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Definition: The study of words and how they are formed is known as morphology.

Language structure is important in building language and academic learning in that it helps to establish new vocabulary. It also allows ELLs to make connections between their home language. Once ELLs can identify the characteristics that the two languages share and learn new vocabulary, they are more adept at using these skills to read, write, listen, and speak, becoming more English proficient in the process.

Classroom Activities and Differentiation

Compound Puzzle: They will put puzzle pieces together, connecting a word with another word. As a result, they will see how compound words are formed. As they match words they can write them down, separately and together, as another visual. EX. foot ball=football

This can be differentiated for ELLs by providing puzzle pieces that have photos on them. This way if they do not know the word they can still see how two words put together make a new word and understand the meaning. More proficient students will be able to read the word, less proficient may be able to read some words, while those who are not proficient can rely on visuals.

Break Apart: They will be able to work with their peers during this activity. One person will flip a card over and say the word. The other student will write the word on their dry-erase board and draw a line where the word can be broken apart. They will then document their findings on a piece of paper, showing the words together and apart. Then they will switch turns with their partner. EX. tallest means that it is more tall than the others. This activity shows them how words can change their meaning when something is added to them. Like in Spanish, adding the word mas before the word changes its meaning.

This activity can be differentiated by utilizing peer-grouping. Students will be able to work with students that suit their individual needs. This may be another ELL who speaks the same home language but has a different level of English proficiency or a non-EL who can help build language skills.

Inflection Toss: They will have the opportunity to make new words by blending base words with inflections. Base words will be written on one large board and inflections will be written on another. The student will throw two bean bags, one on each board. They will then discuss with their group and decide if the word makes sense or does not. This way students aren't being told they are wrong outright but instead can work it out with their group. Teaching students that EX. eat and est makes eatest and this does not make sense. However, eat and s make eats which does. This activity teaches ELLs that it is okay to practice with morphology and they do not have to be afraid to make words that do not make sense.

This activity can be differentiated by making the instruction fun and organizing groups that would be beneficial.

Prefix and Suffix books: They will be given three that they can flip through to make words. One book will have prefixes, the second will have the base word, and the last book will have the suffix. They can flip through and make words, without needing to go in order. They can then say the word, write the word on paper, or use dry-erase words to write the word that was formed. This activity helps build language skills as it shows ELLs that one word can change its form in many different ways to mean many different things. EX. unpacking means they are taking items back out whereas repacked means they have the items back in again.

This activity can be differentiated by giving them choices. They can decide how they document the words they have created. This can be with dry-erase boards, paper, and pencil, or verbally. They can also choose to work in groups or alone which is another choice.

Activities at Home

Sight Word Game for Kids

Parents will be sent a link to try a sight word game from Spash Learn. Closed morphemes do not change their meaning and many sight words are closed morphemes. They will be allowed to practice their sight words as a source of pre-teaching and re-teaching vocabulary. We will cover sight words in class as well but this will give them an extra opportunity to practice in a fun and engaging way.

This will meet the needs of different ELLs with varied levels of English proficiency in that it is not graded, it is in the comfort of their own home, they can have support from parents and older siblings, and it is an extra opportunity for teaching so they are better prepared when at school.

https://www.splashlearn.com/cpc/ela/sight-words-games?adCampaign=20951682407&adGroup=158895406018&targetid=kwd-318690991409&adTag=games%20to%20teach%20sight%20words&adID=688044900637&ipad_blocker_disabled=1&gad_source=2&gclid=CjwKCAiArfauBhApEiwAeoB7qGy2OmQ-AUhhsHi8Lwuo3OSiJrqOypnOtn7GlDmwbCdkCnBiKkvhvhoCId4QAvD_BwE

References

Morphology in the classroom. (n.d.). Linguistics for teachers of ELLs. https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/morphology-in-the-classroom.html

Sight words games for kids. (n.d.). Splash Learn. https://www.splashlearn.com/cpc/ela/sight-words-games?adCampaign=20951682407&adGroup=158895406018&targetid=kwd-318690991409&adTag=games%20to%20teach%20sight%20words&adID=688044900637&ipad_blocker_disabled=1&gad_source=2&gclid=CjwKCAiArfauBhApEiwAeoB7qGy2OmQ-AUhhsHi8Lwuo3OSiJrqOypnOtn7GlDmwbCdkCnBiKkvhvhoCId4QAvD_BwE

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Definition: Phonology is the study of the sounds in language.

Phonology is important for language and academic learning because without phonemic knowledge ELLs will struggle with understanding how letter sounds connect to words. Sounds can be different between languages and this is an aspect that is necessary when building English proficiency. Not only is phonology key in building literacy skills by identifying what sounds the written word makes but it is also key in understanding accents and sounds heard in oral language, a key to becoming English proficient.

Classroom Activities and Differentiation

Listening to Sounds: This activity has students close their eyes and focus on the sounds they hear. Sounds can be a bell, alarm, scratching of a surface, drumming, etc. The students have to try and determine what the sound was. Later the students can try to determine a sequence of sounds. This phonology activity helps teach them to memorize sounds and learn to pay attention to different sounds.

This activity can be differentiated by allowing students the choice of working as a whole group to find the answer or to walk around and try to find the sound on their own. It's also a different way of teaching sound, other than just identifying a letter and sound together as a part of a continuous routine.

Knowledge of Sounds: Like finding cognates for ELLs, this activity finds sounds that are the same between a student's home language and English. Accessing student's prior knowledge of their home language will allow them to make connections that will help them build language skills. EX. The g sound is the same in Spanish and English. Showing this in the words Go and Gato will help ELLs connect.

This activity can be differentiated by accessing a student's prior knowledge and connecting their L1.

Rhyme or No Rhyme: Students can be asked to give a thumbs up if the word rhymes or a thumbs down if the word does not rhyme. This activity will help students interactively recognize rhyming words. When they come across words they do not know in the future, it will be easier for them to decode them if they recognize familiar rhyming words.

This activity can be differentiated by using a different means of instruction, visual aids. Students can watch the video associated with the Haggerty curriculum.

Syllables-Students will clap out words to determine how many syllables they have. This can be done throughout the day by clapping names, during math by clapping the months of the year, etc. Once students learn how to count syllables, they are better prepared to segment words when sounding them out.

This activity can be differentiated by counting syllables in the student's home language and English, completing as a whole group, and providing different settings for instruction.

Activities at Home

Pop-it: Students will be given a list of words and a pop-it. They can work with their family at home to read the word and pop it out. This activity will not be for a grade but will allow students to practice identifying each sound and may even allow words from their L1 to be utilized if their sounds match those in English. Families can watch this YouTube video as an idea of how to separate sounds. This will help them better prepare and participate once they come to class. By doing so, they will be better prepared to read.

This activity will meet the needs of ELLs at varied levels of English proficiency as it can include smaller words like me to more advanced words like patch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ80oecVk8c

References

CVC words. (2020, August 13). Phonemic awareness activity move the sounds [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ80oecVk8c

Jager Adams, M., Foorman, B., Lundberg, I., & Beeler, T. (n.d.). Phonemic awareness in young children. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/early-literacy-development/articles/phonemic-awareness-young-children

Morphology in the classroom. (n.d.). Linguistics for teachers of ELLs. https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/morphology-in-the-classroom.html

Phonology in the classroom. (n.d.). Linguistics for teachers of ELLs. https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/phonology-in-the-classroom.html

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Definition: Syntax is the basic way in which the English language is set up, both grammatically and structurally.

Syntax is important in building language and academic learning because it is what helps guide students to formulate sentences that are clear and make sense. By understanding syntax ELLs can put words in the proper order so that they build a sentence that has meaning.

Classroom Activities and Differentiation

Noun Phrases: This activity starts with the teacher hanging pictures of different objects and people with various descriptions. Since noun phrases are a group of words that take the place of a noun (ex. The dog with spots), the teacher will have the students partner with another student and walk around the room to write a sentence about each picture, as previously modeled by the teacher. The teacher will then discuss each sentence with the students to determine if it makes sense.

This activity can be differentiated for ELLs with different needs by the way they are partnered. More English-proficient students can be partnered with less proficient students.

Adjective Phrases: This activity will help students understand that adjective phrases are words that are put together to describe a noun or pronoun. For this activity, students will work in small groups of about 5 students. They will take turns coming up with 5 adjective phrases for each of the students in the group. It will be set up like an affirmation station and the teacher will remind them to only use kind words.

This activity can be differentiated for different levels of needs by placing a piece of technology like an iPad with students who need help with translation. Students will also be able to collaborate with their peers.

Adverb Phrases: This activity will be a whole group activity where students are asked about a specific time in their life and will be prompted to use groups of words to describe the when, where, how, and why something is occurring.

This activity can be differentiated for different levels by using visuals. There can be a chart that is made together as a whole group with a list of some examples of word phrases they can choose to use in a sentence.

Prepositional Phrases: Each student will be given word strips that can be put to make a proper sentence. Each sentence will have the preposition in blue. They then will have to write the prepositional phrase on a piece of paper.

This activity can be differentiated for different levels by providing visuals. They will be able to visually see which words are prepositions because they will appear in blue.

Activities at Home

Verb Phrases: The teacher will give an assignment that includes a couple of questions that they have to answer (Ex. What is the boy doing?) and a link to a video that will help explain what verb phrases are. The way the questions are set up should help guide them in responding using a verb phrase (Ex. The boy is jumping).

This activity can be differentiated by the way the questions and images are set up. For more proficient students they can be asked more questions with more difficult pictures to decipher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxhEcNg2pQ

References

ereading worksheets. (2015, October 28). Verbs and verb phrases | Parts of speech app [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxhEcNg2pQ

Syntax in the classroom. (n.d.-b). Linguistics for teachers of ELLs. https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/syntax-in-the-classroom.html

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What is syntax?

When you preview text with your students, do you point out different sentence structures or patterns, to help get them ready to read and access the material? Well, you are helping them with learning about syntax- the grammatical and structural basics of English.

Syntax helps us to make clear sentences that "sound right," where words, phrases, and clauses each serve their function and are correctly ordered to form and communicate a complete sentence with meaning.

The parts of speech are groups of words that make up the grammar of the English language, which include open-class words (changeable and accepts new words, such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs) and closed-class words (function words and rarely accepts new words, such as prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, complementizers, determiners, and auxiliary verbs). In these categories, words can be described by their morphological forms and typical position in a sentence. The following website "Parts of Speech" by Heather MacFadyen offers a detailed explanation and review of the different parts of speech and how they are used in sentences:http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/partsp.html.

Next, we must look at grammar at the phrase, clause, and sentence level. Constituents are groups of words that go together and fit into larger units, which are then built into sentences. Let's look at the following sentence:

The happy boy jumped swiftly overthe rock by the pond.

The smaller constituents (i.e. the happy boy, the pond, the rock- all noun phrases) fit into larger constituents (i.e. by the pond- prepositional phrase), and even larger constituents (the rock by the pond- bigger noun phrase). These constituents follow a hierarchical structure:

Word --> Phrase --> Clause --> Sentence

In English, the 5 types of phrases include: noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and prepositional phrases. Clauses are composed of noun phrases as the subject and verb phrases as the predicate. Some clauses can stand independently as a sentence, and others are dependent or subordinate. Compound sentences can be formed by joining two independent clauses, joined by a conjunction or punctuation (semicolon or colon). To learn more about phrases, clauses, and sentence structure rules, you can look at this section on MacFayden's website on parts of a sentence:http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/partse.html

In the classroom

Tips for Applying Syntax:

Teach Grammar without hindering communication: Encourage students to listen to and engage in English as much as possible, carefully selecting grammar rules and corrections that will support social and academic language development and effective communication, without significantly hindering it. Activities involving more self-inquiry and problem-solving/word sorting are helpful to encourage ELLs to find patterns on their own and develop a sense of the grammar rules and structures. Teaching grammar in context of student's own writing and in read-alouds is a powerful way to make learning about syntax more meaningful, giving them more opportunities to learn what "sounds right."

Explicit teaching of grammar rules and structures may be necessary for students, especially for ELLs gaining academic language. Here is a great resource, from North Carolina Public Schools, of grammar tips for teaching and numerous lessons to tackle those common grammar challenges, including concept of a sentence, run-on sentences, verb tenses:

Standard usage of prepositions and pronouns are challenging concepts that younger students are actively learning, in learning sight words and across content areas. For prepositions, teachers can make these more concrete for students, teaching prepositional words as everywhere a squirrel can go with respect to a tree (i.e. A squirrel is by the tree. A squirrel is in the tree.) For older students, teaching of prepositional words should also include their meaning in respect to time, duration, manner, and other more abstract concepts (It will take about an hour. He did it in a hurry.) For pronouns, ELLs take much longer to develop correct pronoun usage, but modeling and appropriate correction as necessary can help to support correct usage, without hindering communication.

Explore the grammatical patterns of ethnic and community dialects - through literature, film, and audio-tapes, for example - and contrast these with the corresponding features of the Standard English. Students can make such comparisons by translating a well-known or well-liked text into a particular dialect or by writing original poems, stories, and plays in one or more ethnic and community dialects as well as in the Standard English. Such language study and writing can help students appreciate each others' dialects as well as consider which dialects are most appropriate for what kinds of writing and under what circumstances. (from Teaching Grammar & Minilessons - www.usi.edu)

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Tips for Applying Syntax: Teach Grammar without hindering communication: Encourage students to listen to and engage in English as much as possible, carefully selecting grammar rules and corrections...

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Definition: Semantics is the study of language meaning. This is the meaning of sentences, words, phrases, and text.

Semantics is important in building language and academic learning because understanding the meaning of words allows us to put them together in a way that makes sense to others. It allows us to communicate with others in a social context.

Classroom Activities and Differentiation

Hyponyms: In this activity, students will be given cards with the main topic in blue and the cards that need to be sorted under each topic will be in yellow. (Ex. Dog will be in blue and they hyponyms like poodle will be in yellow).

This activity can be differentiated with visuals. Students with limited English can turn the card over for a picture. They will also have access to the manipulatives, which are the cards themselves.

Meronyms: This activity will have an image of a boy or girl and boxes that are placed near different body parts. Above the picture, it will say person and in each box, the student can write the different parts of the body, meronyms for a person.

This activity can be differentiated by giving choices. At the bottom of the page, there will be the correct responses that they can check off as they fill in a box.

Antonyms: In this activity, students will be partnered where they can collaborate with a peer. They will be given puzzle pieces where they need to connect the two antonyms (Ex. open will pair with close). They will then write down the two words that they paired together.

This activity can be differentiated for students with different needs by allowing cooperative learning. It also allows visuals to be used as another form of representation.

Homonym: This activity will be done as a whole group. Together the teacher and students will make a list of homonyms, words that have the same pronunciation or spelling but different meanings. They will then discuss how to use the homonyms correctly in a sentence.

This activity can be differentiated for different needs by showing visuals like the chart with homonyms listed. It can also utilize guided practice as the teacher demonstrates how to look at the word and put it in a sentence based on the spelling.

Activities for Home

Synonyms: This activity will allow students to look up synonyms. They will be given a list of words and asked to find at least two synonyms for each word. A link to an online Thesaurus will be provided and for those students who do not have access to the internet, a physical thesaurus can be provided.

This activity can be differentiated by the types of words given. They can be given more familiar words that are used in everyday language while more proficient students can be given more academic vocabulary.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=thesaurus&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAopuvBhBCEiwAm8jaMfTcJaGRT-YjOMxZz8GKLRg2kHZhLutfDTScpn2gCPHbtvQ2zdX3mhoCitUQAvD_BwE

References

Semantics in the classroom. (n.d.-b). Linguistics for teachers of ELLs. https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/semantics-in-the-classroom.html

Thesaurus by Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=thesaurus&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAopuvBhBCEiwAm8jaMfTcJaGRT-YjOMxZz8GKLRg2kHZhLutfDTScpn2gCPHbtvQ2zdX3mhoCitUQAvD_BwE

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Semantics is the study of the meaning of language. Lexical semantics looks at individual word meaning, defining words by connecting it to actual concept, objects, and other words and by considering...

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Definition: Pragmatics is the study of how language is used in real-life situations and social context and culture have a significant impact.

Pragmatics is important in building language and academic learning for ELLs in that it helps bridge the gap between a student's L1 and L2. Social context and culture play a major role in language and understanding this will help ELLs learn how to socialize with others.

Classroom Activities and Differentiation

Think-Write-Pair-Share: In this activity, students will be asked a question as a whole group. Students will be given time to formulate a thought and then turn to a partner and share their responses, showing how others may respond differently.

This activity can be differentiated by allowing students to work together to collaborate. It also can allow those who are not yet proficient in writing to formulate their thoughts without writing if needed.

Collaboration Poster: In this activity, the teacher will read some text, each different for the different groups. Groups will consist of three students, all with different colored markers. They will be asked who will write the main idea, a quote that depicts the feeling of the text, and the meaning of the text. They will collaborate to formulate responses.

This activity can be differentiated by allowing students to work together, collaborating to find the answers. It will also allow them to look at the text which is available both visually and auditory representation.

Concept Sort: In this activity, a sentence strip will be provided, broken into pieces. Students will be broken up into groups of two to try to put the sentence back together. They will then need to write the completed sentence down or orally explain how they put the text together.

This activity can be differentiated by allowing peer collaboration. Those who are less proficient in writing will be able to give their responses orally.

Fish Bowl: This activity will have students sit in a circle, the fish bowl. Two students will sit in the middle, the fish. The teacher will have half of the students watch one student while the other half watches the other student. The teacher will guide them in conversation and then the class will discuss what strategies they saw afterwards.

This activity can be differentiated for ELLs with different needs by using gradual-release instruction. This will allow the expectations to be modeled to them before they go to work with their partner.

Activities at Home

20 Questions: In this activity, students will take home an envelope to play a game with whomever they choose. On the envelope will be a web address and YouTube topic that can be watched to better understand how to play the game. Directions will also be given that state how the family member or friend will pick out the vocabulary word and the student has 20 questions to ask to determine the vocabulary word.

This activity can be differentiated to meet the needs of different ELLs by translating directions for families that do not speak English. There can be a picture with each vocabulary word as a way to provide visual representation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Z2LsfEH2w

References

Easy ESL Games. (2015, August 15). ESL Game for asking Questions | 20 Questions - videos for teachers [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Z2LsfEH2w

Pragmatics in the classroom. (n.d.-b). Linguistics for teachers of ELLs. https://linguisticsforteachersofells.weebly.com/pragmatics-in-the-classroom.html

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Sentences Frames : Sentence frames are simple sentences that have words missing where students will fill in the words to complete the sentence, in order to communicate their idea (i.e. I like ____.…

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This book by Young Vo gives an insight into the experience of a young boy, a newcomer who does not understand English. This book can be used to show empathy to those whose L1 is not English. It progresses to demonstrate that with time and practice, students will gain the social skills to communicate.

Reference

The Story Rug. (2023, August 16). Gibberish - by Young VO || Kids Book Read Aloud [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVx5r-mjI70

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Gibberish - by Young Vo || Kids Book Read Aloud

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This podcast is presented by the assistant instruction professor, Dr. Pallais-Downing. She has experience working with ELLs in a bilingual setting and discusses topics like the linguistic structures needed for English development.

Reference

Education, A. (2022, May 31). S5-E8: Linguistic structure: English vs. Spanish: Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing. Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s5-e8-linguistic-structure-english-vs-spanish-dr-desir%C3%A9e/id1483513974?i=1000564784236

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Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing is an assistant professor of instruction in the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Having lived in Nicaragua, England, the United States, and Spain, she has experienced bilingual learning across four different countries. In this episode, she differentiates between sequential and simultaneous bilingualism, and the importance of assessment in the home and second languages before diving deep into the linguistic structures of Spanish vs. English. She also offers advice for non-Spanish speakers on the best ways to support Spanish speakers.

Show notes:

Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing - Website

Quotes:

"The way we position students in our classrooms can open or close opportunities for them to shine. When we bring in their knowledge and cultural experiences, we open more opportunities for them to be successful."

- Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing

"There's very strong research on how language and literacy skills are transferable from Spanish to English, and that transfer from Spanish to English is not automatic."

- Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing

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s5-e8: linguistic structure: english vs. spanish: dr. desirée pallais-downing

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‎Science of Reading: The Podcast: S5-E8: Linguistic structure: English vs. Spanish: Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing on Apple Podcasts

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Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing is an assistant professor of instruction in the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Having lived in Nicaragua, England, the United States, and Spain, she has experienced bilingual learning across four different countries. In this e...

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This journal article by Sage Pub is a peer-reviewed platform where researchers are able to come together to communicate their findings on linguistics.  

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Reference

Journal description: Language and Speech: SAGE Journals. (n.d.). Sage Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/description/LAS

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Video: Semantics vs Pragmatics vs Syntax

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Video: Semantics vs Pragmatics vs Syntax

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This video is provided by YouTube and gives a breakdown of the three language structures, semantics, pragmatics, and syntax.

Reference

English7bay. (2022b, September 13). 1 Semantics vs Pragmatics vs Syntax - Introduction to Semantics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDkpwnUybi0

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1 Semantics vs Pragmatics vs Syntax - Introduction to Semantics

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Presentation: The Big Five Components of Language 

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Presentation: The Big Five Components of Language 

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This presentation is in video form and posted on YouTube. It covers the meaning of all five language structures, morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

Reference

Rosie Setina. (2021, March 1). The big five components of language [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWksijf7RJ0