ELL Education in the Mainstream classroom

ELL Education in the Mainstream classroomAre we prepared?The factsJTB Elementary School (a pseudonym) has 850 students enrolled85% are on Free and Reduced Lunch Qualifies JTB to be a Title 1 School 24% of the population is Hispanic/Latino5% are other cultures outside of the United States17 different languages (other than English) are spoken fluently among the families and students.There are 265 ELL students in the building, 215 of them receive ELL services, 50 of them have exited the program but are still students who have learned English as their second language.

The questionWith so many ELL students, are we prepared as a staff prepared to meet their needs in the mainstream classroom?Research Question:What strategies are you using to effectively integrate English Language Learners into your mainstream classroom and are those strategies effective in closing the achievement gap?MethodA survey was sent to 21 mainstream elementary school teachers16 teachers responded4 teachers were interviewed2 intermediate teachers1 first year teacher, 1with 5+ years of experience 2 primary teachers1 first year teacher; 1 with 5+ years of experienceSurvey questionsHow often do you use the following strategies in your classroom to intentionally integrate ELL students?Grammar Based ESL: instruction in English that teaches about the language, including its structure, functions and vocabularyCommunication-Based ESL: Instruction in English that emphasizes using the language skillfully in meaningful contexts.Content-Based ESL: Instruction in English that attempts to develop language skills while preparing students to study grade-level material in English. Although using content as a means, these programs are still focused primarily on the learning of English, which distinguishes them from sheltered instructional methods.Language ObjectivesSimplified LanguageWord FamiliesGroup work partner with English speaker

Providing assistance in when to use appropriate languageThink-Pair-ShareIntegrating their culture ModelingAdjusting the rate of speechUsing visuals, sketches, gestures etc.

Survey QuestionsList any other strategies you are using to integrate ELL students into your mainstream classroom.Please select where you learned the strategies you selected in the previous question. You may select more than one.Undergraduate College ClassesGraduate Schools ClassesProfessional DevelopmentIndependent Research/Self Study Other (please specify)Survey QuestionsAre you familiar with the WIDA, TESOL, standards and how to integrate ACCESS (ELL progress test) test scores into your classroom?Unfamiliar Heard of them but do not know how to integrate themYes and I integrate them into my classroomAre you seeing measurable gains using these strategies? Are they making improvements on the star test and in class assessments? Please explain.

Survey Results Question 1Table 1: Strategies Used in the Mainstream ClassroomStrategyHow often the strategy is usedTotal ParticipantsUnfamiliarNeverOccasionallyDaily16Grammar Based ESL6.25% (1)6.25% (1)31.25% (5)12.50% (2)16Communication Based ESL6.25% (1)12.50% (2)37.50% (6)25.00% (4)16Content Based ESL12.50% (2)12.50% (2)12.50% (2)31.25% (5)16Language Objectives6.25% (1)37.50% (6)12.50% (2)25.00% (4)16Simplified Language06.25% (1)12.50% (2)75.00% (12)16Word Families012.50% (2)56.25% (9)6.25% (1)16Group Work 012.50% (2)37.50% (6)50.00% (8)16Assistance on when to use appropriate language012.50% (2)18.75% (3)62.50% (10)16Think-Pair-Share06.25% (1)37.50% (6)37.50% (6)16Integrate their culture into lessons06.25% (1)6.25% (1)6.25% (1)16Modeling06.25% (1)12.50% (2)81.25% (13)16Adjusting rate of speech06.25% (1)6.25% (1)75.00% (12)16Using visuals, sketches, gestures, intonation, and non-verbal cues06.25% (1)12.50% (2)75.00% (12)16Survey resultsTable 2: Other Strategies Used Question 2Differentiated vocabulary, leveled readers, paraphrasingLabeling items in the classroomReview/connectionsSurvey results Question 3Table 3: Where strategies were learnedAnswer ChoicesResponsesUndergraduate College Classes56.25% (9)Graduate School College Classes37.50% (6)Professional Development62.50% (10)Independent Research/Self Study37.50% (6)OtherResponses: (Collaboration, Trial and Error)12.50% (2)Survey results Question 4Table 4: WIDA and TESOL Familiarity Answer ChoicesResponses Unfamiliar 43.75% (7)Heard of the standards but do not know how or why to integrate them37.50% (6)Yes and I integrate them into my classroom18.75% (3)Survey Results Question 5Out of 12 responses 6 teachers feel they are seeing their ELL students making measureable gains with the strategies they are using in the classroom.4 teachers are seeing some gains meaning they are improving slowly but are still not on grade level by the end of the academic year.1 teacher felt they were not seeing measurable gains this school year.1 teacher responded that she does not have any ELL students this year in her class.Interview QuestionsHow long have you been teaching?Did you take an ELL courses in college?Have you participated in any ELL professional developments?Do you know what WIDA is and are you familiar with the Can-Do descriptors?Do you understand the ACCESS scores and how to differentiate your lessons accordingly?Are you familiar with the TESOL standards?Interview resultsAll four teachers took NO ELL related classes in their undergraduate work.The 2 teachers who have completed their masters did not take any ELL related classes in their graduate work.The two veteran teachers (6 years and 14 years of teaching) have participated in exactly 1 ELL professional development that they can remember. One of these teachers remembers that this PD was 6 years ago and she has not participated in another ELL PD since then.2 of the teachers were unfamiliar with the WIDA standards and therefore do nothing with them in their classrooms.2 teachers were familiar with the WIDA Can-Do descriptors and try their best to implement them into their instruction. (One of these teachers was a first year teacher and the other has been teaching for 6 years)Interview Results AcCess scoresThe information received about understanding ACCESS scores was very wide ranged.One teacher doesnt feel as though she understands the scores and what they mean at all.One teacher feels as though she doesnt understand them but she tries to use the students PSPs to differentiate their instruction. Often time accommodations are visuals/links to prior learning/simplified language/modeling, so I try to incorporate these accommodations as much as possible during whole group instruction. In smaller groups I go over vocabulary a lot and am able to differentiate at ELL students specific pace.Interview Results Access ScoresOne teacher feels she understands them a little, but she rarely has ELL students so she doesnt work with them often.One teacher states: We have been told about ACCESS scores and accommodation that students can be given, butI always doubt whetherI am doing everything thatI need to be doing. We always have meetings for our IEP students soIknow thatI am doing whatI should be with them, but often times we dont meet to talk about our ELL students and only receive guidance if we ask for it.Interview resultsNone of the teachers were familiar with the TESOL standards at all.So what does this mean?Our teachers are using strategies in their classrooms that they would use for any student, ELL or not. This is apparent because, while they are familiar with some of the strategies listed above, digging deeper shows that they have not taken ELL courses or had significant ELL professional developments to understand how to best integrate and accommodate the ELL student in their mainstream classroom.What needs to happen?In order to prepare teachers, ELL professional development needs to be a regular occurrence for the teachers.All teachers need to be trained in understanding ACCESS scores, WIDA and TESOL standards.Each year, there should be a refresher and an even deeper PD for teachers new to the school.Regular meetings should be held for the ELL students who need to receive accommodations to make sure teachers are following protocol.Ideally, undergraduate programs would begin to require an ELL course for students studying to become teachers. With the growing population of ELL students in America, this information is becoming more and more necessary. Preservice teachers are required to take courses dealing with students with disabilities, they should be required to take courses dealing with ELL students also. REferencesReferencesClair, N. (1995). Mainstream Classroom Teachers and ESL Students.TESOLQuarterly,29(1), 189-196. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from JStor.Jennifer, H. (2012). Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction forEnglish Learners | ELL Topics from A-Z | Colorn Colorado. Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/49646/Jong, E., Harper, C., & Coady, M. (2013). Enhanced Knowledge and Skills forElementary Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners.Theory IntoPractice,52(2), 89-97.Jong, E., & Harper, C. (n.d.). Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-LanguageLearners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough?Teacher EducationQuarterly,101-124.Loring, T. (n.d.). Executive Summar. Retrieved June 4, 2015, fromhttp://www.boone.kyschools.us/userfiles/19/my files/executive summary c sip.pdf?id=549352NCATE: Home. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://ncate.org/NCES: Home (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://nces.ed.gov/Reed, B., & Railsback, J. (2003).Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers ofENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. Northwest Regional Laboratory.TESOL International Association. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.tesol.org/WIDA: Home (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.wida.us/

AppendixSurveyWhich of the following strategies do you use in your classroom?Grammar Based ESL: instruction in English that teaches about the language, including its structure, functions and vocabularyCommunication-Based ESL: Instruction in English that emphasizes using the language skillfully in meaningful contexts.Content-Based ESL: Instruction in English that attempts to develop language skills while preparing students to study grade-level material in English. Although using content as a means, these programs are still focused primarily on the learning of English, which distinguishes them from sheltered instructional methods.Language ObjectivesSimplified LanguageWord FamiliesGroup work partner with English speakerProviding assistance in when to use appropriate languageThink-pair-shareOTHERWhere did you learn the strategies you are using to include your ELL students into the mainstream classroom?Are you seeing gains from these students by using these strategies? Are they meeting STAR benchmarking scores and reading on-grade level?Are you familiar with WIDA, TESOL standards, and how to integrate ACCESS (ELL progress test) test scores into your classroom?Interview TopicsHow long have you been teaching?Did you take an ELL courses in college?Have you participated in any ELL professional developments?Do you know what WIDA is and are you familiar with the Can-Do descriptors?Do you understand the ACCESS scores and how to differentiate your lessons accordingly?Are you familiar with the TESOL standards?