Teaching ELL Learners:
Principles of Effective Second Language Learning — Based on Margaret Early, “Enabling First and Second Language Learners in the Classroom, Language Arts 67, Oct., 1990.
• ELL students’ learning should build on the educational and personal experiences they bring to the school
• Students should be encouraged to use their previous experiences with oral and written language to develop their second language and to promote their growth to literacy. It is important that acquisition of the English used in the broader Canadian society and in school be seen as an addition to a student’s linguistic experience. Attempting to replace another language with English is not in the best interest of the learner.
• Cultural identities should be honoured by instructional practices that recognize the knowledge and experiences students bring to school rather than attempt to replace them.
• Learning a language means, among other things, learning to use the language to socialize, learn, query, imagine, and wonder.
• ELL students show considerable individual variation in their rates of development of oral proficiency and writing.
• All teachers, not just ELL specialists, need to address the learning needs of ELL students and be prepared to adjust their instructional approaches to accommodate the different levels of English proficiency and different learning rates and styles of their students.
• If ELL students are to “keep up” or “catch up” with their English-speaking peers, their cognitive and academic growth should continue while the second language is developing.
• Integrating language teaching with the teaching of curricular con-tent in thematic units simultaneously develops students’ language, subject-area knowledge, and thinking skills.
• Exercises in grammatical structures that fragment language at the word or sentence level and neglect the discourse level are not effective.
Principles of Effective Second Language Learning — Based on Margaret Early, “Enabling First and Second Language Learners in the Classroom, Language Arts 67, Oct., 1990.
• ELL students’ learning should build on the educational and personal experiences they bring to the school
• Students should be encouraged to use their previous experiences with oral and written language to develop their second language and to promote their growth to literacy. It is important that acquisition of the English used in the broader Canadian society and in school be seen as an addition to a student’s linguistic experience. Attempting to replace another language with English is not in the best interest of the learner.
• Cultural identities should be honoured by instructional practices that recognize the knowledge and experiences students bring to school rather than attempt to replace them.
• Learning a language means, among other things, learning to use the language to socialize, learn, query, imagine, and wonder.
• ELL students show considerable individual variation in their rates of development of oral proficiency and writing.
• All teachers, not just ELL specialists, need to address the learning needs of ELL students and be prepared to adjust their instructional approaches to accommodate the different levels of English proficiency and different learning rates and styles of their students.
• If ELL students are to “keep up” or “catch up” with their English-speaking peers, their cognitive and academic growth should continue while the second language is developing.
• Integrating language teaching with the teaching of curricular con-tent in thematic units simultaneously develops students’ language, subject-area knowledge, and thinking skills.
• Exercises in grammatical structures that fragment language at the word or sentence level and neglect the discourse level are not effective.
Instructional Strategies for ESL Students Checklist:
Helping ESL students adjust to the classroom:
Adjusting teaching style:
Adapting ESL techniques to the content classroom:
- Checking students’ comprehension of the content:
- Use sentence strips to Set up dialogue journals between teacher and student
- Plan activities using role play and drama
- Use student reading logs
- Use Cloze exercises
- Write summaries
- Encourage students to write headlines
- Write character diaries
- Have students present information with illustrations, comic strips, or other visual representations
- Allow students to provide answers and explain processes instead of you telling them
Helping ESL students adjust to the classroom:
- State / display language, content and metacognitive objectives
- List instructions / process steps and review orally
- Present information in varied ways (oral,written, demonstrations, with tangibleobjects)
- Frequently summarize key points
- Repeat and paraphrase important terms
- Provide Word Wall with vocabulary for unit/ chapter
- Have students maintain notebook
- Have student maintain learning log for metacognitive strategies
- Allow sufficient response time
Adjusting teaching style:
- Develop a student centered approach
- Speak a little more slowly (not louder ),use shorter sentences, and avoid idioms
- Increase the percentage of inferential and higher order thinking questions
- Provide correction for language errors by modeling, not overt correction
- Use cooperative learning
- Incorporate peer tutoring
- Use the Writing Process
- Explicitly connect learning to students knowledge and experience
- Take time to preview and explain new concepts and vocabulary before starting instruction
- Use questionnaires / interviews
- Motivating students and providing background knowledge:
- Use Semantic Webbing and graphic organizers
- Use Anticipation Reaction Guides
- Have students brainstorm, then record responses on overhead before starting lessons
- Use KWL charts
- Use realia, maps, photos, and manipulatives
- Do activities where students can interact and move around
Adapting ESL techniques to the content classroom:
- Have students do hands-on activities
- Do demonstrations
- Use CDs, cassettes and videotapes with books
- Use a variety of groupings so that ESL students can interact with different classmates
- Provide students with outline of lesson and questions that will be asked before hand so they have an opportunity to process information and participate more readily
- The overhead projector is your best friend– use it every day to model highlighting text, identifying main ideas or new vocabulary or to show pictures.
Resources:
Look at the BC government website
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ell/standards.pdf
English Language Learners: A Guide for Classroom Teachers, 1999 (RB0074) English Language Learners: A Guide for ELL Specialists, 1999 (RB0075) The Primary Program: A Framework for Teaching (RB109) — relevant for primary level only
http://suu.edu/ed/fso/resources/tennesee-esl-resource-center-strategies-for-esl-teachers.pdf
Look at the BC government website
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ell/standards.pdf
English Language Learners: A Guide for Classroom Teachers, 1999 (RB0074) English Language Learners: A Guide for ELL Specialists, 1999 (RB0075) The Primary Program: A Framework for Teaching (RB109) — relevant for primary level only
http://suu.edu/ed/fso/resources/tennesee-esl-resource-center-strategies-for-esl-teachers.pdf