Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners in Reading First Classrooms

Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners

in Reading First Classrooms

Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners

in Reading First Classrooms

Today’s Goals

Examine the nature of the challenge Identify effective strategies Discuss an action plan at the district,

school and classroom levels Learn about Georgia’s ESOL program,

regulations, and available resources

Some Common Terms and Acronyms

Some Common Terms and Acronyms

Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

English-Language Learner (ELL)

English as a Second Language (ESL)

English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

First (Home) Language (L1)

Second Language (L2)

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

The Plightof ELLs

How many English-language learners are in Georgia schools?

?

ELLs in Georgia Schools

From 1993 to 2004, the number of English language learners in Georgia rose from 11,877 to 59,126 – an increase of 397.8%.

Source: National Center for English Language Acquisition

More Georgia Stats . . .

Public school students in LEP Programs 4.3%

Hispanic students 6.9%

Asian/Pacific Islander 2.5%

Source: NAEP, 2005

Four Types of ELL Programs

Type Characteristics Outcome

L1-only L1 only is spoken. Children learn to read in L1. (Rare in U.S.)

L1 literacy develops, but spoken and written English do not

Transitional Bilingual

L1 is exclusively used at first, but transition to English is made as soon as possible.

L1 literacy jeopardized in transition, but research favors it over English only.

Two-way

Bilingual

Equal time to L1 and English. Half the children speak each. Parents of English speakers desire their children learn L1. (Rare in U.S.)

Reading and writing in both languages develop for both groups.

English-only

(Immersion)

Only English is spoken.

Teacher provides limited support to ELLs. (Most common program type in U.S.)

English slowly develops

Reading growth slowed

L1 withers since literacy is never attained in L1

– Tabors & Snow, 2002

Four Phases of Transition to Spoken English

1. ELLs use L1, expecting to be understood.– They are often not understood, however.

2. ELLs grow silent.– They realize L1 is not working for them.

3. ELLs begin using telegraphic and formulaic language.– Telegraphic Examples:

Object names, counting– Formulaic Examples:

Catch phrases (“Excuse me,” “I don’t know”)4. ELLs gradually learn to use English productively.

– They blend formulaic with telegraphic speechExamples: “I do a ice cream,” “I got a big”

– Tabors & Snow, 2002

Two Types of Oral English Proficiency

What kind is it? What can a child do? How long does it take to acquire?

Conversational (Social)

• Communicate with peers• Use gestures & body language to aid and complement language

About 2 years

Academic • Comprehend oral instruction• Comprehend content materials

5-7 years

– Adapted from Drucker, 2003

Foundationof Spoken

English Develops

Reading Builds on This Foundation

Reading Adds to the Foundation

Reading and Language Development of a Native Speaker

Implications for Classroom Instruction

So where do teachers start?

Most cores have an ELL resource handbook and related materials. Start there. But let’s think about general advice.

So where do teachers start?

Let’s look at some key differences between Spanish and English.

Spanish vs. English

Consonants

Pronounced the Same Pronounced Differently

c d h

l j r

m v z

n sh

s

Spanish vs. English

Consonants Clusters Not Heard in Spanish

st sn spl

sp sw spr

sk/sc tw str

sm qu squ

sl scr th

Spanish vs. English

Spanish vowels always have the same sound:

English Spanish Example

Long a e Pedro

Long e i sí

Long i ai jai-lai

Long o o no

Long u u usted

Short o a Pablo

Spanish vs. English

Short vowels are hard for Spanish-speaking children because most of these phonemes do not exist in Spanish!

Spanish vs. English

What are the implications of these differences for acquiring (and teaching) phonemic awareness and phonics?

Phonemic Awareness for Spanish-Speaking ELLs

Children’s knowledge of Spanish phonology may influence how they acquire phonemic awareness in English.

They may find it hard at first to distinguish phonemes not heard in Spanish (e.g., v-b, s-sp, ch-sh).

Instruction in specific pairs has been shown to have positive results.

National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children, 2006

Phonemic Awareness for Spanish-Speaking ELLs

Phonemic awareness in Spanish translates into English. That is, children can do similar tasks (segmenting, blending, etc.).

However, the specific phonemes are often different. These differences are predictable. Well-planned teaching leads to equal levels of phonemic

awareness for ELLs and native English speakers.

Gersten & Geva, 2005

Phonics for Spanish-Speaking ELLs

Begin with sounds that English and Spanish share. Start with vowels and consonants that represent sounds

that are the same as or similar to the sounds they represent in Spanish (listed in previous slides).

Use your knowledge of Spanish to interpret misspellings. (Example: da might be written for the)

If you’re not comfortable with Spanish, ask the child to read what s/he has written and listen for letter-sound correspondences.

Helman, 2004


A pronunciation error may reflect knowledge of Spanish. Example: Saying seat for sit is common when the child has some reading ability in Spanish. It might also be an attempt to come as close as possible using a Spanish vowel sound.

Use low-stress activities to practice pronunciations.Examples: choral reading, echo reading, sound sorting of pictures, poetry, songs

Helman, 2004


Try using Venns and word walls to underscore similarities and differences in letter-sound correspondences. (See previous slides.)

Developmental spelling inventories can provide useful information about phonics skills (e.g., the one in Words Their Way by Bear et al.).

Short vowels should be taught before long vowels.

Helman, 2004


Conduct think-alouds comparing English and Spanish.

“Teachers may verbalize their thinking in a modeled writing activity as they ponder which sounds they hear in a tricky word. They may even model being confused and self-correcting based on a Spanish sound.” (p. 458)

Helman, 2004

Which instructional techniques are consistent with theory and research?

The Output Hypothesis suggests that teachers provide many opportunities for ELLs to talk and write.

Doing so also provides a window on their development of their English.

A central way for teachers to assess the learning and understanding of their ELLs is to give them myriad opportunities to write and talk during lessons. When ELLs are silent during extended periods of lesson times, it is not possible to know if or how much they are learning from lessons.

– Brock & Raphael, 2005, p. 51

Before During After

Good instruction for ELLs builds on a long tradition of nesting a reading selection in before, during and after activities.

Let’s examine which of the major lesson formats seem most promising.

Before During After

Major Lesson Formats Directed Reading Activity (DRA) Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) K-W-L Listen-Read-Discuss (L-R-D)

Before During After

DRA

Facts Students read to DiscussionVocabulary complete tasks WritingText structure set by teacher

Before During After

DRA


Before During After

DRA


Before During After

DRA


5 Steps in a Classic DRA

1. Background (vocabulary, facts)

2. Focus (set specific purposes)

3. Reading

4. Discussion

5. Skills, Extension, Enrichment




3. Reading

4. Discussion


Before




3. Reading

4. Discussion


Before

During




3. Reading

4. Discussion


Before

During

After

Before During After

DR-TA

Before During After

DR-TA

Facts Students read to DiscussionVocabulary test their own WritingText structure predictions

Before During After

DR-TA


Before During After

DR-TA


Before During After

K-W-L

Before During After

K-W-L

Students Students read to Discussionbrainstorm find out what of what theywhat they Know they Want to know have Learned

Before During After

K-W-L


Before During After

K-W-L


Before During After

L-R-D

Before During After

L-R-DTeacher fully Students read to Discussionpresents text complete tasks content set by teacher(Children mightlisten to Spanishversion)

Before During After

L-R-DTeacher fully Students read to Discussionpresents text complete tasks content set by teacher(Children mightlisten to Spanishversion)

Before During After

L-R-DTeacher fully Students read to Discussionpresents text complete tasks Writingcontent set by teacher(Children mightlisten to Spanishversion)

Which of these formats seem best suited to the needs of ELLs?

DRADR-TAK-W-LL-R-D

Might the issue depend on the age and English proficiency of the child?

Which of these general lesson planning formats is used for

the selection?

How could teachers take that format and increase scaffolding

and support for ELLs?

What additional materials are providedIn your core to support ELLs during

needs-based time?

Language Experience Approach (LEA)

Teacher plans a group experience, such as a field trip, demonstration, etc.

Students afterward dictate a passage based on the shared experience.

Teacher writes as students dictate. Dictated passage becomes the basis of

discussion and a reading lesson. LEA controls for prior knowledge differences,

although unpredictable cultural interpretations can occur.

– Drucker, 2003

Discussions in Small Groups

ELLs are sometimes intimidated into silence in whole-class settings.

They are more likely to talk in small groups.

Schedule small-group discussions with group make-up including both ELLs and native speakers.

– Brock & Raphael, 2005

Shared Reading

Teacher reads aloud an enlarged text that all students can see.

Students can see text as it is discussed.

Teacher can point to key words, etc.

Paired Reading

Teacher pairs ELLs with native speakers. Students read to each other, with native

speaker providing support. Could be tied to repeated readings, where

native speaker reads a brief passage and ELL reads the same passage.

Building Prior Knowledge

Teacher tries to anticipate limitations of prior knowledge.

What does the author assume the child knows and that the child may not.

Look for ways to build prior knowledge quickly and coherently.

– Drucker, 2003

Audio Books

Teacher provides a tape of the reading selection, perhaps in a listening center.

ELLs follow along as they listen. A minimal level of reading ability is

required for this approach to be effective.

– Drucker, 2003

Teacher Read-Alouds

Read-alouds can be planned with ELLs in mind. 5 steps used by Hickman et al.:

1. Preview story and 3 new words. Give Spanish equivalents.

2. Read the book aloud. Focus on literal and inferential comprehension.

3. Reread, focusing on the 3 words.4. Extend comprehension, focusing on

deeper understanding of words.5. Summarize the book.

– Hickman, Pollard-Durodola, & Vaughn, 2004

Multicultural Books

These are likely to require less background building.

They build confidence and they value the ELLs’ home culture.

Such books make good read-alouds!

– Drucker, 2003

Selected Internet Resources

Internet TESL Journalhttp://iteslj.org/

its-onlinehttp://www.its-online.com/

English-to-Gohttp://www.english-to-go.com/

Online Translatorhttp://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

http://iteslj.org/

http://www.its-online.com/

http://www.english-to-go.com/

http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

More Internet Resources

Barahona Centerhttp://www.csusm.edu/csb/

Reading Rocketshttp://www.colorincolorado.org/

Georgia ESOL Programhttp://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_iap_esol.aspx

http://www.csusm.edu/csb/

http://www.colorincolorado.org/

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_iap_esol.aspx

Office of English Language Acquisition(OELA)

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/index.html?src=oc

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/index.html?src=oc

http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/

National Clearinghouse for EnglishLanguage Acquisition (NCELA)

http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/

Forming an Action Plan

What can we do at the district, school, and classroom levels to meet the needs of ELLs?

LEA

Teachers

Schools

LEA Representatives:What resources are available in your community to support

ELL children and families?

At the District Level

Start (or improve) your record keeping system

Stay updated on programs


Coordinate PD across schools that serve ELLs

Lead efforts to attract bilingual teachers

Explore transitional bilingual programs

Establish active links with the Latino community

Recommend that parents turn on captioning



Principals and coaches:What resources are available in your school to support ELL children and families?

At the School Level

Generally, foster cultural awareness

Specifically, provide PD in culturally responsive teaching

Acquire bilingual and multicultural books

Hire bilingual teachers and paraprofessionals

Host community-building activities for Latino parents

Form teacher study groups

Locate and disseminate professional resources

At the Classroom Level

Seek the Georgia ESOL Endorsement

http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/pandp/esol/certif.htm

Learn to apply scientifically-based instructional approaches

Form needs-based groups with English proficiency in mind

Learn conversational Spanish

http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/pandp/esol/certif.htm

Who me? Learn Spanish?

Why not? It will not only help you meet the needs of ELLs, but it will deepen your understanding of English. As the greatest writer in German once put it . . .

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.

Suggested Readings

Brock, C.H., & Raphael, T.E. (2005). Windows to language, literacy, and culture: Insights from an English-language learner. Newark, DE: IRA.

Drucker, M.J. (2003). What reading teachers should know about ESL learners. The Reading Teacher, 57, 22-29.

Echevarria, J., & Graves, A. (2003). Sheltered content instruction: Teaching English-language learners with diverse abilities (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D.J. (2004). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Helman, L.A. (2004). Building on the sound system of Spanish: Insights from the alphabetic spellings of English-language learners. The Reading Teacher, 57, 452-460.

Helman, L.A. (2005). Using assessment results to improve teaching for English-language learners. The Reading Teacher, 58, 668-677.

Hickman, P., Pollard-Durodola, S., & Vaughn, S. (2004). Storybook reading: Improving vocabulary and comprehension for English-language learners. The Reading Teacher, 57, 720-730.

Suggested Readings

Shanahan, T., & August, D. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in English-language learners. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Tabors, P.O., & Snow, C.E. (2002). Young bilingual children and early literacy development. In S.B. Neuman & D.K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 1, pp. 159-178). New York: Guilford.

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Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners in Reading First Classrooms