Instructing English Language Learners in

Mainstream Classes

DON’T TALK…only write your responses.

What does ELL mean? How does our school respond to ELL

students? What do we do to accommodate them?

Answer these questions…

More English Language Learners enter our school each year

ELLs need to learn English while also existing within their cultures

ELLs also need to learn content area – leaving them to fend for themselves as long as they are not a “distraction” is not accommodating them.

Our school is not receptive to ELLs’ needs, nor are we reaching out

Background

“It is true that I would never forget the great change of my life, the diminished occasions of intimacy. But there would also be times when I sensed the deepest truth about language and intimacy: Intimacy is not created by a particular language; it is created by intimates.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34TAhGygSQI&feature=related

Through their Eyes

Rodriguez identifies the change in his home, the lack of familial intimacy…What does he mean by this?

Through their eyes

Integrated Classrooms◦ Group discussion

How do we react when ELL students enter our classrooms?

What do we do to ensure that these students are learning?

Do we focus only on English language learning? Do we focus on content? Do we try to engage ELLs or do we just hope they

aren’t a behavioral problem?

Common Barriers

We need to support ELLs because…◦ “L2 learners should be exposed to meaningful

experiences” in English from early on in their English learning (Edwards, 2011).

◦ “The acquisition of English alone in no way guarantees that L2 students will succeed academically” (Edwards, 2011).

◦ Lau v. Nichols requires “schools to teach ELLs so that they may have a ‘meaningful opportunity to participate in the public educational program’” (Goldenberg, 2010, p. 18).

Rationale

Think about Reading Apprenticeship training. ◦ What skills do we use to ensure reading

comprehension for our English speaking students?◦ How can we apply this to ELL students?◦ This is NOT enough…◦ “There are fundamental differences between

literacy learning in an L1 and in an additional language” (Allison and Harklau, 2010, p. 133).

◦ So, what now?

Strategies - Discussion

“Reading interventions need to be tailored for ELLs’ specific needs, such as developing cultural background knowledge, enriching and enhancing academic vocabulary, and developing a sense of academic genres” (Allison and Harklau, 2010, p. 133).

Much to discuss, but one particular focus for today…

ESL Strategies

What is a multimodal presentation?◦ “Multimodal support is provided through visual

(maps, diagrams, pictures), gestural and actional cues” (Sharpe, 2006, p. 211).

◦ Reading/English should be supported with multiple visual and kinesthetic modes.

Discussion◦ How is this beneficial?◦ Do you use various modes of presentation in your

lessons?◦ Why/why not?

Multimodal Presentation

How can we do this? Read the article on your table (each table has a

different article). How do they achieve it?◦ Scaffolding◦ Connecting to prior knowledge◦ Use pictures to support vocabulary◦ Indicate text features, clues◦ Use video to support ideas (clips…this isn’t movie day)◦ Use hands on projects to enhance meaning◦ Move around, don’t just sit and lecture◦ Integrate outside materials…not just pictures in the

textbook, but authentic pieces of information for the individual lesson.

Implementation

Take the remaining time to review one of your lessons and consider how to make it multimodal

Design Time

Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top Ten Questions. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Edwards, P. and Li, Guofang. (2010). Best Practices in ELL Instruction. New York: Guilford.

Sharpe, T. (2006). ‘Unpacking’ Scaffolding: Identifying Discourse and Multimodal Strategies that Support Learning. Language and Education. 20. p. (211-231). Derived from: http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.emich.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/0950078060866724

References