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Working with Specific Groups of English Language Learners

Characteristics of a Language-Rich Elementary Classroom: What it LOOKS Like (p. 346-347)

Having a language-rich classroom aids young English language learners to locate important content information along with resources.  Classrooms that are highly supportive of elementary ELLs are highly inclusive, welcoming, supportive of peer interactions, and set high expectations for all students.  A language-rich environment includes distinct wall space for each content area, clearly posted learning objectives, visual anchor charts, unit/thematic-based word walls, student work displays, books that reflect the students inside the classroom, and seating arrangements that support peer collaboration.

Characteristics of a Language-Rich Elementary Classroom: What it SOUNDS Like (p. 347-349)

A language-rich classroom is alive with sound!  Teachers create a space of opportunities for students to talk.  Student-to-student academic conversations occur here.  Enriched content vocabulary can be heard throughout the room.  Teachers recognize that to foster a language-rich environment, students must have the time provided to verbalize their thoughts and ideas to internalize and own them.  Characteristics of a language-rich environment sound like students speaking more than the teacher, students participating in academic conversations, explicit modeling of expectations, the use of sentence stems, providing wait time, providing support during independent reading, using direct instruction, and singing, chanting, and playing.

Characteristics of a Language-Rich Elementary Classroom: What it FEELS Like (p. 349-351)

Did you know that a caring supportive classroom can increase the degree and progress of language and content learning?  Did you know that the opposite is true, as well?  A highly supportive ELL environment feels safe, inclusive, and supportive.  One of my favorite quotes was shared in this text.  It states, “Children don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  This makes me think of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  This theory states that a child cannot learn until their basic needs are met.  One of the most basic needs of a student is the feeling of safety and well-being.  The characteristics of a language-rich classroom feel like encouraged student collaboration, inclusivity, a sense of being nurtured and belonging, a fostered community, and a provided value, respect, and support of the student’s primary language.

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Contrastive Analysis

Linguistic Contrastive Analysis: Flossie and the Fox

The linguistic contrastive analysis is a series of books to help students understand similarities and differences between African American Language (AAL) and Mainstream American English (MAE).

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Teaching English Language Learners in the Content Areas

Analyzing Images (Social Studies/p. 293)

This activity is ideal because it meets the students where they’re at in their language development journey.  This activity can be modified in many ways.  One example that the text shared is having three photographs or paintings related to the social studies content standard being taught.  Students can create a report on their chosen photograph/painting, then they can share their work in a small group, or as a presentation in front of the classroom.

Activities Using Visuals (Science/p.308)

Though visuals are in no way meant to replace text, visuals are a great scaffolding method inside the science classroom!  This can be done in many ways.  Students can receive a paper with pictures and a word bank relating to the science standard being taught.  Students can work together to discuss what each picture represents and why they think it’s correct.  Another possibility is to create a vocabulary connection web.  This is achieved by connecting words using a line, and stating on that line why they chose to connect the words.

Talk Moves (Math/p. 392-393)

Talk moves are strategies and prompts that provide students with “think time.”  This is a way for students to organize their thoughts before they speak.  Many categories can be involved in talk moves including revoicing, paraphrasing, reasoning, adding on, and wait time.  Revoicing is the teacher or student restating what they are hearing in a rescripted manner.  Paraphrasing refers to a student using their own words to state what another student shared.  Reasoning is when students listen to other classmates and decide if they agree or disagree with that student.  Reasoning requires prior knowledge and provides a learning opportunity for students to change or modify their responses to a solution.  Adding on is an encouragement for students to share their thoughts to extend an idea.  Lastly, wait time is when the teacher asks a question and then pauses to allow their students to organize their thoughts and provide an explanation for their thinking.  Talk moves are beneficial because they require active listening, communication, and collaboration.

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Teaching Beginning English Language Learners

Music (p.88-89)

Music is a great alternative tool in the ELL classroom.  Some students may be intimidated to speak aloud, so singing with a group may create more ease.  Music is universally enjoyed.  Teachers can give students copies of lyrics.  The teacher can then review and practice the chorus along with different verses.  Research shows that using music is an effective language-building strategy.  The songs are often known and popular, use grade-level vocabulary, have a rhythm/beat that aids students in phrases or sentences rather than single words, and are often repetitive.  Evidence also shows that an increase of dopamine (a happy hormone) is released and elevated moods occur from music.  It’s an emotional learning process that creates a strengthened connection to long-term memory.

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Teaching Intermediate English Language Learners

Using Images to Generate Writing (p. 190-192)

ELL students may find images to be more engaging and less intimidating when compared to text.  Images can be related to a unit or may reflect upon a problem.  After viewing an image, students can use detailed writing to describe what they see.  Students are also encouraged to ask questions about the photo, as well.  The questions can be used as writing entry points.  This practice builds argumentative thinking and writing skills.  Another activity that can be used with images is having students predict what they think is occurring within the photo using supporting evidence.  Key ideas, details, text types, purpose, writing range, conversations, and vocabulary acquisition and use are among the top benefits of Anchor Standards for reading writing, and language.  Research shows that such activities are an effective instructional practice for improving adolescent learners’ writing.

Presentations: “Speed Dating” (p. 201)

Supporting evidence shows that this activity is beneficial for improving students’ fluency.  In this activity, the teacher divides the class into two groups; one group is to remain stationary while the other group is the “movers.”  Each student is paired.  During their “speed dating” session, one student shares their work with the other student (reading or writing that they have completed).  The other student may be encouraged to ask questions to further conversation.  When the teacher says, “Switch,” the movers go to the next table and repeat the process.  This activity targets specific standards such as speaking and listening, comprehension and collaboration, conventions of standard English, knowledge of language, and vocabulary acquisition and use.

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References Used :

Sypnieski, L. (2022). ESL/ELL TEACHER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE: ready-to-use strategies, tools, and activities for teaching... English language learners of all levels. Jossey-Bass Inc ,U S.

‌Contrastive analysis and AAL book list.pdf. (n.d.). Google Docs. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1as_e9S1Cd9XjGALAt4lStB0gifCrWBwQ/view

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