EDUC 567Session 3

One ELL Student’s Thought

“I can say what I want, but not for

school work and strangers.”

McKay, Davies, Devin, Clayton, Oliver, and Zammit, The Bilingual Interface Project Report

BICS vs. CALP

Basic Interpersonal Language Skills (BICS) Can be acquired in 1 to 2 years Social Language

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, (CALP). Can take 5 to 7 years to develop Directly related to cognition and many

aspects of academic achievement. Proficiency is needed to read social studies

texts or solve mathematics word problems

The Two Kinds of Context

Context of Culture

Context of Situation

Context of Culture

Encompasses speakers within a culture that

share particular assumptions and expectations

Speakers take for granted the ways in which

things are done

For example: How to greet someone

How to order a meal in a restaurant

How to participate in a class

How to write a business letter

Context of Situation

The Situation refers to a particular occasion on which the language is being used

One of the most fundamental features of language is that it varies to context of situation

This context is characterized by three features: What is being talked (or written) about The relationship between the speakers (or writer

and reader) Whether the language is spoken or written

Halliday and Hasan (1985) refer to these factors as as a register

What is a Register?

The three variables that constitute a register:

Field: the topic of the text Tenor: the relationship between

speaker and listener Mode: the channel of

communication

The Value of a Register

CULTURE SITUATION

Target Solution/s

Register

Context

Field Tenor Mode

Make Meaning Explicit

The Value of a Register

The variables that constitute the

register of text help instructors

recognize or identify when students

are: Having trouble imparting meaning to

text

Making the meaning of the text

explicit

The Value of a Register

Register takes into account the:Context in which the language is used…

the ability to use language appropriately in

varying social and academic contexts

Complexity of language… The “…extension of a learner’s

communicative range”

The Value of a Register

CULTURE SITUATION

Target Solution/s

Register

Context

Field Tenor Mode

Make Meaning Explicit

Making Meaning Explicit

1. Look, it’s making them move. Those didn’t stick

2. We found out the pins stuck on the magnet

3. Our experiment showed that magnets attract some metals

4. Magnetic attraction occurs only between ferrous magnets

Scaffolding

Scaffolding

A temporary assistance by which a teacher helps a learner knows how to do something, so that the learner will be able to complete a similar task alone.

Scaffolding is future-oriented, as Vygotsky has said: what a child can do with support today, she or he can do alone tomorrow.

Scaffolding

There are three types of scaffolding that can be used effectively with English Language Learners

1. Verbal scaffolding – the use of prompting, questioning, and elaboration• Paraphrasing• Using “think-alouds”• Reinforcing contextual definitions

2. Procedural scaffolding• Using an instructional framework

• One-on-one teaching, coaching, and modeling• Small group instruction with children practicing a

newly learned strategy with another more experienced student

Scaffolding – cont.

Teach Model Practice ApplyMaking Content Comprehensible, pg 87

Scaffolding Model: Teach, Model, Practice, Apply

3. Instructional scaffolding• For example: The use of graphic organizers

• Can be used as a pre-reading tool to prepare students for the content of a textbook chapter

• Can be used to illustrate chapter’s structure, such as comparative or chronological

Scaffolding – cont.

Scaffolding

Suggests that educators should reflect on the nature of the scaffolding that is being

provided for the learners to carry out tasks.

Scaffolding in terms of English Scaffolding in terms of English Language and Diverse LearnersLanguage and Diverse Learners

Scaffolding

Classrooms that integrate language and content and

infuses socio-cultural awareness is an excellent place to

scaffold instruction for students learning English.

When scaffolding, teachers pay careful attention to

students’ capacity for working in English by:

Beginning instruction at the current level of student

understanding

Moving students to higher levels of understanding

through tailored support

Scaffolding Techniques

Gestures Facial Expressions Props Incrementally adjusting

instructional tasks Videos Manipulatives Controlled vocabulary Controlled sentence

length and complexity Restatement Paraphrasing Repetition

Slower speech rate Demonstrations/

simulations Graphic organizers Music/rhymes/chants Evaluate and ask

questions during activity

Short, concise directions; one step at a time

Word bank Dictionaries High interest/low level

nonfiction

Scaffolding Examples

Source: http://www.huntington.edu/education/lessonplanning/Bruner.html

Classroom Talk

Classroom Talk and ELL’s

The degree of success for ELLs in the classroom depends largely on how classroom discourse is constructed.

Effective classroom discourse must be planned and set up.

Effective methods for accomplishing classroom talk are group or paired work activities.

Group Work

Group Work and ELL’s

Group work benefits ELL’s in three way:

1. Learners:• Hear more language• Hear a greater variety of language• Have more language directed toward

them • Bottom line is…group-work situations

increase the input to the learner

Group Work and ELL’s

Group work benefits ELL’s in three way:2. Learners:

• Interact more with other speakers; therefore…output is increased

• Tend to take more turns (in absence of the teacher)

• Have more responsibility for clarifying their own meanings

Basically…it is the learners themselves who are doing the language learning work

Group Work and ELL’s

Group work benefits ELL’s in three way:3. Learners:

• Hear and learn contextualized information

• Hear language in an appropriate context• Use language in a meaningful way for a

particular purpose

Group Work and ELL’s – Cont.

Group work produces message redundancy

Similar ideas will be expressed in a variety

of different ways.

Examples of message redundancy are:

Asking questions

Exchanging information

Solving problems (in different ways)

Benefits of Message Redundancy

Provide a context where words are repeated, ideas are rephrased, problems are restated, and meanings are refined.

Supports comprehension, because it gives learners several opportunities to hear a similar idea expressed in a number of ways.

Learners who may not be confident in English may feel more comfortable working with peers than in front of a whole class.

The Role of Active Listening and Observation in Group Work (Refer to handout)

Provides teachers the opportunity to focus on:Behaviors that signal interest and/or involvementListening to non-verbal messagesRecognizing students’ bid for attention

“When someone turns away from a bid, the bidder loses confidence and self-esteem. In our observation studies, we see how people almost seem to “crumple” when their partners turn away. The bidders don’t get puffed

up with anger; they get indignant; they just seem to fold in on themselves.”

John Gottman (2001) The Relationship Cure

Benefits of #1: Clear and Explicit Instructions

A single instruction may be more

effective and not cause a problem for

learners

Instructions that involve a number of

sequenced steps are often more difficult

If this is true, why would message

redundancy be an important concept to

use in providing complex instructions?

The Use of Talk in Completing a Task

A group task should require, not

simply encourage, talk…

Why are the benefits of requiring talk

important in a small group learning

activity?

How can you design a group activity that

effectively requires talk?

Let’s give it a try…again…