ESL Acquisition & Social Studies

Allison CaterGentry Jr. SchoolESL 6-8 Science & SSGHAWP 2004

ESL POEM(taken from In The Middle)English As A Second Language

The underpaid young teacherprints the letters t, r, e, eon the blackboard and imaginesforest and gardens springing upin the tired head of her students.

But they see only four letters;A vertical beam weighed downBy a crushing crossbarAnd followed by a hook,And after the hook, two squiggles,Arcane identical twinsWhich could be spying eyesOr ready fists, could be handles,Could be curled seedlings, could take root,Could develop leaves.

~Lisel Mueller

MYTHS

Students can learn a language quickly and easily Students automatically learn another language when immersed in

an environment where everyone speaks that language All students learn a second language the same way Students have acquired a second language once they can speak Students need to learn grammar and vocabulary before they can

speak

Four Stages of Second Language Acquisition

I. Pre-production~students do not usually produce their own language

~students understand language that has been comprehensible

II. Early production~students have a small, active vocabulary

~they feel ready to speak in one- or two-word phrases

III. Speech emergence~there is a noticeable increase in listening comprehension

~students will try to speak in short phrases

~they will begin to use the social language necessary in the classroom

IV. Nearly fluent~students understand what is said in the classroom

~they can express their ideas comprehensibly in both oral and written communication

~they will be able to read most grade level material

Literacy Development for ELL (ESL)

Speed & fluency with a new language will vary from one child to the next

Language acquisition is a very complex process that may not always follow a straight path

Oral language must come first for ELL students. Once they have developed oral language skills in English, they can begin to learn about writing and reading in English

TIPS

Music and Poetry (Multiple Intelligences)

*BER Institute presentation by Jo Guzman…

Guzman uses Dr. Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory to show one of many examples of how music and repetition are like glue to a brain

(POETRY)

•Charlie Brown’s teacher (example)

•It is important to permit the new student to watchand listen without demands at first.

•Comprehensible input is vital for success. You could look at Chinese writing for 100 years and never learn it, if someone did not explain it.

Lesson: The 7 continents

Desert Earth North America

South America

Antarctica

Europe

Asia

Known for having

Kangaroos

Africa

Spain

Antarctica China

Canadian Flag

Tropical and warm

Very ColdReligion

is mostly Catholic

Sudan

Africa

Brazil

Canada

The S even Continents: One of their countries and an icon which represents a typical notion of that country.

A. Cater Subject: Social Studies

Level: ESL I & II Middle School

Learning Through Poetry

The Seven ContinentsNorth America, South America joined in the West.Europe and Asia meet together, and on Africa they rest.Australia stands alone, floating down below.And Antarctica is the loneliest, where no one wants to go.

www.teachers.net

YOUR TURN…

Create your own poem of either the 7 continents or choose 1 continent. It can be any rhyming pattern.

Bibliography

Department of Public Instruction: Myths

www.everythingesl.net:Four Stages of second language acquisition

www.bnkst.edu: Literacy Development for ELL

BER Institute: Jo Guzman “multiple intelligences”

www.teachersdesk.org: Austrailia