri p, a cl ass project, hol i day program, etc., students recount
what they remember to thei r teacher who records i t on chart paper or an
overhead transparency. Students are abl e to make the connecti on between
thei r own spoken words and wri tten text because they see words that they
have spoken i n pri nted form.
Language Experience Approach and English Language Learners
The language experience approach has also proved to be effective in teaching
reading to students learning English as a second language. Sylvia Ashton Warner
laid the foundation for using this method with ESL students in her seminal work
with Maori children in New Zealand. To begin each reading lesson she would
reach a hand into the mind of the child, bringing out a handful of the stuff [she
found] there, and use that as [their] first working material.
9
Using the Language Experience Approach
After parti ci pati ng i n a group acti vi ty, the teacher and students work together
to create a l anguage experi ence story. The teacher sti mul ates the recounti ng
of the acti vi ty wi th who, what, wher e, and how questi ons. On chart paper or
an overhead transparency, and i n l arge enough l etteri ng for al l students to see
easi l y, the teacher pr i nts each sentence. The teacher general l y pri nts the
sentences exactl y as they are di ctated by the students. Once the story has been
di ctated back to the teacher, the teacher and students work together i n a bri ef
grammar sessi on to correct errors i n the fi rst draft.
47
The students and the teacher then practi ce readi ng the story over and over
unti l most of the l earners actual l y memori ze i t.
See Fi gures 1, 2, and 3 bel ow to see some of the correcti ons for the l anguage
experi ence approach story.
48
We leave school at 8:30 (Claudio). We see film about the Pilgrims and Indians (Ancha). After
that we go to the Pilgrims village (Alexander). After that we going to the Indian village
(Nadine). We saw cranberries when we go to Plymouth (Adalberto). The Mayflower is the
oldest and biggest ship (Ana). The Pilgrims is nice people (Marta). We talked to the Pilgrims
(Tatiana). I asked the Pilgrims how many people died when they come to the New World
(Diane). We dont see the Indians because they hunting (Carla). The Indian canoes (Charles).
We trying money to the rock (Ancha). We ride the bus to Plymouth (Eliana).
Figure 1
Language Experience Story: First Draft
Our Adventure in Plymouth
We left school at 8:30 (Claudio). We rode in a bus to Plymouth (Eliana). We saw cranberries
when we went to Plymouth (Adalberto). We went to the theater. We saw a film about the
Pilgrims and Indians (Ancha). After that we went to the Pilgrims village (Alexander). We talked
to the Pilgrims (Tatiana). We asked the Pilgrims how many people died when they came to the
New World (Diane). The Pilgrims were nice people (Marta). After that we went to the Indian
village (Nadine). We didnt see the Indians because they were hunting (Carla). We saw Indian
canoes (Charles). The Mayflower is the oldest and biggest ship (Ana). We threw money at
Plymouth Rock (Ancha).
Figure 3
Language Experience Story: Final Draft
LEFT
WE LEAVE SCHOOL AT 8:30.
DIDNT SEE WERE
WE DONT SAW THE INDIANS BECAUSE THEY ^ HUNTING.
THREW PLYMOUTH ROCK
WE TRYING MONEY AT THE ROCK.
Figure 2
Language Experience Story with Sample Corrections
Pre-teach vocabul ary before engagi ng i n the acti vi ty.
Provi de rel evant cul tural i nformati on. For exampl e, i f you were goi ng to
vi si t Pl ymouth Pl antati on you mi ght want to tal k about al l the conquerors
who expl ored the Ameri cas duri ng the si xteenth and seventeenth
centuri es. Some of your students from Lati n Ameri ca may be abl e to share
a great deal of knowl edge about di fferent expl orers for the same ti me
peri od wi th di fferent perspecti ves. Be open and wi l l i ng to acknowl edge
di fferent vi ewpoi nts, possi bl y compari ng and di scussi ng reasons for
di fferences wi th more mature students.
Variation
Have students create a language experience story with a partner or in small
groups. Be sure to include some students who are proficient in English.
Have students use thi s strategy for wri ti ng up thei r own fi el d tri p reports
and sci ence l ab reports.
Pri nt the story wi thout i ncl udi ng students names after thei r contri buti ons.
Have them try to remember who sai d what.
49
Our Adventure in Plymouth
(Language Experience Story Here)
Figure 4
Language Experience Story: Sample I llustrations
In the classroom
Claudio Carla Eliana
Follow-up Activities
Cut the story apart i nto sentence stri ps and have students reassembl e the
story by pl aci ng the sentence stri ps i n order. Di scuss any di fferences of
opi ni on about the order. Del ete some key content words and have
students wri te i n the mi ssi ng words (see bel ow). Thi s can be done wi th or
wi thout a word bank.
Classroom Examples
Ms. Reed invited a pilot to come and talk with her first-grade class, the majority of whom
are ELL students. Captain Mary Nguyen, a commercial airline pilot, came and spoke to
the class about her job. She let all of the students put on her captains hat. As a follow-up
activity, Ms. Reed had the students do a language experience approach story. T hey dictated
the following to her:
Ms. Reed had noticed before that her Spanish and Korean students mix up he/ she and
his/ her.
1. Why do you thi nk Spani sh and Korean students mi x up the pronouns
he/ she and hi s/ her?
2. What type of acti vi ty coul d Ms. Reed do to hel p students better understand
the concept of hi s/ her?
3. How can you l earn about your students nati ve l anguages? What questi ons
shoul d you ask? For i nstance, I s i t a tonal l anguage? When are
50
Students can create
pictures to
accompany the
story.
Provide students
with a pictorial
overview of what
the experience will
be about.
a pictorial overview of
what the experience
will be about. Include
key words.
a written description
of what the
experience will be
about.
Pair ELLs with
students who are
English language
proficient. Show them
how to use this
strategy for writing
science lab reports.
Captai n Nguyen vi si ted our cl ass. He tal ked. She showed real l y real l y cool
pi ctures. He l et al l of us try on her hat.
femi ni ne and mascul i ne arti cl es used? Do both a formal and an i nformal
method of addressi ng i ndi vi dual s exi st? To whom shoul d Ms. Reed pose
these questi ons?
Suggested Reading
Di xon, C. and D. Nessel , Language Experi ence Readi ng (and Wri ti ng):
Language Exper i ence Readi ng for Second Language Lear ner s. Hayward: Al emany
Press, 1983.
Stratton, B.D., M. C. Gri ndl er, and C. M. Postel l , Di scoveri ng Onesel f, Mi ddl e
School Jour nal I , No. 24, 1992, pp. 42-43.
Strategy: Cloze Procedure
Research-Based Strategy: Usi ng Pri or Knowl edge
Purpose: To devel op strategi es for deci pheri ng unfami l i ar words
Bri dgi ng
Content Area: Al l
Grade Levels: K-12
Background
The Cl oze Procedure has been used i n the fi el d of educati on for 50+ years to
rei nforce and assess student l earni ng. I n a Cl oze acti vi ty, students are
presented wi th a readi ng passage from whi ch words have been del eted.
Students compl ete the passage by suppl yi ng appropri ate words to fi l l i n the
bl anks. Si nce a Cl oze passage i s a contextual i zed passage, rather than a si ngl e
i ndependent sentence, thi s acti vi ty compel s students to thi nk both broadl y and
deepl y to make meani ng. Cl oze acti vi ti es are both chal l engi ng and producti ve
for Engl i sh l anguage l earners because fi l l i ng i n the mi ssi ng words requi res the
use of pri or knowl edge and context to determi ne meani ng. Pri or knowl edge
consi sts both of what students know about the topi c of the passage and what
they know about how l anguage works. For i nstance, when readers l ook at a
passage, they shoul d be abl e to fi gure out whether the del eted word i s a noun
or a verb. Thi s can be parti cul arl y chal l engi ng for ELLs whose pri or
knowl edge of Engl i sh patterns, syntax, expressi ons, and vocabul ary i s l i mi ted.
10
See the exampl e bel ow and note that the fi rst i tem i s a noun, the second a
hel pi ng verb, etc.
51
Cl oze i s a versati l e procedure that can be used by i ndi vi dual students or a
group of students at al l but the most basi c l evel s of Engl i sh l anguage
profi ci ency. As an i ndependent acti vi ty, compl eti ng a Cl oze acti vi ty forces a
student to thi nk through hi s/ her background knowl edge, bank of vocabul ary
words, knowl edge of the Engl i sh l anguage, and/ or readi ng strategi es to make
meani ng of the passage. I n a fol l ow-up group di scussi on, students use thei r
verbal ski l l s and cogni ti ve strategi es to defend thei r word choi ces.
Creating a Cloze Passage
The chosen Cl oze passage shoul d be i nteresti ng and sti mul ati ng for students to
read, and i t shoul d be l ong enough to provi de meani ngful context.
Random and rational Cl oze are created usi ng speci fi c cri teri a. I n a random
Cl oze, every nth word of the passage (tradi ti onal l y the fi fth, si xth, or seventh)
i s del eted. A random Cl oze i s useful as practi ce for, and assessment of, ELLs
readi ng comprehensi on, knowl edge of syntax, and wri ti ng abi l i ti es, because a
broad range of words i s targeted for del eti on. I n a rational Cl oze, a parti cul ar
ki nd of word i s del eted: grammati cal el ement (e.g., tense or possessi ve);
desi gnated vocabul ary (e.g., hi story, math, sci ence); or part of speech (e.g.,
pronoun, auxi l i ary verb, adjecti ve). Thi s narrowl y-focused procedure al l ows
for assessment of knowl edge of these areas or for practi ce i n usi ng them.
To mai ntai n the i ntegri ty of the context, a standard l ength of approxi matel y
250 words, of whi ch 50 are del eti ons, i s suggested. I n addi ti on, to hel p
students appreci ate the context of the passage, i t i s suggested that begi nni ng
and endi ng sentences remai n i ntact. However, i f you are usi ng thi s procedure
wi th begi nners, you may use a passage that i s much shorter, to hel p them
become accustomed to the del eti ons.
I t i s i mportant that teachers teach students through model i ng and trai ni ng
that a gap acts l i ke any unknown word whi ch they shoul d gl i de past to see
i f they can determi ne the meani ng from the content.
11
Thi s means
trai ni ng students to read to the end of the sentence or beyond, and further
i nto the passage when necessary, to garner enough meani ng to restore the
del eted word. Trai n students to revi ew word choi ces after i ni ti al
52
Cloze is a reading in which the reader asked to make meaning
a passage by using clues to replace words have been
systematically deleted.
Figure 5
Sample Cloze
compl eti on of a Cl oze acti vi ty. Wi th the context i n mi nd, word choi ce has
more meani ng and may meri t reconsi derati on.
Use the same passage at a l ater date, for a di fferent purpose, as a
confi dence-boosti ng measure for ELLs.
Teachers shoul d compl ete the Cl oze exerci se themsel ves and make
necessary adjustments before gi vi ng i t to students. I ts uses are adaptabl e
to al l content area subjects, from math to physi cal educati on.
Classroom Examples
servi ce educators.
Mrs. Bani had been working with her second-grade ELL students on Cloze reading
passages. She made Cloze reading exercises out of old tests that had been used the previous
year for the district-wide assessment. T he reading passage was about a little boy and girl
who visited their grandmother once or twice a month. T he grandmother lived all alone in
the same town. Su Hi did the exercise perfectly, without any mistakes, but was very
unhappy when she was finished. Mrs. Bani asked Su Hi what the problem was. Su Hi
explained that something was very wrong because grandmothers are not supposed to live
alone unless their grandchildren live in another country.
1. How coul d Mrs. Bani al l evi ate Su Hi s di stress as a resul t of cul tural
di fferences?
2. How can Mrs. Bani fi nd out about Su Hi s cul tural expectati on regardi ng
fami l y confi gurati ons and l i vi ng patterns i n a cul tural l y-sensi ti ve manner?
Who on the school staff or i n the communi ty coul d provi de rel evant
i nformati on about l earners di fferent cul tural backgrounds?
53
Provide students
with very short
written passages.
Students can be
given picture cards
with the words
printed on them to
use. Students then
copy the words into
the appropriate
spaces.
Have students work
with a partner at a
better level of
proficiency to
complete a Cloze that
is at their reading
level.
Have students work
with a partner at the
same or better level of
proficiency to
complete a Cloze at
their reading level.
Have students work
with a partner at the
same or better level of
proficiency to
complete a Cloze that
is slightly above their
reading level.
3. How can Mrs. Bani expl ai n the cul tural di fferences depi cted i n the readi ng
sel ecti on? Pl ease provi de exampl es.
4. What are di fferent strategi es that can be used to l earn about the cul tural
expectati ons of your l earners? Li st ways to obtai n i nformati on from
peopl e, pri nt resources, and the I nternet.
5. How can Mrs. Bani i ncorporate the cul tural knowl edge that she has gai ned
i nto future l essons and exerci ses?
Suggested Reading
Bl achowi cz, C. L. Z., Cl oze Acti vi ti es for Pri mary Readers, T he Readi ng
Teacher , 31, 1977, pp. 300-302.
Gove, M. K., Usi ng the Cl oze Procedure i n a Fi rst Grade Cl assroom, T he
Readi ng Teacher , 29, 1975, pp. 36-38.
Strategy: Graphic Organizers
Purpose: To hel p students l earn how to use graphi c organi zers as a
comprehensi on and thi nki ng tool .
Bri dgi ng
Content Area: Al l
Grade Levels: K-12
Background
A graphi c organi zer i s a di agram of wri tten or oral statements that vi sual l y
represents i deas and rel ati onshi ps. (For a sampl e l i st of graphi c organi zers see
Tabl e 3.) The graphi c organi zer can be used:
1. As a prewri ti ng and/ or predi scussi on i nstructi onal tool
2. To determi ne and represent students pri or knowl edge of topi c
3. To enhance, revi ew, recal l , sequence, and anal yze
Graphi c organi zers can be successful l y used wi th ELLs at al l l evel s of Engl i sh
l anguage profi ci ency, at al l grade l evel s, and i n al l content areas.
A graphi c organi zer can be used at the end of i nstructi onal uni ts to revi ew,
rei nforce, and establ i sh the cri ti cal el ements of a l esson and to faci l i tate
di scussi on, parti cul arl y when ELLs background knowl edge of the topi c i s
l i mi ted. I nformati on di spl ayed i n graphi c organi zers can be used to hel p ELLs
understand the l arger concepts and i ssues. A graphi c organi zer can al so be
used to hel p l earners pl an what they are goi ng to wri te about. I n her arti cl e
Refl ecti ons on Effecti ve Use of Graphi c Organi zers, Margaret Egan suggests
that teachers who use graphi c organi zers:
54
1. Model how to use each form (e.g., web, matri x) to ensure an understandi ng
of the pecul i ari ti es of each.
2. Model the use of vari ous graphi c organi zers to al l ow students to wi tness
the teachers use of metacogni ti ve strategi es (knowi ng how to know) and to
i l l ustrate the fi t between certai n types of thi nki ng and a parti cul ar graphi c
organi zer.
12
Selecting and Using Graphic Organizers
Once teachers have establ i shed what i nformati on they want students to know,
they base thei r sel ecti on of a graphi c organi zer on the i nstructi onal i ntent of
the l esson and on the compl exi ty of the materi al to be l earned. The graphi c
organi zers bel ow are representati ve of the many forms that exi st, from a Venn
di agram compari ng and contrasti ng the powers of federal and state
governments to a fl ow chart del i neati ng the steps i n sol vi ng a math probl em.
55
Table 3
A Selected List of Graphic Organizer Forms
and Characteristics
Forms Characteristics
Describes Compares/ Classifies Sequences
Contrasts
Web
Brainstorming
Hierarchy
Flow Chart
Continuum
Time line
Matrix
Semantic Analysis
Venn Diagram
Basic
Expanded
X
X
X
X
X
X
Examples of Graphic Organizers
English/ Language Arts
Goal: Establ i shi ng cri ti cal i nformati on
After compl eti ng a readi ng assi gnment i n S.E. Hi ntons novel T he Outsi der s,
students, i n groups of four, sel ect cri ti cal i nformati on about the narrator at that
poi nt i n the story for cl ass di scussi on.
Math
Goal: Fi ndi ng the area of an i soscel es tri angl e
After gi vi ng i nstructi on to the enti re cl ass on fi ndi ng the area of an i soscel es
tri angl e, each student i s provi ded a copy of the chart bel ow and i nstructed to
fol l ow the di recti ons:
56
Physi cal Feat ures Charact eri st i cs
1. Doesnt l ook tough
2. Li ght brown al most-red
hai r
3. Li ght green/ gray eyes
4. Reversed mul l et
Fear of
1. Li kes to read
2. Loner
3. Refl ecti ve
4. Thi nks hes di fferent
Parents are dead
20-year-old brother hard worker
16-year-old brother loves him
more than anything
Narrator
I
l oss of fami l y
bei ng caught bei ng beaten up
Web: Used to i l l ustrate mai n and subordi nate i deas
Flow Chart: Used to descri be steps, stages, sequence, etc.
Social Studies/ History
Goal: Compari ng/ contrasti ng the powers of federal and state governments
Reviewing material:
To revi ew a l esson on government powers, students are asked to pl ace the
powers that are hel d i n common (si mi l ari ti es) i nsi de the overl appi ng secti on
and those that are uni que to each l evel of government (di fferences) i n the
outer ci rcl es.
57
=-11*=1AYZ
<|LF
hei ght
base
base =
1. With a ruler, measure the base of
Triangle A. Record in the box to the right.
2. With a ruler, measure the height of
Triangle A. Record in the box to the right.
=
hei ght =
=
Triangle A
1. Decl are war
2. Mai ntai n an army
3. Coi n money
1. Conduct el ecti ons
2. Establ i sh school s
3. Regul ate marri age
1. Col l ect
taxes
2. Bui l d
roads
3. Enforce
l aws
Shared Powers
State Governments
Federal Government
=
Venn Diagram ( Basic) : Used to i l l ustrate si mi l ari ti es and di fferences of
two or more i tems.
Home Economics/ Elementary Science
Analyzing Characteristics of Desserts
Goal: Anal yzi ng i tem characteri sti cs
Students i ndi vi dual l y determi ne the features associ ated wi th each dessert by
pl aci ng an x i n the appropri ate box. I n a group di scussi on, students defend
thei r
deci si ons.
When a new topi c or uni t i s i ntroduced i n any content area cl ass, a graphi c
organi zer can provi de students wi th the means to make sense of new
knowl edge by connecti ng what i s al ready known (e.g., vocabul ary,
i nformati on, or concepts) to what i s not known or to what needs to be
more deepl y understood.
Choi ce of graphi c organi zers responds to ELLs speci fi c i nformati onal and
l anguage needs.
The combi nati on of short words and phrases wi th graphi c representati on
presents i nformati on i n a cl ear, conci se, accessi bl e format.
58
Matrix: Used to anal yze characteri sti cs of mul ti pl e i tems.
Dessert Characteristics
Chocolate
Cake
Flan
Bean Cake
Oatmeal
Raisin Cookie
McIntosh
Apple
Persimmon
Arroz con
leche
Is made Contains Does not Can be Contains Is served Is eaten
with flour seeds require made at more than by the with a
cooking home one slice spoon
ingredient
Classroom Examples
Mr. Moral es teaches a si xth-grade ESL math cl ass. He i s tryi ng to hel p
students get ready for the statewi de math assessment. Si nce the emphasi s i s
on word probl ems, he has deci ded to use fl owcharts i n whi ch students
descri be the steps they use to sol ve di fferent math probl ems. He was very
puzzl ed when Sergey turned i n hi s math di vi si on probl em. Sergeys fl owchart
went up and over i nstead of down. Apparentl y that i s the way math i s taught
i n Bel arus. Mr. Moral es fol l owed the i nstructi ons wri tten by Sergey and they
were absol utel y correct.
1. Shoul d Mr. Moral es be concerned about the way that Sergey di d hi s
di vi si on probl ems? Why or why not? What coul d Mr. Moral es do to better
comprehend Sergeys way of approachi ng the probl em?
2. Shoul d Mr. Moral es try to reteach Sergey how to do the math probl ems?
Why or why not?
3. What posi ti ve thi ngs coul d Mr. Moral es do to show that he appreci ates
Sergeys cul tural l y-di fferent way of doi ng math? How coul d Sergeys
al ternati ve approach to math probl ems hel p other l earners better
comprehend the basi c mathemati cal concepts?
Suggested Reading
Broml e, K., L. I rwi n-DeVi ti s, and M. Modl o, Gr aphi c Or gani zer s, New York:
Schol asti c, 1995.
59
Have students
make pictorial
graphic organizers
such as Venn
diagrams.
Show students how to
use graphic organizers
that combine verbal
and pictorial images.
Partner ELLs with
students who are
Have them create
graphic organizers for
different regular
curriculum classes.
Show students how to
use graphic organizers
as a way to organize
their notes for regular
curriculum classes.
I nstructional Techniques
Li sted bel ow are teachi ng techni ques based on the fi ndi ngs of the Nati onal
Readi ng Panel . The Nati onal Readi ng Panel was convened to anal yze
evi dence-based readi ng research and to make recommendati ons as to whi ch
approaches are the most effecti ve.
Technique: Hands-On Vocabulary Practice
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Technique: Usi ng Graphi c Organi zers and
Semanti c Organi zers
Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: K -12
Directions
1. Presel ect key vocabul ary and i mportant concepts that wi l l be i ntroduced.
Col l ect pi ctures and props that can be used to hel p students understand
key vocabul ary and concepts i n the l esson. These props mi ght i ncl ude
model s, scul ptures, maps, drawi ngs, and other vi sual s, as wel l as real i a
(real i tems such as househol d objects, toys, musi c, costumes, etc.).
Pi ctures i n di scarded content area textbooks can be cut up and mounted on
cards to create vocabul ary cards.
2. I ntroduce and pre-teach the vocabul ary, usi ng props or pi ctures.
3. Have students demonstrate thei r understandi ng of vocabul ary through
hands-on nonverbal means. For exampl e, ask them to poi nt to an i tem or
card, to pi ck i t up, to hand i t to another student, or to arrange i tems i n a
parti cul ar order. (e.g., Put the l eaf next to the stem. Now pl ace the sl i de on
the mi cr oscope pl atfor m. Or Show me the topogr aphi cal map. Now show me
the pol i ti cal map.)
4. Have students match i tems and pi ctures wi th wri tten l abel s.
60
TECHNIQUE RESEARCH-BASED PRACTICE
Hands-on Vocabulary Practice
Mixer
Dictoglos
Book Brother or Sister
Detective
KWL Chart
Draw Then Write
Letter-writing
Using Graphic and Semantic Organizers
Summarization
Cooperative Learning
Question Generation
Summarization
Making text-to-self, -world, and -text connections
5. Make real i a and vocabul ary cards avai l abl e so that the students wi l l get
multiple exposures to the vocabulary being covered. Have the students
create charts and semantic maps illustrating how the target vocabulary items
are related. This will help them comprehend the meaning of the words.
6. Revi ew the l esson by havi ng students use the key vocabul ary and real i a
when summari zi ng i mportant concepts of the l esson.
I f you are bi l i ngual i n the students nati ve l anguage(s), you can provi de an
i ntroducti on of key concepts and vocabul ary i tems i n those l anguages. Be
aware of, and sensi ti ve to, pronunci ati on and regi onal di fferences of
vocabul ary used, e.g., the noun for orange i n Spani sh can be chi na or
nar anj a, dependi ng on the students pl ace of ori gi n. Regi onal di fferences
i n pronunci ati on and vocabul ary al so exi st i n Engl i sh. For i nstance, i n
Texas coke may refer to any ki nd of carbonated beverage, whereas
nati ves from Kansas woul d use the term pop to refer to the same type of
beverage. Such di fferences may i mpact students word recogni ti on and
thei r comprehensi on of oral and wri tten l anguage.
Al though Spanish/ English cognates like democr aci a (democracy) and pl anear
(to plan) will augment Spanish speakers English vocabulary and
comprehension, false cognates, words that appear to have the same
meanings across languages, may cause confusion. For example, the Spanish
actul means current, and compr omi so can mean a commitment.
Variations
Encourage students to bri ng i n ol d magazi nes, catal ogs, posters, postcards,
textbooks, empty contai ners, maps, and other pi eces of real i a from home.
Use these as a resource for creati ng vocabul ary pi cture cards for students.
Expose students at more advanced stages of Engl i sh l anguage devel opment
to di fferent di al ects/ accents i n Engl i sh through vi deo and audi o (e.g.,
Austral i an Engl i sh, Southern Afri can Ameri can vernacul ar Engl i sh, and
Bostoni an Engl i sh).
61
Provide students
with picture cards of
key vocabulary
items. Create an
audio recording with
the word
pronounced in
English.
picture cards of key
vocabulary items.
Create an audio
recording with the
word pronounced in
English. Print the
word on the card.
cards that contain the
word (and pictures,
when applicable).
Help students create
their own definitions
or descriptions to
accompany the
words.
Help students create
their own dictionaries
with key vocabulary
items. They may want
to include a definition
and a sample
sentence.
62
Classroom Examples
servi ce educators.
Students in Ms. Santanas school did very poorly on the math portion of the state-
mandated assessment. Ms. Santana is a middle school math teacher who realized that her
students consistently have trouble with word problems. Upon reflection and discussion, it
was revealed that one of the reasons that the students had trouble with the word problems
was the vocabulary. Ms. Santana decided to spend more time teaching students the
vocabulary they would need to complete assignments about area and volume. To introduce
some of the vocabulary that students would be learning in the lessons, Ms. Santana
brought in models of different containers, cubes, and cylinders. She also brought in
yardsticks and rulers and had students calibrate them into inches (many of her students
were only familiar with the metric system).
Each day, she reviewed the vocabulary before showing students how to do the problems. Ms.
Santana was pleased that her students seemed much more confident when they read and
solved the problems. She decided that she would be careful to make sure that her students
had a thorough grasp of all pertinent vocabulary before embarking on a unit of
instruction.
13
1. How can you determi ne the vocabul ary that students wi l l need to do math
probl ems? What resources can you consul t?
2. How can you determi ne whether vocabul ary i tems for a speci fi c content
area subject are goi ng to be chal l engi ng from a cul tural standpoi nt? For
exampl e, i n Ms. Santanas cl ass a number of students had troubl e wi th the
concept of i nches and feet because they were accustomed to the metri c
system. What can you do to make sure that students have an adequate
understandi ng of the vocabul ary, from a cul tural standpoi nt? How coul d
students demonstrate thei r comprehensi on of di fferent vocabul ary i tems?
3. Why do you thi nk the students read and sol ved area and vol ume probl ems
wi th a greater degree of confi dence?
63
Technique: Mixer
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Techniques: Summari zati on
Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: 4-12
Directions
1. Sti mul ate students i nterest i n readi ng an unfami l i ar sel ecti on and acti vate
thei r background knowl edge by sel ecti ng fi ve to ten sentences from a text
that wi l l be read. Choose sentences that contai n i mportant and i nteresti ng
vocabul ary i tems and i deas from the text. As needed, pre-teach any
unfami l i ar vocabul ary i tems that are essenti al to the understandi ng of the
readi ng sel ecti on.
2. Copy each sentence onto a sti cky note.
3. Pl ace students i nto groups of three or four and gi ve each i ndi vi dual student
a sti cky note.
4. Have students read thei r sentences si l entl y and then al oud to thei r group.
5. When students have fi ni shed readi ng thei r sentences al oud to the other
members of thei r group, have them, i ndi vi dual l y, wri te down what they
thi nk the sel ecti on wi l l be about.
6. Based on the sentences they have read and heard, students i n each group
di scuss what they thi nk the text wi l l be about.
7. A recorder or scri be i n each group wri tes the groups predi cti ons on the top
of a pi ece of chart paper.
8. Next, students i n each group read thei r sentences and thei r group
predi cti on al oud to the other groups and the rest of the cl ass.
9. I n thei r groups, students di scuss whether and how heari ng the new
sentences changed thei r predi cti ons about the unread text. On the bottom
of the chart paper, the recorder wri tes down thei r revi sed predi cti ons.
10. The smal l groups share thei r revi sed predi cti ons and expl ai n thei r thi nki ng
to the cl ass.
11. Read the readi ng sel ecti on. As a group, have l earners compare thei r
predi cti ons to the actual readi ng sel ecti on.
12. Students try to put al l of the sentences, wri tten on sti cky notes, i n order.
Have students read the ori gi nal sel ecti on and comment on how cl ose thei r
predi cti ons were. For exampl e:
A bsol utel y Per fect.
Not Ver y Cl ose.
Way Off.
Encourage students to di scuss and refl ect on why thei r predi cti ons were
correct or not. Ask students whether or not what they knew about the topi c
64
from thei r own experi ence as wel l as the pre-teachi ng of the vocabul ary i tems
hel ped them i n maki ng thei r predi cti ons.
Special Consideration
For l arger groups, col or-code separate sets of sentences. Have students
work wi th cards that are the same col or.
Variation
Have students wri te down everythi ng they know about the topi c before
you begi n. Be sure to show students how to broaden a topi c so that they
can l i nk pri or experi ence. For exampl e, i f students are readi ng a story
about a mothers struggl e wi th young chi l dren, you can show students how
thei r experi ence wi th younger brothers and si sters i s rel evant.
Classroom Example
Mrs. Ortiz teaches fifth grade at an elementary school where 40% of the students are ELLs.
Mrs. Ortiz noticed that her ELL students always feel very frustrated when they are expected
to read their social studies textbook, even though eight of her ten ELL students have recently
been reclassified English language proficient. She is especially worried because her
students must read social studies content as part of the statewide reading assessment, and
they do not possess the same background knowledge as many of their classmates.
Mrs. Ortizs fifth-grade class was scheduled to read about Harriet Tubman and the
Underground Railroad. Mrs. Ortiz feared that she would have to spend an entire class
period describing slavery and the Civil War so that her students would have enough context
even to begin to understand the reading. Since many of her students, or their families, have
made arduous and often dangerous journeys to the United States from their home countries,
she decided that this would be a good opportunity to show students how to use their
backgrounds to make connections to the reading.
Mrs. Ortiz selected a passage about Harriet Tubman from a supplementary reader designed
for native English speakers. She printed each sentence on a sticky note. She printed the
sentences, since many of the students are not accustomed to the U.S. style of cursive writing.
sentences that contain
illustrations. You may need
to make photocopies of the
illustrations.
Provide students with simple
sentences. You may need
to simplify complex
sentences.
Provide students with simple
sentences. You may need
to simplify complex
sentences.
65
She then spent less than a minute telling the students that it can be hard to go from one
country to another. Next she passed out one sticky note to each pair or trio of students. She
told them to think about the hard journeys that they or someone else they know may have
made, as well as the reason for the journey. Students then made predictions about the text.
T hey wrote their predictions on the chart paper. Next she had the students read the text. As
soon as they had finished reading the selection, Mrs. Ortiz invited students to comment on
the accuracy of their predictions.
A couple of students mentioned that they did not realize how much they knew. One said
that he often looked so carefully at each word that he did not even notice what the whole
story was about. He said that he never thought that a social studies paper would have
anything to do with him. It turns out that his family had escaped from San Salvador.
1. Why di d Mrs. Orti z deci de to use the sel ecti on about Harri et Tubman?
Why do you thi nk she used a suppl ementary reader? Do you thi nk
students shoul d know about Harri et Tubman before they read i n thei r
regul ar soci al studi es textbook? Why or why not?
2. How can you draw upon students cul tural heri tage when setti ng up an
assi gnment? What are appropri ate questi ons that you can ask? What are
di fferent exampl es that you can gi ve to set the stage for the acti vi ty
students wi l l be doi ng?
3. What coul d Mrs. Orti z do as a fol l ow-up acti vi ty to make sure that her ELLs
use thei r background cul tural knowl edge?
Technique: Dictoglos
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Techniques: Usi ng Graphi c and Semanti c
Organi zers
Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: 1-12
Directions
1. Read a short excerpt (from a l i terature story or a content-area text) al oud at
a normal speaki ng pace. Students are to l i sten as you read.
2. Read the text two more ti mes. At the thi rd readi ng, have students wri te
key words and phrases that they hear.
3. Usi ng thei r notes, students then work i n pai rs to reconstruct as much of
the ori gi nal text as possi bl e.
4. When the pai rs have wri tten as much of the text as they can, they joi n
wi th another pai r to compare drafts and rewri te the text to try to make i t
more l i ke the ori gi nal text.
66
5. The groups of four then read al oud thei r versi on of the text to the cl ass.
Groups compare and di scuss thei r drafts.
6. Compare and di scuss al l drafts, noti ng the parts of the text that were
di ffi cul t to reconstruct. Encourage students to read thei r passages al oud
and to fi l l i n the bl ank spaces wi th the appropri ate words.
Preteach vocabul ary i tems that mi ght be chal l engi ng or mi ght i mpede
understandi ng of the sel ecti on.
Provi de students wi th a cul tural context, i f necessary.
Variations
When you read the passages al oud, assi gn a student to be the sound engi neer.
The sound engi neer wi l l record your readi ng of the text. You may al so want to
record the enti re sel ecti on for students to take home and to l i sten to as they
read and re-read i t.
14
Classroom Examples
Mr. Kang attended a meeting where the new statewide reading assessment was presented.
Apparently the English language arts committee had met and decided to include a greater
variety of genres on the test. In an attempt to create a test instrument that was more
appealing to boys, the committee had recommended that science fiction be one of the genres
on the exam.
Mr. Kang was concerned that many of his students were being too literal. T hey did not
know that Twenty T housand Leagues Under the Sea was science fiction. He was very
concerned that they would have trouble with an exercise that included science fiction
Provide students
with illustrations for
the selection.
illustrations and have
students listen as a
partner with native
English language
proficiency reads the
selection to them.
Have students listen
as a partner with
native English
language proficiency
reads the selection to
them.
When students create
their drafts, have them
leave a space
between the lines.
Read the text again
and have students
make corrections to
their drafts.
67
reading selections. He felt that the dictoglos technique would help them work with science
fiction. He instructed the students just to listen to the passage the first time he read it.
He reread the passage with the students again just listening. When Mr. Kang read the
passage a third time, he had the students jot down what they thought were the key words
and phrases.
T he students then worked in two-person teams to try to recreate the text dictated by Mr.
Kang. When the two-person teams had completed their text, each collaborated with another
team to try to write their text as close to the original text as possible.
Mr. Kang then asked students to try to determine if the passage was fiction or nonfiction.
He found that the students were very engaged in discussing whether or not the story really
took place.
When the groups of four had finished their texts, one person from each group read what they
had written. Students then voted on whether it was a piece of fiction or nonfiction. T hey
were required to look back at their texts and give reasons for their vote.
Students explained that they liked having him read to them. T hey also liked reading aloud
to one another. Mr. Kang also noticed that the students were much more critical when they
read other books of various genres.
1. Why do you thi nk Mr. Kang chose thi s techni que for hel pi ng students
understand the sci ence fi cti on genre? How el se di d thi s techni que hel p
the l earners? Do you thi nk that they began to understand the i mportance
of devel opi ng fl uency when readi ng al oud?
2. Li st other genres where thi s techni que coul d be used. Are there any
genres where you do not feel that thi s woul d be an appropri ate techni que?
For exampl e, woul d thi s techni que work as wel l wi th free verse? Why or
why not?
3. Thi s i s an especi al l y good techni que for students who come from cul tures
that pl ace a great deal of val ue on oral storytel l i ng. What are some
vari ati ons that you coul d empl oy for students who come from cul tures
wi th oral tradi ti ons?
4. Do you thi nk that i t woul d be a good i dea for Mr. Kang to suggest that hi s
students check out books on tape? Why or why not?
68
Technique: Book Brother or Sister
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Technique: Cooperati ve Learni ng
English Language Proficiency Levels: Devel opi ng, Expandi ng, Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: 4-12
Directions
1 Sel ect two cl asses: one of ol der students, one of younger students.
2. Expl ai n the project to the students. Tel l students that they wi l l be readi ng
books to younger chi l dren. Expl ai n that they need to ask questi ons that
wi l l make the students i nterested i n the books. Tel l them that they al so
have to ask questi ons to make sure that the younger students understand
what has been read.
3. Work wi th the ol der students to prepare them for thei r acti vi ti es wi th the
younger students:
q Brai nstorm wi th students the questi ons that they can ask the younger
chi l dren. Make sure that students have the ri ght number of questi ons.
q Trai n the students i n formi ng and aski ng questi ons. Di scuss the use of
yes/ no questi ons versus hi gher-order-thi nki ng questi ons.
q Have students rehearse wi th each other before they work wi th the
younger chi l dren.
(Note: Students shoul d spend about three to four weeks prepari ng before they
begi n work wi th the younger students.)
4. Students can keep a journal duri ng the acti vi ty i n whi ch they wri te and
refl ect on thei r experi ences throughout the whol e process. They shoul d
al so keep a record of the books, the questi ons, and the ai m of each
questi on.
5. When the ol der students are ready to i mpl ement the project, pai r one ol der
student wi th a younger student. I f the number of students i n each cl ass i s
uneven, three students can be pl aced i n a group. To control i ssues of noi se
and overcrowdi ng, di vi de the cl asses so that hal f the pai rs are i n each
cl assroom.
6. Meet wi th the ol der students after each sessi on to tal k about what went
wel l , what coul d be i mproved, etc. Encourage them to refl ect on how the
younger students responded to the di fferent questi ons.
Some students may feel self-conscious because they feel that they have an
accent. If their language is very difficult to understand because of
pronunciation, provide an audio-recording of the text and questions that they
are going to read so that they can practice at home. Either you or a student
with clear English language pronunciation can prepare the audio-recordin
69
You may want to have students sel ect Engl i sh l anguage books that are
representati ve of thei r cul tural heri tage. Thi s way, students wi l l feel l i ke
experts when they prepare the questi ons.
Classroom Examples
Mrs. Lamboy is the sixth-grade ESL teacher at the Shurtleff Elementary School. Students
are having trouble on the statewide reading assessment, so there has been a concerted effort
to help them better comprehend questions and read more fluently. A number of Mrs.
Lamboys students have been commenting that it makes them nervous to read in front of
their native English-proficient peers because of their accents. T hey have also complained
that the questions are very confusing.
Mrs. Lamboy attended a workshop where the use of cross-age tutoring was discussed. She
felt that she could use the project to help students gain confidence when they read aloud and
to help them better understand questions by actually creating their own. She broached the
idea of a cross-age project with the kindergarten teacher, Ms. DeSimone, who
enthusiastically accepted the invitation. Ms. DeSimone thought that it would be a great
opportunity for her students to get personal attention on their reading skills. T he teachers
planned an outdoor recess activity so that the students could get to know each other.
T he students were very excited when Mrs. Lamboy and Ms. DeSimone explained the project
to them. Mrs. Lamboy and her sixth-graders spent several weeks planning pre-reading
activities to provide the younger children with background knowledge, vocabulary, etc.
During this time, they also worked on how to engage a student while reading, what
questions to ask during reading, and what activities to do after reading. Ms. DeSimone
worked with the class to show them how to choose books that were both grade- and age-
appropriate and that would interest the younger children. She also modeled a good
Pair an ELL with
another student
who is more
Have the beginner
serve as a page-
turner.
Pair a student at the
developing stage with
a student who is
Have them divide the
tasks of reading the
book. Have the more
proficient student ask
the questions,
including follow-up
questions.
Pair a student at the
expanding stage with
a student who is
Have them divide the
tasks of reading the
book and asking
questions.
Have the student write
out a complete script
of what they will say
to introduce the book
and to ask questions.
For example, Today
we are going to read a
book about a very
naughty dinosaur.
70
interactive read-aloud. T he students also visited the school library to choose books.
Students practiced reading the books they had selected from the library with each other, and
critiqued each others teaching techniques. T hey kept a journal during this process in which
they wrote their thoughts on the project and what they were learning about reading.
When the sixth-graders were ready, the teachers paired one sixth-grader with a
kindergartener. Because Mrs. Lamboy had one extra student, she decided to pair her
weakest reader with another student from her class. She explained to them that they would
work together with one student. She suggested that one student read the story to the
kindergartener and that the other carry out an after-reading activity.
On the first day of the project, the sixth-graders excitedly entered the kindergarten class to
pair up with their kindergarteners. Once the pairs were formed, Mrs. Lamboy took half the
group back to her class, while the other half remained with Ms. DeSimone. T he sixth-
graders went right to work. T hey found comfortable places to sit with their partners and
began to read. Mrs. Lamboy smiled as she saw the efforts of the last few weeks pay off.
Both older and younger students were completely involved in reading! When the session
was done, Mrs. Lamboy debriefed with her students, discussing what went well, what did
not, and how they could make things work better the next time.
As the project continued, the older students gained more confidence in reading English and
the younger students began to attempt to read by themselves. Some of the older students
began to plan more involved activities with their individual students. For example, Angela
had her student draw a picture of an important part of the story and write a sentence about
the picture. Occasionally, Federico asked his student to draw a three-part sequence of events
from the read-aloud, or he would assist in scripting out for the student what he imagined
would occur in the future.
Mrs. Lamboy had the sixth-graders meet in small groups from time to time to examine and
critique the pre- and post-reading questions they were preparing to ask the kindergarteners.
A student decided to change one of his questions, saying, T his question is too easy. It
doesnt make you think.
About a month after the project finished, Mrs. Lamboy wanted to know whether or not the
project helped her sixth-grade ELL students to feel more confident when they read aloud.
She created a simple questionnaire.
How do you feel about reading aloud?
Do you feel better?
Her students reported that reading to the younger children made them feel much better about
reading aloud. Since they did not mention their accents, one might assume that they felt
less self-conscious about them.
1. How coul d Mrs. Lamboy hel p her students fi nd books that are cul tural l y
rel evant to thei r l i ves?
71
2. What other techni ques coul d Mrs. Lamboy use to hel p students feel l ess
sel f-consci ous about an accent?
3. How coul d thi s acti vi ty be adapted for hi gh school or mi ddl e school
students who are not l ocated at the same pl ace as el ementary school
students?
4. What are other advantages of thi s techni que?
Technique: Detective
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Technique: Questi on Generati on
Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: 1-12
Directions
1. Sel ect a story and have students previ ew the text (for l ower grades, do a
pi cture wal k where they study the pi ctures on each page for a coupl e of
seconds; for upper grades, have the students read a porti on of the text) and
i nfer what mi ght happen i n the story. Be sure to have students l ook al so at
headi ngs and capti ons to i nfer what i s happeni ng or wi l l happen.
2. Provi de students wi th a paper di vi ded i nto three col umns, or prepare a
paper that i s di vi ded i nto three col umns wi th these headi ngs:
3. Have students wri te three to four i nferences, ski ppi ng l i nes between
i nferences so that they can wri te adjustments, i f necessary.
4. Students shoul d provi de evi dence to support thei r i nferences, maki ng sure
they refer to the text for thei r evi dence.
5. Read the text to the students or have students read the text themsel ves,
stoppi ng when one of thei r i nferences i s confi rmed or when somethi ng
happens i n the story that proves thei r i nference i ncorrect.
6. At the end of the readi ng sessi on, students revi ew the i nferences and wri te
what actual l y happened i n the story.
Inferences Evidence What Actually Happened
72
Classroom Examples
servi ce educators.
A private research company did an analysis of the items that ELL students missed on the
statewide reading assessment. T he analysis findings noted that ELL students missed a
whopping 70% of the inference items. When Mrs. Kulczycki read this analysis it made
sense to her, since she had noticed that her fifth-graders had trouble with the inference
questions at the end of each chapter. T hey knew how to preview a text, for example, reading
the title, looking at any pictures, reading the chapter titles, and so on. However, she noticed
that some students made their predictions and did not readjust their initial predictions as
they read the text. She decided to teach her students the Predict, Confirm, Adjust
technique in hopes of helping those students improve their reading comprehension.
She decided to use a picture book with descriptive illustrations entitled A Days Work by Eve
Bunting. Mrs. Kulczycki read the first sentence of each page to the students and showed
them the illustrations. After she had read one-fourth of the sentences, the students made
predictions about what would happen in the story. Mrs. Kulczycki asked them to identify
the text or illustrations upon which their predictions were based. She continued this
procedure, stopping after half, three-fourths, and the end of the story. When the students
had finished writing their predictions, Mrs. Kulczycki asked a few students to state their
predictions and give their reasons for the predictions.
T he book was then read to the students. Mrs. Kulczycki stopped at the same places where
the students had made their inferences to let them change any of their predictions. When
she had finished reading the story, Mrs. Kulczycki discussed the technique with the students.
Rosa stated that she now understood better what it meant to infer something in a story. She
said that she would now be more attentive to what is happening in the story and not always
Have students read
a very simple
sentence from
which it is easy to
infer the meaning of
a word. For
instance, I n the
mor ni ng she ate
a bi g __________.
(breakfast)
Have students read a
simple paragraph that
is slightly below their
reading level and from
which it is easy to
infer what happens
next.
simple paragraph that
is at their reading level
from which it is easy
to infer what happens
next.
selection that is from
the regular education
curriculum. Have
students break the
selection down into
sections. Have them
check their
comprehension and
the quality of the
inferences for each
section.
73
rely on what she had predicted to be true. Choua remarked that he felt he paid more
attention to the story because he was now more conscious of seeing if his inferences were
correct.
As a follow-up activity, Mrs. Kulczycki asked students to circle all the questions in their
workbook that required inference. She was amazed at how easily several of her students were
able to identify the higher-order-thinking questions.
1. What are some other ti tl es or stori es that woul d be representati ve of your
students cul tures whi ch coul d be used? Woul d the school l i brari an or a
l i brari an from a publ i c l i brary be abl e to hel p you fi nd appropri ate ti tl es?
2. How coul d you make adaptati ons so that you coul d use thi s techni que wi th
nonfi cti on soci al studi es and sci ence readi ng sel ecti ons?
3. How coul d you make adaptati ons so that you coul d use thi s techni que wi th
ol der or younger students?
4. What are other benefi ts of thi s techni que? How di d thi s techni que hel p
students i mprove thei r abi l i ty to thi nk about what they are readi ng?
Technique: KWL Charts
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Technique: Summari zati on
Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: 2-12
Directions
1. Present the topi c through vi sual s such as pi ctures, graphs, maps, or real
objects, or have students read the ti tl e of the text (and subtopi cs, i f any).
2. Draw a KWL chart on the board.
15
Expl ai n that K stands for what the
students Know, W i s for what they Want to l earn, and L for what they
have Learned about the topi c.
3. Have students l ook at the fi rst page of a uni t from a textbook.
4. Ask students to wri te down everythi ng they al ready know about the uni t
topi c i n the col umn under the word Know.
Know Want to learn Learned
74
5. Di scuss what they know, and record the groups knowl edge on a l arge KWL
chart that al l students can see. Next, have them wri te down what they
want to l earn about the topi c i n the col umn l abel ed Want to l ear n.
6. Di scuss what they want to l earn, and record the groups questi ons on the
l arge KWL chart.
7. Next, have students read the text i ndependentl y, wi th a buddy, or i n smal l
groups, or as part of the enti re cl ass l ooki ng for answers to thei r Want-to-
know questi ons and confi rmi ng the pri or knowl edge wri tten i n the Know
col umn. Have students record what they have l earned i n the Lear ned
col umn.
8. Di scuss what they have l earned from thei r readi ng.
9. Di scuss how what they knew made i t easi er for them to understand
unfami l i ar materi al .
10. Di scuss how havi ng Want-to-know questi ons changed how they read.
Provi de students wi th cul tural contexts for the readi ng, i f necessary, or
have students provi de cul tural background, i f appropri ate.
When possi bl e, choose readi ngs about whi ch students from di fferent
cul tures wi l l have parti cul ar knowl edge or curi osi ty.
Encourage students to use cognates (words that mean the same thi ng and
sound al most the same i n Engl i sh as i n Spani sh). For exampl e, i f there are
unfami l i ar words on the fi rst page of a uni t but you know the Spani sh
cognates, encourage them to wri te down the cognates. You mi ght want to
cauti on them, though, that there are fal se cognates, whi ch are words that do
not mean the same thi ng even though they sound very si mi l ar.
Give students
charts with two
columns, Know and
Learned. Break this
down into two steps
as a pre- and post-
activity.
Give students charts
with two columns,
Know and Learned.
Have students write
down what they know,
and then circle items
they want to know
more about. Have
students write down
what they learned,
and compare it to
what they wanted to
learn.
Give students three-
column charts. Have
them circle what they
want to know in the
first column, and then
rewrite it for inclusion
in the second column.
Show students how
they can use their
KWL charts in their
academic classes. Be
sure to demonstrate
how the charts can be
used with content
area classes to
prepare for tests.
75
Classroom Examples
servi ce educators.
Mr. Kenney was very concerned that his tenth-grade ELL students seemed to be
overwhelmed with the biology textbook they were expected to read for homework. He needed
to cover large amounts of material so that his students could pass the state exam required
for a high school diploma. He wanted to spend time going over the language necessary for
the content, but there just was not time.
He decided to use the KWL chart. He felt that he could teach the students how to use the
KWL chart in class, and then assign it as homework for all the reading assignments they
were supposed to do.
Mr. Kenney drew a copy of the KWL chart on the board and then had the students look at
the list of words in the textbook. At first, the class seemed both frustrated and overwhelmed.
However, Cristi shot up her hand. I know some of these words, she said, flora is like
flor or flower in Spanish, cycle is like ciclo. Immediately all the Spanish-speaking
students in the class started to look for cognates and were quite pleased that they could write
down some items in the K chart. Mr. Kenney pointed out that Spanish can really help
students in biology class, since many scientific words came from Latin. He also explained
what false cognates are, so that students would not assume that every pair of words that
sound similar in English and Spanish in fact mean the same thing.
Next, Mr. Kenney had students write down what else they knew about the topic. Mi Li, the
daughter of rice farmers, immediately started explaining what she knew about the life cycle
of rice. She too was able to fill the K part of the chart. Mr. Kenney showed students how to
fill out the middle chart. He then had students read the selection and fill out the final part
of the chart.
Mr. Kenney then assigned the ELL students to complete the KW part of the charts a week
before they were to do the assigned reading, and turn in the entire chart after they did the
reading. At first the students complained, but quickly they realized that Mr. Kenney would
comment on their charts and steer them in the right direction before they did any reading.
1. Do you thi nk i t was a good i dea for students to use the cognates? Why or
why not?
2. Why di d Mr. Kenney assi gn the KWL charts to the ELLs?
3. What other techni ques coul d Mr. Kenney use to make sure that the
students use pri or knowl edge before they read a sel ecti on?
76
Suggested Reading
Huffman, L.E., Spotl i ghti ng Speci fi cs by Combi ni ng Focus Questi ons wi th
K-W-,L, Jour nal of Adol escent and Adul t Li ter acy, 41, 1998, pp. 470-472.
Wei ssman, K.E., Usi ng paragraph frames to compl ete a K-W-L, T he Readi ng
Teacher , 50, 1996, pp. 271-272.
Technique: Draw Then Write
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Technique: Usi ng Graphi c and Semanti c
Organi zers
16
Bri dgi ng
Grade Levels: 1-12
Directions
1. Sel ect a general topi c for the whol e cl ass, or have students sel ect thei r own
theme for wri ti ng. You may wi sh to sel ect a topi c from one of thei r
content area cl asses.
2. Provi de students wi th a book wi th bl ank pages or wi th a number of bl ank
pages that they can put together l ater.
3. Have students brai nstorm about the theme they have chosen. Remi nd
them to i ncl ude the el ements of a story (e.g., setti ng, characters, probl em,
events, sol uti on) or have them answer who, what, when, where, why, and
how questi ons about the theme.
4. Di rect students to draw a pi cture on each page. Make sure they weave a
conti nuous thread to the story or the nonfi cti on topi c. (I f students have
access to computers and graphi c software, they can use that approach.)
5. When students have fi ni shed drawi ng the pi ctures, have them wri te a
capti on under each pi cture.
6. Compl ete the acti vi ty by havi ng students read thei r wri ti ng to each other.
Variations
Thi s techni que can al so be used when wri ti ng nonfi cti on. Students can
draw thei r understandi ng of a concept before wri ti ng about i t.
Whenever di scussi ng a soci al studi es or sci ence event such as vol canoes,
tsunami , or earthquakes, you mi ght want students wi th nati ve l anguage
l i teracy ski l l s to l ook up nati ve-l anguage i nformati on i n Googl e or another
search engi ne wi th content i n the l anguage.
77
Classroom Examples
servi ce educators.
T he students in Mrs. Larsens fourth-grade class were studying changing landforms such as
volcanoes and earthquakes. To assess their understanding of some of the key concepts
taught in the unit and to prepare them for the statewide writing assessment, she assigned a
report. Mrs. Larsen had all of the students select a landform. Some of the students from
Mexico chose earthquakes because they had heard stories about the 1985 Mexico City
earthquake from their parents and grandparents. Next, she asked the students to fold a
piece of drawing or writing paper into fourths. After students folded the paper, she had
them draw a picture of four stages of a changing landform. T he students eagerly engaged
in the drawing task. Next, she gave the students different writing assignments based on
their levels of English language proficiency. She told Tomas that he could write single-word
labels, whereas Elena was asked to write short paragraphs for each picture since her English
language skills were well developed.
T he students were proud of their writings. Mrs. Larsen explained that they could draw
quick prewriting sketches on the scratch paper they would be given for the state test. Mrs.
Larsen put up a poster that read, Ways I Can Prewrite During the Test. She listed
drawing as one of the techniques that can be used.
1. How di d students draw on thei r cul tural backgrounds for the wri ti ng
acti vi ty?
2. Why di d Mrs. Larsen have students fol d thei r papers?
3. How di d she di fferenti ate the assi gnments?
4. What are other prewri ti ng acti vi ti es that coul d have been used?
Have students draw
a series of pictures
and label the
pictures with one-
word labels.
Have students write
phrases or one-word
labels for the pictures.
Have students write
short sentences to
accompany each
picture.
Have students write a
simple paragraph to
accompany each
picture.
78
Technique: Letter-Writing
Purpose/ Goal/ Research-Based Technique: Maki ng text-to-sel f, text-to-worl d,
and text-to-text connecti ons
English Language Proficiency Levels: Al l
Grade Levels: 1-12
Activity
1. Bri ng i n sampl e fri endl y l etters for students to read. Hel p the students to
di scover the format used i n l etters.
2. Di scuss the purposes for wri ti ng a l etter.
3. I ntroduce the format of a fri endl y l etter.
4. Li st on chart paper (for future reference) the vari ous ways to wri te the
sal utati on and cl osi ng of a l etter.
5. Read or have students read books that have l etter-wri ti ng formats i n them
such as: T he Jol l y Postman, Fr og and Toad ar e Fr i ends, Dear Mr. H enshaw,
Gr i ffen & Sabi ne: A n Extr aor di nar y Cor r espondence, My Di ar y fr om H er e to
T her e/ Mi di ar i o de aqu hasta al l , T he Fl i ght to Fr eedom, and Befor e We Wer e
Fr ee. (See Bi bl i ography for authors and publ i cati on i nformati on.) You
mi ght al so l ook for books i n the other l anguages of the students. Hel p
students to understand the format of the l etters.
6. Have the students bri ng i n l etters, i ncl udi ng fri endl y l etters i n thei r home
l anguages. Once agai n, draw attenti on to the format of the l etters. Have
the students note that the styl e for wri ti ng the date mi ght be di fferent (the
day typi cal l y precedes the month i n many countri es, such as 9 Feb.
i nstead of Feb. 9).
7. Model wri ti ng di fferent types of fri endl y l etters mul ti pl e ti mes wi th
di fferent groupi ngs of students.
8. Have students practi ce wri ti ng a fri endl y l etter to you to ensure that they
understand the basi c concepts of l etter-wri ti ng. Use thi s i ni ti al l etter as a
basel i ne assessment of students l etter-wri ti ng ski l l s and understandi ng.
9. I f possi bl e, have di fferent types of wri ti ng paper or stati onery on hand.
10. Have students wri te l etters to each other. Establ i sh a system to ensure that
al l students recei ve correspondence.
Before begi nni ng the l etter exchanges, di scuss wi th students the gui del i nes for
when to wri te, what to wri te, and the responsi bi l i ti es for respondi ng to a l etter.
For exampl e, you may choose to set asi de a speci fi c ti me for l etter-wri ti ng,
al l ow students to wri te after they have fi ni shed another acti vi ty, or even wri te
l etters at home. Students shoul d al so know the acceptabl e and appropri ate
topi cs for correspondence, and that customary practi ce i s to respond to any
correspondence recei ved. Use sampl e l etters to poi nt out that correspondence
79
usual l y i nvol ves an exchange of i nformati on. Remi nd students to ask and
answer questi ons i n thei r l etters and to respond to the i nformati on that they
recei ve.
Considerations for ELLs: Cl ari fi cati on
Variations
Model the l etter-wri ti ng process through mul ti pl e l essons and mi ni -l essons.
The fi rst stage consi sts of teacher-l ed, whol e-group i nstructi on. I n the
second stage, col l aborati ve groups are gui ded by teachi ng usi ng an
overhead or LCD projector wi th graphi c organi zers. As an al ternati ve, the
teacher can use the board and/ or photocopy handouts. I n the thi rd stage,
students work i n pai rs to wri te a fri endl y l etter. I n the fi nal stage, students
wri te i ndependent l etters to a pen pal .
Have students i ncl ude a paragraph about somethi ng l earned i n cl ass that
day.
Exchange l etters wi th another cl ass ei ther nearby or far away i n another
state or country.
Classroom Examples
A number of Spanish-speaking ELL students in Ms. Kims high school ESL class
complained about the state-mandated English language writing assessment. Ms. Kim
found that the writing assessment tended to diminish the little confidence they had in
writing. Ms. Kim had an idea to help these students refine their writing skills, write for a
real audience, and regain their confidence.
Developing ELLs may have
difficulty reading some of
their letters. Allow them to
consult with the authors to
help with understanding.
Ask questions to help
students flesh out their
ideas. For example, if a
student writes I went to the
park, you could ask What
did you do at the park?
The student would then add
to her writing about what
was done at the park.
editing checklists in the form
of photocopies and/or
worksheets.
As a whole group, review
sample letters. Discuss
what is missing and the
strengths of the samples.
80
Ms. Kim approached Mr. Wilson, the high school Spanish teacher, about having her
students correspond with his students in an English-Spanish student letter exchange. He
enthusiastically accepted the invitation since he too saw the importance of the students
writing for a real audience, and welcomed the opportunity for his Spanish Level II students
to practice writing in Spanish for authentic purposes.
T he teachers introduced the letter-writing project to their students. T hey showed examples of
letters written in books, articles, magazines, etc. Students practiced writing a letter to their
teachers. Ground rules were set up by the teachers, with student input, and both classes
used graphic organizers to help prepare for the letter-writing. (T he graphic organizers can
be used multiple times for large-group, small-group, and individual on-one-one instruction.)
T he two classes were then ready to exchange letters. Each student was given the name of a
student from the other class with whom he or she would exchange letters.
Ms. Kims class began the letter-writing. She reviewed the first letters written by the students
to make sure that they understood the assignment and that the content would be
comprehensible to the students receiving the letters. When the students in Mr. Wilsons class
received the letters written in English, they responded in Spanish. Mr. Wilson also reviewed
the letters written by his Spanish Level II students to ensure that they understood the
assignment and that the content would be comprehensible to the students receiving the
letters. After every four weeks of correspondence, each student was given the name of a
different student with whom to exchange letters.
At the end of the semester, both classes celebrated with an international luncheon. Both
students and teachers expressed great satisfaction with the letter-writing project. For the
teachers, it was an opportunity to see their students authentically writing in a second
language. T he students also articulated their enjoyment in writing about topics and
subjects that were personally important to them. More importantly, the ELLs did not seem
nearly as discouraged about having to participate in the upcoming statewide writing
assessment.
1. Why do you thi nk thi s techni que hel ped the ELLs? How do you thi nk the
graphi c organi zer hel ped the students organi ze thei r thoughts?
2. What are other techni ques that you coul d use to hel p ELLs devel op the
confi dence and ski l l s necessary to parti ci pate i n mandated wri ti ng
assessments?
3. How coul d students use the graphi c organi zers as a tool for other wri ti ng
assi gnments? What other organi zers mi ght they use?
81
4. What shoul d you do i f the ELL students are not al l Spani sh-speakers, or i f
they are Spani sh-speakers but do not have adequate Spani sh l anguage
l i teracy ski l l s? What coul d these students do whi l e others are readi ng and
wri ti ng l etters i n Spani sh? Coul d you group students who speak another
l anguage together? What woul d students of di fferi ng cul tural and l i ngui sti c
backgrounds be abl e to do as a heterogeneous l anguage group?
5. What types of cul tural i nformati on coul d the Spani sh-speaki ng ELLs
i ncl ude i n thei r l etters? How woul d thi s hel p the students i n Mr. Wi l sons
Spani sh Level I I cl ass?
82
83
Putting it all Together:
Staff Development and
ELL Instruction
5
CHAPTER
A chi l d cannot be taught by anyone who despi ses hi m, and a chi l d cannot affor d to
be fool ed.
James Bal dwi n
Charter school s are i n a uni que posi ti on to create cul tural l y-responsi ve
communi ti es wi th hi gh standards for al l chi l dren. They provi de the fl exi bi l i ty
to create personal rel ati onshi ps wi th students and thei r fami l i es, to be creati ve
wi th ELL-i ncl usi ve i nstructi on, and to al l ow staff to fl ouri sh i n a communi ty of
l earners.
I n the fi rst four chapters of thi s gui debook we recommend techni ques,
strategi es, and teachi ng sequences for the i nstructi on of ELLs. These are steps
toward ensuri ng that ELLs achi eve hi gh academi c standards. However, we
urge you not to l ose si ght of the pri mary i mportance of the human factor. The
rel ati onshi ps bui l t and strengthened among teachers, parents, students, and
admi ni strators are paramount. The procedures recommended i n thi s
gui debook must be wei ghed i n bal ance wi th the hi ri ng of staff who have
heart and who wi sh to be the agents of change. The Educati on Al l i ances
pri nci pl es for bui l di ng an ELL-responsi ve envi ronment remi nd us of the
i mportance of school cl i mate.
1
ELLs are most successful when:
School l eaders, admi ni strators, and educators recogni ze that educati ng
ELLs i s the responsi bi l i ty of the enti re school staff.
Students l anguages and cul tures are uti l i zed as a resource for further
l earni ng.
There are strong l i nks connecti ng home, school , and communi ty.
There are hi gh expectati ons of al l ELLs.
There are qual i fi ed teachers wel l prepared and wi l l i ng to work wi th ELLs.
Whi l e al l school s shoul d stri ve for such condi ti ons, i t i s most l i kel y that these
condi ti ons wi l l be met i n the smal l er l earni ng communi ty the charter school
setti ng offers. Staff can communi cate wi th parents more often and i n a
personal i zed forum, whi ch hel ps them understand parental atti tudes, behavi or,
and cul tural tradi ti ons. Charter school s tend to mai ntai n the perspecti ve that
the communi ty has assets to be tapped, rather than defi ci enci es. Moreover,
84
greater fl exi bi l i ty exi sts to recrui t and hi re staff members who are refl ecti ve of
students ethni c backgrounds, whi ch may contri bute to hi gher expectati ons of
students.
Staff devel opment i s a key component of school cl i mate and cul ture. Two
organi zati ons, the Nati onal School Reform Facul ty (NSRF) and the Nati onal
Staff Devel opment Counci l (NSDC), have conducted research and establ i shed
gui del i nes for staff devel opment. The bel i efs and standards of these
organi zati ons shoul d be consul ted duri ng the pl anni ng and i mpl ementati on of
staff devel opment at charter school s. For more i nformati on regardi ng these
organi zati ons, pl ease go to thei r websi tes: the Nati onal School Reform Facul ty
at www.nsrfharmony.org and the Nati onal Staff Devel opment Counci l at
www.npsdc.org.
The Nati onal School Reform Facul ty hi ghl i ghts four bel i efs as a base for school
reform and i ncreased academi c outcomes. These are:
That school peopl e, worki ng together, can make real and l asti ng
i mprovements i n thei r own school s
That teachers and admi ni strators must hel p each other turn theori es i nto
practi ce and standards i nto actual student l earni ng
That the key to thi s effort i s the devel opment of a l earni ng communi ty
based on publ i c, col l aborati ve exami nati on of both adul t and student work
That to create thi s communi ty, practi ti oners need hi gh-qual i ty trai ni ng and
sustai ned support
The National Staff Development Council offers standards for context, process, and
content for staff devel opment (see http:/ / www.nsdc.org/ standards/ index.cfm).
These are as fol l ows:
NSDC Standards for Staff Development ( Revised, 2001)
Context Standards
Staff devel opment that i mproves the l earni ng of al l students:
Learni ng Communi ti es Organi zes adul ts i nto l earni ng communi ti es
whose goal s al i gn wi th those of the school and di stri ct
Leadershi p Requi res ski l l ful school and di stri ct l eaders who gui de
conti nuous i nstructi onal i mprovement
Resources Requi res resources to support adul t l earni ng and
col l aborati on
85
We offer thi s gui debook as a tool for use i n staff devel opment i n conjuncti on
wi th the standards and bel i efs l i sted above. As a starti ng poi nt, we suggest that
staff members read and di scuss the materi al i n thi s handbook and that readi ng
take pl ace i n the context of teacher study groups; a workshop seri es faci l i tated
by school , l ocal , state, regi onal , or nati onal experts i n ELL educati on: or
courses for professi onal devel opment and graduate credi t.
Furthermore, we suggest that before readi ng the fi rst three chapters,
parti ci pants engage i n a pre-readi ng di scussi on of the i ssues. Parti ci pants
mi ght anti ci pate what wi l l be i n the secti on and, after readi ng, compare thei r
predi cti ons wi th what they read. Parti ci pants mi ght di scuss and wri te on chart
paper what they Know (K) about the subject and what they Want (W) to
know. After readi ng, everyone shoul d di scuss what they Learned (L).
NSDC Standards cont.
Process Standards
Data-Dri ven Uses di saggregated student data to determi ne adul t
l earni ng pri ori ti es, moni tor progress, and hel p sustai n conti nuous
i mprovement
Eval uati on Uses mul ti pl e sources of i nformati on to gui de
i mprovement and demonstrate i mpact
Research-Based Prepares educators to apply research to decision-making
Desi gn Uses l earni ng strategi es appropri ate to the i ntended goal
Learni ng Appl i es knowl edge about human l earni ng and change
Col l aborati on Provi des educators wi th the knowl edge and ski l l s to
col l aborate
Content Standards
Equi ty Prepares educators to understand and appreci ate al l students;
create safe, orderl y, and supporti ve l earni ng envi ronments; and hol d
hi gh expectati ons for the students academi c achi evement
Qual i ty Teachi ng Deepens educators content knowl edge, provi des
them wi th research-based i nstructi onal strategi es to assi st students i n
meeti ng ri gorous academi c standards, and prepares them to use vari ous
types of cl assroom assessments appropri atel y
Fami l y I nvol vement Provi des educators wi th knowl edge and ski l l s to
i nvol ve fami l i es and other stakehol ders appropri atel y
86
Parti ci pants mi ght each read a secti on and report on i t to other group
members i n ji gsaw fashi on, maki ng a poster or PowerPoi nt presentati on to
convey the mai n i deas. Parti ci pants mi ght use the Li terature Ci rcl e strategy.
I n Chapter 4, we have suppl i ed di scussi on questi ons to accompany the
cl assroom exampl e vi gnettes. These are i ntended to sti mul ate di scussi on and
deepen l earni ng i n staff devel opment groups. The questi ons not onl y address
the speci fi c techni ques and strategi es for teachi ng Engl i sh l anguage l earners,
they al so move beyond procedures to address the context of l anguage and
cul ture i n whi ch the cl assroom exampl e vi gnettes are embedded.
Train I nstructional Personnel
I t i s i mportant that trai ni ng be mul ti faceted. Teachers and other i nstructi onal
personnel need to understand the cul tural , l i ngui sti c, and academi c needs of
thei r l earners. The trai ni ng shoul d not onl y i ncl ude knowl edge and
i nformati on, but shoul d al so provi de i nstructi onal personnel wi th the ski l l s
and strategi es necessary to adapt and modi fy i nstructi on to meet the needs of
ELL students.
Professional Development Activities Focused on I nstruction
Should:
Be meani ngful to the parti ci pants; parti ci pants must see the i mportance
and rel evance of the professi onal devel opment acti vi ti es
Provi de teachers wi th strategi es they can use to i ncrease thei r knowl edge
of students and thei r cul tures
Foster and devel op an understandi ng among teachers and al l other
i nstructi onal personnel of how parti cul ar i nstructi onal practi ces hel p
l earners achi eve hi gh academi c goal s
Provi de parti ci pants wi th opportuni ti es to do mi cro-teachi ng
Provi de parti ci pants wi th opportuni ti es to l earn about al l aspects of school -
based assessment, from test admi ni strati on to i nterpretati on of resul ts
Provi de parti ci pants gui dance on how to adapt and modi fy i nstructi on to
meet the needs of l earners
Provi de parti ci pants opportuni ti es to descri be, refl ect upon, and support
the curri cul um
Provi de al l parti ci pants speci al i zed ESL trai ni ng
Provi de al l parti ci pants trai ni ng on pri nci pl es of l anguage and l i teracy
acqui si ti on for fi rst and second l anguages
Provi de parti ci pants cul tural l y-responsi ve pedagogy
Provi de parti ci pants mul ti cul tural trai ni ng
2
For addi ti onal staff devel opment resources to prepare new and experi enced
teachers to be more effecti ve i n worki ng wi th a broad range of students,
87
i ncl udi ng l anguage-mi nori ty and i mmi grant youth, we have l i sted staff
devel opment, program desi gn, i nstructi onal , fami l y i nvol vement, and teacher
preparati on resources i n Appendi x E.
Whi l e conducti ng school devel opment operati ons and staff devel opment pl ans,
consi der that the factor of teacher qual i ty cannot be underesti mated i n i ts
i mpact on student achi evement. As di scussed previ ousl y, i f students are
expected to meet the i ncreasi ngl y demandi ng chal l enges of hi gher standards,
they need hi gh-qual i ty i nstructi on. Thi s chal l enge demands even more of
ELLs and thei r teachers. The current ELL teacher shortage pl aces pressure on
teacher preparati on and i n-servi ce professi onal devel opment programs.
Parti ci pants must see the i mportance and rel evance of the professi onal
devel opment acti vi ti es.
Research has shown that professi onal devel opment i s most effecti ve when i t i s
a conti nuous process sustai ned over ti me rather than a one-shot deal ;
encourages teacher i nqui ry and sel f-refl ecti on about thei r own practi ces; and
promotes col l aborati on among teachers i n a l earni ng communi ty.
Al though these strategi es are benefi ci al for al l teachers, one must recogni ze
that trai ni ng for teachers of l anguage-mi nori ty students must go beyond the
i ncorporati on of research and provi de teachers wi th the proper understandi ng
and knowl edge as wel l as the l anguage-l earni ng necessary to address the
needs speci fi c to the ELL popul ati on.
I n concl usi on, we woul d l i ke to provi de some i nspi rati onal words to encourage
teachi ng as i f your l i ves depended on i t, because they do!
You gai n ever y str ength, cour age, and confi dence by ever y exper i ence i n whi ch you
r eal l y stop to l ook fear i n the face...You must do the thi ng you thi nk you cannot do.
El eanor Roosevel t
Compl acency i s a far mor e danger ous atti tude than outr age.
Naomi Li ttl ebear
Wor k i s l ove made vi si bl e.
Kahl i l Gi bran
Real educati on shoul d consi st of dr awi ng the goodness and the best out of our own
students. What better books can ther e be than the book of humani ty?
Cesar Chavez
88
ENDNOTES
Chapter One
1. Ki ndl er, Anneka, on the web at
http:/ / www.ncel a.gwu.edu/ pubs/ reports/ i ndex.htm.
2. http:/ / www.ed.gov/ about/ offi ces/ l i st/ oel a/ i ndex.html .
3. May 25, 1970 memorandum: on the web at
http:/ / www.ed.gov/ about/ offi ces/ l i st/ ocr/ el l / l egal .html .
4. To l earn more about di fferent program types, pl ease refer to the Offi ce for
Ci vi l Ri ghts websi te:
http:/ / www.ed.gov/ about/ offi ces/ l i st/ ocr/ el l / i ndex.html , and to the
websi te of the Nati onal Associ ati on of Bi l i ngual Educati on:
http:/ / www.nabe.org/ educati on/ model s.html .
5. http:/ / www/ al l i ance.brown.edu/ pubs/ cl ai mi ng_opportuni ti es/ i ndex.shtml.
6. Refer to the Offi ce for Ci vi l Ri ghts websi te for more i nformati on about
i denti fyi ng ELL students:
http:/ / www.ed.gov/ about/ offi ces/ l i st/ ocr/ el l / i denti fi cati on.html.
7. Hargett, G.R., Assessment i n ESL and Bi l i ngual Educati on, 1998, avai l abl e
on the web at http:/ / www.nwrac.org/ pub/ hot/ assessment.html .
8. Brown, C., The I nterrel ati on Between Speech Percepti on and Phonol ogi cal
Acqui si ti on from I nfant to Adul t, J. Archi bal d (ed.), Second Language
Acqui si ti on and Li ngui sti c T heor y, 2000.
9. El l i s, Rod, T he Study of Second Language Acqui si ti on. Oxford: Oxford
Uni versi ty Press, 2003.
10. Schl eppegrel l (2004), Schl eppegrel l and Col ombi (2002), Scarcel l a (2003),
and Sol omon and Rhodes (1995).
11. For more i nformati on on these l evel s see
http:/ / www.wi da.us/ Resources/ ELP_Standards_Overvi ew?secti on_02c.html .
Chapter Two
1. For more di scussi on of these cri teri a, see M.E. Br i sk, Bi l i ngual Educati on:
Fr om Compensator y to Qual i ty School i ng, 1998.
2. Li st adapted from W. Col l i er and W. Thomas, School Effecti veness for
Language Mi nor i ty Students.
3. TESOL, 1997. For more comprehensi ve i nformati on on TESOL standards,
see the TESOL websi te at http:/ / www.tesol .org.
4. The Wi sconsi n Department of Publ i c I nstructi on represents WI DA.
Addi ti onal WI DA standards can be found at
http:/ / www.wi da.us./ Resources/ ELP_Standards_Cl assroom/ contents.html .
89
Chapter Three
1. Derman-Sparks, L., Anti -bi as, mul ti cul tural curri cul um: What i s
devel opmental l y appropri ate? i n Reachi ng Potenti al s: A ppr opr i ate
Cur r i cul um and A ssessment for Young Chi l dr en, edi ted by D. Bredekamp and
T. Rosegrant, 1992.
2. Adapted from CREDEs Resear ch Evi dence: Fi ve Standar ds for Effecti ve
Pedagogy and Student Outcomes, 2003.
3. Ladson-Bi l l i ngs, G., Toward a theory of cul tural l y rel evant pedagogy, i n
A mer i can Educati onal Resear ch Jour nal , 32, No. 3, 1995, pp. 465-491.
4. Mol l , L.C., Bi l i ngual Cl assroom Studi es and Communi ty Anal ysi s: Some
Recent Trends, i n Educati on Resear ch, 21, No. 2, 1992, pp. 20-24.
5. LAB at Brown, 2002.
6. http:/ / www.al l i ance.brown.edu/ tdl .
7. Tharp, Ronal d G. and Ronal d Gal l i more, The I nstructi onal Conversati on:
Teachi ng and Learni ng i n Soci al Acti vi ty, 1991, p. 262.
8. Lachat, M., What Pol i cymaker s and School Admi ni str ator s Need To Know
about A ssessment Refor m for Engl i sh Language Lear ner s, 1999.
Chapter Four
1. Ful wi l er, Toby, T he Jour nal Book, 1987, p. 2.
2. For a vari ati on on thi s acti vi ty see Peyton, J.K. and J. Staten, Di al ogue
Jour nal s i n the Mul ti l i ngual Cl assr oom, 1993
3. Ful wi l er, p. 321.
4. http:/ / www.emsc.nysed.gov/ ci ai / bi l i ng/ resource/ CH04.PDF, 31.
5. Harste, J., K. Short, and C. Burke, Cr eati ng Cl assr ooms for Author s: T he
Readi ng-Wr i ti ng Connecti on, 1988, p. 191.
6. Ruby, J., Fosteri ng Mul ti l ayered Li teracy Through Li terature Ci rcl es, i n
T ESOL Jour nal , 12, No. 3, Autumn 2003.
7. Cel ce-Murci a, M., Teachi ng Engl i sh as a Second or For ei gn Language, 2001.
8. See al so the work of Mefferd and Petti grew (1997), Smal l wood (1992), and
Trel ease (1995) (source i nformati on can be found i n Appendi x G,
Bi bl i ography).
9. Ashton Warner, Syl vi a, Teacher , 1963, p. 31.
10. For further expl anati on, see L. Stei nman, Consi deri ng the Cl oze, i n
Canadi an Moder n Language Revi ew, 59, No. 2, 2002.
11. Stei nman, p. 293.
12. See al so Myers, E., Drawi ng as Pre-wri ti ng i n Preschool , i n T heor i es and
Pr acti ce i n the Teachi ng of Composi ti on, 1983.
13. For a vari ati on on thi s techni que see Herrel l , A.L., Fi fty Str ategi es for
Teachi ng Engl i sh Language Lear ner s, 2000.
90
14. For a vari ati on on thi s acti vi ty see Wajnryb, R., Di ctogl os, i n Jour nal of
Adol escent and Adul t Li ter acy, 42, No. 8, pp. 641-45.
15. For a vari ati on on thi s techni que see Henry, R., Reader-generated
questi ons: A tool for i mprovi ng readi ng comprehensi on, i n T ESOL
Newsl etter , June 1984, pp. 4-5.
16. See al so Myers, E., Drawi ng as Pre-wri ti ng i n Preschool , i n T heor i es and
Pr acti ce i n the Teachi ng of Composi ti on, 1983.
Chapter Five
1. See http:/ / www.alliance.brown.edu/ pubs/ claiming_opportunities/ index.shtml.
2. Nati onal Counci l of La Raza; see the organi zati ons websi te at www.ncl r.org.
91
APPENDIX A
Glossary
AMAO (Annual Measurement Achi evement Objecti ve) Ti tl e I I I of NCLB
requi res that l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent students be assessed for Engl i sh
profi ci ency i n ki ndergarten through grade twel ve. The AMAOs are targets set
by each state for Engl i sh-l anguage profi ci ency attai nment, as requi red by Ti tl e
I I I .
Aptitude A combi nati on of characteri sti cs, whether i nnate or acqui red, that
are i ndi cati ve of a students abi l i ty to l earn or to devel op profi ci ency i n some
parti cul ar area i f appropri ate educati on or trai ni ng i s provi ded. Apti tude tests
i ncl ude those of general academi c (schol asti c) abi l i ty; those of speci al abi l i ti es,
such as verbal , numeri cal , mechani cal , or musi cal ; and tests assessi ng
readi ness for l earni ng.
AYP (Adequate Yearl y Progress) AYP must be based on each states academi c
standards and i s to be measured pri mari l y by the state assessments, and may
i ncl ude other measures. Under Ti tl e I , ELLs must be tested, to the extent
practi cabl e, i n the l anguage and form most l i kel y to yi el d accurate resul ts for
them.
Benchmark A measurement agai nst a preestabl i shed standard. I t can be
one standard i n a seri es of standards toward an eventual goal such as hi gh
school graduati on.
BI CS(Basi c I nterpersonal Communi cati on Ski l l s) Rel ates to conversati onal
profi ci ency, as opposed to cogni ti ve or academi c profi ci ency, of students who
are l earni ng a second l anguage.
Bilingual Education An educati on methodol ogy, usual l y for students for
whom Engl i sh i s a second l anguage, i n whi ch i nstructi on to support Engl i sh-
l anguage acqui si ti on i s provi ded wi th some amount of i nstructi on i n a
students nati ve l anguage. There are several di fferent model s of bi l i ngual
educati on; the most commonl y known i s dual -l anguage, whereby students
general l y recei ve hal f of thei r i nstructi on i n Engl i sh and hal f i n another
l anguage. Dual -l anguage bi l i ngual i nstructi on i s al so popul ar i n pri vate or
i nternati onal school s where nati ve Engl i sh speakers are taught i n a second
l anguage. (Al so see ESL)
BI NL (Basi c I nventory of Natural Language) An oral l anguage test desi gned
to measure oral l anguage profi ci ency and domi nance i n students i n grades K-
12 whose fi rst l anguage i s not Engl i sh. I t can be used to pl ace and recl assi fy
l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent students.
BSM (Bi l i ngual Syntax Measure) The BSM I and BSM I I measure second-
l anguage oral l anguage profi ci ency wi th respect to the syntacti c structures i n
92
Engl i sh and Spani sh. I t i s desi gned for students i n grades K-12 whose fi rst
l anguage i s not Engl i sh. I t can be used to pl ace and recl assi fy l i mi ted-Engl i sh-
profi ci ent students.
CALP (Cogni ti ve/ Academi c Language Profi ci ency) Rel ates to academi c
profi ci ency, as opposed to conversati onal profi ci ency, of students who are
l earni ng a second l anguage.
Core Content Refers to cl assroom l essons i n subjects such as math,
geography, l anguage arts, bi ol ogy, etc., as opposed to suppl emental i nstructi on
to support Engl i sh-l anguage acqui si ti on.
EAL Engl i sh as an Addi ti onal Language
ELD (Engl i sh Language Devel opment) Engl i sh l anguage devel opment refers
to i nstructi on desi gned speci fi cal l y for l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent students to
devel op thei r l i steni ng, speaki ng, readi ng, and wri ti ng ski l l s i n Engl i sh. Thi s
type of i nstructi on i s al so known as Engl i sh as a second l anguage (ESL) or
teachi ng Engl i sh to speakers of other l anguages (TESOL). ELD or ESL
standards are a versi on of Engl i sh l anguage arts standards that have been
crafted to address the speci fi c devel opmental stages of students l earni ng
Engl i sh.
ELL (Engl i sh Language Learner) A student whose fi rst l anguage i s not
Engl i sh and who i s i n the process of l earni ng Engl i sh. (Al so see LEP)
ESL (Engl i sh as a Second Language) An educati onal approach i n whi ch
l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent students are i nstructed i n the use of the Engl i sh
l anguage. I nstructi on i s based on a speci al curri cul um that typi cal l y i nvol ves
l i ttl e or no use of the nati ve l anguage, focuses on l anguage (as opposed to
content), and i s usual l y taught duri ng speci fi c school peri ods. For the rest of
the school day, students may be pl aced i n mai nstream cl assrooms, an
i mmersi on program, or a bi l i ngual educati on program. Every bi l i ngual
educati on program has an ESL component.
ESL Pull-out I nstruction I n thi s model , el i gi bl e students are moved or
pul l ed out to a separate cl assroom for one or more cl ass sessi ons per week to
work wi th an ESL/ bi l i ngual educati on teacher to rei nforce Engl i sh-l anguage
acqui si ti on and/ or subject matter content such as l anguage arts or math.
ESOL Engl i sh for Speakers of Other Languages (See ESL)
Exit Criteria Measures that are establ i shed to determi ne when a student has
gai ned profi ci ency i n Engl i sh and i s ready to transi ti on to mai nstream cl asses
or no l onger has a need for addi ti onal ESL support.
FEP (Ful l y Engl i sh Profi ci ent) A student who has become ful l y profi ci ent i n
Engl i sh, but who may have needed addi ti onal cl assroom support i n the past to
progress academi cal l y. A l earner possesses both conversati onal as wel l as
academi c Engl i sh-l anguage ski l l s to be ful l y Engl i sh profi ci ent.
93
I nclusion General l y refers to an educati on model that features col l aborati ve
team-teachi ng by general educati on teachers and speci al educati on or
bi l i ngual / ESL teachers. The students remai n i n the mai nstream cl ass for
i nstructi on, as opposed to bei ng pul l ed out and taught separatel y.
I nclusive Education Ensures that students i n a school become part of the
school communi ty regardl ess of thei r cul tural or l i ngui sti c background and
strengths or weaknesses i n any area.
I PT (I DEA Language Profi ci ency Tests) The I PT i s a battery of tests for
students i n grades K-12 whose fi rst l anguage i s not Engl i sh. They can be used
to pl ace and recl assi fy l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent students. The I PT contai ns a
readi ng and wri ti ng component, whi ch can be group-admi ni stered.
LAB (Language Assessment Battery) A test for students i n grades K-12
whose fi rst l anguage i s not Engl i sh, used to i denti fy thei r l evel of Engl i sh-
l anguage profi ci ency. I t can be used to pl ace and recl assi fy l i mi ted-Engl i sh-
profi ci ent students.
Language Minority Refers to any student for whom Engl i sh i s not the
nati ve l anguage, or for whom a l anguage other than Engl i sh i s spoken i n the
home. Thi s i ncl udes students such as those who speak a di al ect, Jamai can
Patoi s, or a Nati ve Ameri can l anguage.
LAS(Language Assessment Scal es) A battery of tests for students i n grades
K-12 whose fi rst l anguage i s not Engl i sh. I t can be used to pl ace and recl assi fy
l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent students.
LCD Li ngui sti cal l y and Cul tural l y Di verse
LEP (Li mi ted-Engl i sh-Profi ci ent) A student who i s l i mi ted-Engl i sh-profi ci ent
(the offi ci al term found i n federal l egi sl ati on) and who needs addi ti onal
cl assroom support to progress academi cal l y.
Mainstreaming The pl acement of an educati onal l y di sabl ed or l anguage-
mi nori ty student i n a regul ar cl assroom. (Al so see I ncl usi on)
NCE (Normal Curve Equi val ent) A transformati on of an ori gi nal test resul t
i nto a val ue on a scal e from 1 to 99. NCEs are normal i zed scores wi th a mean
of 50 and standard devi ati on of 21.06, chosen so that NCE val ue equal s
percenti l e val ue. They are used for compari sons across tests i nstead of
percenti l es.
NEP (non-Engl i sh-profi ci ent) A student who has not yet begun acqui ri ng, or
who i s i n the i ni ti al stage of l earni ng, Engl i sh.
OCR The U.S. Department of Educati ons Offi ce for Ci vi l Ri ghts, whi ch i s
responsi bl e for ensuri ng that programs supported by federal dol l ars compl y
wi th federal regul ati ons and do not di scri mi nate on the basi s of race, col or, or
nati onal ori gi n.
94
PEP Potenti al l y Engl i sh Profi ci ent
PHLOTE Pri mary or Home Language Other Than Engl i sh
SDAI E (Speci al l y Desi gned Academi c I nstructi on i n Engl i sh) Thi s i s a
program of i nstructi on i n a subject area, del i vered i n Engl i sh, whi ch i s
speci al l y desi gned to provi de LEP students wi th access to the curri cul um
through support. A requi rement i s that students be at the l ower i ntermedi ate
l evel of profi ci ency i n Engl i sh.
SLEP (Secondary Level Engl i sh Profi ci ency Test) The SLEP i s i ntended for
secondary students i n grades 7 through 12, approxi matel y, whose fi rst
l anguage i s not Engl i sh. I t consi sts of a l i steni ng comprehensi on and a
readi ng comprehensi on secti on wi th mul ti pl e-choi ce i tems. The SLEP can be
used as part of i ni ti al LEP desi gnati on.
TESOL Teachi ng Engl i sh to Speakers of Other Languages (See ESL)
Title I Federal l egi sl ati on whi ch provi des fundi ng to school s to rai se the
performance of di sadvantaged students.
Title I I I Federal l egi sl ati on whi ch provi des fundi ng to school s to ensure that
Engl i sh l anguage l earners and i mmi grant chi l dren and youth attai n Engl i sh
profi ci ency and devel op hi gh l evel s of academi c achi evement i n core
academi c subjects.
Woodcock-Muoz Language Survey A test desi gned for Pre-K to adul t
students whose fi rst l anguage i s not Engl i sh. I t i s i ntended to provi de
i nformati on on a students cogni ti ve and academi c l anguage profi ci ency, that
i s, the extent to whi ch the student commands the ki nd of l anguage typi cal l y
requi red i n school .
95
APPENDIX B
Frequently Asked Questions
What does federal law say regarding services for LEP students?
Students enrol l ed i n U.S. publ i c school s whose fi rst l anguage i s other than
Engl i sh are consi dered l anguage mi nori ti es and are protected by several
federal l aws.
Fi rst and foremost, these students enjoy equal protecti on as afforded under
the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Consti tuti on.
They are al so protected under Ti tl e VI of the Ci vi l Ri ghts Act of 1964, whi ch
prohi bi ts di scri mi nati on i n any federal l y-funded acti vi ty on the basi s of race,
col or, ethni ci ty, nati onal ori gi n, rel i gi on, or creed.
I n 1974, the Supreme Court Deci si on i n the l andmark Lau v. Ni chol s case
di rected school di stri cts throughout the nati on to adequatel y serve l i mi ted-
Engl i sh-profi ci ent students. Whi l e the Court mandated no si ngl e i nstructi onal
program, school di stri cts may provi de bi l i ngual i nstructi on as a means of
ensuri ng equal access to educati onal opportuni ti es for LEP students.
Other federal l aws as i n the case of the current Ti tl e I I I of the El ementary
and Secondary Educati on Act were concei ved to ensure the avai l abi l i ty of
funds to support the desi gn and i mpl ementati on of qual i ty programs for LEP
students.
What does Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 require for English-
language learner students?
Federal l aw requi res programs that educate chi l dren wi th l i mi ted Engl i sh
profi ci ency to be based on a sound educati onal theory; adequatel y supported,
wi th adequate and effecti ve staff and resources, so that the program has a
real i sti c chance of success; and peri odi cal l y eval uated and, i f necessary,
revi sed.
Does federal law require districts to follow a particular educational
approach, such as bilingual education?
No. The federal government through the Offi ce for Ci vi l Ri ghts (OCR) does not
requi re or advocate a parti cul ar educati onal approach to the i nstructi on of ELL
students.
However, school s are out of federal compl i ance i f no l anguage support
programs are provi ded for i denti fi ed ELLs. Di stri cts or school s have
substanti al fl exi bi l i ty when devel opi ng programs to meet the needs of ELL
students. Di stri cts and school s shoul d, however, i mpl ement programs that are
research-based.
96
What happens to ELL students who are not offered services to help
them overcome language barriers?
ELL students (referred to as l i mi ted Engl i sh profi ci ent accordi ng to federal
l aw) may suffer repeated fai l ure i n the cl assroom, fal l i ng behi nd thei r Engl i sh-
profi ci ent peers, and droppi ng out of school i f they are not provi ded servi ces
to overcome l anguage barri ers. Students who are not profi ci ent i n Engl i sh are
i nappropri atel y pl aced i n, or excl uded from, speci al educati on cl asses.
Because of thei r l ack of Engl i sh profi ci ency, qual i fi ed ELLs often do not have
access to hi gh-track courses or programs for gi fted and tal ented students.
How long does it take ELLs to become proficient in English?
Chi l dren can qui ckl y devel op conversati onal ski l l s i n Engl i sh. Thi s i s often
referred to as Basi c I nterpersonal Communi cati on Ski l l s (BI CS), the Engl i sh
that chi l dren need to engage i n soci al i nteracti ons. BI CS are very di fferent
from academi c l anguage ski l l s, whi ch are often referred to as Cogni ti ve
Academi c Language Profi ci ency (CALP). CALPs refer to the l anguage ski l l s
that students must acqui re to master academi c content successful l y. I t can
take ELL students three to ten years to devel op CALPs, dependi ng upon thei r
previ ous educati on and school experi ences.
What is the difference between academic language proficiency and
academic skill mastery?
A student has attai ned academi c l anguage profi ci ency i n Engl i sh when he has
mi ni mal or no di ffi cul ty wi th grade-appropri ate Engl i sh used i n cl ass, i n texts,
and on tests. A student has attai ned academi c ski l l mastery when s/ he
understands the academi c concepts taught and demonstrates the requi red
academi c ski l l s.
What are a parents or guardians rights regarding their ELL childs
education?
Federal l aw requi res that al l parents or guardi ans wi th chi l dren i n federal l y-
funded programs for ELL students be noti fi ed of why thei r chi l dren were
sel ected for parti ci pati on, be provi ded wi th the al ternati ves to parti ci pati on,
and be gi ven the opti on of decl i ni ng to enrol l thei r chi l dren i n a program for
ELLs. Thi s must be presented to parents i n a l anguage and manner that they
can understand.
What if parents do not want their child to receive services to address
their English needs?
Parents can opt to not have thei r chi l dren enrol l ed i n a program desi gned to
address the students l anguage and academi c needs. When a parent decl i nes
parti ci pati on, the di stri ct retai ns a responsi bi l i ty to ensure that the student has
an equal opportuni ty to have hi s or her Engl i sh l anguage and academi c needs
met. Di stri cts or school s can meet thi s obl i gati on i n a vari ety of ways (e.g.,
97
adequate trai ni ng for al l teachers on second l anguage acqui si ti on; moni tori ng
the educati onal progress of the student, etc.)
How long must a district or school provide special services to ELL
students?
ELL students must be provi ded wi th al ternati ve servi ces unti l they are
profi ci ent enough i n Engl i sh to parti ci pate meani ngful l y i n the regul ar
i nstructi onal program. To determi ne whether a student i s ready to exi t, a
di stri ct or school must consi der such factors as the students abi l i ty to keep up
wi th non-ELL peers i n the regul ar educati on program, and abi l i ty to
parti ci pate successful l y wi thout the use of adapted or si mpl i fi ed Engl i sh
materi al s. Exi t cri teri a must i ncl ude a speci fi c objecti ve measure of a
students abi l i ty to read, wri te, speak, and comprehend Engl i sh. Pl acement
and exi t assessments whi ch are keyed to standards can faci l i tate pl aci ng
students i n, and exi ti ng students from, programs.
What are some of the benefits of including ELLs in state/ district-wide
assessments?
By i ncl udi ng ELLs, states, di stri cts, and i ndi vi dual school s are hel d
accountabl e for the qual i ty of educati onal opportuni ti es and for
establ i shi ng chal l engi ng performance expectati ons of al l students.
By i ncl udi ng ELLs test scores i n the accountabi l i ty systems, achi evement
gaps (i f any) that exi st among thi s student popul ati on and the general
student popul ati on wi l l be hi ghl i ghted and, hopeful l y, addressed.
The i ncl usi on of ELLs wi l l provi de useful i nformati on about performance
so that stakehol ders know how wel l the school i s addressi ng the needs of
ELLs.
State/ di stri ct test scores obtai ned may be used to suppl ement the
i nformati on gathered by i nformal assessments, creati ng a more
comprehensi ve pi cture of what ELLs know and are abl e to do.
Assessments can be admi ni stered earl y i n the school year, al l owi ng for
i nstructi onal achi evement gaps and i nstructi onal / curri cul um modi fi cati ons
to be addressed earl y on.
Assessments can be admi ni stered throughout the school year, provi di ng
peri odi cal l ongi tudi nal data of ELL student achi evement.
Adequatel y di saggregated data al l ow teachers, school l eaders, and parents
to anal yze trends to i nform i nstructi on and make i nformed deci si ons about
resources and school programs.
98
What are some of the concerns regarding the inclusion of ELLs in
state/ district-wide assessments?
I ncl udi ng ELLs when they are not ready wi l l produce i naccurate and
unrel i abl e data.
Some tests, especi al l y those focused on memori zati on of facts, may have
the uni ntended effect of narrowi ng the curri cul um and i nstructi on to meet
the speci fi cati on of the tests. Thi s acti on may l i mi t i mportant curri cul um
goal s such as generati ve thi nki ng, cri ti cal thi nki ng and other hi gher-order
cogni ti ve tasks, sustai ned effort over ti me, effecti ve col l aborati on, etc.
The assessments may reduce the ti me avai l abl e for cl assroom i nstructi on
and l esson pl anni ng.
The assessments may l ead to the over-testi ng of students, consi deri ng that
ELLs al ready parti ci pate i n an i ncreased number of tests for l anguage
assessment.
Assessments may set unreal i sti c goal s for tradi ti onal l y underserved student
popul ati ons (such as ELLs) due to the ti me provi ded verses needed by
ELLs to achi eve the goal .
I f achi evement tests are admi ni stered onl y i n Engl i sh, they do not al l ow
ELLs to demonstrate al l of thei r knowl edge about a parti cul ar content area.
ELLs are often unfami l i ar wi th the format of standardi zed tests.
The rol es of cul ture and l anguage i n test performance are not wi del y
consi dered.
Test rel i abi l i ty and val i di ty are not al ways adequatel y addressed.
Are reading comprehension, math, and science tests administered to
ELLs in English actually tests of English language proficiency?
When a readi ng comprehensi on, math, or sci ence test i s admi ni stered i n
Engl i sh, for ELLs the assessment al so becomes a test of Engl i sh l anguage
profi ci ency. To obtai n more val i d resul ts whi ch i ndi cate the students
academi c knowl edge, whenever possi bl e and appl i cabl e, tests shoul d be
admi ni stered i n a students nati ve l anguage i f the student recei ved pri or
i nstructi on i n the nati ve l anguage.
99
APPENDIX C
Bilingual Educational Resources
Organization Contact Information Focus/ Services
BUENO Center
for Multicultural Education
UCB 247, School of Education,
Boulder, CO 80309
(303) 492-5416 Tel.
(303) 492-2883 Fax
http://www.colorado.edu/educatio
n/bueno
Promotes social justice, quality
education, and a more equitable
and diverse society through
research, training, and service
projects, with an emphasis on
cultural pluralism.
Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th Street, NW
(202) 362-0700 Tel.
(202) 362-3740 Fax
info@cal.org
http://www.cal.org
Seeks to improve teaching of
English as a second/foreign
language; promotes teaching of
less-commonly-taught languages;
and conducts research to
enhance the educational process.
Center for Language Minority
Education and Research
ED-1, Room 18
California State University
Long Beach (CSULB)
1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90840-2201
(562) 985-5806 Tel.
(562) 985-4528 Fax
clmer@csulb.edu
http://www.clmer.csulb.edu
Promotes equity in schools and
society, and explores equity and
access issues in oppressed
communities.
Center for Research on
Education, Diversity, and
Excellence (CREDE)
University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
(408) 459-3500 Tel.
(408) 459-3502 Fax
crede@cats.ucsc.edu
http://www.crede.ucsc.edu
Conducts and disseminates
research in the areas of
multicultural education,
professional development, school
reform, second language
acquisition, standards, and more.
Education Alliance
at Brown University
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 274-9548 Tel.
(800) 521-9550 Tel.
(401) 421-7650 Fax
lab@brown.edu
http://www.lab.brown.edu
Explores how education can
better address the needs of
culturally and linguistically diverse
populations.
Intercultural Development
Research Association (IDRA)
5835 Callaghan Road, Suite 350
San Antonio, TX 78228-1190
(210) 444-1710 Tel.
(210) 444-1714 Fax
contact@idra.org
www.idra.org
Advocates educational excellence
and equity through research and
technical assistance for public
schools serving students who are
low- income, minority, and
English learners.
National Association for Bilingual
Education
1030 15th St., NW
Suite 470
(202) 898-1829 Tel.
(202) 789-2866 Fax
NABE@nabe.org
http://www.nabe.org
Ensures equality of educational
opportunity through research,
professional development, public
education, and legislative
advocacy.
100
Organization Contact Information Focus/ Services
National Clearinghouse for
English Language Acquisition
and Language Instruction
Educational Programs
at George Washington University
2121 K Street, NW, Suite 260
(800) 321-NCBE
(202) 467-0867 Tel.
(202) 467-4283 Fax
askncela@ncela.gwu.edu
http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/
Provides funding opportunities,
technical assistance, links to
resources, databases, success
stories, lesson plans, e-mail
discussion group, conference
calendar, instructional strategies,
and toolbox for ELLs.
Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory (SEDL)
211 East Seventh Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 476-6861 Tel.
(800) 476-6861 Tel.
(512) 476-2286 Fax
jbuttram@sedl.org
http://www.sedl.org
Sponsors a Language and
Diversity Program (LDP) that is
designed to improve and facilitate
effective education for children
with limited English proficiency
and/or whose cultural
backgrounds and perspectives
differ from those of the dominant
community.
Teachers of English to Speakers
of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
1600 Cameron Street, Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 836-0774 Tel.
(703) 836-7864 Fax
tesol@tesol.edu
http://www.tesol.edu
Develops the expertise of those
involved in teaching English to
speakers of other languages while
respecting individuals' language
rights.
WestEd Quality Teaching for
English Learners (QTEL)
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 615-3262 Tel.
awalqui@wested.org
http://www.wested.org
http://www.wested.org/cs/tqip/pri
nt/docs/qt/home.htm
Offers theoretical and practical
strategies for effectively teaching
the academic language,
conceptual understandings, and
skills that are critical to ensuring
that English language learners be
fully prepared to benefit from a
successful education.
101
APPENDIX D
Sample Language Proficiency Tests
The fol l owi ng tabl e provi des a l i st of vari ous commerci al l y avai l abl e
i nstruments used to assess Engl i sh l anguage l earners. These tests commonl y
assess a students oral , l i steni ng, readi ng, and wri ti ng ski l l s.
Note that some of the l anguage profi ci ency tests l i sted bel ow are al so desi gned
to assess other ski l l s i n addi ti on to Engl i sh-l anguage profi ci ency. For exampl e,
they may be used to assess oral l anguage ski l l s i n a chi l ds fi rst l anguage to
determi ne l anguage domi nance and/ or to assess wri tten l anguage ski l l s. Thei r
pri mary use, however, i s to assess whether or not chi l dren are profi ci ent i n
Engl i sh, and to determi ne i f chi l dren are maki ng progress toward Engl i sh-
l anguage profi ci ency.
Test Name Description
Basic Inventory of Natural
Languages (BINL)
Grades: K-12
Language: 32 various
CHEC Point System, Inc.
1520 N. Waterman Ave.
San Bernadino, CA 92404
Phone: (909) 888-3296
Fax: (909) 384-0519
IDEA Language Proficiency
Tests (IPT)
Grades: K-12
Language: English and Spanish
Ballard and Tighe
P.O. Box 219
Brea, CA 92822-0219
Phone: (800) 321-4332
Fax: (714) 255-9828
Language Assessment Battery
(LAB)
Grades: K-12
Language: Spanish and English
Riverside Publishing
8420 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Chicago, IL 60631
Phone: (800) 323-9540
Fax: 630) 467-7192
The Basic Inventory of Natural Languages (BINL) is a measure of oral
language proficiency in Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Chinese,
Creole, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hmong, Ilokano,
Inpuiaq, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Navajo, Filipino, Polish,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Taiwanese, Tagalog, Toishnese, Ukrainian,
Vietnamese, and Yugoslavian, for students in grades K-12. It can be used for
placement and the determination of language dominance. Test-taking skills are
unnecessary for the examinee, since oral language is elicited through the use
of large photographic posters. These posters depict scenes from a variety of
cultures, which can be discussed without reference to cultural specifics.
Testing is done individually and takes ten minutes.
The IDEA Language Proficiency Tests (IPT) include normed oral language
proficiency tests for students PreK-12, with three levels in both English and
Spanish. All three provide designations for non-English- or Spanish-speaking,
limited-English- or Spanish-speaking, and fluent-English- or Spanish-speaking.
The tests are individually administered. The designations of non-English-
speaking, limited-English-speaking, and fluent-English-speaking allow the IPT
oral tests to serve as part of the initial identification of ELL students needing an
alternative program of services system, and the criteria for redesignating
students as no longer limited in English proficiency and eligible for program
exit. The IPT Reading and Writing Proficiency Tests are group-administered.
They are available in three levels: the IPT I for grades two and three; IPT II for
grades four through six; and IPT III for grades seven through 12. They are
published in both English and Spanish versions and yield diagnostic reading
profiles, percentiles, and NCEs. They can be used as part of the initial
identification and program exit process.
Language Assessment Battery (LAB) is an English-language proficiency test for
students in grades K through 12, and was developed to correspond to the
curriculum of the New York City school system. It is primarily used to identify, for
placement purposes, those non-native-speakers whose English proficiency is not
advanced enough to allow English to be used as the primary language of
instruction. It can also be used to monitor their progress and for program
evaluation purposes. The test has four levels. Except for the speaking test, all
sections can be administered in groups, with a total test time of two hours. Short
forms of the test are available: the K-2 Short LAB takes about eight minutes to
administer, and the 3-12 Short LAB takes about ten minutes. A Spanish version
of the test was developed with its own norms and is also available in two forms.
102
Test Name Description
Language Assessment Scales
(Oral/ Reading and Writing)
Grades: K-Adult
Language: Spanish and English
CTB/McGraw-Hill
20 Ryan Road
Monterey, CA 93940
Phone: (800) 538-9547
Fax: (800) 282-0266
Woodcock-Muoz Language
Survey
Grades: PreK to Adult
Language: English
Riverside Publishing
8420 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60631
Phone: (800) 323-9540
Fax: (312) 693-0325
Secondary Level English
Proficiency (SLEP) Test
Grades: 7-12
Language: English
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 6158
Princeton, NJ 08541
Phone: (609) 771-7206
Fax: (609) 771-7835
Email: slep@ets.org
Bilingual Syntax Measure I
and II (BSM)
Grades: K-12
Language: English
The Psychological Corporation
Harcourt Assessment, Inc.
19500 Bulverde Road
San Antonio, TX 78259
Phone: (800) 211-8378
Fax: (800) 232-1223
The Language Assessment Scales (LAS) is published in different forms: the
Pre-LAS, intended for young children approximately four to six years of age;
the LAS-O I, for elementary grade levels; the LAS-O II, for secondary levels;
and the LAS-A, for adult second-language learners. The LAS-O is individually
administered and is scored to classify students into five different proficiency
levels subsumed within the broader designations of non-English-speaking,
limited-English-speaking, and fluent-English-speaking. It therefore can meet a
number of needs. It can be used as part of the initial identification of ELL
students who need language support services. Depending on how the
language program is structured, it can place students into different instructional
groupings. It can be used to track annual progress in oral English proficiency
and can determine starting level and progress in a first language.
The Woodcock-Muoz Language Survey is intended to provide information
on a students cognitive and academic language proficiency, that is, the extent
to which the student commands the kind of language typically required in
school. It is individually administered. It has both English and Spanish forms,
each consisting of four subtests, two of which generate a score for oral
language ability and two a reading and writing ability score. Together, all four
constitute a broad language-ability score. The Woodcock-Muoz yields
several different kinds of scores. It provides levels called CALP (cognitive
academic language proficiency) levels 1-5. The levels designate negligible
English or Spanish; very limited English or Spanish; limited English or Spanish;
fluent English or Spanish; and advanced English or Spanish. (Levels can be
expressed at intermediate values; for example, a 3-4 is a student between
levels 3 and 4.) It also yields grade equivalents, age equivalents, percentiles,
normal-curve equivalents, scale scores (called W scores), and standard scores.
A computer scoring and reporting program is available.
The Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) test is intended for
secondary students, approximately grades 7-12. It consists of a listening
comprehension section and a reading comprehension section, each of which
consists exclusively of multiple-choice items. Therefore, students should have
prior experience with this kind of test format. SLEP scores appear in both
scale score and percentile forms. Designations are not provided for limited or
fluent English proficiency, but guidance is given on what students in different
score ranges can be expected to do. Schools can use these guidelines to
establish local criteria. The SLEP can be used as part of initial ELL
designation, to assess annual progress, and for consideration for program exit.
The time required for the entire test is approximately 85 minutes.
The BSM I and BSM II measure second-language oral language proficiency
with respect to the syntactic structures in English and Spanish. The BSM I is
intended for students grades K-2, and the BSM II is designed for students
grades 3-12. Both tests lead to language proficiency classifications: BSM I
has five classifications of English oral language proficiency. BSM II offers two
additional classifications. BSM I and BSM II can be used as part of the initial
identification of LEP students needing language support services. The test is
individually administered. BSM I takes 10-15 minutes per student and BSM II
takes approximately 10-20 minutes per student.
Source: Center for Equity and Excellence in Education (George Washington University)
103
APPENDIX E
Professional Development Resources and Overheads
Staff Development
Gonzal ez, J. and L. Darl i ng-Hammond, New Concepts for New Chal l enges:
Pr ofessi onal Devel opment for Teacher s of I mmi gr ant Youth. Washi ngton, DC:
Center for Appl i ed Li ngui sti cs, 1997.
Program Design and I nstructional Approaches
Wal qui , A., Access and Engagement: Pr ogr am Desi gn and I nstr ucti onal A ppr oaches
for I mmi gr ant Students i n Secondar y School . Washi ngton, DC: Center for
Appl i ed Li ngui sti cs, 2000.
T he Di ver si ty Ki t: A n I ntr oductor y Resour ce for Soci al Change i n Educati on.
Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty http:/ / www.al l i ance.brown.edu/ tdl / .
Teacher Preparation, Recruitment, and Retainment
Menti oned earl i er i s the i mportance of recrui ti ng and retai ni ng teachers who
refl ect students ethni c backgrounds. We offer two hel pful resources, one
focused on the preparati on and recrui tment of mi nori ty teachers, the other a
di rectory of the teacher preparati on programs i n the country whi ch focus on
prepari ng teachers to address the needs of cul tural l y- and l i ngui sti cal l y-di verse
students.
Torres, Judi th, Janet Santos, Nancy L. Peck, and Lydi a Cortes, Mi nor i ty
Teacher Recr ui tment, Devel opment, and Retenti on, 2004, avai l abl e at:
http:/ / www.al l i ance.brown.edu/ pubs/ mi nori ty_teacher/ i ndex.shtml
Nati onal Di rectory of Teacher Preparati on (Pre-servi ce and I n-servi ce),
Pr ogr ams for Teacher s of Li ngui sti cal l y and Cul tur al l y Di ver se Students. Center
for Research on Educati on, Di versi ty, and Excel l ence (CREDE) and the
BUENO Center for Mul ti cul tural Educati on, 2001. Avai l abl e at:
http:/ / www.crede.org/ tool s/ di rectory2-1/ mai n.html .
Family and Community I nvolvement
Charter school s usual l y have thei r roots i n the communi ty and try to mai ntai n
connecti ons to students fami l i es. How do school s keep those roots growi ng?
How do el ementary, mi ddl e, and hi gh school s mai ntai n fami l y i nvol vement?
Answers to these i mportant questi ons are found i n the resources bel ow.
Henderson, Anne T. and Karen L. Mapp, A New Wave of Evi dence: T he I mpact
of School , Fami l y, and Communi ty Connecti ons on School Achi evement, 2002.
Avai l abl e for purchase at:
http:/ / www.sedl .org/ pubs/ catal og/ i tems/ fam33.html .
104
Lopez, G.R., On Whose Ter ms? Under standi ng I nvol vement T hr ough the Eyes of
Mi gr ant Par ents. Paper presented at the Annual Meeti ng of the Ameri can
Educati onal Research Associ ati on, Seattl e, WA, 2001.
Lopez, G. R., The val ue of hard work: Lessons on parent i nvol vement from an
(i m)mi grant househol d, H ar var d Educati onal Revi ew, 71, 2001, pp. 416-437.
Avai l abl e at: http:/ / gseweb.harvard.edu/ ~ hepg/ fa01.htm#l opez
105
What do the acronyms
NEP,
LEP, and FEP stand for?
TERMINOLOGY BINGO
Take the next few minutes to fill out the following squares. The first person
to get three correct responses in a row, in any direction, is the winner!
What does the acronym
ELL stand for?
LCD or CLD stand for?
BICS stand for?
CALP stand for?
AMAO stand for?
When is a student
considered a language
minority student?
PHLOTE stand for?
What does OCR stand
for and what is its
function?
106
STAFF SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL ON ELL
STUDENT/ PROGRAM KNOWLEDGE
# COMPETENCY Yes No Unsure
Can you name the OCR Steps? I f so, pl ease
l i st them.
Does your school have l anguage goal s? I f so,
what are they?
Has the school sel ected an ELL program
model ? I f so, whi ch model i s used?
Have you sel ected the curri cul um to be used
wi th ELLs? I f so, pl ease i denti fy and
descri be.
Are you fami l i ar wi th i nstructi onal practi ces,
techni ques, and strategi es for teachi ng ELLs?
I f so, name two.
Does the school s professi onal devel opment
pl an i ncl ude second-l anguage-acqui si ti on
trai ni ng for al l teachers?
Do non-Engl i sh-speaki ng parents have equal
access to school i nformati on and events? I f
so, expl ai n how.
107
APPENDIX F
Web Resources
ELL Web Resources
Center for Appl i ed Li ngui sti cs http:/ / www.cal .org
Center for Research on Educati on, Di versi ty & Excel l ence
http:/ / www.crede.ucsc.edu
The Educati on Al l i ance at Brown Uni versi ty
http:/ / www.al l i ance.brown.edu/ tdl
Engl i sh Language Learner Knowl edge Base
http:/ / www.hel pforschool s.com/ ELLKBase
I ntercul tural Devel opment Research Associ ati on (I DRA) www.i dra.org
Nati onal Associ ati on for Bi l i ngual Educati on
http:/ / nabe.org/ educati on/ i ndex.html
The Northwest Regi onal Educati onal Laboratory http:/ / www.nwrel .org/ re-
eng/ products/ ELLSynthesi s.pdf http:/ / www.nwrel .org/ request/ 2003/ may
Nati onal Cl eari nghouse for Engl i sh Language Acqui si ti on
http:/ / www.ncel a.gwu.edu/ practi ce/ i tc/ di vneeds.html
Phi l adel phi a School Di stri ct Curri cul um Framework
http:/ / www.phi l sch.k12.pa.us/ teachers/ frameworks/ gri d/ gri dmast.htm
Teachers of Engl i sh to Speakers of Other Languages http:/ / www.tesol .org
WestEd Qual i ty Teachi ng for Engl i sh Learners
http:/ / www.wested.org/ cs/ tqi p/ pri nt/ docs/ qt/ home.htm
WI DA ELL Standards
http:/ / www.wi da.us/ Resources/ ELP_Standards_Cl assroom/ contents.html
Charter School and NCLB resources
Center for Educati on Reform http:/ / www.edreform.org
Charter Fri ends Network http:/ / www.charterfri ends.org/
No Chi l d Left Behi nd http:/ / www.NCLB.gov
US Charter School s www.uscharterschool s.org
108
APPENDIX G
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