Janet L. Pierce, Ph.D.

ESL Teacher, ELL Coordinator

Franklin Regional School District

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Origin of Chosen Strategies

25 years personal experience as an ESL teacher Research from seminars, workshops, readings-

TESOL, 1997; PDE 2002-2008; Indiana University of PA 2004-2008

Workshop for FRSD staff 2006 McREL workshop with Jan Hill, March 5, 2008

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Things to Consider:

You need to know the ELL’s English proficiency level.

You need to know how to align Stages of Second Language Acquisition to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

You need to understand how to break down a lesson to teach language of your content area.

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English Proficiency levels

Terminology- pre-emergent, emergent, beginning, developing, expanding, bridging

Expectations for each level How to consider language functions How to provide activities for each level

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Beginning levels of English language learners: The Pre-emergent ELLs have no English and can make

few or no responses. This is the pre-production stage of language acquisition.

The Emergent ELLs have just begun to be aware of letters of the alphabet and sounds and may recognize a few isolated words, universal symbols, gestures. This is the early production stage.

The Beginning ELLs understand simple speech spoken slowly, with repetition, formal patterns, sight words and common phrases. This is the speech emergence stage.

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Beginning levels of ELLs:

Pre-emergent is the very first level. There is a silent period, followed by imitation

speech. They construct meaning from: non-print items,

such as pictures, graphs, maps and tables. Teacher prompts: Show me, circle the, Where is,

Who has. Student response: yes, no, and pointing.6

Beginning level ELLs:

The second level is the Early production or Emergent level.

Students recognize simple words and sounds. Students use one to two word responses to

concrete information that is visual and for which the student has context.

Teacher prompts include yes/no, either/or questions; Who/what and how many questions.

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Beginning level ELLs

The third part of the Beginning level is the Speech Emergent or Basic level.

Students need concrete information with visuals and formulistic patterned speech

Imitation and repetition continues. They expanding vocabulary with labeling. Teacher prompts include Show me…, what is this,

where are …, asking students to explain to specific prompts for one word or phrase answers.

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Developing level ELLs

The next proficiency level is Developing. Students understand more complex speech, with

some repetition. They have a vocabulary of basic words and

phrases for daily situations (social English-BICS). They can generate some English, but have

restrictions in vocabulary and grammar.9

Developing level ELLs Students can create simple sentences with grammatical

errors. Students have difficulty with Academic language (CALPS)

and more complex syntax/wording of texts. They can generate more complex texts than beginners but

still have unconventional features in language patterns. Teacher prompts include Why do you think . . . Based on

what you heard/saw/read and some visual/contextual references.

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Expanding level ELLs

The fourth level is the Expanding level. Students read with some fluency and can locate

and identify specific facts within a text. They still have some difficulty understanding texts

with material presented in a de-contextualized manner, with complex sentence structures and /or abstract vocabulary.

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Expanding level ELLs

Students can read independently, but with some comprehension problems.

Students can produce texts on their own for both personal and academic purposes but errors persist in structure, vocabulary and overall organization of the material (TESOL, 1997).

Teacher prompts include Summarize the story. . ., Tell me what this means when . . .

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ELLs can do higher level thinking

Teachers need to consider Bloom’s Taxonomy and the stages of second language acquisition across the board.

Consider language function as the way to consider tasks to move ELL from concrete to abstract learning.

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Break down tasks according to language functions that can be done at each proficiency level from concrete to abstract

Beginning level ELLs can: Show knowledge by arranging, ordering, labeling,

reproducing- visual, simple words, simple phrases. Show comprehension by pointing to visuals that answer

questions, use simple words to tell something, give simple phrase explanations or reasons.

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Beginning ELLs move to application reasoning Students can show application by making

choices of visuals, dramatizing what would happen if . . . using visuals as prompts; illustrating, writing, telling, in one word or simple phrases what would happen next, or what they interpret as happening in a specific situation.

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Beginning ELLs move to analysis reasoning ELLs can show ability to analyze, calculate,

categorize, compare and contrast, criticize, differentiate, examine, and experiment by pointing to visuals to answer questions; naming things, using phrases, adjectives to show differences, results to experiments in specific situations.

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Beginning ELLs can synthesize

ELLs can arrange visuals in order, put things together (puzzles, pictures, items) collect (pictures, items) create, design, develop, organize and plan visuals, say words of things, ideas that are associated, have relationships, as well as short phrases to show how they would set up, organize something so it can do something else.

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Beginning ELLs can evaluate

ELLs can argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend, estimate, predict, rate, select, support, and evaluate visuals by matching; answering questions with visuals and one word phrases and examining situations to give phrase answers.

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Developing ELLs can do the same with longer and more complex sentences At the knowledge level they can give the

definitions. At the comprehension level they can explain in a

few sentences how to do something. At the application level they can explain how to

do something and apply it to something else.

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Developing ELLs

At the analysis level they can explain how something is done for something else and in what way or manner.

At the synthesis level they can take information and add to it with their own thoughts and information from other sources.

At the evaluation level they can tell about consequences, argue different points of view, predict, rate, support their viewpoints with sentences (remember there will still be grammatical and structural problems).

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Expanding ELLs can do all levels of thinking with near-native fluency and a few grammatical, structural problems

They can offer more detailed information at all levels, but still may need more time, have some grammatical problems and may need some context provided.

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What’s next?

Apply language functions to real life situations-BICs first, then CALP.

Set language objectives-determine the language functions and language structures the student will need to participate in the lesson.

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Some functions of language (adapted from J. Hill workshop, 3-5-08, MCREL) Agreeing/disagreeing Asking questions for help, directions, how to do

something, for permission Classifying, comparing Explaining, hypothesizing Inferring Refusing, sequencing, warning Describing, identifying, planning,

reporting,suggesting, wishing and hoping23

Recognize ELLs need specific organizers, sentence structures Teach signal words such as chronological

sequence words- after, finally, initially, now, then, first, last, later, third, second, preceding, next, soon, until, when, not long after.

Teach language structures such as sentence starters-cloze frames; key words for vocabulary; real life mini lessons- teach grammatical usage for authentic context- what they might really encounter-role play, script, re-enact.

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Provide feedback

Make it corrective Make it timely Be specific to a criterion (rubrics) so ELLs

know what to expect Let ELLs provide some of their own

feedback

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One type of Feedback: WORD-MES

Word-MES (taken from J. Hill, McREL workshop 3-5-08)

Provide vocabulary WORDS Model correct usage Expand by using adjectives, adverbs, new

vocabulary Help students “Sound like a book” (use

academic language)

Applying Word-MES

Pre-production/Pre-emergent- introduces new vocabulary through pictures and labels-rain drops, sky.

Early production/emergent- two word combinations, yes/no responses- Sky rains. “Yes, the sky rains and rains.

Speech Emergent/basic- simple phrases- It rains all the time. “Yes, it can rain all the time.”

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Applying Word-MES

Developing- sentence combinations with some adjectives and adverbs- The blue sky darkened and clouds formed. “Yes, the blue sky darkened quickly and large heavy clouds formed. It will soon rain.”

Expanding-Retell, provide information with additional words they have heard/read/seen elsewhere.

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Finally,

Enhance ELLs ability to understand, learn, and communicate what they have learned using mental images that are produced in multiple ways.

The more ways an ELL can remember information the easier it will be for them to recall and use the information.

Use Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences as one way of helping you think of multiple ways to help ELLs learn and remember.

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Recommendations for Classroom Practice include: Provide nonlinguistic representations. Use graphic organizers to represent

knowledge(teach how to use them too). Have students generate physical models of

the knowledge (materials and bodily). Have students generate mental pictures of

the knowledge they are learning.30

Recommendations continued

Use pictures or pictographs to represent knowledge. Have students engage in kinesthetic, musical, visual, and

other multiple intelligence activities representing knowledge.

Teach students how to summarize, and to use reciprocal teaching as another strategy.

Teach students our text structures and what they mean. Provide lots of response time, plenty of practice in small

groups of peers more than in whole class situations.31

SummaryTeachers should: Consider English Proficiency levels, Incorporate Higher level thinking activities/skills, Consider language functions, Language structures, Set language and content objectives, Provide multiple ways to learn and practice of

material geared to their level, AND Allow lots of time and provide plenty of

VISUALS.32