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Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

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Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

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This is a great explanation and look at Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition.

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Página inicial Portuguese version

Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill.

Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.

... 'comprehensible input' is the crucial and necessary ingredient for the acquisition of language.

The best methods are therefore those that supply 'comprehensible input' in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are 'ready', recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.

In the real world, conversations with sympathetic native speakers who are willing to help the acquirer understand are very helpful.

Stephen Krashen

Introduction

Stephen Krashen (University of Southern California) is an expert in the field of linguistics, specializing in theories of language acquisition and development. Much of his recent research has involved the study of non-English and bilingual language acquisition. Since 1980, he has published well over 100 books and articles and has been invited to deliver over 300 lectures at universities throughout the United States and Canada.

This is a brief description of Krashen's widely known and well-accepted theory of second language acquisition, which has had a large impact in all areas of second language research and teaching.

The 5 hypotheses of Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

Krashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses:

the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis;

the Monitor hypothesis;

the Input hypothesis;

and the Affective Filter hypothesis;

the Natural Order hypothesis.

The Acquisition-Learning distinction is the most fundamental of the five hypotheses in Krashen's theory and the most widely known among linguists and language teachers. According to Krashen there are two independent systems of foreign language performance: 'the acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired system' or ' acquisition' is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act.

The "learned system" or " learning" is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge 'about' the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. A deductive approach in a teacher-centered setting produces " learning", while an inductive approach in a student-centered setting leads to " acquisition".

According to Krashen 'learning' is less important than 'acquisition'. (See here our in-depth analysis of the Acquisition/Learning hypothesis and its implications).

The Monitor hypothesis explains the relationship between acquisition and learning and defines the influence of the latter on the former. The monitoring function is the practical result of the learned grammar. According to Krashen, the acquisition system is the utterance initiator, while the learning system performs the role of the 'monitor' or the 'editor'. The 'monitor' acts in a planning, editing and correcting function when three specific conditions are met:

The second language learner has sufficient time at their disposal.

They focus on form or think about correctness.

They know the rule.

It appears that the role of conscious learning is somewhat limited in second language performance. According to Krashen, the role of the monitor is minor, being used only to correct deviations from "normal" speech and to give speech a more 'polished' appearance.

Krashen also suggests that there is individual variation among language learners with regard to 'monitor' use. He distinguishes those learners that use the 'monitor' all the time (over-users); those learners who have not learned or who prefer not to use their conscious knowledge (under-users); and those learners that use the 'monitor' appropriately (optimal users). An evaluation of the person's psychological profile can help to determine to what group they belong. Usually extroverts are under-users, while introverts and perfectionists are over-users. Lack of self-confidence is frequently related to the over-use of the "monitor".

The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language - how second language acquisition takes place. The Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not 'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along the 'natural order' when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic competence.

See here an enlightening video by Krashen about comprehensible input.
Your browser does not support the video tag.

The Affective Filter hypothesis embodies Krashen's view that a number of 'affective variables' play a facilitative, but non-causal, role in second language acquisition. These variables include: motivation, self-confidence, anxiety and personality traits. Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, a low level of anxiety and extroversion are better equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem, anxiety, introversion and inhibition can raise the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, when the filter is 'up' it impedes language acquisition. On the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but not sufficient on its own, for acquisition to take place.

Finally, the less important Natural Order hypothesis is based on research findings (Dulay & Burt, 1974; Fathman, 1975; Makino, 1980 cited in Krashen, 1987) which suggested that the acquisition of grammatical structures follows a 'natural order' which is predictable. For a given language, some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late. This order seemed to be independent of the learners' age, L1 background, conditions of exposure, and although the agreement between individual acquirers was not always 100% in the studies, there were statistically significant similarities that reinforced the existence of a Natural Order of language acquisition. Krashen however points out that the implication of the natural order hypothesis is not that a language program syllabus should be based on the order found in the studies. In fact, he rejects grammatical sequencing when the goal is language acquisition.

The Role of Grammar in Krashen's View

According to Krashen, the study of the structure of the language can have general educational advantages and values that high schools and colleges may want to include in their language programs. Any benefit, however, will greatly depend on the learner being already familiar with the language. It should also be clear that analizing the language, formulating rules, setting irregularities apart, and teaching complex facts about the target language is not language teaching, but rather is "language appreciation" or linguistics, which does not lead to communicative proficiency.

The only instance in which the teaching of grammar can result in language acquisition (and proficiency) is when the students are interested in the subject and the target language is used as a medium of instruction. Very often, when this occurs, both teachers and students are convinced that the study of formal grammar is essential for second language acquisition, and the teacher is skillful enough to present explanations in the target language so that the students understand. In other words, the teacher talk meets the requirements for comprehensible input and perhaps, with the students' participation, the classroom becomes an environment suitable for acquisition. Also, the filter is low in regard to the language of explanation, as the students' conscious efforts are usually on the subject matter, on what is being talked about, and not the medium.

This is a subtle point. In effect, both teachers and students are deceiving themselves. They believe that it is the subject matter itself, the study of grammar, that is responsible for the students progress, but in reality their progress is coming from the medium and not the message. Any subject matter that held their interest would do just as well.

References

Crystal, David The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Krashen, Stephen D. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Prentice-Hall International, 1987.

Krashen, Stephen D. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Prentice-Hall International, 1988.

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Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

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Página inicial Portuguese version Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill. Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.

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This is a great paper that explains some of the first and second language acquisition theories!

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This resource sheds light on ELLs that need to be immersed in the GT program!

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English language learners (ELLs) can often be overlooked when students are identified for gifted and talented programs, particularly if tests are verbal or depend on teacher recommendation. These resources and news stories offer ways that teachers and parents can increase ELL access to opportunities for gifted students.

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English language learners (ELLs) can often be overlooked when students are identified for gifted and talented programs, particularly if tests are verbal or depend on teacher recommendation. These resources and news stories offer ways that teachers and parents can increase ELL access to opportunities for gifted students.

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This gives information about summative assessments specifically that help English Language Learners.

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This is an extensive instruction guide on how teachers can successfully teach math to their ELLs.

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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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Duolingo is a great resource that you can provide for learners trying to get comfortable with a new language. It can help learners and give them a way to practice out of the school setting.

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Duolingo is the world's most popular way to learn a language. It's 100% free, fun and science-based. Practice online on duolingo.com or on the apps!

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This is a resource that can help students get more comfortable listening and interaction with language.

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Stories by Gus on the Go Trailer - Turtle & Rabbit - Spanish

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This is a great resource explaining how educators can advocate for their ELL students.

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This is another great site teaching how educators can advocate for their ELL students.

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7 Effective Ways Teachers Can Advocate for English Learners

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Many English language learners who enter our schools aren't welcomed into inclusive environments. Teachers of ELLs are in a key position to draw attention to inequalities they observe and to advocate for their students.

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This website has so many great resources for families of ELL students and how they can support each other.

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Encouraging and Sustaining ELL Parent Engagement

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The following strategies offer tips for thinking creatively about how to engage families around topics or activities that are important to them and their children.Supporting immigrant familiesFor related ideas, see the following:Ten Strategies for Supporting Immigrant Students and FamiliesHow to Support Immigrant Students and Families: Strategies for Schools and Early Childhood Programs10. Look for ways that ELL parents can help with children’s schoolworkDownload PDF versions:This article >Full guide >A. What you need to knowELL parents may feel intimidated by or unprepared to help with homework or other schoolwork, especially if they have limited educational or English skills (Zarate, 9). You can help them understand their important role in supporting their child’s success, however, with a few simple suggestions. (Related video: Reaching out to families, Kevin Eberle)B. ReflectionWhat kinds of support do you expect your parents to give their children in terms of schoolwork? What kinds of resources and educational background (and language skills) do parents need in order to give their children that help? What are other ways parents can help?C. StrategiesEncourage parents to:Provide a place where children can do their homeworkCheck that homework is completed each nightAsk their children to tell them about what they learned each dayKeep in regular contact with a teacher or staff member about their child’s progressAsk teachers about any questions that ariseLearn more about homework help programs through before-/after-school programs and the public libraryRead and tell stories in their native language.D. ExampleMarty Izaguirre is an ELL teacher in Okatie, South Carolina. Her elementary school holds Family Literacy Nights, which take place after school every other month and provide working parents with an opportunity to read to their children in both English and Spanish. Once parents come in, they find read-aloud circles (where teachers read books aloud to a small group), as well as areas where they can go and read with their child separately. The variety of activities provided to the parents allows them to join in an activity in which they feel comfortable. Adults and children are allowed time and space to read together. The school also provides an opportunity for parents and children to create their own special bookmark as they enjoy some refreshments. The events offer parents an opportunity to meet other parents, show their children the importance of reading, and learn how to support literacy development at home (Izaguirre, 2006).11. Look for ways that ELL parents can participate and volunteerA. What you need to knowThere are a number of ways to include parents in the school community and to bring them together with other families at the school. This might include school visits, volunteering, or activities that draw upon their skills and hobbies.B. ReflectionHow likely are ELL parents at your school to sign up for events or volunteer? Do they know about all of the opportunities at the school? Are there certain events or places in the school where your active parents tend to gather? Do you know what skills and talents they might have to offer?C. StrategiesInvite parents to visit the school and their child’s classroom regularly (Houk, 66).Invite parents to speak with their child’s class about their native country, a hobby, or their job.Encourage teachers to have an inviting activity ready for visiting parents.Encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom, main office, lunchroom, or library; during events or field trips; or in a student club or after-school program (Meyers, 45). (Keep in mind that volunteering may include simple things like preparing items for an activity — such as cutting out shapes and organizing supplies.) Find out what your parents’ skills and hobbies are, and look for ways to draw on their talents.Find ways to bring ELL and non-ELL families together through student performances, a student cultures night, storytelling, workshops, and exhibits (Meyers, 46). Your families might just realize that they have more in common than you — and they — originally thought!D. ExamplesIndiana teacher Miriam Soto-Pressley invites the parents of her ELLs into her classroom during reading time. The parents follow along with their children and they learn about read-alouds and how to interact with text. This helps them work with their children at home to increase reading comprehension.A group of Latino parents at a preschool center in Florida who frequently sat outside in the sun waiting for their children each afternoon built a parent gazebo for the center, as well as a butterfly garden (Alvarado, 2010).Following the arrival of a new group of students from El Salvador and Puerto Rico to a school in Massachusetts, a group of teachers decided to organize a school play that would be performed in Spanish. They distributed bilingual flyers to tell parents about auditions and asked parents to help with costumes and refreshments (based on earlier conversations they had had with the parents). On opening night, the auditorium was filled, and the school held multiple performances to accommodate parents’ different work schedules. Word soon spread around the community about the play, and the students were invited to perform at other schools. By the final performance, more parent volunteers were participating in the school community than at any other time in the school’s history (Zacarian, 119).12. Think outside the box about parent engagementA. What you need to knowOne of the most important steps in engaging ELL parents is to realize that they may be coming from a very different cultural perspective when it comes to the educational system and their role in their child’s education (Houk, 60). This may be due, in part, to:Deep respect for teachers: Many ELLs come from cultures which revere teaching and where the teachers are considered the experts, not the parents. As a result, parents may be reluctant to ask questions so as not to question the teacher’s authority, or they may assume that the schools don’t want them to “interfere” in their child’s education. Upon arrival in the U.S., newcomer parents may wonder why they are suddenly a school partner, and why in fact the school is asking the parent to do the teacher’s job. As Betty Alford and Mary Catherine Niño note in Leading Academic Achievement for English Language Learners: A Guide for Principals, you wouldn’t expect a doctor to ask the parents which medical procedure they would recommend for their child (80), and ELL parents may feel the same way about what their school is asking them to do.Education vs. educación: These parents are likely to see an entirely different role for themselves in their child’s education (Hori, 40). For Latino families, the idea of educación focuses on a child’s personal and moral development, which has an important impact on the child’s academic development. The authors of Understanding Latino Parental Involvement in Education: Perceptions, Expectations, and Recommendations note that, when asked, ”(Latino) parents believed that monitoring their children’s lives and providing moral guidance resulted in good classroom behavior, which in turn allowed for greater academic learning opportunities (9).“The group vs. the individual: It’s also important to keep in mind that many cultures outside of the U.S. are oriented more towards the group (the family, the class, the society, etc.) than the individual. In their book Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students’ Cultural Strengths, Carrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull explore this concept as it relates to the Latino ideas of educación:One’s social behavior in a group (such as the family or the classroom) is of paramount concern; being a respectful contributor to group well-being rather than focusing on one’s own achievement is highly valued. So when immigrant Latino parents come for a parent-teacher conference, their first question is likely to be ”¿Cómo se porta mi hijo/hija?” (“How is my son/daughter behaving?”). A teacher may find it difficult to stifle her consternation after hearing the same question from 25 or 30 sets of parents, believing that all the parents care about is their child’s behavior, when the teacher’s goal is to discuss the child’s academic progress (13-14).Nevertheless, what looks like a lack of interest to the teacher actually reflects a deep interest on the part of the parent in the child’s personal development and how this will affect the child’s ability to be successful in the classroom.B. ReflectionMake a list of five things you hope or expect that “involved” parents will do at your school. What do parents need to know in order to participate in these events? What challenges might ELL parents face in participating in these events?C. StrategiesForm small focus groups with ELL parents and an interpreter. Ask the parents:How they define their role in their child’s educationWhat their concerns, priorities, and hopes are regarding their childWhat kinds of events they would be interested in attendingThe obstacles that discourage them from participating and changes that would helpEvents where being part of a larger group might make them feel more comfortable.D. ExampleCarrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull share the example of a teacher who redesigned her parent-teacher conferences into group conferences for her Latino parents. She divided children by ability levels and met with the parents of children in similar levels at the same time. She also offered both English and Spanish groups. She explained report card formats, grading, her expectations for students, and what parents could do to help. Parents then had the opportunity for a personal consultation after the group discussion. One of the key benefits was that parents’ questions helped each other as they felt confident to speak up in a less threatening environment. She saw all twenty-eight parents in three days (62).13. Consider alternative schedules, locations, and kinds of eventsA. What you need to knowSometimes, when families can’t come to the school, the school has to go to the families. Meeting families in other settings such as community centers or churches can provide an informal way to start building a relationship, especially if ELL parents feel shy or nervous about going to the school. In addition, going into the community indicates a strong level of commitment on the part of the school to the families (Alford & Niño, 86). You might also try planning parent or family events around the schedules of the families, especially if they are working a couple of jobs or shifts.B. ReflectionDo you experience low attendance at family events held at school? Have you ever held any school events in the community? Were they successful? Why or why not?C. StrategiesVisit your students’ neighborhoods. Find out where families are congregating and who local community leaders are that can connect you with parents.Collaborate with apartment complex managers to make a recreation room available for families.Plan events in the community and put them on the school calendar before the school year starts, setting aside funds, such as Title I or Title III grants, to provide support for the events.Consider giving parents a few different options for meeting times based on teacher availability.Consider contacting parents’ employers about parent schedules or holding conferences closer to parents’ workplaces.Don’t limit yourself to meetings. Ask your families what kinds of events they would find enjoyable, beneficial, and convenient.Consider group parent-teacher conferences. Families may feel more comfortable in a group, and it can be an efficient option -- you provide the key information once, and then can have brief conversations with individual parents.D. ExamplesIn Philadelphia, a preschool held a parent meeting in the afternoon for parents who worked in the food service industry in the evening. More than twenty parents (mostly fathers) came to the meeting (Alvarado, 2010) to discuss their children’s preschool program.In Oregon, parent liaison Ma’Lena Wirth wrote a letter to her parents’ employers, sharing her goals for building a stronger partnership with the families and explaining that most parents couldn’t attend conferences due to their work schedule. As a result, the employer agreed to give parents time off for school events if the events started after the employer’s busy season.In New York, Susan Lafond held parent-teacher-translator conferences at the food court where her students’ parents worked so that parents could take turns coming to meet with her.In Colorado, Becky Corr made an appointment at the salon where her student’s father worked with him specifically to talk about the student’s college application.In California, a group of teachers organized a meeting for the school’s Hmong and Cambodian parents (whose people had been farmers for many generations), in which they would discuss the creation of a new school garden. The teachers were disappointed when just a few parents attended the meeting, and they took that as a sign that there was little interest in the garden. On garden day, however, eighty family members arrived with hoes and dug up the garden in a single day. As one of the parents said, “We don’t do meetings. We do gardens” (Ferlazzo, 45).14. Look for the successesA. What you need to knowEncourage your staff to look for all of the different ways, big and small, that ELLs’ families (including parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives) support their children’s well-being and education. For example, different relatives may be involved in taking the children to school and picking them up, providing child care, or making sure that they are getting fed and getting a good night’s sleep. While we expect all families to manage these responsibilities, ELL families may be going to extraordinary lengths to meet their children’s basic needs. In addition, older ELLs have a lot of responsibilities in their family, including working, taking care of siblings, and translating for their parents. What looks like laziness, irresponsibility, or absenteeism may in fact be the result of a lot of responsibility at home.Some of the successes and strengths of ELL students and families may include:Commitment to the family’s well-beingHigh expectations for childrenMaking education a priorityRespect for the teacherGood attendance and behaviorWell-developed cooperation skillsA strong sense of responsibility one’s self and othersResourcefulnessNote: ELLs’ parents might be largely absent from the picture, whether it’s because of difficult work schedules or a family separation (or worse) that happened before moving to this country.B. ReflectionWhat is a typical day like for your ELL students? Does that differ from the typical day of your other students? Where are they sleeping? Who is taking care of them? How do they get to school every day? What do they do after school? What challenges are they facing in their daily lives?C. StrategiesLearn what you can about your ELLs’ routines (which will vary tremendously), including the responsibilities they have in their families. Share what you learn with your staff (observing confidentiality rules) and encourage your staff to look for all of the ways, big and small, that ELLs’ families and extended families are supporting their children’s well-being and education.Find out whether these responsibilities are taking a toll on students’ school work or health, and if so, brainstorm some ideas with staff members about possible solutions.D. ExamplesSusan Lafond notes that her elementary ESL teachers had students whose families brought them to the restaurant or family store where they worked so the children wouldn’t be home alone. The kids helped out on the phone or register and did homework until the parents closed for the evening, which was often 9:00 PM or later.Kristina Robertson remembers a 3rd-grade student named Lisbeth. Lisbeth was very conscientious and came to school with neat clothing, clean and braided hair, and notebooks and pencils ready to go. When the staff did home visits, they were welcomed graciously by Lisbeth’s parents to their home. In the apartment for a family with four children, the only furniture consisted of two chairs, a kitchen table, and a mattress. The parents spoke about the importance of their children’s education and explained that every night they had their children do their homework at that kitchen table even though the parents didn’t understand English. The teachers, who had been unaware of the family’s limited circumstances, were incredibly moved by what they saw and developed a new appreciation for the parents’ commitment to their children’s education.Kristina also shares the experience of a 2nd-grade student who was missing school frequently. Kristina soon discovered that she was helping her mom (a single mom) babysit her younger siblings since they didn’t have regular childcare. The staff met with the mom and helped her find resources to provide affordable childcare support.Finally, Kristina remembers her high school students who attended school from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.., and then worked from 4:00 p.m. until midnight. All of their money supported their relatives here and in their home country, so they never had extra money (or time) for special activities. Homework was a struggle, but in Kristina’s eyes, her colleagues’ attitudes were the most difficult challenges to overcome. Once teachers discovered why the students were coming to class so tired and how hard they were working, however, they worked to modify assignments and help the students.< Communicating Important InformationParents as Leaders >

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This toolkit can act as a guide for families in learning to support their students.

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Apps for Speech and Language Development

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Apps for Speech and Language Development

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This can provide students or parents with apps that further language development.

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Written by Natalie Erling M.A., CCC-SLP

We live in a world run by technology. There is no denying that kids are much more tech-savvy now than they ever were. I often get the questions, "how much is too much?" and, "what are some GOOD apps for my kids to use?" There are some fantastic apps that are available to you that can help support your child's speech and language development and all the skills that go along with it (academic, fine motor, social skills). Provided below is a list along with ideas on how to help your child use them to learn and grow. Please note, these apps are not a replacement for therapy. If you have concerns about your child's speech and language development, contact us at Ally Pediatric Therapy and we can help! A skilled speech-language pathologist will conduct an evaluation to determine if a speech or language delay/disorder is present and warrants therapy.

How much is too much? Stick with the saying "everything in moderation." This is the key to technology and iPad use for children. While some apps (like the ones in this post) can be helpful and educational for children, too much screen time may mean they aren't getting the social interaction that is necessary for development. Nothing replaces conversations, reading, and playing with your child. You are an important part of their exposure to this world through communication!

Receptive/Expressive Language Development

My PlayHome apps (Hospital, School, Home, and Store) are a fantastic way to help kids grow their language and vocabulary like understanding items in a category, how items go together, making connections in their own home, and typical places they may visit. It also helps with cause and effect as the app is very interactive and everything in the buildings, "work." Kids love it and are a favorite amongst my patients here at the clinic. Playing with your child is a great opportunity for you to elicit some expressive and receptive language responses. Asking "wh" questions while your child plays and creates can help connect the understanding of new vocabulary and concepts. Stick with the basics: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Understanding spatial concepts (in, under, on, next to), quantitative (more, less, many, few) are foundational for following directions. Additionally, when you ask your children "wh" questions you are eliciting expressive language by giving them opportunities to share and respond.

Following Directions and Basic Concepts

With this app underwater life comes to your living room! Kids can learn about new animals and objects under the sea while creating scenes with interactive characters.

Vocabulary

Sort It Out 1, Sort It Out 2: With this app children can put items into categories and group them based on function, description, where they are located, shape, size, and color. This is a great way to practice how objects are related which in turn helps to build vocabulary.

Opposites 1: Children can learn early opposites with this game; this is a very important beginning vocabulary skill.

Grammar and Syntax

Super Duper Inc "Pronoun": I have a lot of parents who ask me about pronoun use. Does your child say "My like that" instead of "I like that"? Or do they use he/she or him/her incorrectly? Here is an app that helps children learn all of the main subjective and objective pronouns.

Early Literacy and Spelling

ABC-My 1st Words: This is an engaging and fun app geared towards kids ages 4-7. It helps them learn early words that are functional to their world while building literacy and spelling skills.

Speech Articulation

Speech Stickers: While using this app, children can listen to and repeat different sounds while keeping track of their productions with fun stickers.

Social-Emotional/Self-Regulation

Sesame Street's "Breathe" App: This app gives a child real-time help through difficult emotions. Choose the appropriate situation or event and cute cuddly monsters help walk you through breathing exercises and problem-solving techniques. Great for preschool or early elementary!
Natalie Erling M.A., CCC-SLP, is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist at Ally Pediatric Therapy. Her clinical focus includes treating patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disorders, apraxia therapy, feeding and swallowing, language disorders and speech sound disorders.

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Technology for Speech and Language Development: Apps for Kids

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Written by Natalie Erling M.A., CCC-SLP We live in a world run by technology. There is no denying that kids are much more tech-savvy now than they ever were. I often get the questions, "how much is too much?" and, "what are some GOOD apps for my kids to use?"

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This can act as a resource for teachers as it lays out different technology that supports language development for ELLs.

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Literacy Daily is a space to connect educators, students, and leaders with the latest news, ideas, tools, strategies, and research in literacy instruction.

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This talks about identifying students that are EL and GT. It is super important that we have classrooms with this kind of diversity!

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This resource talks about ELLs who also have IEPs. It acts as a resource to teachers on how to accommodate those students.

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Special Education and English Language Learners

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Learn more about how schools and families can collaborate to ensure that ELLs, including those with special needs, have the appropriate support and services to meet their unique needs.

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This provides statistics and information about ELLs in a Sped course.

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The English Language Learners (ELL) population is rapidly increasing in the United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2016) the percentage of school students in the United States who were ELLs was higher in school year 2014-15 (9.4 percent, or an estimated 4.6 million students) than in 2004-05 (9.1 percent, or an estimated 4.3 million students) and 2013-14 (9.3 percent, or an estimated 4.5 million students). Spanish was the home language of 3.7 million ELL students in 2014-15, representing 77.1 percent of all ELL students and 7.6 percent of all public K-12 students. Arabic, Chinese, and Vietnamese were the next most common home languages (spoken by approximately 109,000, 104,000, and 85,300 students, respectively).

Language Proficiency

Title VII of the Improving America's School Act of 1994 provides the following definition to identify limited English proficient students. An individual with limited English proficiency "is someone who has sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language, and whose difficulties may deny such individual the opportunity to learn successfully in classroom where the language instruction is in English" (Rhodes, Ochoa, & Ortiz, 2005, p.1).

Most experts agree that it takes 5-7 years to acquire academic English, or the language proficiency needed to succeed academically and professionally. Students may acquire social language (the language used on the playground or in the cafeteria) much more rapidly, but there is frequently a gap between social and academic English. In addition, newcomer ELLs may go through what is known as a "silent period," in which they say very little but listen carefully to everything happening around them. Even though they are not speaking during this period, they are still in an important stage of language development (Roseberry-McKibbin and Brice, 2005).

ELL and Special Education

Newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Education's EDFacts data collection shed light on the population of ELLs who are also students with disabilities. In 2014-15, approximately 665,000 ELL students were also identified as students with disabilities. ELL students with disabilities represented 13.8 percent of the total ELL population enrolled in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools.

Disproportionate Representation
The disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education has been a controversial issue for more than 30 years. In the early 1970s, Diana v. State Board of Education (1970) and Larry P. v. Riles (1972) were two cases alleging the inappropriate placement of culturally and/or diverse children in special education programs. The impact of these two cases was so significant that Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act created in 1975, specifically required that students be assessed in their native language whenever feasible and in a non-discriminatory manner. Despite the history of litigation and legislation, disproportionate representation of linguistically diverse students in special education continues to be an issue to this day.

Best Practices Identifying English language learners (ELL) with special needs is a complex and difficult process, because the difference between learning disabilities and second language acquisition can easily be mistaken for the other.
As a result, ELLs could be identified incorrectly with a learning disability, or vice versa, their disabilities sometimes may not be recognized due to the language barrier. In either case, these students will not receive the specific services they need to succeed academically (Welner, 2006).

Is the disability present in both languages?: One important clue is to see whether the disability is present only in English. If the student only shows the difficult behavior in English settings and not in his/her non-English language(s), then it cannot be an indicator of a disability. A true disability will manifest across all the child's languages and in most settings. If an ELL "struggles to retell events" in English and not in his/her home language or in a bilingual retelling, then this cannot be evidence of a disability. How does the student compare with his/her peers?: Another initial question to ask is whether the student is making academic progress at about the same rate as other ELL students from similar backgrounds (students who share similar linguistic, cultural, educational, or refugee experiences) and to compare that progress over time

Assessment
Research clearly indicates that many school psychologists are not trained to assess culturally and linguistically diverse students. Questionable assessment practices with ELL students include the use of untrained interpreters, insufficient or inadequate language proficiency testing, and intellectual and academic assessments conducted only in English. When evaluating ELL, the assessment team must include a qualified person with language competence in oral and written skills in the child's primary language. In addition, tests and materials must be provided and administered in the student's primary language or other mode of communication unless the assessment plan specifies why this is not feasible. And finally, once the language acquisition and/or acculturation factors are ruled out as the primary basis of the problem, a determination must be made about the language in which the student will be assessed. Assessors should accumulate evidence acquired through interviews, student observation, and review of background information.

References
Hamayan, E., Marler, B., Sanchez-Lopez, C., & Damico, J. (2013). Special education considerations for
English language learners. Delivering a continuum of services (2nd ed.).

Rhodes, R., Ochoa, S., & Ortiz, S. (2005). Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students. A
practical guide. Guilford Press.

Roseberry-McKibbin, C., Brice, A., & O'Hanlon, L. (2005). Serving English language learners in public
settings: A national survey. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools,36, 48-61.

U.S. Department of Education (2016). National Center for Education Statistics.
Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp.

Welner, K. (2006). Legal Rights. The Overrepresentation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Students in Special Education. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 6, (38).

Dr. Maria Ramirez-Chase, Ph.D.

School Psychologist

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The English Language Learners (ELL) population is rapidly increasing in the United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2016) the percentage of school students in the United States who were ELLs was higher in school year 2014-15 (9.4 percent, or an estimated 4.6 million students) than in 2004-05 (9.1 percent, or an estimated 4.3 million students) and 2013-14 (9.3 percent, or an estimated 4.5 million students).

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This resource provides ideas for different formative assessments and what they can do for your students.

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By Sarah Ottow
The Latin root word for "assessment" is assidere which means to sit beside. In my work as an English Language Learner (ELL) specialist, I advocate for educators to intentionally sit beside their students to more deeply understand and support their learning trajectory at the classroom level. That is to say, I strongly advocate for an intentional formative assessment approach for ELLs.
Schools can go beyond traditional summative and interim measures to ensure a more balanced assessment approach that brings to light the nuanced and complex process of academic language development. By implementing formative assessments for ELLs, educators can develop a "language lens" that uncovers and showcases the growth of this culturally and linguistically diverse population.

Where do we start?

First, we can examine what comprises our current assessment systems in place. We have large-scale, "big data" summative assessments that give us "big data" once a year on student proficiency. We also have interim assessments that measure growth against benchmarks periodically throughout the year, often with the audience largely being district and school-level stakeholders.
These summative and interim assessments provide "snapshots" of ELL performance and are not always reliable or valid on the ELL population. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves if we have systemic, systematic formative measures in place that provide feedback on teaching and learning specifically for our ELLs? Do we have a "photo album" approach of ELL development? If not, we can add specific formative practices into our assessment system that celebrate student growth and provide next steps for instruction at the classroom level.

What are some effective formative assessment practices for ELLs?

What's important to remember is that formative assessment is flexible and intended to focus on feedback for both the teacher and the student. As an initial step, I highly recommend that teachers keep portfolios of student writing samples to show individual student growth over time. Through portfolios like journals and learning logs, student work can be the centerpiece in conferences and school data meetings.
Next, I suggest that teachers work with students to co-create appropriate goals for using more sophisticated academic language. It's critical to promote student ownership of the assessment process through goal setting, self-assessment as well as peer assessment opportunities.

How can collaboration strengthen formative assessment?

A critical step in strengthening ELL formative assessments is to create and sustain collaborative time to analyze student work. Evidence-based conversations between educators about what students are producing can directly lead to ideas for effective student feedback and instruction. Professional learning communities are also opportunities for collaboration with ELL specialists to deepen content teachers' understanding of language and literacy. One final tip is to consider building data walls of multiple measures of ELL data quarterly to facilitate data-driven coaching cycles and team planning. In these ways, we can offer a "photo album" approach to show progress over time, celebrating students' journey of academic language development.

We know that ELLs are a diverse group of students with unique assets and varying factors affecting academic performance. Many educators need support in reaching ELLs and teaching academic language yet they often don't know where to start. By implementing more formative assessments for ELLs with the appropriate language supports, teachers can better understand their students and become stronger teachers of academic language. After all, all teachers are indeed language teachers!

Formative Assessment Ideas

Journals or learning logs to show growth over time in a portfolio

Academic conversations to explain new learning

Cornell notes or graphic organizers to structure note-taking

Student-teacher conference or small group discussions to recount learning

Exit slips to show "I think..", "I wonder...", "I still want to know..."

Fill-in-the-blank or "cloze" activity using sentence frames

Reciprocal teaching

Recording student language through technology

Drawing or role playing

Gallery walk of student work where students give each other feedback on stickies

Word or concept sorts based on unit themes or student-created categories

One word or one phrase response using whiteboards

Self-checklist or peer-checklist

Label or sequence visuals like pictures, photos or realia (real life objects)

Student-generated questions for peers

This blog is part of the Supporting English Language Learners Series with support from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more, stay tuned for the culminating podcast, infographic and publication.
For more, see:
Sarah Ottow is the founder, director and lead coach at Confianza: Educating for ELL Equity. Follow Confianza on Twitter: @ELL_Confianza Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update. This post includes mentions of a Getting Smart partner. For a full list of partners, affiliate organizations and all other disclosures please see our Partner page.

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Supporting English Language Learners with Formative Assessments

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By Sarah Ottow - By implementing formative assessments for ELLs, educators can develop a "language lens" that uncovers and showcases their growth.

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This video demonstrates using assessments for students benefit.

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In this video, Ms. Samantha Kirch demonstrates the ways she uses informal assessment to gauge student understanding, as well as the kinds of support offered to ELLs who need some extra practice with the concept of drawing conclusions.

School Name: Claremont Immersion Elementary School, Arlington, Virginia

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Assessment for English Language Learners

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In this video, Ms. Samantha Kirch demonstrates the ways she uses informal assessment to gauge student understanding, as well as the kinds of support offered to ELLs who need some extra practice with the concept of drawing conclusions. School Name: Claremont Immersion Elementary School, Arlington, Virginia

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This resource gives information about what a summative assessments and what it entails.

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Assessment in Adult ESOL programs encompasses everything from statewide standardized tests to everyday classroom observations. However, in this era of accountability, standards, and standardized tests, assessment is often done only to satisfy program or funding requirements. As we know, not all students show progress at the same time or in the same format. In other words, that weekly test and that written standardized assessment that teachers so readily have students take may not provide a complete picture of students' strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, researchers recommend using a comprehensive approach to assessment, combining both summative and formative forms to evaluate student achievement, facilitate learning, and help students achieve mastery.
Overview of Summative Assessment
Summative assessment is most often equated with national and state standardized tests. However, there are many other tests that are summative in nature, for example, district or program exams that measure grade level skills, mid-term tests that measure interim student performance, and unit tests that evaluate student knowledge at the end of a unit.

All these tests are given at a specific time, under the same circumstances, so all students, regardless of learning style or type of intelligence, demonstrate what they know in a standard format. The data collected compares student performance using grades and/or percentiles and is frequently used for program accountability. This type of assessment helps teachers, districts, and states monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of a course, align curriculum, place or promote students, and fund programs. Because of the prevalence of this type of assessment, teachers need to provide students practice with answering multiple choice items, bubbling in answers, and other test-taking skills needed to succeed in standardized test formats.
Overview of Formative Assessment
In contrast, formative assessment is part of the day-to-day cycle of teaching-learning-assessing. It allows teachers to gather data in real-time and then make instructional adjustments, design interventions, and modify the learning environment to maximize teaching and learning. As a process, formative assessment has three main characteristics: it is real, cyclical, and ongoing. First, in order to accurately measure student comprehension, contexts and tasks should be real reflections of authentic language situations. The tools or tests used should not fragment language acquisition into parts because real language production is not simply the sum of isolated skills. In addition, the assessment process should be cyclical and ongoing. Just as a single exposure to a new word or form does not ensure comprehension, neither does a single evaluation indicate mastery.
A Comprehensive Approach
Most teachers use summative assessments, both because they are required to do so and because they are more comfortable with them. If we agree that a more comprehensive approach to testing is desirable, we need to look at practical ways to incorporate formative assessment into the classroom so that students have alternative opportunities to demonstrate language acquisition in context. The question then is: How can we assess language acquisition effectively using formative assessment? In truth, it is hard for the teacher to continuously monitor students, capture language in "real" time, and re-teach material as needed. To be successful, teachers not only must be intentional in their own actions, but must actively involve students in the process. Here are some practical ways to do so.

Walk-around observations: Evaluate students while they are performing tasks by walking around the room and taking notes on what you see, hear, and notice. Be mindful of what students are not doing, too. Lack of performance is a good indicator of what needs to be re-taught. This task can be performed by the teacher or the more advanced students in the group. Take notes that you can later use to praise growth, discuss error patterns, and reinforce weak areas by re-teaching.

Peer feedback: Classmates can also help teachers assess skills by using checklists or rubrics to evaluate a student's performance/ presentations. The teacher can create a list of observable behavior/production-for example, "the student used the verb be accurately" or "the student's pronunciation was clear"-or the teacher can use the rubric found in a textbook or teacher's edition. Students then use this tool to evaluate peers. This helps ensure that they actively participate by being required to assess "real language" in action. The teacher uses the same checklist/rubric and can also share comments with the class. In this way, students learn from each other, and from the teacher's comments, by double checking to see if their observations were on track.

Self-monitoring: Build time into your lessons to teach students tools to self-correct or monitor their own learning. For example, during a reading task, students can highlight words they do not know as they read. Once they finish the selection, they can use context clues to figure out the meaning of the highlighted words, use a dictionary to help themselves, or get assistance from a classmate. Then they can write their highlighted words on the board or on a flip chart. The whole class can then evaluate individual and group vocabulary needs. The same process can be used for syntax patterns.

Accommodate different learning styles: Become familiar with individual student's learning styles by conducting a survey at the beginning of the term to find out if students are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. Provide opportunities for students to show achievement in different forms. For example, in testing vocabulary knowledge, students can draw, act out, or write the vocabulary words. Crossword puzzles, word searches, bingo, or memory games can also be used.

Use charts instead of grades to show progress: Chart student progress instead of assigning individual grades. A graph shows progress more vividly, and a couple of low scores do not affect the overall progress. This method of measuring performance also allows students to learn how to create and read graphs, charts, and other graphic representations-a much needed skill in the workplace and in academics. Engaging students in record-keeping helps them to better understand their own learning and progress. Furthermore, this practice shifts some of the responsibility for grades and record-keeping back to the learner.

Measure performance in the community: Engage students in real-life activities that enhance language acquisition and measure their performance by collecting data on community activities. For example, have students use English in their neighborhoods by performing tasks such as going to the cafeteria or a restaurant, checking the menu for the daily specials, and reporting back to class or a group. Or have students interview a student in a higher level class and gather data on specific school-related topics. These real-life activities give students and teachers opportunities to evaluate performance in authentic environments.

Celebrate achievement: Behind every teachable moment there is an opportunity for meaningful assessment. All progress-big and small-must be recognized, celebrated, and honored as a milestone in a student's journey toward mastery of English. Celebrate achievement with daily encouraging words and weekly classroom rewards (pencils, erasers, "stickies," etc.) earned with points for performance in English. For the grand finale, give out certificates in an award ceremony at the end of a term-organize a day of celebration when students can invite guests. What a great opportunity to honor your students and recruit new ones for the next term!
Conclusion
In summary, comprehensive assessment involves both formative and summative evaluations. When combined, data produced from both types of assessment gives teachers a dynamic picture that accurately represents individual student achievement and overall class performance-a clear road map for success. Overall, comprehensive assessment as an integral part of the adult ESOL class can:

Engage adult ELLs in real-time learning and mastery of English

Accelerate authentic language acquisition

Facilitate and modify instruction for optimum teaching and learning

Assist adult ELLs in achieving educational gains to meet targeted local, state and national performance measures

Dr. Beatriz B. Diaz has taught ESL for more than three decades in Miami. She has a master's degree in TESOL and a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University. She has given trainings and numerous presentations at international, national, state, and local conferences throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. Dr. Diaz is the district supervisor for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Adult ESOL Program, one of the largest in the United States.

Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Assessment in Adult ESOL programs encompasses everything from statewide standardized tests to everyday classroom observations. However, in this era of accountability, standards, and standardized tests, assessment is often done only to satisfy program or funding requirements. As we know, not all students show progress at the same time or in the same format.

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This acts as a resource for teachers as it provides lots of videos on how to give literacy instruction for ELLs.

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English Language Learners (ELLs) can have a wide variety of needs in their reading and writing instruction. Some students may read and write fluently in their native language while others will enter the classroom with little or no prior literacy instruction. This resource section covers many topics, including grade-level strategies and ideas for teaching more advanced reading and writing skills such as those required by the Common Core State Standards. With the right supports and opportunities for engagement, ELLs can become successful, life-long readers as seen in this section.

What You'll Find in This Section

For English language learners (ELLs) in upper grades, reading needs may vary greatly. Some students will read fluently in their native language, while others may come in with very limited literacy skills and will require creative approaches for teachers and literacy coaches. These resources include ideas for creating a safe, comfortable setting where adolescent ELLs can begin to catch up and increase confidence over time. For additional ideas, visit our sister site about adolescent literacy, AdLit.org.

What does it take to help English language learners (ELLs) become successful writers? This section offers a number of ideas and resources from veteran educators and researchers for students of all ages and proficiency levels. For examples of student writing projects, see our Student Voices section.

For English language learners (ELLs) in upper grades, reading needs may vary greatly. Some students will read fluently in their native language, while others may come in with very limited literacy skills and will require creative approaches for teachers and literacy coaches. These resources include ideas for creating a safe, comfortable setting where adolescent ELLs can begin to catch up and increase confidence over time. For additional ideas, visit our sister site about adolescent literacy, AdLit.org.

What does it take to help English language learners (ELLs) become successful writers? This section offers a number of ideas and resources from veteran educators and researchers for students of all ages and proficiency levels. For examples of student writing projects, see our Student Voices section.

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English Language Learners (ELLs) can have a wide variety of needs in their reading and writing instruction. Some students may read and write fluently in their native language while others will enter the classroom with little or no prior literacy instruction.

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for ELLs

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Reading Comprehension Strategies for ELLs

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This acts as a step by step guide to help teachers with teaching ELLs reading development!

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We create practical, timely, affordable professional learning to help educators and instructional leaders provide students with a modern, equitable, and quality education.

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This resource gives us the benefits for students being in a multilingual classroom!

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A multilingual education makes you smarter - there's no denying it. We thought we'd give you a whirlwind tour of why, rather than cite in detail the findings of researchers like this one who specialize in the field. We know that as an ECD teacher you're most likely run off your feet in a semi-permanent way.

Letting specialty toymakers, like Miniland, lighten your load can be the key to unlocking the benefits of a multilingual classroom, without overwhelming you with the need to learn a new language yourself, increase your workload, or ask impossible things of your children. We share what you can expect from a multilingual atmosphere and how educational toys like Miniland's ABC Monster help you invite the magic in.
Multilingual classrooms foster essential 21st-century skills
By learning another language, children begin to understand - and master - language as a system of representing meaning in the world. Along with creative arts education, a firm grounding in language and literacy gives children the insurance that they'll always be able to communicate meaningfully with the world around them. The ability to communicate effectively is considered one of the essential "4 C" skills necessary for success in the 21st-century and is essential to anyone's psychosocial health.

Miniland's ABC Monster is perfect for facilitating educational games that develop multilingual literacy in a non-competitive way. Your children are tasked with building words from letters of the Latin alphabet. Each word is described by interpreting a picture from a game card. This means that words can be built - and these pictures described - in any language, like English, that uses this script.
Multilingual children are more empathic
A classroom that welcomes a multilingual atmosphere is more likely to produce children who understand that to be equal to someone, doesn't mean they have to be the same as them. Multilingual instruction fosters meaningful diplomacy, by growing children's appreciation of different cultures and meaning-making systems. When this instruction is included in their day through fun language games like ABC Monster, this end result of empathy is developed alongside the more directly curriculum-related matter of increasing their literacy. While considered a soft-skill, an empathic attitude will consistently provide access to richer, more diverse social networks which help secure their success and social mobility later in life.
Speaking more than one language is better for your brain
Early bilingual proficiency is positively correlated with intelligence. Speaking more than one language from an early age means that your brain has to work harder in those critical development years and you therefore become smarter. Bi- and multilingual children carry this benefit with them for the rest of their lives. With their better understanding of how language functions, bilingual children often grow up to be innovators of language and other meaning-making systems. They're also found to have better attention spans because they've had more practice at paying mindful attention to things like choosing which language to use or interpret. This ability to focus their attention can be further developed by learning aids like Miniland's Mindful Kids programme, which harnesses these beginnings and grows each child's ability to practice focussed, non-judgemental awareness through a series of mindfulness exercises that easily integrate into your teaching and learning day.
Multilingualism connects communities
Children who speak multiple languages become better at every language, overall. For example, a Spanish speaking child will eventually be better at English if allowed to draw on their knowledge of their home language in your classroom. A classroom atmosphere that accepts multiple languages, allows for code-switching and even encourages active additional language learning helps ensure that your children remain connected to their home language and community. A game like ABC Monster is a great way to support a second-language speaker's connections with their home language because it isn't restricted to English. Any words built from the Latin alphabet can be built by "feeding the monster" and the group nature of the game means that your class can learn from each other by sharing the words that they know for things, across cultural and language divides.
Being bilingual gives children better job prospects
Proficiency in more than one language immediately improves your child's chances of finding work after leaving school. This is true even if you only speak one extra language. They're also likely to place immediately into an occupation and role of higher social status than their monolingual counterparts and immediately draw higher incomes. This is due not only to the fact that speakers of more than one language have more highly developed cognitive skills and therefore perform better at general tasks (on average), but also because they have access to a wider job market. By committing to including games such as ABC Monster into your teaching day, you're helping your children attain relevance in the economy they are set to enter.

Given the vast benefits available to speakers of multiple languages, Miniland educational toys are specially designed to support you in creating a multilingual classroom. Each game or toy is accompanied by a didactic guide that allows for English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, or Italian instruction. While you might not make use of all of these, it pays to know you have some extra possibilities in your back pocket when faced, perhaps, by a new addition to your class who may value beginning with a friendly "Hello" in their home language. Find out more about how you can support multilingual education in your classroom by exploring our catalog.

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5 Benefits of the Multilingual Classroom - Blog Miniland Educational USA

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A multilingual education makes you smarter - there's no denying it. We thought we'd give you a whirlwind tour of why, rather than cite in detail the findings of researchers like this one who specialize in the field. We know that as an ECD teacher you're most likely run off your feet in a semi-permanent way.

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This resource lays out different advantages of having a classroom with different cultures.

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In an ever-changing global scenario, it has become imperative to equip students with adequate exposure to be citizens of the future. Canadian International School (CIS), one of the top international schools in India has students and faculty members from over 40 nationalities. As a culturally rich mosaic, utmost importance is given to diversity and socio-cultural awareness. Students are taught to share space with a diverse group of individuals from around the world in a multicultural classroom for a truly international experience.

What are multicultural classrooms?

Multicultural classrooms are classrooms that embrace diversity and incorporate ideas, beliefs, or people from different countries and cultural backgrounds. Several cultural perspectives are put together to enable students to get a truly international education.

What are the benefits of a multicultural classroom?

There are a myriad of benefits of a multicultural classroom for students. Here are a few:

One of the top reasons why a multicultural classroom is beneficial is because students are encouraged to learn about the cultural backgrounds of other students in a class. Since CIS has a multitude of different nationalities on campus, students from different cultures are given opportunities to discuss and share their cultural experiences. Several international festivals such as Japanese Children's Day and Diwali are celebrated on campus. Students interact with various communities and get first-hand knowledge about multiple celebrations; for example, indulging in Japanese snacks on Japanese Children's Day or dressing up in traditional Indian attire on Diwali.

Fosters acceptance and tolerance in a learning environment

A multicultural education at CIS provides educational opportunities to learners from diverse ethnic cultural groups and social classes. It enables students to acquire skills and develop a positive attitude to communicate, interact, and foster acceptance and tolerance with individuals from varied cultures to create a moral and civic community. A Multicultural Day is also celebrated annually to engage students, teachers, and parents in a global environment. The entire CIS community gets the opportunity to bond over sports, food, and by donning traditional costumes and performing local songs and dances.

At CIS, multiple perspectives and references are taught in class. The multicultural classroom provides an opportunity for students from different cultures to bring their enormous range of experiences, knowledge, perspectives, and insights to the classroom. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate learning experiences and content relevant to their personal cultural perspectives and heritage. Teachers also participate in Professional Development Days to stay up-to-date on new teaching techniques that cater to multicultural students and their requirements. The Contextual Learning program also emphasizes on teaching cultural awareness by providing opportunities for students to partake in activities from around the world, such as yoga sessions and Indian art.

Students are given the liberty to examine learning materials to identify potentially prejudicial or biased materials. Both teachers and students evaluate their own cultural assumptions and then discuss how learning materials, teaching practices, or schools policies reflect cultural bias, and how they could be changed to eliminate bias. At CIS, the WiseSkills Character Education program is integrated within the curriculum to impart ethics, values, and civic sense to the students.

The creation of international markets and the lowering of trade barriers worldwide has led to many businesses that span the globe. In an international scenario like the one at CIS, students bring a broad network of international contacts to the school. With students and faculty from over 40 nationalities, students are encouraged to start networking from a young age and build a network of contacts that can not only help them forge lifelong friendships but can also help expand their career perspectives to a global level. Several internships are also offered to students from universities all over the world to foster global networking as well as to study and observe a truly international environment at Canadian International School (CIS).

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The advantages of a multicultural classroom - CIS

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In an ever-changing global scenario, it has become imperative to equip students with adequate exposure to be citizens of the future. Canadian International School (CIS), one of the top international schools in India has students and faculty members from over 40 nationalities. As a culturally rich mosaic, utmost importance is given to diversity and socio-cultural ...

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This talks about 8 different strategies that educators can use to teach academic language to ELLs.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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This acts as a need to know guide for teachers on teaching academic language to their ELLs.

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This article helps educators understand the role that academic language plays in their classrooms and in ELL student success.

The article also includes information on social vs. academic language, as well as numerous examples of the different kinds of academic language needed for all students to fully participate in classroom activities and assignments. Additional articles, books, and videos can be found in our Academic Language and ELLs Resource Section.

Academic Language: An Overview

Why is academic language important?

Perhaps you or your colleagues have taught a student, who, like Carlos, gave every sign of being fully "fluent" in English, only to find that the student struggled on more academic kinds of assignments.

Many students, including English language learners (ELLs), have difficulty mastering the kinds of academic language needed to succeed in school, especially if they have never been explicitly taught how to use it. These students include long-term ELLs, students who have attended U.S. schools for much or all of their education but have not yet mastered the language of school.

At the same time, many educators have never learned how to teach academic language since language has traditionally been considered the domain of English as a Second Language (ESL) or English language arts teachers. Yet the use of academic language is more important than ever in preparing students for academic and professional success, particularly in the era of rigorous college- and career-ready standards (such as the Common Core State Standards) that require an increased use of academic language in and across all disciplines.

What is your role?

It may seem daunting at first, but you have an important role to play in supporting your students' academic language development. You do not need an in-depth background in linguistics or ESL methods to do so; rather, you need some guidance and practice in learning how to recognize the role academic language plays in your subject area and classroom, as well as support from colleagues who can guide you in your efforts. Many ESL and bilingual colleagues have extensive experience in identifying students' academic language needs and collaborating with colleagues and will be more than happy to do so if asked!

In this article

To get you started, this article shares three things you need to know about academic language:

The difference between social and academic language

The importance of looking beyond vocabulary

How academic language will be used in your classroom

The article will also share recommended resources for further review. For specific instructional strategies on increasing the use of academic language in your classroom, see these ideas from ELL expert Kristina Robertson, as well as the resources at the end of the article, and check in with your ESL/bilingual colleagues for additional suggestions!

The difference between social and academic language

As the example of Carlos above suggests, teachers may be most familiar with the level of students' social language - the language they hear students using with their friends in the hallways or on the playground. Students typically achieve proficiency in social language long before they have mastered a grade-appropriate level of academic language. As a result, a student's ability to use language in social settings is not necessarily an accurate indicator of their mastery of academic language.

What is academic language?

Academic language is the language of school and it is used in textbooks, essays, assignments, class presentations, and assessments. Academic language is used at all grade levels, although its frequency increases as students get older.

It is also the language of the workplace - for example, the language used to write a business letter as opposed to a casual e-mail to a co-worker.

Examples

One strategy that academic language expert Dr. Robin Scarcella uses to help her college students understand the difference between social and academic language is to provide them with similar sentences or passages that convey the same meaning but that are written in different styles, such as the following:

I like this book more.

This story is more exciting than the first one we read.

Because they were brave.

The soldiers received the medal because of their courage.

If you were to compare other kinds of passages or documents, some examples might include:

A business letter vs. a personal e-mail (noted above)

A newspaper's summary of a research report vs. the actual abstract of the report

A customer review of a book vs. the publisher's description of the book

As your students become more familiar with the differences between social and academic language, it will be easier to identify which is which and what is most appropriate for a certain setting. Kristina Roberston notes in her video clip on our academic language playlist that her students call this "sounding smart" - and they know it when they hear it. When they hear themselves "sounding smart," it is a source of excitement and motivation in the classroom.

Additional resources

To learn more about the distinctions between social and academic language, take a look at the following resources from Colorín Colorado:
Discussion questions:

Have you had any students who were proficient in social language but struggled with academic language?

If so, how did their social and academic language use differ?

Did anything in their language abilities surprise you?

What are some examples that could be used to compare social and academic language in your classroom?

Beyond vocabulary

Many people think of vocabulary first when it comes to academic language. While content-area vocabulary words and terms are certainly an important component, academic language also refers to the words and phrases used to connect these key words and to communicate concepts. Here are two different ways to understand a broader interpretation of academic language.

"Bricks and mortar"

Dr. Cindy Lundgren explains the idea of " bricks and mortar" in our academic language video playlist, where "bricks" are the key vocabulary words and concepts in a sentence, and "mortar" is the language (such as signal words and phrases) holding the bricks together. Here is the example she explains in the video:

Even though bats have wings, they are not birds.

In this sentence, the bricks are the key vocabulary words in bold:

Yet to fully understand the sentence, students must understand the meaning of "even though." Here is a sample definition:

"Even though" means that two items are similar, but they are not the same. In this case, bats and birds both share a similar feature (having wings), but they are not the same animal.

Understanding signal words and phrases is a key step in a student's ability to "unlock" the academic language they encounter, as well as to start using it correctly themselves.

Video: Bricks and mortar in language instruction

Dr. Cindy Lundgren discusses the concept of "bricks and mortar" when thinking about effective vocabulary instruction for ELLs.

TWIPs

Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes (2010) also look beyond discrete vocabulary words in their academic language definition, including a range of structures they call TWIPs ( Terms, Words, Idioms, and P hrases). Here are some examples:

Note that, in the second example, the "Declaration" is a single word standing in for the official name of a specific document (the Declaration of Independence). Many textbooks used abbreviated terms in the interest of space, which requires students not only to track the references back to the original term but to build on existing background knowledge about the subject being discussesd. ELLs may need some extra preparation to draw upon or build background knowledge in order to fully understand the academic language being used.

Same Word, Different Meaning

Keep in mind that some key words or terms may have different meanings across disciplines and may be used as different parts of speech in different contexts (i.e., noun vs. verbs):

Lunch table (Social language)
Periodic Table of Elements (Science)
Table of Contents (ELA)
Multiplication tables (Math)
To table (delay) the discussion (Social Studies)

Plot of a story (ELA)
Plot of land (Geography)
Plot ordered pairs on a graph (Math)
To plot a government coup (History)

Branch of government (Social Studies)
Branch of a river (Geography)
To branch out (Idiom)

Your foot (Health)
One foot in length (Math)
Foot in your mouth (Idiom)
Foot of the mountain (Geography)
To foot the bill (Idiom)

As you identify the academic language you will be focusing on in a particular lesson, take a moment to think about whether any of the words or phrases may have another definition so that you can anticipate any possible confusion. You may wish to share your list with your ESL colleagues for input as well.

Cognates

Finally, there is a great tool you can use to bolster academic language for students who speak a language related to English. This is the use of cognates - words that have a similar spelling and meaning in both languages. More than a one third of words in English have a Spanish-language cognate! These often include technical or content-specific words that can help students make a connection between both languages, such as the following:

You can see many more in our list of Spanish-English cognates, and your ESL or bilingual colleagues may be able to think of other related examples as well. Once students know how that a connection exists, they will start noticing more words that are related and they will be able to apply their own existing background knowledge about those words to the vocabulary they encounter. They may need some guidance initially, and we provide some tips on how to use cognates in this Colorín Colorado article to help you get started.

Note: There is such a thing as a false cognate, the most famous one being that embarazada in Spanish is not "embarrassed" - it means "pregnant"! It is not a 100% foolproof strategy - but it is generally a very useful tool.
Discussion questions:

What are examples of key vocabulary words, terms, idioms, and phrases that are useful to know in your subject area?

Can you think of some phrases or signal words that are not content specific but are commonly used in your area (such as "In comparison...")?

Looking at the list of cognates from Colorín Colorado, find 10 words related to your subject area.

Planning for purpose and products

Now that you have some more background on what academic language is, it's time to think about how it is used in your subject area. Academic language is used for a variety of purposes across disciplines:

Students may write a lab report in science class.

Students may orally explain their reasoning in math class.

Students may listen to and compare two famous speeches in history class.

Students may compare a scene from a novel and a movie in an English language arts class.

Domains of language

As you can see in these examples, academic language is used in all four domains of language (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), and all four domains are needed to achieve the above tasks. While the uses of academic language may be more obvious for reading and writing, academic language is also necessary for listening to class discussion, lectures, and debates, as well as delivering speeches, presentations, and oral arguments. Students may need just as much help using academic language in their speaking as in their writing, and they may be at different levels across different domains. Carlos, for example, has strong academic listening and speaking skills, but weaker writing skills.

Students may also need help moving from the word level to the sentence, paragraph, or essay/project level in these sophisticated assignments. The most important thing you can do is to provide examples and model the kinds of language you expect students to use on a regular basis. By doing so, you will help familiarize students with the kinds of academic language needed to succeed in your classroom, as well as the purpose of the language they are using. Our Academic Language booklist and webcast include a number of subject-specific strategies for helping students master the kinds of language needed in different content areas.

This is also another area where ESL/bilingual colleagues can help you; they may have tried and true strategies, graphic organizers, and suggestions for modeling academic language and for helping students transition into more sophisticated assignments. One great example is the process that high school ESL teacher Michelle Lawrence uses to help her students transition from sentences and paragraphs to essays. (See Playlist: Writing Process 2.)

Note: Another helpful tool for communicating expectations about academic language is the use of language objectives , which you can learn more about from Colorín Colorado.
Discussion Questions:

As you consider how academic language is used in your discipline, what kinds of assignments are students expected to produce in your classroom and in higher grades?

What are some examples of academic language that are needed for each of these activities?

How are different language domains used at different steps of the process? (For example, a lab may require spoken language to be used in discussions between partners, and then writing to be used for the final written lab report.)

Based on what you now know about academic language, what kinds of support do you think Carlos needs in his chemistry class?

Do you have any ideas on how Mrs. Wilson can support his written academic language?

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Academic Language and ELLs: What Teachers Need to Know

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This article helps educators understand the role that academic language plays in their classrooms and in ELL student success. The article also includes information on social vs. academic language, as well as numerous examples of the different kinds of academic language needed for all students to fully participate in classroom activities and assignments.

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This is a list on things that educators can do to help their ELLs succeed in their math subjects.

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This is an video guide on how teachers can successfully teach science to their ELLs.

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This goes over the different challenges that ELLs may face in the science classroom.

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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.

Reprints

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More by this author

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Opportunities and Challenges for ELLs in the Science Inquiry Classroom (Part 1)

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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.

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This is a guide for educators on what language objectives are and a guide to be successful in creating them.

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This article provides an overview of how to use language objectives in content-area instruction for English learners and offers classroom-based examples from different grade and subject levels.

This article written for Colorín Colorado provides an overview of how to use language objectives in content-area instruction for English learners and includes:

what a language objective is

steps that teachers can take to create language objectives

how to implement language objectives in a general education classroom

how to align objectives to content and language standards

ideas and resources on how to support teachers as they become familiar with this practice

how to use language objectives in distance learning environments.

Language Objectives: An Overview
Mrs. Shell has been teaching eighth grade math for twelve years. She has deep content area knowledge and wants to provide all of her students with authentic activities and tasks to relate the significance of the mathematical concepts that she teaches to their lives. Mrs. Shell has always felt successful at teaching her classes but this year has been different. Her sections include students with more diverse backgrounds than previous years, particularly more English learners. As Mrs. Shell was beginning to feel frustrated with her inability to reach all her students because of their needs, she learned about one way to make her content more comprehensible to all her students - creating and posting objectives that tell the students not just what content concepts they will learn in each lesson, but also the academic language they will need to learn and use to meet the state's math standards. With this knowledge, Mrs. Shell is now confident that she not only knows what to teach, but also how to teach it so that all her students can be successful.

Generally speaking, academic English is the language of schooling and the language that helps students acquire and use the content area knowledge taught in schools (Anstrom, DiCerbo, Butler, Katz, Millet, & Rivera, 2010).

Teaching content to ELs: The challenge

In my work supporting general education and ESL/bilingual teachers who provide sheltered instruction for English learners (ELs), I have met many teachers like Mrs. Shell. While these teachers want to provide effective instruction for their ELs, often they don't see themselves as language teachers and so they aren't sure where to begin with their students.

These teachers aren't alone, however, and they are facing a challenge shared by teachers across the country. We know that for school-age students, academic language is crucial for school success (Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006). In addition, research allows us to state with a fair degree of confidence that English learners best acquire English when language forms are explicitly taught and when they have many opportunities to use the language in meaningful contexts (Goldenberg, 2008).

Yet while the explicit instructional support that ESL and bilingual teachers provide is essential to English learners' academic language development, English learners receive a majority of their instruction from general education and content area teachers who may not have experience teaching academic language development.

The question becomes then: What do general education classroom teachers need to do in order to support the academic English development of language learners in both face-to-face and virtual environments, especially when English learners are one of many types of students they serve?

Teaching content to ELs: The solution

One principle that teachers of English learners can begin to apply immediately is creating and posting language objectives for their lessons (whether in the classroom or online in a virtual space. Many teachers are familiar with using content objectives to identify what students will learn and be able to do in the lesson. However, they are less likely to include language objectives that support the linguistic development of their students.

Implementing language objectives can be a powerful first step in ensuring that English learners have equal access to the curriculum even though they may not be fully proficient in the language. This is because the second language acquisition process requires opportunities for the language learner to be exposed to, practice with, and then be assessed on their language skills (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008).

To this end, language objectives:

articulate for learners the academic language functions and skills that they need to master to fully participate in the lesson and meet the grade-level content standards (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008).

are beneficial not only for language learners but for all students in a class, as everyone can benefit from the clarity that comes with a teacher outlining the requisite academic language to be learned and mastered in each lesson.

Now let's take a closer look at some examples and how to write language objectives.

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Writing Language Objectives

Interview with Dr. Jennifer Himmel

Learn more about language objectives in this podcast interview with Dr. Himmel from Teaching Multilingual Learners, produced by Tan Huynh.

What is a language objective?

Language objectives are lesson objectives that specifically outline the type of language that students will need to learn and use in order to accomplish the goals of the lesson. Quality language objectives complement the content knowledge and skills identified in content area standards and address the aspects of academic language that will be developed or reinforced during the teaching of grade-level content concepts (Echevarria & Short, 2010).

These objectives involve the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), but they can also include:

Below are examples of language objectives for different content areas and grade levels. They come from the Common Core State Standards for Math and English Language Arts (2012) and state standards in New York and California.
Sources:
How do I create effective language objectives?

Dr. Cindy Lundgren discusses the process of writing language objectives in this excerpt from her Meet the Expert interview.

Language objectives are directly correlated to content objectives. Once a teacher determines the lesson topic from the appropriate content standards, the teacher will want to begin thinking about the academic language necessary for English learners to complete the tasks that support the content objectives. This identification of the academic language embedded in the lesson's content will become the basis for the lesson's language objectives.

You can use the following guidelines to start thinking about appropriate language objectives for the lesson:

1. Decide what key vocabulary, concept words, and other academic words students will need to know in order to talk, read, and write about the topic of the lesson. Those words might be taught as a language objective. They should include technical terms, such as ecosystem, and terms like distribution that have different meanings across content areas. Other terms to highlight are those that language learners may know in one context, such as family (as in parents, siblings, etc.), but that have a different use in science (e.g., family of elements in the periodic table).

2. Consider the language functions related to the topic of the lesson (e.g, will the students describe, explain, compare, or chart information). See your state English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards for examples of these functions for English language arts, math, science, and social studies for all English proficiency levels and grade-level clusters.

3. Think about the language skills necessary for students to accomplish the lesson's activities. Will the students be reading a textbook passage to identify the stages of mitosis? Are they able to read a text passage to find specific information? Will they be reporting what they observe during a scientific demonstration to a peer? Do they know how to report observations orally? Acquiring the skills needed to carry out these tasks might be the focus of a language objective.

4. Identify grammar or language structures common to the content area. For example, many science textbooks use the passive voice to describe processes. Additionally, students may have to use comparative language to analyze two related concepts. Writing with the passive voice or using comparative phrases might be a language objective.

5. Consider the tasks that the students will complete and the language that will be embedded in those assignments. If students are working on a scientific investigation together, will they need to explain the steps of the procedure to one another? The language objective might focus on how to explain procedures aloud.

6. Explore language learning strategies that lend themselves to the topic of the lesson. For example, if students are starting a new chapter in the textbook, the strategy of previewing the text might be an appropriate language objective.

(Adapted from Short, Himmel, Gutierrez, & Hudec, 2012. Used with permission.)

Aligning Language Objectives and Standards

English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards

Developing appropriate language objectives for lessons involves becoming familiar with a state's content area and ELP standards. Whereas the content standards will provide the topic of the lesson and what exactly the students should be doing with that topic (e.g., solving problems, creating models, ranking ideas), the English language proficiency or development standards help to identify language skills and functions that students should be working on to achieve academic language fluency. These ELP standards can help to identify:

English Language Arts (ELA) standards

Other resources in addition to the ELP standards are a state's English Language Arts standards or the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History, Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS). The English Language Arts and Literacy CCSS might be especially useful to teachers of English learners due to its attention to literacy across the content areas.

Additional resources to consult, especially if a state is a member of the WIDA consortium, are the Model Proficiency Indicators (MPIs) outlined in their ELP standards. The MPIs outline what an English learner at a specific level of English language proficiency can do in a language domain (e.g., listening) by addressing the language functions embedded in an example topic for that content area with appropriate scaffolds or support (Gottlieb, Cranley, & Cammileri, 2007). Classroom texts and other materials (e.g., science investigations, primary source documents) are other good sources to consult when preparing a lesson.

Getting Started

How can I get started?

Careful lesson planning

In creating measureable and student-friendly language objectives that support the content objectives, it is important that learner tasks in the lesson are aligned with the objectives. It is not enough to have well-written objectives that promote language acquisition if the lesson is lacking in tasks that support the objectives. If the language objective for a middle school social studies lesson is for the students to orally retell the key characteristics in a historical event using sequential language, it is important that the teacher previews sequential language with the students, such as providing sentence stems or frames, and builds into the lesson some structured pair work so the students have an opportunity to retell the event to a peer. Therefore, careful lesson planning is another essential step in preparing effective language objectives.

Collaboration

It is also useful for content area and ESL/bilingual teachers to plan lessons together, as we saw with the 7th grade science lesson scenario involving Mr. Zhang and Mr. Lewis. In this co-planning scenario, each teacher used his expertise to better integrate content and language instruction for the language learners. This type of collaboration can help a teacher like Mr. Zhang learn more about the second language acquisition process of his students and can help a teacher like Mr. Lewis become more familiar with the grade-level content expectations that his English learners encounter in content area classes.

How do I know which language objectives are best for my students?

The language objective that the teacher selects will depend on what the English learners in the class need most at that point in the year and what language is most important to understanding the content concepts. If the students have already spent a good deal of time working with new vocabulary, then the teacher might consider having students use that vocabulary to develop their writing skill by writing a summary of the process they followed.

Conversely, the teacher might want to help students become more proficient with a particular type of graphic organizer in order to develop more strategic language learning. As all teachers know, teaching is a dynamic and complex process that requires a multitude of decisions to be made. However, the advance planning required in creating language objectives allows teachers to better anticipate the academic English needs of all students thus increasing the comprehensibility of the lessons.

It is important for teachers to realize that even though their lesson may include all four language skills (it is good if they do, since the language skills reinforce one another), they do not need to post a language objective for every language-related item addressed in the lesson. Teachers address many instructional needs in a 50- or 60-minute class period. Rather than highlighting all language uses in a particular lesson, it is important for the teacher to think about what is non-negotiable in that lesson.

In other words, the teacher should keep the perspective of the English learner in mind and ask, "Of all of the skills and functions addressed in my lesson, which is most important for helping students meet the grade-level standard and develop their language proficiency?" These objectives then must be measureable (i.e., can you see or assess the student's mastery of that objective?) and written in language that accounts for the linguistic and cognitive development of the students.

How can I make language objectives "student-friendly"?

Both of the above objectives are measurable, but both also take into account appropriate developmental stages of the students. Teachers of young students (e.g., PK or K) may even want to consider further adapting the objectives. For example, we have seen kindergarten teachers use symbols such as a pencil to symbolize "write" and a mouth to symbolize "talk" when they post their objectives for the children to see. We have also seen teachers of young learners rely on pictures to show the key terms they want the students to use or to convey the topic of the lesson (e.g., a picture of a ruler and of hands to discuss standard and non-standard measurement).

One way that teachers can ensure that their language objectives are measureable and student-friendly is by using appropriate verbs. Because language objectives should provide students with practice in the four language skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, verbs related to those skills might include, but are not limited to, the following:

List

Retell

Summarize in writing

Record

Read

It is also important to not equate low language proficiency with limited cognitive ability. Therefore, teachers will want to make sure that the language objectives they create also reflect tasks that fall on the higher end of Bloom's Taxonomy and use verbs (e.g., orally justify) accordingly.

As noted above in the guidelines to creating language objectives, language functions are also a potential source for language objectives. Verbs related to language functions might include:

When should I share language objectives with students?

To help students take ownership of their learning and provide explicit direction to students, especially the English learners who are processing content in a new language, it is important that objectives be stated at the beginning of the lesson and reviewed with the students at the end of the lesson to allow them to assess if they have met the objectives (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2008).

How this happens may differ according to the grade level and content area of the class. Some teachers like to have the students choral read the objectives, while teachers of older students sometimes have them record the language objectives in their journal in addition to asking an individual student to read them aloud. Some teachers, such as those who teach science, like to reveal the objectives later in the lesson, perhaps after the warm up or exploratory activity, so that they can maintain an inquiry-based approach (Echevarria & Colburn, 2006).

Should I differentiate language objectives based on my students' language proficiency?

Although all teachers have students of varying language proficiency and skill levels in their classes, it is not necessary to differentiate language objectives by creating and posting multiple language objectives that reflect these proficiency levels. Rather, teachers should have one language objective that is appropriate for all students to meet. To provide the appropriate differentiation, the teacher would provide different scaffolds (e.g., adapted text, visuals, sentence frames) for students to use in order to reach the objectives.

For example, an appropriate language objective for an upper elementary language arts class might be for the students to be able to orally list text features found in a non-fiction book. For lower proficiency language learners, the teacher may give them a word bank from which to choose the text features; therefore, the students are meeting the same objective but with the appropriate amount of linguistic support from the teacher.

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Using language objectives in a distance learning environment

While teachers like Ms. Shell understand that the characteristics of good teaching for English learners does not change in a virtual environment, they do understand that instruction will necessarily need to look different in order to account for the challenges that distance learning presents for many learners.

Accordingly, teachers will need to think through how to:

Presenting language objectives

Many different ways exist for teachers to present language objectives in remote learning. For example, teachers might:

begin every virtual class by orally reading and presenting the content and language objectives in their Google slides and then asking students to briefly summarize in the chat box the activities they will be doing in that lesson to meet those objectives.

post the objectives at the top of a shared digital document that serves as a capture sheet for the lesson. A teacher might then ask learners to self-assess their progress towards meeting those objectives at the end of the document.

use live or recorded videos, especially when working with English learners with lower English proficiency. These videos can include props, for example ears to signify a listening objective.

use realia, such as rocks, if one of the lesson's language aims is for students to orally describe different types of sedimentary rocks.

Monitoring student understanding and engagement

Teachers in distance learning environments must also carefully consider how they will assess learner understanding and engagement throughout the lesson. Given the challenges virtual learning platforms present towards capturing data on learner comprehension (e.g., paralinguistic cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture) teachers working in virtual environments know that it is more important than ever to ensure that students clearly understand the content and linguistic aims for each lesson.

Using comprehension checks and assessing progress

It is also essential that students understand how teachers will measure their progress towards meeting each objective. Towards this aim, teachers must build in multiple comprehension checks throughout the lesson that align to the lesson's objectives. Teachers can:

At the conclusion of a lesson, teachers can assess student progress towards meeting objectives via:

tickets out that are submitted digitally

the recording of a Flipgrid or use of another video platform where learners respond to a prompt that requires learners to use the academic language highlighted in the lesson's objectives.

Teachers can respond to the submitted tickets out or video with feedback that explicitly targets the students use of the language. When appropriate, teacher can provide learners with additional resources and/or support towards mastering that particular language skill or function. Teachers might also use that linguistic data to inform mini-lessons conducted to small groups of English learners during office hours or intervention time.

Next Steps

How can I learn more?

For more information on the SIOP Model, see Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2008).

Although language objectives can be implemented in any lesson design approach, they are especially congruent with sheltered instruction and the SIOP Model. Since language objectives ensure that teachers meet the unique linguistic needs of English learners, they are sometimes easier to implement in the context of instructional practices espoused by the SIOP Model.

Practices that focus on explicit academic language teaching include:

Below are other resources that can help you learn more about creating language objectives and about integrating academic language into content area classes.

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Final Thoughts

We realize that it takes teachers some time to become very comfortable with creating language objectives, but our experience has shown that the implementation of language objectives can bring immediate benefits to instruction. Some immediate benefits include teachers understanding more concretely that they are both a content area and language teacher - as one teacher said in a CAL SIOP Model workshop, "I now see myself as a math teacher AND a language teacher".

We have also observed that when teachers consciously plan to meet the academic English needs of their learners, they end up with better planned learner tasks, and students begin to have more ownership of their content area and language learning. When it comes to building proficiency in academic English, as many teachers in our workshops remind us, "If you want to see it, you have to teach it." Therefore, if teachers want to see language development, language objectives are a great first step in helping teachers explicitly teach it.

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Recommended Resources

Further reading

Short, D., Himmel, J., Gutierrez, S., & Hudec, J. (2012). Using the SIOP Model: Professional development for sheltered instruction. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E., & Short, D. (2010). The SIOP Model for teaching mathematics to English learners. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Echevarria, J., & Short, D. (2011). The SIOP Model: A professional development framework for a comprehensive school-wide intervention. Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) Brief. http://www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/professional-development-framework.html

Himmel, J., Short, D., Richards, C., & Echevarria, J. (2009). Using the SIOP Model to improve middle school science instruction. Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) Brief. http://www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/siopscience.html

Short, D., Vogt, M., & Echevarria, J. (2010a). The SIOP Model for teaching history-social studies to English learners. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Short, D., Vogt, M., & Echevarria, J. (2010b). The SIOP Model for teaching science to English learners. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Vogt, M.E., Echevarria, J., & Short, D. (2010). The SIOP Model for teaching English language arts to English learners. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Jennifer Himmel is the Project Director for the National Center for English Language Acquisition at the Manhattan Strategy Group. She previously served as the SIOP Manager at the Center for Applied Linguistics, a non-profit organization for language education research, policy, and practice in Washington, DC. She has served as a curriculum developer and research associate for the U.S. Department of Education funded project, Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) that is investigating academic achievement of ELLs in grades 4th-8th, and as a language testing specialist for the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs® language proficiency test. She currently manages the SIOP Model professional development service line and provides technical assistance and professional development in sheltered instruction to districts and schools.

Video Clips: Language Objectives

How to Write Language Objectives: Tips for ELL Educators

In 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.

Dr. Cynthia Lundgren explains language objectives

In this excerpt from her Meet the Expert interview, Dr. Cynthia Lundgren explains the value of writing language objectives when teaching English learners.

Anstrom, K., DiCerbo, P., Butler, F., Katz, A., Millet, J., & Rivera, C. (2010). A review of the literature on academic English: Implications for K-12 English language learners. Arlington, VA: The George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence. Education.www.ceee.gwu.edu.

Echevarria, J., & Colburn, A. (2006). Designing lessons: Inquiry approach to science using the SIOP Model. In A. Lathman & D. Crowther (Eds.), Science for English language learners (pp.95-108). Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. (2008). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP Model. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Echevarria, J., & Short, D. ( 2010). Programs and practices for effective sheltered content instruction. In California Department of Education (Ed), Improving education for English learners: Research-based approaches. Sacramento, CA: CDE Press.

Francis, D., Rivera, M., Lesaux, N., Kieffer, M., & Rivera, H. (2006). Practical guidelines for the education of English language learners: Research-based recommendations for instruction and academic interventions. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ELL1-Interventions.pdf

Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does-and does not-say. American Educator, Summer 2008, pp. 13-44.

Gottlieb, M., Cranley, E., & Cammilleri, A. (2007). Understanding the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards: A resource guide. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium.

Short, D., Himmel, J., Gutierrez, S., & Hudec, J. (2012). Using the SIOP Model: Professional development for sheltered instruction. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (2007). WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium http://www.wida.us/standards/elp.asp

You are welcome to print copies or republish materials for non-commercial use as long as credit is given to Colorín Colorado and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact [email protected] .

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Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction for English Learners

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This article provides an overview of how to use language objectives in content-area instruction for English learners and offers classroom-based examples from different grade and subject levels.

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This is a guide to helping educators create objectives that will be effective in teaching ELLs.

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Ellevation: ML Program Management Tools for K-12

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The introduction of new standards for English Language Learners has resulted in an increase in rigor and a focus on academic language. With this shift, language service models that isolate language objectives from content, such as pull-out or ESL classes, are becoming less common as school districts refocus on language instruction that is embedded within high-quality, well-scaffolded content instruction.

When creating content-based language instruction, educators must develop unit and lesson content that allows ELs to access the same rigorous, standards-based, grade-level content. In particular, educators need to develop content-based language objectives, which clarify how students will develop language within content instruction.

Alison Balter, an EL leader from Lawrence Public Schools in Massachusetts, worked with Jordan Meranus to share effective strategies that she uses to develop language objectives and integrate them into lessons and units. Below we have outlined some of these key strategies.

What are language objectives?

Language objectives clarify how language instruction is integrated with content, and specifically identify:

1. The way ELL students will use language objectives to engage with the content of the lesson and accomplish the content objectives

2. The specific components of academic language (vocabulary, language structures, etc.) that students will need to learn to accomplish the language objectives

With advanced planning, language objectives help to identify the scaffolds that teachers must have ready to support differentiated instruction for their ELs.

How do I create language objectives?

When creating language objectives you should begin by clarifying and identifying the following:

Content objective - identify the content objective that you plan to supplement with language objectives. While you may not create a language objective for every content objective, Alison recommends that you identify the "power objectives", or essential objectives, within a broader unit and use those to create language objectives.

Knowledge of ELL Student Levels - build an understanding of students' language proficiency levels so that you know how to adjust the language objectives, differentiate instruction, and apply accommodations for multilingual learners.

Domain - identify the domain (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing) that you plan to focus on. It often helps to think about what you are asking students to do (e.g., a debate-focused content objective would lend itself to a Speaking language objective).

Next, you will use this key information to craft a language objective composed of the following three components:

1. Language function - the purpose of the language or linguistic processes required in conveying a message, which includes a verb or action that describes what a student should do (e.g., identify, interpret, evaluate, describe)

2. Support - identifies the supports and scaffolds (sensory, graphic, interactive) that the students will need (e.g., vocabulary sheets, visuals, etc.)

3. Link to Content - the link to the content topic

Within this structure you will be able to adjust the language function and supports to match students' different language proficiency levels.

Content Objectives

SWBAT solve word problems involving unit rates

SWBAT justify their decisions based on unit rates in real-life scenarios (e.g., choosing which car to buy based on gas mileage in miles/gallon)

Language Objective -Levels 4-5
Create multiple paragraphs analyzing the effect of figurative language in a poem.

* Support was not provided, as most of the advanced students in this group were working at grade level.

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Crafting Language Objectives for English Language Learners (ELLs)

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The introduction of new standards for English Language Learners has resulted in an increase in rigor and a focus on academic language. With this shift, language service models that isolate language objectives from content, such as pull-out or ESL classes, are becoming less common as school districts refocus on language instruction that is embedded within high-quality, well-scaffolded content instruction.