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I chose this tool because it provides a lot of the federal laws related to EB/ELs and how state and local policies apply. This is a great resources for teachers and parents to get research-based information and advice.

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What's Included

The guide includes five major sections:
Part I: The Role of Federal Policy to Ensure a Student's Civil Right to a Quality Education

The Federal Definition of an English Learner

English Learner Identification: Federal Guidelines, Home Language Surveys, and Case Examples

Part II: English Learner Instruction

The Legislation: Landmark Court Cases and No Child Left Behind

Federal Laws Regarding Instructional Programming

Part III: Annual Assessments for English Learners

English Language Proficiency Exams and Statewide Assessments

What are AMAOs?

Exemptions and Exclusions

Statewide Evaluations

Part IV: The Rights of Parents

Identification and Instruction

Assessment and Accountability

Part V: Summary of the Federal Overview
About the Author

Dr. Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D., is the director of the Center for English Language Education with the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, MA, a non-profit organization for professional development, consulting, and educational research, policy, and practice. She consults with state agencies and school districts in the United States on policies, programming, and professional development for culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

In addition, she has authored numerous publications, including Transforming Schools for English Learners: A Comprehensive Guide for School Leaders (Corwin Press, 2011); Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (Haynes & Zacarian, 2010, ASCD); Teaching Beginning Learners of English (Zacarian & Haynes, in press, Corwin); and Advancing Student Achievement: A Comprehensive Framework for Transforming Classrooms (Zacarian, in press, Corwin). Dr. Zacarian was also a columnist for TESOL's Essential Teacher publication throughout its tenure.

Acknowledgements

Our policy section is made possible by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation. The statements and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.

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Serving English Learners: Laws, Policies, and Regulations

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The guide includes five major sections: Part I: The Role of Federal Policy to Ensure a Student's Civil Right to a Quality Education The Federal Definition of an English Learner English Learner Identification: Federal Guidelines, Home Language Surveys, and Case Examples Part II: English Learner Instruction The Legislation: Landmark Court Cases and No Child Left Behind Federal Laws Regarding Instructional Programming Part III: Annual Assessments for English Learners English Language Proficiency Exams and Statewide Assessments What are AMAOs?

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I chose this resource because it compares all of the policies of EB/EL students in all of the 50 states. It includes great resources for teachers like trainings.

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The population of English learners (ELs) in K-12 schools continues to grow. Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of English learners increased in over half of the states, and in 2017, English learners made up 10.1% of the total student population. Research suggests that in their transition to English, non-native speakers fall behind academically, which can intensify the longer a student remains in an English learner program. State education leaders are mindful of this and have implemented policies to identify, serve and reclassify English learners as they become proficient.

This resource provides a national comparison of EL policies in all states. Unless otherwise noted, all information in this resource was gathered from state statutes or regulations and does not include policies in state-level guidance documents or arising from court orders.

Click on the metrics below for 50-State Comparisons showing how all states approach these policies. Or view a specific state's approach by going to the individual state profiles page.
Key Takeaways

States primarily use four methods for funding English learner programs:

Foundation formula (33 states and the District of Columbia).

Resource allocation model (six states).

Grants (six states).

Reimbursements (one state).

To identify English learners, at least 21 states require the administration of a home language survey, while at least 27 states require the use of an English language proficiency screening assessment for students whose primary or home language is not English.

At least 28 states provide for specific qualifications or pre-service and in-service training and professional development for general classroom teachers in statute or regulation.

At least 39 states provide for training, professional development, teaching standards, certification or endorsements for EL-specific teachers in statute or regulation.

At least 24 states explicitly require students to score proficiently on an English language proficiency exam to be reclassified as English proficient.
Some states consider additional metrics, including academic performance, statewide assessments, and teacher observations and recommendations.

50-State Comparisons
Click on the items below to see data for all states
Basics

1. State resource page for English learners

2. Percentage and number of English learners

3. Type of funding

4. Funding per student

Identification

1. How is "English learner" defined in state policy?

2. How does the state identify English learners?

Serving English Learners

1. Which program approaches does state policy authorize?

2. Is parent membership required on EL advisory councils or committees?

3. Can state-funded pre-K programs provide DLL/EL instruction?

4. What EL training or ongoing professional development is required of general classroom teachers?

5. Are EL-only instructors in K-12 required to hold a specialist certification or endorsement?

Reclassification

1. What is the process for EL reclassification?

2. What measures do schools use to reclassify students as "English proficient"?

3. How do states monitor former English learners?

How States Allocate Funding for English Language Learners (blog post)
Dear Colleague Letter: English Learner Students and Limited English Proficient Parents

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50-State Comparison: English Learner Policies - Education Commission of the States

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The population of English learners (ELs) in K-12 schools continues to grow. Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of English learners increased in over half of the states, and in 2017, English learners made up 10.1% of the total student population.

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I chose this resource because it provides guides and toolkits for educators, and highlights the importance of bilingual education.

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NEA believes all students deserve the tools and support to flourish. We advocate for our students by pushing for programs that address their unique needs, and we want educators to have every resource they need to connect with ELL students. ELL students are the fastest growing group of students in grades K-12. As their numbers increase, this responsibility is more important than ever.

NEA was ahead of the curve in 1966 when we held a conference on bilingual education. We said loud and clear back then that non-English speaking students were not deficient. The deficiency was in the materials, techniques, and the schools. Our advocacy led directly to the 1968 passage of the Bilingual Education Act, the first step in the attempt to address the needs of ELL students in a systematic way.

Today, bilingual education is part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which focuses more strongly on closing the achievement gap between English learners and other students.

NEA continues to champion ELL students in the community and the classroom and to advocate for the opportunities they deserve. As our 2015 report on English Language Learners declared, "These are America's students, and the nation can't afford to let them down."

Here are some resources to help educators connect with, mentor, and inspire every child.

"All In! How Educators Can Advocate for English Language Learners" (see downloads): A guide for championing the opportunities ELL students deserve. This report also includes summaries of key court cases affecting bilingual education, suggestions for additional reading, and a comprehensive list of English Language Learner-based organizations.

" Meeting the Unique Needs of Long Term English Language Learners": A research-based overview that provides recommendations for teaching and supporting long-term ELL students.

Check out the English Language Learners page on the NEA EdJustice site.

For more information about working with ELL students, contact Luis-Gustavo Martinez at [email protected] , or (202) 822-7396 regarding professional development opportunities, including ELL online modules.

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By 2025, 1 out of 4 children in classrooms across the nation will be an English language learner (ELL) student. Here are some resources to help educators connect with, mentor, and inspire these students.

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I chose this resource because it advocates for educational equity fir bilingual and multilingual students. It provides many education programs and strategies to use in schools.

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Since 1975, the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) has been a non-profit membership organization that works to advocate for educational equity and excellence for bilingual/multilingual students in a global society.

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I chose this resource because it gives overviews of theories about first and second language acquisition, and shows the similarities and differences between the two.

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Access research journals, articles, books and more | SpringerLink

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Providing access to millions of research articles and chapters from Science, Technology and Medicine, and Humanities and Social Sciences

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I chose this resource because it draws data from multiple languages and the underlying mechanisms of language development.

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We unlock the potential of millions of people. Our qualiﬁcations, assessments, academic publications and original research spread knowledge and spark enquiry.

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I chose this resource because it provides a lot of the rules for english syntax and word formation. It goes into detail about latin and english grammar influences.

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1. In linguistics, the rules of English are the principles that govern syntax, word formation, pronunciation, and other features of the English language.

2. In prescriptive grammar, the rules of English are statements regarding "correct" or conventional forms of words and sentences in English.

Examples and Observations

"The grammatical rules of English language are determined by the nature of the language itself but the rules of use and the appropriateness of the use are determined by the speech community." (Joseph C. Mukalel, Approaches To English Language Teaching. Discovery Publishing House, 1998)

"A moment's reflection will reveal that if languages were not highly systematic and ruled, we could never learn them and use them. Speakers learn the rules of their language(s) as children and then apply them automatically for the rest of their lives. No native speaker of English, for example, has to stop in the middle of a sentence and think about how to pronounce the plurals of rate, race, or raid. Even though the plurals of all three of these words are pronounced differently, we learned at a very young age that the different forms are predictable and how to predict them. Mistakes in usage occur in areas of language that lack systems or are exceptions to the rules. Children who say 'My foots are dirty' are demonstrating not that they do not know the rules of English, but rather that they know the rules well; they just have not mastered the exceptions." (C. M. Millward and Mary Hayes, A Biography of the English Language, 3rd ed. Wadsworth, 2011)

Constitutive Rules and Regulatory Rules

"The difference between descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar is comparable to the difference between constitutive rules, which determine how something works (such as the rules for the game of chess), and regulatory rules, which control behavior (such as the rules of etiquette). If the former are violated, the thing cannot work, but if the latter are violated, the things work, but crudely, awkwardly, or rudely. . . .

"If you say, for example, Cat the dog chased you are not speaking English; the sentence violates the constitutive rules of the language and is thus considered ungrammatical. Hearers might well have trouble understanding you (Is the dog chasing the cat or the cat chasing the dog?). However, if you say He did good on the exam, your sentence is grammatical and would be understood by all, but many people would find your sentence unacceptable; they would consider it 'bad,' ' nonstandard,' or 'incorrect' English. This sentence violates the regulatory rules of English but not its constitutive rules." (Laurel J. Brinton and Donna M. Brinton, The Linguistic Structure of Modern English. John Benjamins, 2010)

The Influence of Latin on the Rules of English Grammar

"[T]he endless versatility of English is what makes our rules of grammar so perplexing. Few English-speaking natives, however well educated, can confidently elucidate the difference between, say, a complement and a predicate or distinguish a full infinitive from a bare one. The reason for this is that the rules of English grammar were originally modeled on those of Latin, which in the seventeenth century was considered the purest and most admirable of tongues. That it may be. But it is also quite clearly another language altogether. Imposing Latin rules on English structure is a little like trying to play baseball on ice skates. The two simply don't match. In the sentence 'I am swimming,' swimming is a present participle. But in the sentence 'Swimming is good for you,' it is a gerund--even though it means exactly the same thing." (Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue. William Morrow, 1990)

Syntactic Rules

" Syntax is the set of rules for combining words into sentences. For example, the rules of English syntax tell us that, because nouns generally precede verbs in basic English sentences, dogs and barked may be combined as Dogs barked but not * Barked dogs (the asterisk being used by linguists to mark constructions that violate the rules of the language). Similarly, Dogs bark is permissible, but Bark dogs is permissible only if the subject is understood--in which case the sentence would be punctuated Bark, dogs! to indicate the normal pronunciation. Still, other syntactic rules require the presence of an additional word if dog is singular: one can say A dog barks or The dog barks but not * Dog bark(s). Moreover, the rules of standard English syntax tell us that -ing must be attached to bark if some form of be precedes bark: Dogs are barking or The/A dog is barking, but not * Dogs barking." (Ronald R. Butters, "Grammatical Structures." The Cambridge History of the English Language, Volume 6, ed. by John Algeo. Cambridge University Press, 2001)

The Lighter Side of the Rules
Henry Spencer: You know, a club needs regulations, bylaws. You guys got any rules?
Young Gus: Yes. No girls!
Young Shawn: And everybody has to be under twelve. No old guys.
Young Gus: And they have to have a love of correct grammar.
Young Shawn: That's not a rule!
Young Gus: You said we could have one special rule. That's mine.
Young Shawn: And that's the best rule you could think of?
Young Gus: I think you mean, that's the best rule "of which" you could think.
Young Shawn: I'm not being in a club with this!
("Dis-Lodged." Psych, February 1, 2008)

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What Are the Rules of the English Language?

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In linguistics, the rules of English are the principles that govern syntax, word formation, pronunciation, and other features of the English language. In prescriptive grammar, the rules of English are statements regarding "correct" or conventional forms of words and sentences in English.

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I chose this resource because it is used a guide based on modern linguistic research and provides clear explanations of the English grammar.

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I chose this resource because it is discussing key approaches like Community Language Learning (CLL), the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), and humanistic approaches.

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I chose this resource because it includes teaching methods like Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Task-Based Learning (TBL), and Total Physical Response (TPR).

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BridgeUniverse - TEFL Blog, News, Tips & Resources

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By Johanna Kawasaki
January 22, 2021

There's no single way to teach English and, in fact, there have been many popular approaches over the years. These are a few of the top ESL teaching methods used in the classroom today, including communicative language teaching (CLT) and total physical response (TPR). Learn more about these and other methods and how you can apply them to a real-life classroom in Bridge's Master Certificate course.

Why learn ESL teaching methods?

There are many reasons why learning a few basic ESL teaching methods is a must for both new and experienced teachers. Here are some ways that learning the most popular methods of teaching ESL can help you as an English teacher:

Demonstrating knowledge of these ESL teaching methods and strategies makes you more marketable.

Discussing these strategies for teaching ESL students and using TEFL/TESOL buzzwords during an interview can improve your chances of getting hired.

Using a variety of methods in the ESL classroom makes you a more effective and engaging teacher.

Understanding pedagogy helps you design better ESL materials and lessons, as you can strategically select activities and use learning objectives that will benefit your students.

What are some popular ESL teaching methods?

Method #1: Direct method

For the direct method, all teaching is done in the target language, translations are not allowed in class, and the focus lies heavily on speaking instead of grammar. This makes the direct method a very student-centered strategy that has gained popularity in recent years.

Students are supposed to learn the target language naturally and instinctively, which is why the direct method is also called the "natural approach." Mistakes are corrected as they happen in class, and teachers reinforce the correct usage of the language with praise.
Get more ideas for correcting students' mistakes by taking Bridge's 20-Hour Micro-credential course: Error Correction in the EFL Classroom.
Method #2: Communicative language teaching (CLT)

Communicative language teaching is perhaps the most popular approach among the methods of teaching ESL today. CLT emphasizes the students' ability to communicate in real-life contexts, and students learn to make requests, accept offers, explain things, and express their feelings and preferences.

Since CLT focuses on teaching language through real-world assignments and problem-solving, it's less concerned with grammar accuracy and instead focuses on fluency.
Promote communication and fluency in your classroom with these ESL speaking activities for adults.
Method #3: Task-/project-/inquiry-based learning

This teaching strategy for ESL students can sometimes be considered a part of CLT, but it heavily emphasizes the students' independence and individuality. Inquiry-based learning is a modern approach that is becoming widely popular at schools all over the world. By asking questions and solving problems with the teacher as a mere learning facilitator, student motivation and participation in tasks and projects is thought to increase.

Method #4: Total physical response (TPR)

You may have heard of this teaching strategy for ESL before, but what exactly is TPR? Total physical response has become a very popular approach in which students react to the teacher with movement, such as miming, gesturing, or acting out the language.

For example, the teacher and students might make an exaggerated frown and pretend to cry when learning the word "sad." TPR suggests that students learn the target language best through physical response rather than by analysis.

Method #5: An eclectic approach

Many teachers choose from the collection of humanistic approaches (TPR, for example) and communicative approaches (the direct method and CLT), as well as many other teaching strategies for ESL learners, and use what works best for them.

For example, a teacher who uses mostly the direct method may occasionally do a lot of grammar explanation when teaching a test preparation class, or a CLT advocate may borrow some aspects of the direct method or use TPR.

Pro Tip: A great way to combine or develop teaching methods is to frequently reflect on your teaching style by using a journal where you write down comments, note adjustments, and brainstorm how you can change certain methods or procedures if necessary.

The list of ESL teaching styles doesn't have to end here! You can find your own favorite TEFL/TESOL method from among those listed above, combine several strategies for teaching your ESL students, or develop your own ESL teaching methods and techniques.

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5 Popular ESL Teaching Methods Every Teacher Should Know

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By Johanna Kawasaki January 22, 2021 There's no single way to teach English and, in fact, there have been many popular approaches over the years. These are a few of the top ESL teaching methods used in the classroom today, including communicative language teaching (CLT) and total physical response (TPR).

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I chose this resource because it discusses strategies such as differentiating texts, creating effective grouping structures, and using comprehensible input.

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I chose this resource because the methods used help students practice both speaking and listening skills in a structured AND engaging way.

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Oral language is one of the most important skills your students can master-both for social and academic success. Learners use this skill throughout the day to process and deliver instructions, make requests, ask questions, receive new information, and interact with peers.

As a teacher, there's a lot you can do during your everyday lessons to support the development of strong oral language skills in your students. Today's post, excerpted and adapted from Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, OWL LD, and Dyscalculia , by Berninger & Wolf, gives you 14 ideas for supporting oral language development in your students who are verbal. These teaching strategies can help students with specific language disabilities (including dyslexia), and they can boost the language skills of your other learners, too. Try these and see which ones work best for your students!

Encourage conversation.

Every social interaction gives students a new opportunity to practice language. Some of your students might need a little guidance from you to engage in conversations, so spark interactions whenever you can. Ask questions, rephrase the student's answers, and give prompts that encourage oral conversations to continue.

Model syntactic structure.

Your students may not use complete oral syntax in informal speech, but encourage them to do so when they're in the classroom. When a student uses fragmented syntax, model complete syntax back to them. This builds oral language skills and gives students practice in a skill necessary for mastering written language.

Engage in eye contact with students during instruction and encourage them to do the same. Maintaining eye contact will help learners gauge their audience's attention and adjust their language, their volume, or the organization of their speech. This will help them be better understood, communicate more clearly, and successfully interpret nonverbal cues about their clarity.

Remind students to speak loudly and articulate clearly.

Ask students to feel the muscles used for speech while they're talking and monitor their volume and articulation. Remind them that clear and loud-enough speech is essential for holding the attention of the group and communicating their information and opinions effectively.

Have students summarize heard information.

Encourage students to verbally summarize or otherwise discuss the information they hear. This should begin in kindergarten and continue with increasingly difficult questions as students grow older. Teach students to ask for clarification when they don't understand something, and emphasize that they can ask you directly or query fellow students.

Model and guide sentence construction.

Some students have trouble getting started with the wording of a sentence. Saying the beginning word or phrase for the student can help the student structure their response. Give students time for thinking and formulating an oral or written response. Students' explicit experience in both producing their own oral language and processing others' language will help facilitate their comprehension of reading material.

Explain the subtleties of tone.

Your students have probably experienced playground arguments related to tone; misunderstandings are common when students are using loud outdoor voices. Remind your students how tone of voice-which includes pitch, volume, speed, and rhythm-can change the meaning of what a speaker says. Often, it's not what they say, it's how they say it that can lead to misunderstanding of motives and attitudes. Ask your students to be mindful of tone when they're trying to get a message across, and adjust their volume and pitch accordingly.

Attend to listening skills.

Ensure that your students are listening by using consistent cues to get their attention. You might use a phrase like "It's listening time" to give students a reminder. Some students might also benefit from written reminders posted prominently on your wall.

Incorporate a "question of the day."

During each school day's opening activities, ask a question to encourage talk. (You can even write one on the board so your students can read it and start thinking about their answer as soon as they come in.) Start with simple one-part questions like "What is your favorite animal?" If a student doesn't answer in a complete sentence, model a complete sentence and ask the student to repeat your model. Once your students are successfully answering these simple questions in complete sentences, move to two-part questions that require more complex answers: "What is your favorite animal? Why?"

Compile a class booklet of students' phrases.

Give your students a sentence to finish, such as "When my dog got lost I looked..." Have each student contribute a prepositional phrase to complete the sentence (e.g., at the grocery store, in the park, under the bed). Then have your students create a class booklet by writing and illustrating their phrases. When all the phrase pages are assembled into a booklet, students can practice reading the very long sentence with all the places they looked for the dog. Encourage them to come up with a conclusion to the story.

Some students may have difficulty with abstract concepts such as before, after, or following, and with sequences such as days of the week or months of the year. To help students learn and retain these concepts, you may need to present and review them many times and in multiple ways. For example:

You might ask students to identify which holiday comes in each month and then review holidays for other months in sequence: "Groundhog Day is in February. What holiday is in March? In April?"

Have students identify the month before or after a given month. "May is before June and after April." "May is between April and June."

Question to boost comprehension.

Asking questions before and after a reading assignment not only helps sharpen oral language skills, it also helps students think about what they're reading and absorb information from the words. You might try the following strategies to facilitate reading comprehension:

If there's an introduction to the story or passage, ask students to read it and answer purpose-setting questions: "Where does the story begin? "What kind of story or article is this? Why do you think so?"

Ask students to predict outcomes: "What will happen? How do you know?"

After the reading, ask students to reveal whether their predictions were correct and identify where the ending or conclusion begins.

Have students summarize the passage: "Who were the characters?" "What was the plot?" "What was the outcome?" "What was the main idea?" "What were the supporting details?"

Teach for oral reading fluency.

Oral reading fluency refers to how rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically students read text. The goal is accurate and fluid reading with adequate speed, appropriate phrasing, and correct intonation. Here are a few activities that aid fluency:

Sentence completion: Read a phrase and signal for a student to complete the sentence. Then read another phrase and signal another student to complete the next sentence. This activity provides good modeling of rhythm and inflection and builds reading group skills.

Round-robin repeated reading: Each student reads a sentence, paragraph, or page, and then the next student gets a turn. Prompt each student to read with rhythm and fluency.

Partner reading: Paired readers choose a quiet, cozy spot to practice reading to one another. This activity provides additional practice after reading in small groups.

Monitored reading: Ask an aide or parent volunteer to listen to a student's oral reading and watch for good phrasing and rhythm.

Repeated reading: Parents may assist with repeated reading at home by asking students to read orally the same 150- to 200-word passage repeatedly over several days. Students do not have to spend more than 10 minutes rereading each night.

Never assume students understood your instructional talk.

You use oral language every day to teach-but some students may not be getting your message. In this chart from Berninger & Wolf's book, Beverly Wolf shares some examples of how students in her classroom misinterpreted sentences delivered orally:

Be aware of the potential disconnect between what you say and what your students hear. Go over your message and present it in multiple ways to be sure all students understand.

***

Oral language is one of the foundational building blocks of learning. Try the suggestions in today's post with your students, and give them the boost they need for future academic and social success.
Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, OWL LD, and Dyscalculia
By Virginia W. Berninger, Ph.D., & Beverly J. Wolf, M.Ed.

Learn how to provide effective instruction for students with learning disabilities while meeting the needs of all students! The first teacher training text to cover all four learning disabilities that require differentiated instruction, this book prepares educators to deliver explicit and engaging instruction customized to the needs of their students. Critical insights from diverse fields blend with lessons learned from actual teaching experience.

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Edited by Judith R. Birsh, Ed.D., CALT-QI, & Suzanne Carreker, Ph.D., CALT-QI

The most comprehensive text available on multisensory teaching, this book prepares today's educators to use specific evidence-based approaches that improve struggling students' language skills and academic outcomes in elementary through high school.
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By Shauna L. Tominey, Ph.D., & Elisabeth C. O'Bryon, Ph.D., NCSP

Discover 45 of today's best strategies for teaching young dual language learners and supporting their families. Includes practical guidance on how to apply each strategy in real-world classrooms!

Quick Interactive Language Screener™ (QUILS™)
A Measure of Vocabulary, Syntax, and Language Acquisition Skills in Young Children
By Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., Jill de Villiers, Ph.D., Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., Aquiles Iglesias, Ph.D., and Mary Sweig Wilson, Ph.D.

Early identification is the first step to helping children with language delays improve their skills. Find the children who might need help with QUILS, a one-of-a-kind tool that helps you evaluate whether children are making language progress appropriate for their age group.

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14 Ways to Improve Your Students' Oral Language Skills - Brookes Blog

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UPDATED: 3/23/22 Oral language is one of the most important skills your students can master-both for social and academic success. Learners use this skill throughout the day to process and deliver instructions, make requests, ask questions, receive new information, and interact with peers. As a teacher, there's a lot you can do during your everyday [...]

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I chose this resource because it uses strategies that encourage higher-level thinking questions to test and improve comprehension​.

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for English Language Learners

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Note: This article originally appeared in ASCD Express: Vol. 5, Issue 11, “Reading to Learn.” Comprehension is the reason for reading, but it can be the most difficult skill to master — especially for English language learners (ELLs). ELLs often have problems learning science, math, or social studies concepts, for example, because they cannot comprehend the textbooks for these subjects.ELLs at all levels of English proficiency and literacy development will benefit from improved comprehension skills, which allow them to:read more accuratelyfollow a text or story more closelyidentify important events and concepts in a textmaster new concepts in their content-area classescomplete assignments and assessmentsfeel motivated to read in school and for pleasureThere are a number of ways to build ELLs’ comprehension skills. Often standard strategies that are used in mainstream classrooms are a good starting point — they just need to be tweaked with ELLs’ language and academic needs in mind! This article focuses on strategies that are part of three main approaches: building background knowledge, teaching vocabulary explicitly, and checking comprehension frequently.I. Build background knowledgeDraw on students’ existing knowledgeStudents may already possess content knowledge that they cannot yet demonstrate in English. Look for opportunities to make associations between students’ experiences and new content. Allow students to use their native language with peers for a quick brainstorm about what they know about a topic before presenting their ideas to the whole class.Related Videos Video bonus: See classroom videos and interviews about reading comprehension in our related resource section and classroom video library!Build students’ background knowledgeStudents with limited or interrupted schooling may not have that same level of knowledge as their peers, especially when it comes to historical or cultural topics. When starting a new lesson, look for references that may need to be explicitly explained.Take students on a “tour of the text”At the beginning of the year and each time you hand out a new textbook, take students on a “virtual tour.” Show them different elements of the text, such as the table of contents and the glossary, and discuss how these sections can be helpful. Explain how the text is organized, pointing out bold print, chapter headings, and chapter summaries. Once students learn how to recognize these elements, they will be able to preview the text independently. Remember that students need to know how to use a tool in order for it to be useful. Learn more about this strategy in Teaching ELLs to Navigate Textbooks Effectively.Use a “picture-walk”This strategy can be used for fiction or non-fiction books. “Walk through” the book with the students, pointing out pictures, illustrations, and other graphic elements. Ask them what they notice about the pictures and how they think those details may be related to the story or content.Use outlines to scaffold comprehensionProvide a brief, simple outline of a reading assignment or an oral discussion in advance of a new lesson. This will help ELLs pick out the important information as they listen or read.II. Teach vocabulary explicitlyFocus on key vocabularyChoose vocabulary that your students need to know in order to support their reading development and content-area learning. Provide student-friendly definitions for key vocabulary.Include signal and directional wordsRemember that students may also need explicit instruction in signal or directional words (“because” and “explain”), in addition to key content vocabulary (“photosynthesis” and “revolution”).Use a “picture-walk” for vocabularyOnce students know a new word’s definition, ask them connect those new words to the pictures they see in the text.Teach students to actively engage with vocabularyTeach students to underline, highlight, make notes, and list unknown vocabulary words as they read.Give student practice with new wordsEnsure that your students can:Define a wordRecognize when to use that wordUnderstand multiple meanings (such as the word “party”)Decode and spell that wordIncorporate new words into discussions and activitiesFor students to really know a word, they must use it — or they will lose it. Use new words in class discussions or outside of class in other contexts if appropriate, such as on field trips. Give the students as many opportunities to use and master the new vocabulary as possible.III. Check comprehension frequentlyUse informal comprehension checksTo test students’ ability to sequence material, for example, print sentences from a section of the text on paper strips, mix the strips, and have students put them in order.Test comprehension with student-friendly questionsAfter reading, test students’ comprehension with carefully crafted questions, using simple sentences and key vocabulary from the text. These questions can be at the:Literal level (Why do the leaves turn red and yellow in the fall?)Interpretive level (Why do you think it needs water?)Applied level (How much water are you going to give it? Why?)No matter what the proficiency level of the student, ask questions that require higher-level thinkingTo probe for true comprehension, ask questions that require students to analyze, interpret, or explain what they have read, such as:What ideas can you add to…?Do you agree? Why or why not?What might happen if…?How do you think she felt…?Use graphic organizersGraphic organizers allow ELLs to organize information and ideas efficiently without using a lot of language. Different types include Venn diagrams, K-W-L charts, story maps, cause-and-effect charts, and timelines.Provide students lots of different ways to “show what they know”Drawings, graphs, oral interviews, posters, and portfolios are just a few ways that students can demonstrate understanding as they are beginning to develop their reading and writing skills in English.SummarizeAsk students to use the following strategies to summarize what they have read (orally or in writing):Retell what you read, but keep it short.Include only important information.Leave out less important details.Use key words from the text.It may be challenging to get ELLs’ comprehension skills where you want them to be, but the extra effort it takes will be well worth it as you put them on the path to becoming successful readers.

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I chose this resource because it used strategies that are designed to help students make connections, understanding, and summarize/reflect on what they have learned/

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Browse our library of strategies that support interactive and engaging learning that helps students make stronger connections and deeper understanding of text and topics.

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I chose this resource because it shows the unique features in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary that distinguish different countries from one another.

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The English language is spoken in many different countries around the world, which has resulted in a multitude of unique dialects and accents. From South African English to Caribbean English, these variations of the language have distinct characteristics that make them stand apart from each other. Let's take a look at some of the major variations of English and explore how they differ from standard English.

List of English variations

British English

British English originated in England and is now used in many parts of the world as a result of colonization. Its spelling rules are based on those created by Noah Webster in America. The words "color" and "colour" are examples of how British spelling differs from the American spelling. BrE uses collective nouns such as staff or team when referring to groups, while American grammar generally only applies collective nouns to animals or things. Additionally, British people often use different terms for certain objects than Americans do; for instance, they refer to an automobile as a "car" while Americans call it a "truck" or "automobile".

American English

American English developed from British English and has evolved to become distinct from its parent language. It differs significantly from British grammar, largely due to cultural influences from different European countries that settled in America. For example, AmE often replaces collective nouns with plural verbs such as "are" rather than "is." In addition, Americans often use contractions such as "can't," "won't," etc., more frequently than Brits do. Lastly, some words that are spelled differently between BrE and AmE have been given unique pronunciations in AmE; for example, "tomato" is pronounced differently depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on!

Australian English

Australian English (AuE) was influenced heavily by the native Aboriginal languages spoken before colonialization and also borrows vocabulary from Irish and Scottish settlers who arrived during this period. AuE has some similarities with both BrE and AmE but also contains plenty of unique features that differentiate it from both dialects. For example, AuEs tend to drop final consonants when speaking words like "film" or "pavement." They also have their own set of slang terms such as barbie (barbecue), chook (chicken), and cark it (die). Finally, AuEs tend to be less formal when speaking than either BrEs or AmEs - for instance, they may prefer using first names rather than titles when addressing someone unknown to them!

Indian English

Indian English is an interesting variation because it combines aspects of both British English and Asian languages like Urdu or Hindi into the flavor of the language. It retains much of its original grammar structure but adds various elements that make it distinctively Indian - for example, InEs often place adjectives before nouns instead of after them as most other dialects do; this is similar to how adjectives are structured in or sentences! Other features include adding suffixes like -ji at the end of proper nouns for respect/affection and using informal pronouns such as tu/tum instead of more formal ones like you/your when addressing someone directly. Lastly, In Es tend to avoid using personal pronouns altogether if possible; instead replacing them with indirect references such as one's self or oneself whenever appropriate!

Canadian English

Canadian English draws heavily from both BrE and AmE but also incorporates elements taken from French due to Canada's history with French colonization before becoming a British colony itself. CaEs generally follow similar grammatical rules to those used by AmEs but add various phrases borrowed directly from French into their everyday speech - such as bonjour/bonsoir for hello/good evening! CaEs also have their own set of slang terms such as double-double (coffee with two creams + two sugars), parkade (a type of parking garage), or Mickey (a 1-liter bottle). Additionally, they prefer certain spellings over others regardless if they follow either BrE or AmEx rules - for example, CaEs will always write "centre" instead center even though cente follows traditional American spelling rules!

South African English

South African English is defined by its pronunciation as well as its vocabulary. It is similar to British English in terms of grammar and spelling; however, there are several differences. For example, South Africans tend to pronounce "th" as "f" or drop it all together (e.g., "fank you" instead of "thank you"). Furthermore, certain words are used differently than in other varieties of English (e.g., a South African might say "braai" instead of "barbecue").

New Zealand English

New Zealanders speak a variety of English that is heavily influenced by both British and Australian culture. This results in a unique accent that can be hard to distinguish from British or Australian accents on first hearing. Some common features include shortening words (e.g., "arvo" for an afternoon) and pronouncing words with a flattened vowel sound (e.g., "bötter" for butter). There is also an abundance of slang terms specific to New Zealand that can be confusing for non-native speakers (e.g., using the term "sweet as!" to agree).

Caribbean English

Caribbean English has been heavily influenced by languages such as , French, , and Portuguese due to its geographical location near many former colonial powerhouses. As such, it has developed its unique dialectical features that are evident even in written form (e.g., replacing some traditional letters with symbols such as ñ or ´). In terms of pronunciation, Caribbean people often use an exaggerated intonation when speaking which makes it easy for others to identify them as being from the Caribbean region. Additionally, certain words may have multiple meanings depending on context or tone (e.g., calling someone a "bwoy" could mean either friend or foe depending on how it's said).

Irish English

Irish English is known for its distinctive lilt or rhythm which gives it away every time people speak it! It also contains elements from Gaelic Irish due to the country's long history with this language - for example, people may use phrases such as "slán go fóill" (goodbye for now) which are borrowed directly from Gaelic Irish rather than standard forms of modern-day English like "see you later". Additionally, certain letter combinations are pronounced differently than they would be in other varieties-for example, "th" can sometimes be pronounced with an "f" sound instead ("fank you", rather than "thank you").

Scottish English

Scottish people speak their unique variation of the language that has been heavily influenced by Scots Gaelic due to Scotland's long history as part of Great Britain but with its own distinct culture and identity within these islands too! One noticeable difference between Scottish and other varieties comes down to pronunciation - many Scottish natives tend to roll their Rs more frequently than others do when speaking aloud! Additionally, there are several distinct vocabulary choices used in Scotland that aren't found elsewhere - for instance, calling someone a "weegie" means they're from Glasgow!

Nigerian English

Nigerian English is spoken primarily in Nigeria and is heavily influenced by African languages like Hausa and Igbo. This kind of English usually employs a mix of British and American spelling, but British spellings are used more often than not. Nigerian English also incorporates a lot of slang terms, such as "chop" which means to eat food, or "mehn" which is an expression used to emphasize something.

Kenyan English

Kenyan English is similar to Nigerian English in its influence on African languages, but it has more influence from Swahili than other African languages. Kenyan English also has its own unique set of slang terms and phrases, such as "bonga" which means okay or cool, and "jiko" which means stove or cooker. In addition to this, some words are unique to Kenyan English due to their origins in Swahili, such as "ndovu" which means elephant, or "mwiko" meaning mouth.

Philippine English

Philippine English is a variant of the language that has been heavily influenced by Tagalog, the most widely-spoken language in the Philippines. As such, Philippine English tends to be much more relaxed than other variants of the language; for example, it often uses contractions like "ain't" instead of using proper grammar rules like saying "isn't". The use of Tagalog words in Philippine English is also common; words like "karaoke" (from karangalan) or "jeepney" (from jeep) are examples of these kinds of words.

Singaporean English

Singaporean English has been shaped by both British colonial influences and Chinese influences from Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese Chinese. As such, it uses a combination of British spelling with some American spellings thrown into the mix as well as incorporating loanwords from Mandarin Chinese (like dim sum) and Cantonese Chinese (like mahjong). It also tends to employ less formal grammar than other variants; for example, it commonly uses contractions like "gonna" instead of saying "going to".

Hong Kong English

Hong Kong's version of the language has been heavily influenced by both Cantonese Chinese and British colonialism alike. Like Singaporean English, Hong Kong English incorporates loanwords from Cantonese Chinese into its vocabulary (such as dim sum). It also utilizes contractions more often than not; for example, saying "I'm gonna take you out" instead of "I am going to take you out". Furthermore, Hong Kong English tends to use less formal grammar than other varieties; for instance, saying "Let's go!" instead of "Let us go!".

The English language evolves due to cultural influences on society; this can be seen clearly by comparing the same language across different regions around the world! While there may be some similarities between variations of English at times there will almost always be something unique about each English variation that sets it apart from any other dialect out there.

While most native speakers will recognize each other's accents no matter where they come from geographically speaking - we still have the particularities that set us apart linguistically speaking too! From South African intonations through Caribbean inflections up north towards Ireland and Scotland - each nation has something slightly different they bring along with them when conversing in their version(s)of the English! Whether it is vocabulary choice or linguistic idiosyncrasies - there's something special about each variation on the global language we call 'English'!

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Discovering the many fascinating variations of English spoken around the globe, a comprehensive list of English variations spoken in different countries, from American to British English and beyond, each English variation has unique characteristics that make it distinc

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I chose this resource because it looks at some of the many varieties of English, including speakers whose first language is not English.

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So far we have been talking about standard English as if it were a single language with universally agreed conventions. However, given the enormous number of speakers of English in the world, it is inevitable that there are many varieties of English, such that some writers talk about World Englishes, rather than World English. This unit looks at some of the many varieties of English, including those used by speakers whose first language is not English.

1 Language change

Language varieties emerge as languages change, and language change is inevitable. As one scholar puts it, 'Language is of its nature unstable. It is essentially protean in nature, adapting its shape to suit changing circumstances' (Jenkins 2003). As it spreads globally, English, more than many languages, has had to adapt to very different circumstances. But even within its birthplace, Britain, it has evolved to such an extent that it is now difficult to read a text such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written just over 600 years ago, without a 'translation'.

To illustrate these changes, here are some short quotes about English, taken from texts written from 1350 to the present day. Can you order them from oldest to most recent? What clues help you to do this?

a The English language as it is spoken by the politest part of the nation, and as it stands in the writings of our most approved authors, oftentimes offends against every part of grammar.

b I am of this opinion that our tung shold be written cleane and pure, vnmixt and vnmangeled with borrowing of other tunges.

c Not only the several Towns and Countries of England, have a different way of Pronouncing, but even here in London, they clip their words after one Manner about the Court, another in the City, and a third in the Suburbs.

d Boþe lered and lewed, olde and onge, Alle vnderstonden English tonge.

e We are walking lexicons. In a single sentence of idle chatter we preserve Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse; we carry a museum inside our heads, each day we commemorate peoples of whom we have never heard.

f Our tong is (and I doubt not but hath beene) as copious, pithie, and significative, as any other tongue in Europe.

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Varieties of English (Chapter 2) - About Language

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I chose this resource because it discusses the advantages of multilingualism for student learning; improved academic performance and cognitive development.

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What is the meaning of multilingualism, exactly? The meaning of multilingualism, with regard to national settings, is the use of more than one home or first language by the local population. With regard to an individual, it refers to their ability to speak more than one language.
They need five to seven years before gaining cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). BICS and CALP are terms originating from Jim Cummins' early works, such as Bilingualism and Special Education . Furthermore, proficiency in reading and writing in the home and host languages correlates with academic achievement.

In a 2019 position paper , the British Council stated that primary school learners in low- and medium-income countries "taught in their own or a familiar language, rather than English, [...] are more likely to understand what they are learning and be more successful academically".

In several reports including a recent study in 2016 , UNESCO has also supported promoting a 'multilingual ethos' and implementing mother tongue teaching in developing countries.

Long-term, a CLIL approach enhances both content learning and competence in the additional language, concludes Pérez Cañado in her study The Effects of CLIL on L1 and Content Learning .

To find out more about research on usage-based approaches to help students learn second languages, read our recent report here .

Cambridge Partnership for Education has partnered with more than 25 governments, with an aim to transform education by implementing evidence-based sustainable solutions.

To find out more about the advantages of multilingualism and other approaches to transform societies through learning, please .

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Multilingualism in the classroom: benefits in education and policy recommendations

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Michael Evans at the Faculty of Education explores research and elaborates on the benefits of multilingualism in education. Read his findings here.

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I chose this resource because it explores the importance of fostering cultural awareness, creating inclusive classroom environments, and adapting instruction for different learning styles.

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Teaching in a Multicultural Classroom: Embracing Diversity and Creating Inclusive Learning Environments

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This article explores the importance of embracing diversity and creating inclusive learning environments in multicultural classrooms. It provides practical strategies for educators, including fostering cultural awareness, creating an inclusive classroom environment, adapting instruction to different learning styles, promoting equity and fairness, and celebrating differences and cultural contributions.

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I chose this resource because it focuses on a key vocabulary words that are essential for understanding the content and using various techniques.

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Teaching Academic Vocabulary to English Learners: A Q&A with Sydney Snyder

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Discover effective cooperative learning techniques for teaching academic vocabulary to English learners with SupportEd. Get expert insights.

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I chose this resource because it shows the importance of understanding the difference between Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP).

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English Language Learners (ELLs, ELs ELDs) face a variety of challenges in the mainstream classroom. Along with social and cultural differences, ELLs may also struggle with the language used in the classroom. This academic language can be difficult for ELLs to grasp and can pose a stumbling block when it comes to classroom success.

"Mastery of academic language is arguably the single most important determinant of academic success for individual students," says David Francis in Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners: Research-Based Recommendations For Instruction and Academic Interventions. "Unfortunately, ELLs often lack the academic language necessary for success in school. This lack of proficiency in academic language affects ELLs' ability to comprehend and analyze texts in middle and high school, limits their ability to write and express themselves effectively, and can hinder their acquisition of academic content in all academic areas."

So what can mainstream teachers do to help ELLs master academic language? First, it's important to understand the key components of academic language. Linguist Jim Cummins distinguished between two different types of language: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP).

Recognizing the differences between these elements of second language acquisition will help you develop effective strategies for teaching academic language to ELLs.

Understanding BICS

Cummins classifies Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) as the language system that a person uses in everyday, informal types of communication. The language used for BICS is typically cognitively undemanding and developed largely through social interactions.

This type of language is typically developed well before students become proficient in academic language; English learners can become proficient in BICS as quickly as a year. BICS is predominantly oral and uses Tier 1 vocabulary.

For this reason, it is important not to judge students' language proficiency on their speaking abilities alone. Students with a high level of BICS might be able to hold a conversation about a familiar topic or converse well in high-context situations. However, they may not have the linguistic sophistication to engage in academic discussions without the intentional development of academic language.

Understanding CALP

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) measures mastery of the rigorous, intellectual vocabulary of content areas, which Cummins states is a key distinction from BICS. Academic language refers to the language needed by students to conquer classroom tasks, from understanding basic content vocabulary and directions to navigating advanced textbooks.

"To me, academic language is when teachers use keywords and important content area concepts when working with ELs," says Dara Schmick, an ESL teacher at Rutherford Elementary School and the Elementary ESL Department Chair for the Central Dauphin School District in Harrisburg, PA. "It is important for teachers to speak to students in a way that promotes language in every aspect of their school day."

Mastering academic language is critical to the academic success of ELLs. Cummins theorized that the development of CALP can take from four to seven years, independent of other factors such as language proficiency level, age and time of arrival in a school setting, degree of academic language proficiency in the student's first language, and the level of in-school language support.

How Can You Help Students Achieve Academic Language Mastery?

Successful understanding of academic language requires a partnership between mainstream teachers and ESL teachers, Schmick says, noting, "Teachers need to all be on the same page so that the academic language is comprehensive."

Working together, mainstream and ESL teachers can help ensure English Language Learners have success when it comes to conquering academic language.

"Some mainstream teachers have the skills and strategies to work with ELs and can use these with all of their students," Schmick says. "However, there are times when teachers are unsure of how to work with these students."

If you're teaching ELLs in your classroom, consider these tips for teaching academic language:

Introduce and reinforce academic language regularly.

It's important to preview text and identify words that might be new to students, says ELLs specialist Kristina Robertson on Colorin Colorado!, a bilingual site for educators and families of English Language Learners. She suggests writing words and phrases on the board and having students write them on index cards. She also recommends using visuals, acting, or synonyms to help students understand the meaning of a word. "Reinforce the newly learned language by asking the students to draw it, act it out, or use it in an appropriate sentence," she says.

Provide opportunities for review.

Consider creating a "word wall" of academic language terms so that students can refer to what they've learned throughout the year. Students can also use journals or word logs to reference academic vocabulary that they've learned throughout the year

Use academic language throughout all content areas.

"As the classroom teacher, it's important to integrate academic language into your daily classroom practice," says teacher Marine Freibrun on Minds-in-bloom.com. "Use the words in your objectives for other lessons, use the words in classroom discussions, and ask students to use them in their writing across disciplines. I also use academic language tickets to have students practice their words after lessons have been taught. I use them for tickets out, as morning work, or as independent practice. Just because you teach the lesson, doesn't mean you or your students are done with the word. It's important to continue the practice throughout the year."

Use resources for support.

Mainstream teachers should feel comfortable relying on other teachers or resources to help ELLs in their classrooms.

"It is imperative that mainstream teachers continue to use professional development opportunities in order to enhance the necessary skills needed to work with ELs," Schmick says. "If this is not possible for them, they can also use their ESL teacher as a resource for their own classroom. ESL teachers are there to not only help ELs succeed but to help classroom teachers with the challenges of educating ELs."

Resources such as Continental's TEAM Toolkits: Teaching ELs for Academic Language Mastery can be useful go-to supports when it comes to academic language and ELLs. The kits feature structured activities in listening, reading, writing, and speaking to help English learners develop grade-level academic language skills.

Academic language is an essential component of education and is critical for success in school-and it poses unique challenges for English language learners. By intentionally developing academic language for your ELLs, you will support their academic success.

Looking for more ESL/ELD/ELL resources for your classroom? Check out Continental's wide variety of instructional materials for K-12 students.
This blog was originally published on September 13, 2017. It was updated on October 19, 2022.

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Strategies for Teaching Academic Language to ELLs | Continental

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It's important for mainstream teachers to know the basics of academic language and develop strategies for teaching academic language to ELLs.

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I chose this resource because it gives detailed step-by-step guide to writing language objectives.

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Do you want to know how to write language objectives? Download the Language Objective Guide to use the graphic organizer with this process. This guide will walk you through how to write language objectives step-by-step. You may be thinking what is a language objective? You might not be sure about content objectives. Teacher talk can get a little overwhelming. I know when I first started I had no idea what all these words mean. Here is a list of commonly used words with their definitions.

A content objective tells the student what they will be learning during the lesson. For example, I can analyze the connections and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events in a text. A language objective tells how the students will learn and/or demonstrate their learning through the four domains of language. The four domains of language are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Here is an example of a language objective: I can write the connections between events in a text.

If you were anything like me, I was confused on how to write language objectives. Here is a step by step process of how to write a language objective. Remember to ask yourself "How will the students show me through reading, listening, speaking, and writing that they understand the content objective?" Below is a video that I made that explains in detail how to write a language objective.

1. Identify the content objective. What do you want the students to learn from the lesson?

2. Think about where your students are in their language learning process. Even in mainstream classrooms where are you students in regards to the four domains of language.

3. Identify the domain that you are asking students to do in the lesson. For example, there is a lesson where the students will be presenting to the class. The domain you are asking them to demonstrate their understanding would be speaking.

Now that you have gathered the information above here is how you write the language objective:

Sample Language Objective (Writing): I can summarize " Little Red Riding Hood" using sentence frames with a partner.

1. Download the Language Objective Guide to use the graphic organizer with this process.

2. Looking at the chart identify the language domain you will be using in class (Listening, Reading, Speaking, and/or Writing)

3. Find the action verb that you will be using. The action verbs vary based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Use the chart in this document to help you in deciding on the action verb.

4. What is the topic of the lesson?

5. Include any scaffolds/supports you will have for the students. A scaffold is teacher added supports for the students so they can master the objective of the lesson.

Take a sneak peak into the Language Objective Guide below!

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Language Objectives: A Step by Step Guide - My Adventures in ESL

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Do you want to know how to write language objectives? Download the Language Objective Guide to use the graphic organizer with this process. This guide will walk you through how to write language objectives step-by-step. You may be thinking what is a language objective? You might not be sure about content objectives.

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I chose this resource because it categorizes language objectives into skills and functions, language structures, and learning strategies.

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Reflections on Teaching Multilingual Learners

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Writing language objectives can be hard! Teachers are generally comfortable writing content objectives because those are based on content standards that teachers are familiar with and are sometimes…

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I chose this resource because it emphasizes the importance of aligning math instruction with students language proficiency levels and cultural contexts​.

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What the Research Says on Instruction for English Learners Across Subject Areas

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English learners need to develop math and reading skills as well as their knowledge of social studies and science—even while learning English.

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I chose this resource because it provides practical tools like word problem translation tips and resources for engaging ELLs in STEM.

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Math Instruction for English Language Learners

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Several years ago, I met a high school math teacher named Hillary Hansen who had just taught her first Basic Math course for English language learners (ELLs). She wanted so much to provide the students with the good foundation they needed, but she felt unable to engage them in her lessons. By the end of the year, she was exhausted and frustrated.That summer she had an opportunity to join a district Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) cohort to receive professional development and support the needs of ELLs in content classes. She learned about the importance of language acquisition, building background knowledge, increasing student language production, and explicitly teaching academic language. She began the following school year with a new set of tools and a deeper understanding of the instructional scaffolding ELLs need in order to learn the content while also learning English.While Hillary still felt challenged and was working hard, the second year was much more successful for her and her students. She felt she was providing them with the foundation they needed not only to understand the mathematical concepts, but also to successfully interact within a math classroom in order to learn more advanced concepts.As a result of more effective instruction, her students:Understood the content better and were working together to find creative ways to learnIncreased their participation in discussions and learned how to use instructional supports in the classFelt more comfortable with math and asking questions to get the help they neededYou can learn more about some strategies that Hillary and other teachers recommend for teaching ELLs math in the information below, along with reflection tips and ideas for getting to know your students’ math backgrounds.ELL Math Resource CollectionThis resource collection features several ideas for teaching math to ELLs.Reflection QuestionsHow much math instruction have your ELLs received in their prior schooling?How much do their levels of math background vary?What are some of their strengths related to math?What are some of their challenges?What are some practical ways your ELLs are using math in their daily lives?What kinds of strategies have supported their success or engagement in other areas?What are some ways that collaboration or co-teaching might support your ELLs?What are some leadership opportunities you might give ELLs in pair work or small group work?Learn About Students’ Math BackgroundsTeaching ELLs: Tips for Math TeachersPrint PDF >It’s important to remember that ELLs’ math backgrounds may vary significantly. Some students may have had consistent schooling where they developed strong math skills. Others may have limited or no formal schooling, but may have practical skills related to time, money, or other daily topics. If possible, find out whether students have attended school regularly and what kind of experience they have had with math instruction and with math in general. Look for ways to tie instruction to student interests (like sports) and responsibilities at home that involve math, such as helping with family finances, working in family businesses, and holding other jobs. For example, students from migrant farmworker families may be using math related to agriculture, such as weighing or selling produce. Also keep in mind that students may use other numeric and measurement systems students, such as metric system, Celsius, military time, etc.In addition, Pennsylvania educators Sally Lopez and Erin Minick also encourage educators to:Look for leadership opportunities for all students in math classProvide students with opportunities to “teach” others, work together, and demonstrate what they know in multiple waysGroup students intentionally and with sensitivity, avoiding the designation of specific students as “needing more help” in their grouping, partner assignments, or placement in the classroom(Ms. Lopez and Ms. Minick conducted a book study focused on Teaching Math to Multilingual Students, which you can learn more about from their website.)Keep in mind that veteran educators of ELLs also stress the importance of getting to know students as a key part of supporting student success. For example, in this NCELA webinar, Dr. Haiwen Chu, a national expert on mathematics education for English Learners at WestEd, recalls that visiting his high school students’ neighborhoods provided valuable insights on their experiences and familiar topics.See additional ideas for getting to you know your ELLs in 10 Strategies for Building Relationships with ELLs.The Language of MathAlthough it is easy to assume that many ELLs will excel in math class because math is a “universal language” and students may have had prior educational experience that included mathematical instruction, that assumption can lead educators astray. While computational skills may transfer, ELLs may still need support with language-focused tasks, such as solving word problems, learning (and using) math vocabulary, and writing explanations. All of these skills require a language proficiency that sometimes exceeds our expectations. We tend to think of mathematics as a subject that does not require a strong command of language. In reality, however, mathematical reasoning and problem solving are closely linked to language and rely upon a firm understanding of basic math vocabulary (Dale & Cuevas, 1992; Jarret, 1999), especially when considered along with the demands of college- and career-ready standards.Co-Teaching and CollaborationFor many educators, the challenge of bringing language and math instruction together is a relatively new one. ELL teachers who hadn’t taught content areas previously are now being asked to lead or support instruction in the math classroom, and many math teachers who don’t see themselves as language instructors are now responsible for providing effective math instruction to ELLs. When educators collaborate, however, they can better understand each other’s expertise and combine their expertise for the benefit of students.For example, when planning a lesson, a math teacher and an ELL teacher could collaborate to identify both the target content, such as key standards, concepts, or specific topics, as well as key vocabulary, academic language, and the language-focused tasks students will need to complete the lesson. These tasks might include writing out a proof, reading a math problem, explaining how to solve a problem, or writing out numbers as words. The ELL specialist could walk the math teacher through this process several times so that it becomes a more integrated part of the math teacher’s planning over time. After the lesson, the teachers could identify other areas of focus or clarification needed and share these insights with their colleagues.Another tool content teachers can use is language objectives, which help target the language demands of the lesson. You can learn more about them in the videos featuring Mr. Jesus Ortiz below.Teaching Academic VocabularyVocabulary instruction is essential for effective math instruction. Not only does it include teaching math-specific terms such as “percent” or “decimal,” but it also includes understanding the difference between the mathematical definition of a word and other definitions of that word, as well as understanding the concept a vocabulary word describes.The following example, used in a presentation by Dr. Judit Moschkovich of the University of California at Santa Cruz, underscores why vocabulary must be introduced within the context of the content (Moschkovich, 2008): In this problem, the student is instructed to “find x.” The student obviously knew the meaning of the word “find” because they “found” it on the page and circled it. The student even put a note on the page to help the teacher in locating the lost “x”. The student understood the meaning of “find” in one context, but not in the appropriate mathematical context.I recently helped a math teacher create a sheltered lesson, and I was surprised to find that there were some vocabulary words that I didn’t understand. My lack of familiarity with the words hindered my ability to do the math problem and gave me a deeper empathy for ELLs who struggle in the same way with vocabulary and comprehending math assignments.Following is a list of tips for explicitly teaching mathematical academic vocabulary.Teach key academic vocabularyAfter you identify your target content, identify the academic vocabulary words that students will need to understand that content. Some of these key phrases or new vocabulary words may also be helpful to pre-teach in small groups or mini lessons. Think about:Academic vocabulary (equilateral)Words and phrases needed to solve a problem (less than, given, arrange)Common words needed to solve word problems (train station, dolphin, favorite)Homophones (eight/ate, plane/plain, one/won, two/to/too, four/for, some/sum)Words that students are likely to encounter in other settings (formula, prove)Words that represent a numerical value necessary for solving the problem, such as measurement words (foot, feet, meter, pounds, kilometers)After you identify the vocabulary you wish to teach, use scaffolds for academic vocabulary, such as: Visuals: These can include visual representations of concepts, photos, and illustrations of key vocabulary words, posters, and number lines.Realia (real objects) and manipulatives: These might include hands-on objects related to a topic or small items, such as coins or small blocks for counting, sorting, weighing, etc.Graphic organizers: Graphic organizers are tools that allow students to organize information in a visual or hands-on way.Anchor charts: Anchor charts are posters that students and teachers co-create to highlight key concepts and vocabulary that students will need for reference.Offer students the chance to work with objects and images in order to master vocabulary. If there aren’t enough items for each student, use manipulatives on the overhead or posted throughout the classroom, and demonstrate the vocabulary in front of the students. For example, Hillary created a Math Word Wall that has three parts: key vocabulary, “in your own words” definitions, and a variety of ways to portray a function. For example, multiplication is portrayed by the following symbols: x, *, and ( ).In addition, it can be helpful to ask students which strategies support their learning. Students often can provide valuable information on what is working for them!For examples of how vocabulary can impact students’ understanding of math problems, see the related video with ESL teacher Anne Formato below.Teach words with multiple meaningsDemonstrate that vocabulary can have multiple meanings. Help students understand the different meanings of words, as well as how to use them correctly in a mathematical context. This is also a good opportunity for using visuals and realia. Examples include:YardPlotTableProofAreaEvenPlanePlaceTimesBillQuarterChangeDraw on students’ home languagesUse cognates, which are related words in two languages. English and Spanish have many cognates within academic terms, like fraction/fracción.Use translated words or phrases strategically. For example, New York University has published bilingual glossaries for several topics.Allow (and encourage!) students to use their languages in group work to solve problems, brainstorm, and review material. Students will understand material better if they explain it to another student, and the new student will benefit from hearing the explanation in their first language.Increasing Student Language ProductionThe language demands of math are complex. Working with an ELL specialist can be a good starting point for identifying some of the math demands of the lessons you are teaching, as well as for planning how to teach and scaffold those language demands.As I’ve worked with content area teachers in my district to develop Sheltered Instruction lessons and activities to enhance ELL learning, I’ve told them, “If a student doesn’t say it in your class, they’re never going to say it.” This is a bit dramatic, but it’s true to some extent. When students learn new vocabulary, the opportunity to use it must be presented in class, because students are unlikely to try it out on their own — especially academic words like “parallelogram” or “function”!Here are some tips to increase student-to-student interaction with academic language in the math classroom:Have students translate symbols into words, and write the sentence out. Hillary used this strategy to check students’ comprehension of problems before they solved them. For example, 3x + 4 = 16 would be written out, “Three times X plus four equals sixteen.” This helps students process the operations involved in the question and gives them an opportunity to think through how to solve it. It also gives students a chance to familiarize themselves with important vocabulary words. Writing out the answer to a problem is a very important skill to develop because many state math tests require a constructed response to questions.Create a “sentence frame” and post it on the board. Write the format of the sentence you would like students to use in discussion and then hold them accountable for using it. For example, “The answer is _______ degrees because it is a _________ triangle. (Learn more in our sentence frame and sentence stems strategy.)Have students share problem-solving strategies. This involves asking a simple question, such as, “Did anyone else get the answer in a different way?” Then allow enough wait time so students can think through how their problem-solving process was similar or different to the one offered.Allow students to discuss how they are thinking about math. This is a way of redirecting the lesson from teacher-to-student to student-to-student. For example a student might ask a question, “How do you know what kind of triangle it is?” Instead of the teacher answering and going to the board and pointing out the names and different triangles, the teacher can simply ask, “Does someone have an answer? Or “Would someone like to offer help to Mario?” Allow students to share how they think about the math concept and any tips they have for remembering the information.Incorporate writing activities, such as entrance/exit tickets or math journals. This is an excellent way for students to process what they’ve learned and what questions they still have. The journal or exit/entrance ticket prompt could start with simple prompts such as, “One thing I learned today...” “One thing I still don’t understand…” “One way I can get the help I need…” “The answer to this problem is…” “Something that helped me was...“Challenge students to create their own math problems. This can be a fun activity if students create a problem similar to the ones you have used in class and they exchange problems with a partner. By creating the problem and checking the answer they are reinforcing their own learning.Teach students how to read, interpret, and summarize data. Provide students with explicit, step-by-step instructions in how to read charts, graphs, tables, and infographics, as well as how to describe what they observe in visual representations of data.Model the kinds of writing students are expected to complete (e.g., written explanations). Students need to see and understand what they are expected to do and produce, such as explaining how they solved a math problem. This is a great opportunity for the “gradual release” strategy -- I do, we do, you do.Try AI tools. Consider using AI tools to rewrite math problems for students at early levels of proficiency or to generate math problems with familiar vocabulary that achieve your target objective. Bilingual Glossaries in Content AreasNew York University has published several bilingual glossaries in multiple languages that cover different content areas, including elementary math, middle school math, Algebra 1 and 2, Calculus, and related math terms.Reading and Understanding Written Math ProblemsWritten word problems present a unique challenge to ELL students and teachers alike. In Reading and Understanding Written Math Problems, Brenda Krick-Morales writes, “Word problems in mathematics often pose a challenge because they require that students read and comprehend the text of the problem, identify the question that needs to be answered, and finally create and solve a numerical equation — ELLs who have had formal education in their home countries generally do not have mathematical difficulties; hence, their struggles begin when they encounter word problems in a second language that they have not yet mastered” (Bernardo, 2005).Teacher Xiao-lin Yin-Croft has encountered this pattern in her classroom of bilingual Chinese students in San Francisco. She has developed a very creative way to use her students’ background knowledge of math as a stepping stone for other language learning. She does this by accelerating math instruction at the beginning of the school year and then building on what students have learned in math in reading and other content areas. In Building Bridges for the Future, Xiao-lin explains her strategy:First, we read math word problems; I demonstrate the logical thinking process while translating words into pictures and, finally, into number sentences. Soon, they start to explain their own thinking after reading complicated word problems that involve several steps. They correct each other and argue about which number sentences they should use to arrive at the correct final results. As they sharpen their math skills, I capitalize on their enthusiasm to teach them how to extract the most important information from texts, and move them toward the oral and reading fluency they need to understand and discuss more challenging texts.Even if you aren’t accelerating math instruction, however, there are a number of ways to help students master word problems. Krick-Morales offers suggestions in the previously mentioned article, such as explicit instruction of key vocabulary, daily practice of problem solving, repeated readings of the word problem together as a class, and hands-on activities such as movement, experiments, or drawing to help students comprehend the problem. As students become more familiar with math vocabulary, they will be able to solve problems more easily.Identify key background knowledge in math problemsIt’s important to identify what kinds of background knowledge students will need to understand a math problem. For example, Ms. Lopez and Ms. Minick used this activity with a conference session: Ms. Lopez chose four math problems from her son’s math textbook and asked session attendees to brainstorm the kinds of background knowledge students might have questions about, some of which were relevant to solving the problem and some of which weren’t. Here are some things that attendees came up with:A math problem about a coupon and sales tax at a dog groomer: What is a dog groomer? Why do people take their dogs to get groomed? What is sales tax? What is a coupon? What is “deluxe”? What is an estimate and a discount?A math problem about people receiving a voucher for a free water bottle at a football game: Is football different from soccer? What is a voucher? Does the water bottle come with water inside it?A math problem about a fishing pole on sale: What is “percent off”? What is a sale? What is “regularly priced”? What steps have to be followed to solve this problem?A math problem about calculating a tip in a restaurant: What does “leave a tip” mean? What is a tip? Does the fact that there are four sisters (Emilia and three sisters) impact the outcome of the problem? Why aren’t they using an app like Venmo?As seen from the example above, this can be a powerful area in which math teachers and ELL teachers can collaborate.The Role of Background KnowledgeWhen it comes to background knowledge that impacts students’ understanding of new concepts, students may have relevant experiences to what you are teaching that just need to be drawn out (as in the vignette below). In other cases, students may not have the needed background knowledge. My colleague Hillary found that sometimes her students would get “lost” in a problem simply because they didn’t understand the context. Following are some tips to help in tapping into and building background knowledge of students.Identify connections to your students’ experiences. When planning the lesson, consider whether they might have relevant experiences, and as you introduce the lesson, find out what they know, giving them an opportunity to make connections. They may come up with connections you never had imagined!Modify the linguistic complexity of language and rephrase math problems. Students will understand the problem better if it is stated in shorter sentences and in language they understand. This may be an area in which you wish to experiment with AI tools that can rewrite problems.Guide students to cross out the unnecessary vocabulary in word problems. Doing so allows students to focus on the math function required. For example, one problem Hillary’s students came across referred to a “school assembly.” Even though the meaning of that phrase wasn’t important in the solving of the math problem, students didn’t know it wasn’t important, and the lack of understanding contributed to their confusion.Build knowledge from real world examples. Try to reinforce concepts with examples that students can picture and talk students through the situation. For example, if you need to paint a room, you need to know how much area will be covered so that you know how much paint to buy. Look for familiar ideas or props that can be used to engage students such as recipes, news stories about the economy, or discussion of personal spending habits.Use manipulatives purposefully. This is important at all grade levels. Hillary has found math cubes to be very useful in having students represent the numbers in the problems and then manipulate the cubes to get the answer. She used the cubes and the terms “hot” and “cold” numbers when teaching with the concept of negative numbers. Students would use the red cubes as “hot” or positive numbers and the blue cubes as “cold” or negative numbers. As students laid out the number of hot cubes and cold cubes represented, they could easily see if the answer would be a positive or negative number by which color had the most cubes. A problem such as -2 + 1 = -1 would look like this: The student then removed pairs of cubes — one red, one blue — until they could no longer remove any blocks. The remaining blocks represent the answer. Classroom vignette: A moment of humilityA middle school math teacher was trying to teach points on a grid and vertical/horizontal axis to her ESL students, three boys from Vietnam. She tried many approaches, including visuals, games, simulations, and manipulatives, and was just about to give up after very little progress. Suddenly, a student said, “Oh, I know — same same you drive a boat!” (“The same as you drive a boat!”) It turns out the child had helped his uncle use the stars to navigate a raft when they were fleeing Vietnam and trying to reach refugee camps in Thailand. He explained the concept to the other boys in Vietnamese with gestures and drawings on the board, who knew exactly what he was talking about. The teacher reflected, “I felt so humble. These boys knew a lot more about math than I had given them credit for. I had failed to activate their prior knowledge, and in the process had almost given up.“Source: This vignette is presented in Chapter 4 of Special Education Considerations for English Learners: Delivering a Continuum of Services. Using TechnologyTechnology can also be a powerful tool in math instruction for ELLs. Here are some ways you can play with technology in a math lesson:Look for educational resources that accompany your school’s technology tools and programs. There may be online or software programs available for teachers. For teachers who have an electronic whiteboard in the classroom, there are many resources available on links that can be easily accessed and brought into the classroom.Find out what’s available online. Both PBS Learning Media and Vital NY (Video Teaching and Learning for NYS Educators) on Teachers’ Domain offers an online library of free public media resources. Teachers’ Domain resources include video and audio segments, Flash interactives, images, documents, lesson plans for teachers, and student-oriented activities. (Free registration required.)If students are using a calculator or other device, ensure that they learn how to use it. Based on background and prior educational experience, students might not be familiar with how to use a calculator, graphing calculator, or math apps on devices such as phones or tablets. Give students a chance to practice solving problems with their calculators once you have reviewed different functions. Texas Instruments offers numerous activities and product tutorials in their educational materials.Learn more about how to use AI tools in math. AI tools can be used to generate, differentiate, or rewrite a math problem; create a summary of a lesson plan; and many other tasks. Keep in mind that AI-generated content always need a careful review and edit. (See more in Using AI in Math from Edutopia.)Look for interactive games that offer students a chance to practice their mathematical skills. Nintendo DS has an educational game called Brain Age, which is not language specific. The game provides excellent mathematical training for numbers and tracks results, showing student improvement over time.Books About Math and MathematiciansIn addition, there are lots of books about math and mathematicians that you can incorporate into your classroom and classroom library. You can see a wide range of titles for different ages in our Math Resource Collection.Closing ThoughtsEven if it doesn’t come easily at first, there are ways to get ELLs excited about math. By keeping their language skills and needs in mind when planning mathematical instruction (and by helping your colleagues do the same), you will be taking important steps in helping students master mathematical concepts and skills. You never know — your students may be the next generation of economists, rocket scientists, and math teachers just waiting for the tools they need! Note: I’d like to thank my Minnesota colleagues, Hillary Hansen at Burnsville Senior High School and Kim Olson at Hidden Valley Elementary, as well as Xiao-lin Yin-Croft from San Francisco, for providing many of the helpful math teaching tips in this article. It is inspiring to know that there are talented, creative teachers who are always finding better ways to teach and are willing to share the knowledge.Related VideosHow vocabulary can get in the way of solving a word problemELL Specialist Anne Formato talks about the trouble a student had in understanding a written math problem based on a vocabulary word. Teacher Alejandra Rojas: Why cognates are your “best friend” in math classElementary teacher Alejandra Rojas, who teaches in a dual-immersion program, explains why cognates support vocabulary development in her Spanish-language math class. Teacher Alejandra Rojas: When bilingual students translate for their parentsAlejandra Rojas, a teacher at a dual-immersion school in Arlington, VA, shares some of her experiences as a child and teenager translating for her mother. How to Write Language Objectives: Tips for ELL EducatorsIn this video from Syracuse, NY, Jesus Ortiz, a bilingual teacher, learns how to write a language objective from Areli Schermerhorn, a peer evaluator with expertise in ELL and bilingual education. Teacher Observation Cycle: A Math Lesson on PictographsThis video highlights Mr. Ortiz’s math lesson on pictographs. While the main topic of the video is teacher evaluation, numerous best practices and strategies related to math instruction for ELLs are mentioned in the video. Recommended ResourcesNCELA Teaching Practice Brief: Math (A related podcast is available as well)Supporting English Learners in Math and Science: Effective Instructional Practices and Examples from NCELA’s Teaching Briefs PBS Learning Media: Math LessonsEngageNY: Common Core and MathCommon Core Math and ELLs: Blog PostsDiscovery Education: PuzzlemakerCatherine Snow: Word Generation SMART Notebook Lesson ActivitiesTranslating Word ProblemsColorín Colorado Webcast: English Language Learners in Middle and High School

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I chose this resource because it gives strategies like using realia, visual aids, and familiar synonyms are recommended to make scientific vocabulary more accessible

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Good science starts with a question. Using inquiry science, children discover answers to their questions in the same way that scientists do - with experiments, predictions, observations, and conjectures.

In this excerpt from Chapter 4 of Becoming Scientists: Inquiry-Based Teaching in Diverse Classrooms, Grades 3-5, Rusty Bresser and Sharon Fargason describe some of the opportunities and challenges that ELLs may face in an inquiry classroom and offer guidelines for identifying important academic language features in a lesson. The approaches described are designed to engage students in the practices outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Introduction

Many factors contribute to a classroom's diversity. These include race, culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, learning styles, varied experiences and background knowledge, support from home, skill level, readiness, behavior, and students' proficiency level in English. Because they are among the fastest-growing demographic group of students in the United States, teaching English language learners (ELLs) has become a big challenge for teachers as they try to find ways to make content comprehensible and help students use English to communicate their understanding of the core content areas of mathematics, social studies, and science.

Just as diversity comes in many different forms in the classroom, English learners as a group are diverse as well. ELLs vary widely by level of schooling, parents' level of education, parents' proficiency in English, proficiency and literacy in their native language, and proficiency in English. Some English learners have had limited access to education, and some have experienced war firsthand or lived in refugee camps. Most ELLs are born in the United States, but the level of English spoken in their homes varies considerably (Wright 2010).

The students in Sharon's class are mostly English learners, but they are different from one another in many ways. For example, Diana is a student from Burma who is at the beginning level of English proficiency according to California's English Language Development Test (CELDT). She has had limited access to public education in her home country and struggles with academic content.

Rafael was born in the United States, but his parents do not speak English. Although he is making good progress in school, his proficiency in English is at an intermediate level. Carlos is a gifted student whose English skills are advanced. His parents are bilingual and speak to him in both English and Spanish at home. These three students are examples of the range of experiences, backgrounds, and levels of proficiency that Sharon must consider when she plans and teaches her science lessons.

Challenges Language Learners Face During Inquiry Science

When engaged in inquiry science, children must use language to make a prediction or a hypothesis. They use language when talking to a friend about how they'll set up an experiment. And they use language when they are reading about batteries, reflecting on the outcome of an investigation, writing about the conclusions they draw, or pondering new questions they have.

Language can be a powerful learning tool during inquiry, promoting the understanding of science concepts (Rosebery, Warren, and Conant 1992). But when the language of instruction is unfamiliar to a student, English language learners can experience challenges that may create roadblocks to learning. These challenges are reflected in their scores on science achievement tests, which are well below that of their native English-speaking counterparts (Next Generation Science Standards Writing Team 2012).

English language learners face a triple challenge during science instruction. They must learn everyday vocabulary, content-specific vocabulary, and the language structures that are used when engaged in inquiry, such as formulating hypotheses, drawing conclusions, making inferences, and asking questions.

The language of science can be confusing for English language learners because it uses many words from everyday life that have different meanings. For example, students may know that they eat off of a plate, but in science, plate tectonics has quite a different meaning. The same is true of the words cell (as in cell phone), tissue (something to use when you sneeze), and organ (an instrument). All of these words have meanings in everyday life that are different from the way they are used in science (Wright 2010).

To create an equitable learning environment for English language learners during inquiry, teachers must be aware of their students' proficiency levels in English and determine the language demands of science lessons to plan for appropriate support during instruction. English language learners are entitled to high-quality language and content instruction so that they can use English to learn science and use science as a context for learning English. When we teach science, we are also teaching English, not just teaching in English.

Determining the Academic Language Demands of a Science Lesson

When planning a science lesson, Sharon analyzes the language that students will be reading, writing, listening to, and having to produce. If students have to read from their science textbook or a piece of nonfiction, Sharon reads the text ahead of time, looking for any text features that might pose problems for her English learners. She asks herself many questions as she thinks about the language demands of the reading:

Are there tricky definitions that might need to be discussed or recast in more accessible ways?

Are there grammatical forms that might be challenging to readers, such as the conditional tense: What might happen if an earthquake occurs in a large city?

Are there long, complex sentences that might need to be broken down into shorter sentences for the students?

Are there idiomatic phrases that may be unfamiliar? Are there captions in the text that students might need to pay particular attention to?

Are there transition words used (unless, although, finally, because, consequently, therefore), and will students need to learn what they indicate (Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan 2009)?

Sharon also thinks about key vocabulary that her students might need to understand and use during inquiry. For example, when planning a unit on energy, Sharon determines what:

everyday words students will need to know and use (such as rubber band, wire, flashlight, Styrofoam, paper, battery)

content-specific vocabulary they will need to learn (such as electricity, conductor, energy, insulator).

As she thinks about when and how she will teach the terms, Sharon draws from a variety of strategies that make the vocabulary accessible and easier to learn. These include:

making use of realia or concrete materials to demonstrate usage (for example, using a real flashlight when introducing the word)

creating an illustrated vocabulary chart to help students visualize the words

using familiar synonyms for academic terms (for example, see-through for transparent)

making students aware of cognates, which are words in English that sound similar in a student's native language (for example, the word atomos is Spanish for atoms).

In addition to using these strategies to explicitly teach vocabulary, Sharon models using the words in context and has her students repeat them for practice.

The academic language that students must learn and use during inquiry science is not restricted to vocabulary. Students must also use the vocabulary in complete sentences to say something about their learning. So if a student is learning about minerals and wants to compare two different ones, she will need to know some describing words ( black, white, rough, smooth) and be able to use them to compare the minerals (mineral A is white and smooth, whereas mineral B is black and rough).

In other words, the student is using the vocabulary for a purpose: to compare minerals. In science, students use language during inquiry for a variety of purposes: to describe, compare, hypothesize, predict, sequence, categorize or classify, explain, analyze, draw conclusions, ask and answer questions, estimate, persuade, and identify. Whenever we ask children to read something, say something, write something, or listen to our directions or a procedure during inquiry science, we are placing a language demand on them for which they may need extra support, depending upon their level of proficiency in English.

Setting Content and Language Objectives

When planning a science lesson, Sharon thinks about content and language as interconnected, because we use language to learn about science concepts, and we use science contexts to develop language. "Just as language (development) cannot occur if we only focus on subject matter, content knowledge cannot grow if we only focus on learning the English language" (Hill and Flynn 2006, 22).

When students use communication to make sense of the world, and when they talk or write about their learning, it gives the teacher a window into their thinking. Are their ideas correct? Do they hold naïve conceptions about a concept? Do their ideas hold merit? Language is an important learning tool and a key assessment tool. When Sharon thinks about the science content she will teach, she considers the language that students will use to show that they have learned the content. To help her provide the right support for students, she first sets a science-content objective (guided by the overall science standard or goal for the lesson), and then she thinks of a language objective that supports the content objective.

Example: Energy lesson

For example, for one of the lessons in a unit on energy, Sharon knew that students would be learning about different sources of energy (the science-content objective). She also knew that students would be thinking about, talking about, and then writing about what they think energy is. Because Sharon knew that her students would need to describe where energy comes from and what it is, she set a language objective: "Students will orally and in writing describe energy and where it comes from."

Setting a language objective focuses Sharon's attention on the purpose for using language in a lesson (in this case, the purpose was describing). Setting a language objective also guides Sharon when she thinks about the support students will need when using language. In the lesson on energy, Sharon offered her students a simple writing prompt- Energy is ...-to help them get started on their writing. The idea for the prompt flowed directly from the language objective.

Example: Pendulum lesson

In another lesson, on pendulums, Sharon's content objective was "Students will conduct multiple trials to test a prediction in a pendulum experiment." Her language objective, which supported the content objective, was "Students will make predictions about the pendulums orally and in writing." Writing a language objective helped Sharon focus on the purpose for using language in the lesson (making predictions), thereby helping her plan for linguistic support.

Example: Mineral lesson

For a lesson on minerals, Sharon had to teach the following big idea or science standard over the course of a week: "Students know how to compare the physical properties of different kinds of rocks and know that a rock is composed of different combinations of minerals." The lesson she was going to teach that day from the rocks and minerals unit engaged students in performing tests.

Sharon's content objective was "Students will perform a variety of tests to learn about the properties of minerals." Her language objective, which supported the content objective, was "Students will use key vocabulary to describe and compare the properties of minerals orally and in writing." The language objective for the lesson helped Sharon focus on what she wanted students to talk and write about during the lesson so that they would meet the content objective. It also helped guide her in creating the support students would need to describe and compare the minerals.

Native English speakers are able to perform the language functions of describing, predicting, and comparing when prompted with questions such as, Can you describe what energy is and where it comes from? What do you predict will happen when you perform the experiment with the pendulum? How does mineral A compare with mineral B? English language learners may understand the content of the lesson, but their inexperience with the language can keep them from articulating what they know.

It is also possible that their struggles with the language of instruction lead them to partial or inaccurate understandings of the content. Until they verbalize their understandings, what they have learned or not learned remains a mystery to the teacher and may even be unclear to the students themselves. Choosing a language objective or language function that matches the science-content objective makes the learning more observable to the teacher and the student (Bresser, Melanese, and Sphar 2009).

Setting a content objective helps the teacher think about the science content she needs to focus on. Setting an accompanying language objective serves to highlight the language students will use during the lesson to indicate whether they are learning the science. Setting a language objective also guides the teacher in planning strategies that will support students when they communicate during inquiry.

This article continues in Part 2, Communication and Language Strategies for the Science Inquiry Classroom.

Citations

Bresser, R. and Fargason, S. (2013)."Supporting English Language Learners in the Diverse Classroom." Becoming Scientists: Inquiry-Based Teaching in Diverse Classrooms, Grades 3-5. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Pgs. 61-74. Reprinted with permission.

References

Bresser, Rusty, Melanese, Kathy, and Sphar, Christine. 2009. Supporting English Language Learners in Math Class. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions.

Cloud, Nancy, Genesee, Fred, and Hamayan, Else. 2009. Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: A Teacher's Guide to Research-Based Practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Delpit, Lisa. 1999. Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: The New Press.

Hill, Jane, and Flynn, Kathleen M. 2006. Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Next Generation Science Standards Writing Team. 2012. Next Generation Science Standards. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. www.nextgenscience.org.

Rosebery, Ann S., Warren, Beth, and Conant, Faith R. 1992. "Appropriating Scientific Discourse: Findings from Language Minority Classrooms." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 33: 569-600.

Wright, Wayne E. 2010. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon.

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