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Successf l1 Strategies forEnglish LanLguage Lea'rners

Tracy Gray and Steve Fleischmanut through the fog ofcompeting claims made byresearchers and policymakers

gut effective approachesfor mee~ting the needs of

English language learners (ELLs) andone fact remains: Educators daily facethe challenge of teaching this large an dgrowing student population. Moreimmigrants arrived in the United Statesduring the 1990s than during any otherdecade on record. This fall, in responseto this trend toward linguistic andcultural diversity, the NewYork Cityschool district created an office to trans-late information for parents into eightlanguages. Th e Los Angeles UnifiedSchool District already spends morethan $6 million yearly to translate itsmaterials (Zehr, 2004).Today, students in our schools speakmore than 450 languages (Kindler,2002). About 12 percent of all preK-12students are considered Englishlanguage learners. Projections indicatethat by 2015, more than 50 percent ofall students in K-12 public schoolsacross the United States will not speakEnglish as their first language (Pearlman,2002).The accountability requirements ofthe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001ad d a new dimension to this challengebecause ELLs are included in the law'stesting requirements. Their test scoresmay be factored into the determinationof whether a school is making adequateyearly progress (AYP).Although ideology often trumpsevidence in this area, amid theconflicting claims research has estab-lished a number pf straightforwardstrategies that educators can use to meet

the academic, linguistic, and culturalneeds of English language learners.What We Know ,A review of effective instructional strate-gies for linguistically and culturallydiverse students reveals that many ofthese strategies are simply extensions ofapproaches that work well with allstudents. For example, sound principlesand practices of classroom organizationan d management-such as smallinstructional groups-seem to work well for ELLs(Garcia, 1991).One key to successfullyworking with ELLs is toview them as a resource inthe classroom. Accordingto Zehler (1994), thesestudents can offer informa-tion about other countriesand cultures; newperspec-tives about the world,different societies, andbelief systems; and opportunities forexposing native English speakers toother languages.In addition, many researcherssupport the use of scaffolding strategiesto help ELLs organize their thoughts inEnglish, develop study skills, and followclassroom procedures. To providemeaning, scaffolding uses contextualsupports-simplified language, teachermodeling, visuals and graphics, an dcooperative and hands-on learning.According to Diaz-Rico and Weed(2002) and Ovando, Collier, and Combs(2003), English language learners showprogress when their content-areateachers consistently use these supportsas they deliver instruction. Theseresearchers identify the following scaf-folding approaches as effective.

Keep the languagesiniple. Speaksimply an d clearly. Use short, complesentences in a normal tone of voice.Avoid using slang, idioms, or figures ospeech.Use actionsand illustrations o re

force oralstatements. Appropriateprompts and facial expressions helpconvey meaning. Pointing to the chalboard while asking, "Please come upand complete the math problem" ismore effective than repeatingcommands or directions

Askfor cormpletion, ngeneration.Ask studentto choose answers fromlist or to complete apartially finished outlineN._;*.paragraph. Encourage

,+< students to use languagemuch as possible to gainconfidence over time.K; j Model correct usageand udicioutsly correcerrors.Use correctionspositively reinforce students' use ofEnglish. When ELLs make a mistake ouse awkward language, they are oftenattempting to apply what they know

about their first language to English. Fexample, a Spanish-speaking studentmay say, 'It fell from me"-a directtranslation from Spanish-instead ofdropped it."

Use visual aids.Present classroomcontent and information wheneverpossible in a way that engagesstudents-by using graphic organizertables, charts, outlines, and graphs, foexample. Encourage students to usethese tools to present information.Educators Take NoteA final key component of serving theneeds of English language learners is

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establishing strong relationships with 'families. Educators sometimes view lowlevels of parental involvement as a lackof parental interest in the education lprocess. However, non-English-speakingfamilies often have no means forcommunicating with the school. Theymay also have different cultural expecta-tions regarding the appropriate relation-'ship with their children's school. There-fore, schools need to make additionalefforts to engage these families.Boothe (2000) emphasizes the impor-tance of inviting immigrant families toparticipate in meaningful activities inschool, such as classroom demonstra-tions of their culture (food or clothing,for example) or awards ceremoniesacknowledging their children's accom-'plishments. Schools also need to clearlystate their expectations for both parentsand students, especially to familiesnewly arrived in the United States.Whenever possible, schools shouldtranslate all written communications tofamilies into these families' nativelanguages.Smaller school districts may,not havethe resources to translate their writtencomnmunications into numerouslanguages. However, many translationresources are available on the Internetat no cost, including http://babelfish.altavista.com and www.itools.com.iIn addition, schools should identifybilingual contacts in the school and

community as well as foreign languageinstructors in local colleges an d univer-sities who might be willing to providetranslation support. Research indicatesthat establishing partnerships betweenbilingual families and non-English-speaking families encourages familyinvolvement in school (Epstein, 1998;Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992).Additional translation and interpreterresources are available through localorganizations such as intercultural insti-tutes, social service agencies, and statebar associations.Although none of these communica-tion solutions is perfect, schools thatadopt them demonstrate their willing-ness to communicate with the familiesof all their students. Using these tools toreach out! o families is an importantstep in including ELLs in the schoolcommunity and promoting theirachievementi MReferencesBoothe, D. ' (2000). Looking beyond the

ES L label. Princ4palLeadership,1(4),30-35. : IDiaz-Rico, L.T., &Weed, K. Z. (2002). Thecrosscultural,language,andacademifc developmnent handbook(2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Epstein, J. (1998). School andfamiilypart-nerships:Preparing dtcatorsandinorovingschools. Boulder, CO : West-view Press.Garcia, E. 1991). The education oflinguisticallyand culturallydiverse

students: Effective instructionalpractices (EducationalPracticeReport 1).Santa Cruz, CA: National Center forResearch on Cultural Diversity andSecond Language Learning. Available:www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/ncrcdsll/eprl/index.htmKindler, A.L. (2002). Sturvey of the stateIfmited Englishproficientstuden s anavailableeducationalprograms ndservices,2000-2001 Summary ReporWashington, DC: National Clearing-house for English Language Acquisitioand Language Instruction EducationalPrograms.Moll, L.' C., Amnanti, C., Neff, D., &Gonzilez, N. (1992). Funds of knowl-edge for teaching: Using a qualitativeapproach to connect home and class-rooms. Theory into Practice,31(2),131-141.Ovando, C., Collier, V., &Combs, M.(2003). BilingualandESL classroomTeaching multiculturalcontexts (3rded.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.Pearlman, M.(2002). MeasutringandsutpportingEnglish langutage earninin schools: Challenges or testmakersPresentation at CRESST Conference,Los Angeles, California.Zehler, A. (1994). WVorking with Englishlanguagelearners:Strategiesforelementary and minddle schoolteachers. (ProgramInfonnation GuiSeries,Nunber 19). Washington, DC:National Clearinghouse for EnglishLanguage Acquisition and LanguageInstruction Educational Programs.Zehr, M.A. (2004, Oct. 6). Translation.efforts a growing priority for urbanschools.EducationWVeek, pp. 1, 15.

Tracy Gray isa Principal ResearchScientist at the American Institutes forResearch (AIR), specializing in technicalinnovation for students with,disabilities,education for English language learners,and online learning tools for teachers anstudents. She is he Director of theNational Center for Technology. SteveFleischman, series editor of this columnis a Principal Research Scientist at AIR;editorair@air.org. I

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TITLE: Successful Strategies for English Language Learners

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