English Language Learners

1. English Language Learners “Children can take 5-10 years to achieve cognitive academic language performance on a sound language”

2. Anticipation Guide – “So, if you really want to hurt me, talk badly about my language.” • There is a significant achievement gap between ELL students and their white and African-American counterparts. • Over the last 15 years, the number of ELL students have nearly doubled to about 5 million. • ELL learners should follow different standards than English-speaking students. • All teachers should be required to speak another language proficiently before graduating from college.

3. How are you different from the students you will teach? Freedom Writers – Bronx Masquerade

4. Trends

5. Current Situation U.S. Department of Education estimates that of the 40 million students in public and private schools, over 2 million have LEP. The growth rate has been more than 50% in the last five years. P.S. 86 has the largest population of ESL learners in our neighborhood. There are an estimated 10,000 languages known in the world today. Many of these languages have different dialects Culture and ethnicity reflect the differences in language. Spanish is the home language for a majority (69%) of all current ELLS.

6. Eduardo Eduardo, who is a Mexican newcomer at his elementary school, hits and kicks his classmates. He is frustrated and cries easily. One day, the only other Spanish-speaking student in his class was absent and Eduardo couldn’t communicate at all. He threw himself on the floor and screamed. His anger and unhappiness were apparent. His teacher feels that there is something wrong with him beyond the language barrier.

7. Culture Shock:Every child reacts differently to moving to a new place. • Stage 1: Euphoric or Honeymoon Stage • Newcomers are excited about their new lives. • They are having a great time learning about their environment • Stage 2:Rejection Stage • Differences between the new culture and the old culture become more apparent • The newcomer rejects the new environment because there is so much they don’t understand. • The newcomer can grow to feel sleepy, irritable, uninterested, aggressive or depressed • During this stage students can refuse to learn language or act out their frustration

8. Ilya Ilya, a 10-year-old boy from Russia, clings to his mother’s car door and screams when she drops him off at school. Eight-year-old Amir from Lebanon gets sick every day before lunch and has to go home. Rosa, a six-year-old from Puerto Rico runs wild in her 1st grade classroom because she doesn’t understand the classroom rules and expectations.

9. Culture Shock- Continued • Stage 3: Regression • During this stage English language learners are homesick, and miss familiar sights and sounds. • They spend leisure time socializing with friends who speak the same language or listen to music and movies from their home country • Teenagers especially feel angry and helpless because they didn’t have a say in their families move. .

10. Culture Shock- Continued • Stage 4: Integration • The student begins to deal with the differences between the old and new cultures. • They integrate their own beliefs into their new environment • Parents at this stage fear that their child will lose their primary language and culture

11. Culture Shock- Continued • Stage 5: Acceptance • Students are now able to prosper in the mainstream culture • They accept and combine both cultures in their lives • Students tend to adopt the mainstream culture at school and follow the values of the home culture outside of school

12. Myth or Truth • The emotional state of the learner doesn’t interfere with the acquisition of a new language. As long as ELLs receive comprehensible output, they will learn English.

13. Ms. Lautz • Ms. Lautz immediately pairs her new English Language Learner with a buddy and encourages her students to become friends with him. She arranges for classmates to stay with the newcomer at lunch, hang around with him on the playground, and help him on the school bus. She also encourages her ELL to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports and music programs. • How long did it take you to learn a foreign language? Can you speak the language socially? Can you understand a teacher when she speaks using content vocabulary?

14. True or False • English language learners need one to three years to master social language in the classroom • Social language is the language of the playground • Jim Cummins called this BICS- Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills. • When do students use BICS?

15. Social Language • Some picked up • Some had to be explicitly taught • Issue with pragmatics, improper language

16. Vadim Vadim, a 4th grade student from Russia, used an X-rated expression in the classroom. The teacher was understandably distressed and made Vadim write an apology letter for homework. The teacher became even more upset when Vadim’s parents did not take the infraction seriously. What the teacher did not know, however, was that Vadim’s parents were not appalled because swearing does not have the same shock value in a person’s second language as it does in a person’s first language.

17. Academic Language • True or False: • Although English language learners may speak English on the playground, this does not mean they have mastered the academic and cognitive language of the classroom.

18. Review • ELL need 1-3 years to master social language skills for everyday interaction • Students may need to be taught how to communicate appropriately in social situations • Students need more than 2-3 years in bilingual or ESL classes to succeed in school • Students that have strong literacy skills in their native language will learn English faster

19. Review • Parents of English language learners should be encouraged to speak their native language at home. • Newcomers who speak English on the playground are not necessarily fluent in the academic and cognitive language of the classroom. • Learning academic subjects in their native language helps ELLs learn English • ELLs receiving pullout ESL services do not necessarily make more progress in English than students in dual-language or developmental bilingual programs.

20. There are Five Levels of English Language AcquisitionWhy Can’t You Just Understand???? It is important to determine the stages of your ELLs so that you can align your instruction with their learning levels. How do you do this? Read the descriptions on the next few slides to match the language level of your ELLs with the appropriate activities. The Five Levels are: Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, Advanced Fluency.

21. Stages of ESL Language Development Jot down what you noticed about each of the students at the varying levels/stages. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoca1Ou_6TE

22. Stages of Language Acquisition • Stage 1: Preproduction • Silent period • They have up to 500 words of receptive vocabulary. • They may repeat everything you say, but they’re not really producing language. • Use the TPR Method- Choral Reading/Buddies/Use gestures, body movement/pics • They listen attentively – focus on listening comprehension.

23. Early Production Stage Stage 2: Early Production Last up to 6 months Both a receptive and an vocabulary of about 1,000 words Students can usually speak in 1-2 word phrases

24. Suggestions for working with students during this stage (Early Production) • Ask yes/no and either/or questions • Accept one-or two-word responses • Give students opportunities to participate in whole-class activities • Use picture books and realia to support language development • Modify contact information for the language level of ELLs

25. Suggestions for working with students during this stage (Early Production) • Build vocabulary with visual support. • Provide listening activities. • Expose students to print and use simple books with predictable text. • Support students’ learning with graphic organizers, charts and graphs. • Begin fostering student; writing English through labeling and short sentences; use a framework to scaffold writing. • Use Total Physical Response and language Experience Approach.

26. Miss. Horne – The Early Production Phase ELLs in Miss Horne's 1st grade class learned how to use specific holiday greetings. As they left school one Friday afternoon in December, they called out to their teacher, “Bye, Happy Thanksgiving.” These students had correctly memorized the expression, but they did not realize that the greeting was used only for a specific holiday.

27. Stage 3 - Speech emergence • Active and receptive vocabulary or 3,000 words • Simple phrases and short sentences • Asks simple questions which may or may not be grammatically correct • Initiate short conversations with classmates. • Understand short stories

28. What can be completed during this stage: • Study flash cards with content area vocabulary • Participate in duet, paired or choral reading activities • Write and illustrate riddles • Understand teaching explanations and two step direction • Compose brief stories based on personal experience • Listen to nooks on tape • Write in dialogue journals

29. Stage 4 - Intermediate Fluency • Vocabulary 6,000 active words • More complete sentences • Asks questions to clarify information • Uses strategies from their native language to learn content in English

30. Activities students might complete at this stage • Read and understand modified text in content- area subjects • Learn vocabulary and concepts in science and social studies classes with teacher support • Answer questions from science and social studies texts • Organize information using graphic organizers

31. Activities students might complete at this stage • Highlight important information in a text • Provide definitions for vocabulary words • Participate in short skits or plays • Understand teacher explanations with visual support • Write personal stories and journals

32. Advanced Fluency • Close to performing like their native English speaking peers in content area classes • Learning in cooperative groups • Receiving oral evaluations of their work • Having questions read to them on a test • Listening to the teachers explanations of content area material • Participating in oral discussions of written material. • Allow students to use their native language to learn new concepts or vocabulary. • Develop learning strategies.