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The Importance of Self-Reflection in Teaching

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The Importance of Self-Reflection in Teaching

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There are many benefits to being a reflective teacher. These include staying learner-focused, developing reflective learners, and the art of humility (Newell, 2024). When a teacher is learner-focused, they can recognize students’ strengths, abilities, and needs. Reflective teachers can model the art of reflection for students, which then helps develop this skill in themselves. This skill helps them become independent learners who can evaluate and improve their learning. By practicing the art of humility, teachers can be honest with themselves concerning their choices and areas of improvement.

Here are a few ways to incorporate reflective teaching practices:

Keep a journal. Take notes about your lessons. Write down what went well and what might need to be changed.

Invite peers to observe. Ask a trusted co-worker to observe a lesson. Ask them for positive and constructive feedback.

Record your lessons. Take a video of yourself delivering a lesson. This gives an overall view of the classroom and you may see things you did not know were happening. Ask a colleague to sit in with you when you watch to help make sure you are kind to yourself.

Be honest! If you feel things are not going well, it's okay. Reach out to your peers or instructional coach and ask for help.

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This first section will give educators information on the importance of learning about ELL students: their backgrounds, the value of their native languages, and how to best support these students in the classroom.

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Teachers should familiarize themselves with the stages of language acquisition. These include:

Pre-production, or the silent period. Students should not be required or forced to use English if they are not comfortable. They are processing and taking in their new language and environment.

Early production-Students use small words and short sentences. There will be many errors.

Speech emergent-Students begin using longer sentences and try to increase their vocabulary. They still need lots of support.

Beginning Fluency-Social language is fairly fluent.

Intermediate Fluency-Students can speak fluently with minimal errors. They still need support in an academic context.

Advanced Fluency-Students are fluent across both social and academic contexts. (Robertson & Ford, n.d.)

Robertson, K. and Ford, K. (n.d.). Language acquisition: An overview. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview

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When I read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, I remember being fascinated by the "babel fish." These were fish, who when dropped in a person's ear, would provide immediate translation of any language, thriving on sound waves and converting them into comprehensible language.

Wouldn't it be just great if learning a new language were that easy (despite the "yuck" factor)? While we do have some technology that provides translation into a variety of languages, it often fails to translate accurately due to the complexity of language. Effective communication requires so much more than just being able to translate vocabulary words - it requires knowledge of intonation, dialect, and intent, and a nuanced understanding of word use, expression, and a language's cultural context. For example, one online translation application I tried translated "Fall Events" as "fall down events" in Spanish because it didn't know that I was referring to events in autumn.

So, without a babel fish or perfect technology, we are left with the old-fashioned way of learning a new language, which requires time, effort, and patience. How much time, effort, and patience depends a lot on the individual who is learning, as well as the learning environment and situation, but language researchers have developed a general outline of language acquisition that helps explain the process that language learners go through to develop skills in a foreign language. In this article, I will provide an overview to the stages of language acquisition, and offer strategies designed to support ELL instruction at different stages of language acquisition.

Stages of Language Acquisition

Researchers define language acquisition into two categories: first-language acquisition and second-language acquisition. First-language acquisition is a universal process regardless of home language. Babies listen to the sounds around them, begin to imitate them, and eventually start producing words. Second-language acquisition assumes knowledge in a first language and encompasses the process an individual goes through as he or she learns the elements of a new language, such as vocabulary, phonological components, grammatical structures, and writing systems.

The Six Stages of Second-Language Acquisition

Pre-production

This is also called "the silent period," when the student takes in the new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.

Early production

The individual begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.

Speech Emergent

Speech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual still relies heavily on context clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions.

Beginning Fluency

Speech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.

Intermediate Fluency

Communicating in the second language is fluent, especially in social language situations. The individual is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.

Advanced Fluency

The individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the individual may still have an accent and use idiomatic expressions incorrectly at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the second language.

How long does it take for a language learner to go through these stages? Just as in any other learning situation, it depends on the individual. One of the major contributors to accelerated second language learning is the strength of first language skills. Language researchers such as Jim Cummins, Catherine Snow, Lily Wong Filmore and Stephen Krashen have studied this topic in a variety of ways for many years. The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency. This generally applies to individuals who have strong first language and literacy skills. If an individual has not fully developed first language and literacy skills, it may take between seven to ten years to reach advanced fluency. It is very important to note that every ELL student comes with his or her own unique language and education background, and this will have an impact on their English learning process.

It is also important to keep in mind that the understood goal for American ELL students is Advanced Fluency, which includes fluency in academic contexts as well as social contexts. Teachers often get frustrated when ELL students appear to be fluent because they have strong social English skills, but then they do not participate well in academic projects and discussions. Teachers who are aware of ELL students' need to develop academic language fluency in English will be much better prepared to assist those students in becoming academically successful. (Learn more about academic language in Colorín Colorado's academic language resource section.)

Instructional Strategies

If you have ELL students in your classroom, it is more than likely there will be students at a variety of stages in the language acquisition process. What can teachers do to differentiate instruction according to language level? Here are some suggestions for appropriate instructional strategies according to stages of language acquisition.

Emphasize listening comprehension by using read-alouds and music.

Use visuals and have students point to pictures or act out vocabulary.

Speak slowly and use shorter words, but use correct English phrasing.

Model "survival" language by saying and showing the meaning. For example, say, "Open your book," and then open a book while the student observes.

Gesture, point and show as much as possible.

More advanced classmates who speak the same language can support new learning through interpretation.

Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct language usage when students make mistakes.

Continue the strategies listed above, but add opportunities for students to produce simple language.

Ask students to point to pictures and say the new word.

Ask yes/no and either/or questions.

Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss a problem. Have literate students write short sentences or words in graphic organizers.

Model a phrase and have the student repeat it and add modifications. Teacher says, "This book is very interesting." The student repeats it and says, "This book is very boring." Continue with as many modifications as possible.

Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct usage.

Introduce more academic language and skills by using the same techniques listed above, but beginning to use more academic vocabulary.

Introduce new academic vocabulary and model how to use it in a sentence.

Provide visuals and make connections with student's background knowledge as much as possible.

Ask questions that require a short answer and are fairly literal.

Introduce charts and graphs by using easily understood information such as a class survey of food preferences.

Have students re-tell stories or experiences and have another student write them down. The ELL student can bring these narratives home to read and reinforce learning.

In writing activities, provide the student with a fill-in-the blank version of the assignment with the necessary vocabulary listed on the page.

Provide minimal error correction. Focus only on correction that directly interferes with meaning. Reinforce learning by modeling the correct usage.

Have students work in pairs and groups to discuss content.

During instruction, have students do a "Think, pair, share" to give the student an opportunity to process the new language and concept.

Ask questions that require a full response with explanation. If you do not understand the student's explanation, ask for clarification by paraphrasing and asking the student if you heard them correctly.

Ask questions that require inference and justification of the answer.

Ask students if they agree or disagree with a statement and why.

Model more advanced academic language structures such as, "I think," "In my opinion," and "When you compare." Have students repeat the phrases in context.

Re-phrase incorrect statements in correct English, or ask the student if they know another way to say it.

Introduce nuances of language such as when to use more formal English and how to interact in conversations.

Have students make short presentations, providing them with the phrases and language used in presentations ("Today I will be talking about") and giving them opportunities to practice the presentation with partners before getting in front of the class.

Continue to provide visual support and vocabulary development.

Correct errors that interfere with meaning, and pre-identify errors that will be corrected in student writing, such as verb-tense agreement. Only correct the errors agreed upon.

You may want to assist in improving pronunciation by asking a student to repeat key vocabulary and discussing how different languages have different sounds.

Identify key academic vocabulary and phrases and model them. Ask students to produce the language in class activities.

Use graphic organizers and thinking maps and check to make sure the student is filling them in with details. Challenge the student to add more.

Help the student make connections with new vocabulary by instructing him or her in the etymology of words or word families such as, "important, importance, importantly."

Create assessments that give students an opportunity to present in English after they have an opportunity to practice in pairs or small groups.

Introduce more academic skills, such as brainstorming, prioritizing, categorization, summarizing and compare and contrast.

Ask students to identify vocabulary by symbols that show whether the student "knows it really well, kind of knows it, or doesn't know it at all." Help students focus on strategies to get the meaning of new words.

Have a "guessing time" during silent reading where they circle words they don't know and write down their guess of the meaning. Check the results as a class.

Introduce idioms and give examples of how to use them appropriately. For example, "Let's wind up our work." What's another way you could use the phrase "wind up?"

Starting at this level, students need more correction/feedback, even on errors that do not directly affect meaning. They should be developing a more advanced command of syntax, pragmatics, pronunciation, and other elements that do not necessarily affect meaning but do contribute to oral fluency.

It may also be helpful to discuss language goals with the student so you can assist in providing modeling and correction in specified areas.

Students at this level are close to native language fluency and can interact well in a variety of situations. Continue to develop language skills as gaps arise by using the strategies listed above. Although the student may seem completely fluent, he or she still benefit from visual support, building on background knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary and making connections between content areas.

Offer challenge activities to expand the student's vocabulary knowledge such as identifying antonyms, synonyms and the use of a thesaurus and dictionary.

Demonstrate effective note-taking and provide a template.

Offer error correction on academic work and on oral language. Because students at this stage have achieved near-native fluency, they benefit from support in fine-tuning their oral and written language skills.

Recommendations

Scaffold instruction so students receive comprehensible input and are able to successfully complete tasks at their level. Instructional scaffolding works just like the scaffolding used in building. It holds you at the level needed until you are ready to take it down. Scaffolding includes asking students questions in formats that give them support in answering, such as yes/no questions, one-word identifications, or short answers. It also means providing the context for learning by having visuals or other hands-on items available to support content learning. Also, when practicing a new academic skill such as skimming, scaffolding involves using well-known material so the students aren't struggling with the information while they are trying to learn a new skill. Scaffolding includes whatever it takes to make the instruction meaningful for the student in order to provide a successful learning experience.

Use cognates to help Spanish speakers learn English and derive meaning from content. The Colorín Colorado website has a helpful list of common cognates in Spanish for teachers to reference. Teachers can explicitly point out cognates for Spanish speaking students so they begin to realize that this is a useful way for them to increase their English vocabulary.

Explicit vocabulary instruction is very important in accelerating ELL students' English language development. Textbooks include lists of new vocabulary words based on grade-level content, but ELL students need further vocabulary instruction. There are many words in a text that may affect the ELL student's comprehension of the text that a teacher may assume he or she knows. It is important for teachers to develop ways to help students identify the words they don't know, as well as strategies for getting their meaning. Of course it is also beneficial if teachers reinforce the language structures or common associations of vocabulary. For example, "squeak" is a sound that often goes with "mouse" or "door" and it may be stated as, "squeak, squeaky, squeaks, or squeaked."

Error correction should be done very intentionally and appropriately according to student language ability, as noted earlier in the article. Students who are just beginning to speak English are already nervous about using their new language skills and constant correction will not improve their ability; it will just make them want to withdraw. I inform students in advance of the type of errors I will correct, such as "missing articles" and "third person agreement," and then those are the only errors I check. In my class, I do not correct the errors; I circle the mistakes and return the paper to the student. They are responsible for correcting the errors and returning the paper to receive more points. Most of the time the students can make the corrections themselves when they see the area I've circled, but if they have difficulty, I guide them as they make the correction. In this way, I feel there is a manageable amount of correction information to work with and the student will actually learn from doing the correction.

Learning another language. If you learn the language(s) your students speak, they will be thrilled to hear you try it with them. I learned how to say "good morning" in Somali and had to practice for an hour before I felt comfortable saying it. When I did I was rewarded with the big grins of students as they entered the room. They were excited to teach me other phrases as well, and we discussed how much English they had learned since they arrived in the country. They were very proud to think of how much progress they'd made.

Seek the experts in your building or district who can offer you guidance on effective instructional strategies for your ELL students. There are many teachers who have taught ELL students in your content area, have taught a certain population of students, or are trained ESL or bilingual teachers who have a lot of advice and support to offer. Don't hesitate to look for support when you are challenged to reach students who are learning English. This can be especially true when you have a "pre-production" or "beginning level" student and you are responsible for grade level content instruction.

Visit the hotlinks section for this article for more information on specific research regarding language acquisition and recommended instructional strategies. You can also search the Colorín Colorado educator information for useful information and resources to assist you in meeting ELL student needs.

ELL teachers encounter students with a variety of backgrounds and abilities, and until the babel fish comes into existence, they will need to have flexibility, creativity and skill in order to help ELL students make meaning from the new language and content they are learning. An understanding of the language acquisition process and levels will help teachers tailor instruction to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners. Students will benefit from everything teachers do to support the development of their language skills while teaching them grade level content. Together teachers and students develop their understanding of each other, the world around them, and the language that connects us all.
The Stages of Second Language Acquisition
This chapter from Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners Facilitator's Guide, by Jane D. Hill and Cynthia L. Björk, offers information on the second language acquisition process and effective ELL instruction. It includes a a simplified chart of language acquisition levels and the kinds of language teachers can use to help students at each level.

Simple description of the stages of language acquisition and recommendations for instructional strategies according to level.
Overview of Second Language Acquisition and Strategies
Downloadable booklet from the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, "Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners." Includes useful information on language levels, acquisition and 10 things teachers can do today to help ELL students.
Understanding the "Silent Period" with English Language Learners
This article describes some strategies used by two kindergarten teachers to communicate verbally and nonverbally.

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“One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.”— Chinese ProverbWhen I read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, I remember being fascinated by the “babel fish.” These were fish, who when dropped in a person’s ear, would provide immediate translation of any language, thriving on sound waves and converting them into comprehensible language.Wouldn’t it be just great if learning a new language were that easy (despite the “yuck” factor)? While we do have some technology that provides translation into a variety of languages, it often fails to translate accurately due to the complexity of language. Effective communication requires so much more than just being able to translate vocabulary words — it requires knowledge of intonation, dialect, and intent, and a nuanced understanding of word use, expression, and a language’s cultural context. For example, one online translation application I tried translated “Fall Events” as “fall down events” in Spanish because it didn’t know that I was referring to events in autumn.So, without a babel fish or perfect technology, we are left with the old-fashioned way of learning a new language, which requires time, effort, and patience. How much time, effort, and patience depends a lot on the individual who is learning, as well as the learning environment and situation, but language researchers have developed a general outline of language acquisition that helps explain the process that language learners go through to develop skills in a foreign language. In this article, I will provide an overview to the stages of language acquisition, and offer strategies designed to support ELL instruction at different stages of language acquisition.Stages of Language AcquisitionResearchers define language acquisition into two categories: first-language acquisition and second-language acquisition. First-language acquisition is a universal process regardless of home language. Babies listen to the sounds around them, begin to imitate them, and eventually start producing words. Second-language acquisition assumes knowledge in a first language and encompasses the process an individual goes through as he or she learns the elements of a new language, such as vocabulary, phonological components, grammatical structures, and writing systems.The Six Stages of Second-Language AcquisitionPre-productionThis is also called “the silent period,” when the student takes in the new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six weeks or longer, depending on the individual.Early productionThe individual begins to speak using short words and sentences, but the emphasis is still on listening and absorbing the new language. There will be many errors in the early production stage.Speech EmergentSpeech becomes more frequent, words and sentences are longer, but the individual still relies heavily on context clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase and errors begin to decrease, especially in common or repeated interactions.Beginning FluencySpeech is fairly fluent in social situations with minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are challenging and the individual will struggle to express themselves due to gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases.Intermediate FluencyCommunicating in the second language is fluent, especially in social language situations. The individual is able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary knowledge and some unknown expressions. There are very few errors, and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills in the second language such as offering an opinion or analyzing a problem.Advanced FluencyThe individual communicates fluently in all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts and when exposed to new academic information. At this stage, the individual may still have an accent and use idiomatic expressions incorrectly at times, but the individual is essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the second language.How long does it take for a language learner to go through these stages? Just as in any other learning situation, it depends on the individual. One of the major contributors to accelerated second language learning is the strength of first language skills. Language researchers such as Jim Cummins, Catherine Snow, Lily Wong Filmore and Stephen Krashen have studied this topic in a variety of ways for many years. The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency. This generally applies to individuals who have strong first language and literacy skills. If an individual has not fully developed first language and literacy skills, it may take between seven to ten years to reach advanced fluency. It is very important to note that every ELL student comes with his or her own unique language and education background, and this will have an impact on their English learning process.It is also important to keep in mind that the understood goal for American ELL students is Advanced Fluency, which includes fluency in academic contexts as well as social contexts. Teachers often get frustrated when ELL students appear to be fluent because they have strong social English skills, but then they do not participate well in academic projects and discussions. Teachers who are aware of ELL students’ need to develop academic language fluency in English will be much better prepared to assist those students in becoming academically successful. (Learn more about academic language in Colorín Colorado’s academic language resource section.) Instructional StrategiesIf you have ELL students in your classroom, it is more than likely there will be students at a variety of stages in the language acquisition process. What can teachers do to differentiate instruction according to language level? Here are some suggestions for appropriate instructional strategies according to stages of language acquisition.Language StageStrategiesPre-productionEmphasize listening comprehension by using read-alouds and music.Use visuals and have students point to pictures or act out vocabulary.Speak slowly and use shorter words, but use correct English phrasing.Model “survival” language by saying and showing the meaning. For example, say, “Open your book,” and then open a book while the student observes.Gesture, point and show as much as possible.More advanced classmates who speak the same language can support new learning through interpretation.Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct language usage when students make mistakes.Early ProductionContinue the strategies listed above, but add opportunities for students to produce simple language.Ask students to point to pictures and say the new word.Ask yes/no and either/or questions.Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss a problem. Have literate students write short sentences or words in graphic organizers.Model a phrase and have the student repeat it and add modifications. Teacher says, “This book is very interesting.” The student repeats it and says, “This book is very boring.” Continue with as many modifications as possible.Avoid excessive error correction. Reinforce learning by modeling correct usage.Speech EmergentIntroduce more academic language and skills by using the same techniques listed above, but beginning to use more academic vocabulary.Introduce new academic vocabulary and model how to use it in a sentence.Provide visuals and make connections with student’s background knowledge as much as possible.Ask questions that require a short answer and are fairly literal.Introduce charts and graphs by using easily understood information such as a class survey of food preferences.Have students re-tell stories or experiences and have another student write them down. The ELL student can bring these narratives home to read and reinforce learning.In writing activities, provide the student with a fill-in-the blank version of the assignment with the necessary vocabulary listed on the page.Provide minimal error correction. Focus only on correction that directly interferes with meaning. Reinforce learning by modeling the correct usage.Beginning FluencyHave students work in pairs and groups to discuss content.During instruction, have students do a “Think, pair, share” to give the student an opportunity to process the new language and concept.Ask questions that require a full response with explanation. If you do not understand the student’s explanation, ask for clarification by paraphrasing and asking the student if you heard them correctly.Ask questions that require inference and justification of the answer.Ask students if they agree or disagree with a statement and why.Model more advanced academic language structures such as, “I think,” “In my opinion,” and “When you compare.” Have students repeat the phrases in context.Re-phrase incorrect statements in correct English, or ask the student if they know another way to say it.Introduce nuances of language such as when to use more formal English and how to interact in conversations.Have students make short presentations, providing them with the phrases and language used in presentations (“Today I will be talking about”) and giving them opportunities to practice the presentation with partners before getting in front of the class.Continue to provide visual support and vocabulary development.Correct errors that interfere with meaning, and pre-identify errors that will be corrected in student writing, such as verb-tense agreement. Only correct the errors agreed upon.You may want to assist in improving pronunciation by asking a student to repeat key vocabulary and discussing how different languages have different sounds.Intermediate FluencyIdentify key academic vocabulary and phrases and model them. Ask students to produce the language in class activities.Use graphic organizers and thinking maps and check to make sure the student is filling them in with details. Challenge the student to add more.Help the student make connections with new vocabulary by instructing him or her in the etymology of words or word families such as, “important, importance, importantly.“Create assessments that give students an opportunity to present in English after they have an opportunity to practice in pairs or small groups.Introduce more academic skills, such as brainstorming, prioritizing, categorization, summarizing and compare and contrast.Ask students to identify vocabulary by symbols that show whether the student “knows it really well, kind of knows it, or doesn’t know it at all.” Help students focus on strategies to get the meaning of new words.Have a “guessing time” during silent reading where they circle words they don’t know and write down their guess of the meaning. Check the results as a class.Introduce idioms and give examples of how to use them appropriately. For example, “Let’s wind up our work.” What’s another way you could use the phrase “wind up?“Starting at this level, students need more correction/feedback, even on errors that do not directly affect meaning. They should be developing a more advanced command of syntax, pragmatics, pronunciation, and other elements that do not necessarily affect meaning but do contribute to oral fluency.It may also be helpful to discuss language goals with the student so you can assist in providing modeling and correction in specified areas.Advanced FluencyStudents at this level are close to native language fluency and can interact well in a variety of situations. Continue to develop language skills as gaps arise by using the strategies listed above. Although the student may seem completely fluent, he or she still benefit from visual support, building on background knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary and making connections between content areas.Offer challenge activities to expand the student’s vocabulary knowledge such as identifying antonyms, synonyms and the use of a thesaurus and dictionary.Demonstrate effective note-taking and provide a template.Offer error correction on academic work and on oral language. Because students at this stage have achieved near-native fluency, they benefit from support in fine-tuning their oral and written language skills. RecommendationsScaffold instruction so students receive comprehensible input and are able to successfully complete tasks at their level. Instructional scaffolding works just like the scaffolding used in building. It holds you at the level needed until you are ready to take it down. Scaffolding includes asking students questions in formats that give them support in answering, such as yes/no questions, one-word identifications, or short answers. It also means providing the context for learning by having visuals or other hands-on items available to support content learning. Also, when practicing a new academic skill such as skimming, scaffolding involves using well-known material so the students aren’t struggling with the information while they are trying to learn a new skill. Scaffolding includes whatever it takes to make the instruction meaningful for the student in order to provide a successful learning experience.Use cognates to help Spanish speakers learn English and derive meaning from content. The Colorín Colorado website has a helpful list of common cognates in Spanish for teachers to reference. Teachers can explicitly point out cognates for Spanish speaking students so they begin to realize that this is a useful way for them to increase their English vocabulary.Explicit vocabulary instruction is very important in accelerating ELL students’ English language development. Textbooks include lists of new vocabulary words based on grade-level content, but ELL students need further vocabulary instruction. There are many words in a text that may affect the ELL student’s comprehension of the text that a teacher may assume he or she knows. It is important for teachers to develop ways to help students identify the words they don’t know, as well as strategies for getting their meaning. Of course it is also beneficial if teachers reinforce the language structures or common associations of vocabulary. For example, “squeak” is a sound that often goes with “mouse” or “door” and it may be stated as, “squeak, squeaky, squeaks, or squeaked.“Error correction should be done very intentionally and appropriately according to student language ability, as noted earlier in the article. Students who are just beginning to speak English are already nervous about using their new language skills and constant correction will not improve their ability; it will just make them want to withdraw. I inform students in advance of the type of errors I will correct, such as “missing articles” and “third person agreement,” and then those are the only errors I check. In my class, I do not correct the errors; I circle the mistakes and return the paper to the student. They are responsible for correcting the errors and returning the paper to receive more points. Most of the time the students can make the corrections themselves when they see the area I’ve circled, but if they have difficulty, I guide them as they make the correction. In this way, I feel there is a manageable amount of correction information to work with and the student will actually learn from doing the correction.Learning another language. If you learn the language(s) your students speak, they will be thrilled to hear you try it with them. I learned how to say “good morning” in Somali and had to practice for an hour before I felt comfortable saying it. When I did I was rewarded with the big grins of students as they entered the room. They were excited to teach me other phrases as well, and we discussed how much English they had learned since they arrived in the country. They were very proud to think of how much progress they’d made.Seek the experts in your building or district who can offer you guidance on effective instructional strategies for your ELL students. There are many teachers who have taught ELL students in your content area, have taught a certain population of students, or are trained ESL or bilingual teachers who have a lot of advice and support to offer. Don’t hesitate to look for support when you are challenged to reach students who are learning English. This can be especially true when you have a “pre-production” or “beginning level” student and you are responsible for grade level content instruction.Visit the hotlinks section for this article for more information on specific research regarding language acquisition and recommended instructional strategies. You can also search the Colorín Colorado educator information for useful information and resources to assist you in meeting ELL student needs.ELL teachers encounter students with a variety of backgrounds and abilities, and until the babel fish comes into existence, they will need to have flexibility, creativity and skill in order to help ELL students make meaning from the new language and content they are learning. An understanding of the language acquisition process and levels will help teachers tailor instruction to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners. Students will benefit from everything teachers do to support the development of their language skills while teaching them grade level content. Together teachers and students develop their understanding of each other, the world around them, and the language that connects us all.Hot linksThe Stages of Second Language AcquisitionThis chapter from Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners Facilitator’s Guide, by Jane D. Hill and Cynthia L. Björk, offers information on the second language acquisition process and effective ELL instruction. It includes a a simplified chart of language acquisition levels and the kinds of language teachers can use to help students at each level.Simple description of the stages of language acquisition and recommendations for instructional strategies according to level.Overview of Second Language Acquisition and StrategiesDownloadable booklet from the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, “Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners.” Includes useful information on language levels, acquisition and 10 things teachers can do today to help ELL students.Understanding the “Silent Period” with English Language LearnersThis article describes some strategies used by two kindergarten teachers to communicate verbally and nonverbally.

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https://www.teachyourmonster.org/

This resource is used to help ELL students recognize letters and their corresponding sounds. Students work to identify high-frequency words, correctly pronounce letter sounds, and match letters with their sounds. Bright and colorful games engage students, with rewards that keep them learning.

Teach Your Monster to Read would work best with younger ELLs or newcomer students. I would suggest assigning lessons that align with the targeted skill while also providing support at the student's language level.

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Brain Pop ELL is a web-based program that works with ELL students. To begin, students take a placement “test” to determine a starting point. Students learn about English grammar and vocabulary. Lessons align with WIDA standards and language proficiency levels. Resources include learning strategies, lesson plans, graphic organizers, and learning strategies.

This is a great resource for younger EL students or newcomers as it helps build basic language skills. I would suggest teachers use this in conjunction with small group instruction lessons.

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Check out this Real Estate Flyer designed by TONI PATTERSON.

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10 Things You Need to Learn About Your English Language Learners

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10 Things You Need to Learn About Your English Language Learners

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Teachers new to teaching ELL students should read this article to learn how information about the children can be used to help build relationships with both students and families as well as using the information to create meaningful instruction.

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One of the most important steps that teachers can take to help their English language learners (ELLs) succeed is also one of the most basic: getting to know their students. Even students at the beginning stages of learning English can share information about their families and experiences. Learn how to get started from the ideas in these resources.

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One of the most important steps that teachers can take to help their English language learners (ELLs) succeed is also one of the most basic: getting to know their students. Even students at the beginning stages of learning English can share information about their families and experiences.

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Five strategies to welcome newcomers into your classroom

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Five strategies to welcome newcomers into your classroom

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https://wida.wisc.edu/news/five-strategies-welcome-newcomers-your-classroom

ELL students are the largest growing population in U.S. schools. Teaching newcomers can be overwhelming for any teacher and WIDA does a great job listing easy-to-implement strategies. WIDA discusses how to welcome newcomers and the importance of doing so.

Several additional resources are also included for further investigation.

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Multilingual learners are the fastest-growing demographic in K-12 classrooms (Language Magazine, 2018). Currently they make up 10.3% of the national student body (NCES, 2020) and are predicted to account for 25% of public school students in the United States by the year 2025 (Language Magazine, 2018). This trend doesn't just apply to urban schools, since the number of multilingual learners is also increasing quickly in suburban and rural settings, where the percentage of enrolled multilingual learners has risen at faster rates in these classrooms than in city schools (NCES, 2020; NCES, 2023). Among them is a group of multilingual learners known as newcomers; a term coined for students that recently arrived in the United States. These students come to the classroom with rich and unique experiences, but also with new and varied linguistic, academic and social-emotional needs.

Read on to learn the five ways you can help in welcoming newcomers into your classrooms with links to helpful resources after each strategy and how you can dive deeper with WIDA's virtual, self-paced offering - Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice. This workshop offers opportunities to reflect on learning practices in your individual teaching and learning context, create an atmosphere and system of shared responsibility and incorporate and build on the rich resources that multilingual newcomers bring.

When your multilingual newcomers and their families join your school community, get to know them, as well as their abilities and strengths and consider what assets they are bringing to your teaching and learning setting. Family and student questionnaires, delivered in an accessible language and format, are great ways to gather this information! They can capture insights on unique experiences, personal interests, hobbies and skills, language, schooling backgrounds and potential resource-based needs.

Once the academic and linguistic screening is complete, adopt an asset-based, can do approach to identify areas in which your multilingual newcomer demonstrates abilities that can be capitalized on for language and content learning. Use student portfolios to highlight academic, linguistic, cultural and experiential assets that can be shared with fellow educators who will also be working with these students.

We know that language and content are not learned in isolation, yet the meaningful integration of language and content is not automatic. How do we draw on students' unique strengths and experiences to bring them into the content of our classroom and ensure accessibility to language and grade-level academic learning? There are several research-based instructional practices that have been found to encourage more equitable engagement and participation of newcomers in the classroom.

Here is a short list of some of these methods:

Culturally Responsive Teaching is important for newcomers as it encourages educators to focus on their students' wealth of assets, languages they speak and heterogenous perspectives they bring to classroom communities.

What is Culturally Responsive Teaching? Education Week Article

Thematic instruction connects all curricula to a chosen theme, allowing students to see the "big picture" and patterns across academic disciplines. For newcomers, research suggests that the more students participate in diverse engagements around a unified theme, the clearer their understanding of ideas and relationships will become.

How do I implement thematic instruction? Colorín Colorado

Structured teaching protocols, including highly structured environments, high-impact teaching and highly structured activities encourage educators to be intentional about learning environments, activities and multimodal supports for communication.
Highly Structured Approach - Open Library Ed Guide
Translanguaging is a nuanced, multilingual practice. Through translanguaging, students make use of their full linguistic skillset creating connections between languages and extending repertoires.

Be multimodal! "In addition to the use of spoken and written language, students also communicate through gestures, facial expressions, images, equations, maps, symbols, diagrams, charts, videos, graphs, computer-mediated content and other means." (p. 19, WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition)
WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition
ELD Standard 1, Language for Social and Instructional Purposes, extends beyond the other ELD Standards Statements, applying universally across educational settings. It addresses multilingual learners' diverse backgrounds, identities and their significance in content comprehension. A crucial aspect of ELD Standard 1 is that it emphasizes the language skills essential for both social interaction and academic engagement within classroom communities. For that reason, educators must consistently ensure that students possess the linguistic tools required to fully participate in classroom activities and learning.

With that in mind, we should always ask ourselves, "Did I equip my students with the tools to be successful in understanding and using language necessary to access, participate and equitably engage in the activities and content learning taking place in the classroom?"

To explore how considerations for ELD Standard 1 informs our work with multilingual learners in classrooms across the K-12 sphere, check out the grade-level cluster-specific versions of the 2020 Edition below.

Creating a welcoming and secure environment for newcomers and their families starts from the moment they arrive at the school. Tailoring enrollment systems, policies and practices to multilingual newcomers ensures clarity and equity in navigating school procedures. Familiarizing them with these processes enhances their comfort, equips them for social and academic success and promotes equitable access to school resources.

Additionally, fostering a sense of the classroom as a safe space is crucial. Multilingual newcomers must feel valued and supported within their classroom community before fully engaging in language and content learning. Despite the necessity of high grade-level expectations and authentic participation for equitable academic outcomes, achieving these goals can be challenging for newcomers requiring intentional support and understanding.

Actionable ways to encourage safe spaces at the classroom level include the following:

Acknowledge individual identities and strengths in classroom materials and décor.

Encourage translanguaging to deepen understanding of new content.

Structure group work to promote collaboration among diverse students.

Empower students with choices in their learning process.

Implement regular social-emotional check-ins and restorative conversations.

To foster inclusivity within our school community, consider

Gathering background information to inform decision-making

Providing professional development for staff

Ensuring accessibility to communication platforms and services

Offering supportive resources and clear signage in school buildings

U.S. Department of Education's Office Of English Language Acquisition's Newcomer Toolkit
Family Engagement page
Greater integration and collaboration challenges teachers to make meaning with multilingual learners as they expand their linguistic repertoire while learning rigorous, grade-level academic content. In today's educational landscape, everyone within the school community bears responsibility for the success of all students, valuing their diverse experiences and assets. When we come together - sharing our deep knowledge of students and content through our unique lenses - we build capacity to facilitate greater depth to content learning and greater breadth to language instruction. Fostering purposeful collaboration among stakeholders is a shared responsibility that supports our learners and is particularly essential for our multilingual newcomers to succeed across our nation's K-12 classrooms.

In the fully virtual, self-paced workshop, Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice, participants begin with an introductory opening module then choose their own adventure to continue down a pathway most relevant to their teaching and learning context. These strands include learning and thinking critically about newcomers through three different perspectives: collaborative school systems, school community considerations and administrators as change-makers.

The workshop includes insight from teachers, families and newcomer students themselves. It offers space and place for self-reflection, goal setting and check-ins for understanding of new learning, along with turnkey handouts and templates to integrate considerations for newcomers into school practices.
*Note: Workshops available in the Secure Portal may vary by state.
Ready to dive into a fully self-paced workshop? Follow the steps below.

1. Log in to your WIDA Secure Portal (Valid login required. Don't have an account yet? Visit your member/state page to learn how).

2. Go to "Professional Learning" in the Portal's main menu to view available virtual workshops.

3. Complete a self-paced workshop and print your certificate.

Questions? Contact the WIDA Client Services Center at (866) 276-7735 or help@wida.us.

Hussar, B., Zhang, J., Hein, S., Wang, K., Roberts, A., Cui, J., Smith, M., Bullock Mann, F., Barmer, A., and Dilig, R. (2020). The condition of education 2020 (NCES 2020-144). U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020144.pdf

Language Magazine. (2018, October 22). 1 in 4 students is an English language learner: Are we leaving them behind?. https://www.languagemagazine.com/2018/10/22/1-in-4-students-is-an-english-language-learner-are-we-leaving-them-behind/

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). English learners in public schools. The Condition of Education 2023. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgf

Lauren Bartholomae is a professional learning specialist on WIDA's Educator Learning, Research and Practice team. In this role, she engages in the development and facilitation of WIDA's professional learning with educators of multilingual learners across the consortium. Her research and work interests focus on special populations of multilingual newcomers and students identified as students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE), as well as utilizing STEM initiatives and project-based learning to bridge content and language learning in the K-12 classroom.

Elise Sheikh is a marketing specialist on WIDA's Communications and Marketing team. She collaborates with teams across the organization in the development and execution of communications for WIDA projects, products and services.

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Five strategies to welcome newcomers into your classroom

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Multilingual learners are the fastest-growing demographic in K-12 classrooms (Language Magazine, 2018). Currently they make up 10.3% of the national student body (NCES, 2020) and are predicted to account for 25% of public school students in the United States by the year 2025 (Language Magazine, 2018).

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Readworks is a free resource that helps students with reading comprehension. Articles, passages, and eBooks are available on all reading levels, across all content areas. Students answer questions and have access to notation tools, such as highlights, line guides, audio options, and split screens. Readworks offers Spanish language texts that can be assigned to students.

Teachers can use this (free) program to support students in reading comprehension and test-taking strategies.

I would suggest introducing Readworks during small group instruction where students can work on specific strategies.

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The Home Language: An English Language Learner's Most Valuable Resource

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The Home Language: An English Language Learner's Most Valuable Resource

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https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/home-language-english-language-learners-most-valuable-resource

Contrary to belief, it is beneficial for students to use their native language while learning English. Several ELLs enroll in U.S. schools with little to no knowledge of the English language. In this resource, the author discusses the value of ELL’s home language. He offers research-based evidence as to why students should embrace and continue using their native language while learning English. If EL students come to school literate in their native language, they can learn English more quickly because they can transfer the acquisition skills of one language to another.

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The Home Language: An English Language Learner’s Most Valuable Resource

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In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Fred Genesee discusses the research supporting the importance of a child’s home language. In addition, Dr. Genesee explores the question of why an approach that is well-supported by research has been largely ignored in the era of “research-based” policy.OverviewWebcast: ELLs and ReadingLearn more about using the home language to support ELLs’ reading instruction in our Teaching ELLs to Read webcast featuring Dr. Genesee!The education of English language learners (ELLs) is one of the most important issues facing U.S. educators. ELLs are a large and growing proportion of the school-age population — according to National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2007, about 10.8 million (or 20%) school-aged children in the U.S. spoke a language other than English at home (Planty, Hussar, Snyder, Kena, Kewal Ramani, Kemp, Bianco, & Dinkes, 2009). This situation is not likely to change because ELLs are currently the fastest growing population in U.S. schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004), with the number of ELLs expected to increase another 50% by 2025 (Passel & Cohn, 2008).The importance of the issues goes beyond the sheer number of ELLs, however. It has been shown in numerous national studies and surveys that, on average, ELLs under achieve in comparison to their English-speaking peers in academic domains and that the achievement gap tends to increase the higher the grade level (e.g., Fry, 2007; Rumberger, 2007; McNeil et al., 2008). As we consider ways to help ELLs increase their academic achievement, then, it is clear that educators need all the resources at their disposal to meet these challenges.Policy and Home LanguageUntil recently, significant efforts were made to enhance the educational outcomes of ELLs by offering alternative forms of education that incorporate use of ELLs’ home language (Genesee, 1999, for a review). These programs were justified on the grounds that educating ELLs in English only posed a triple threat to their educational success since it would require that they simultaneously:learn academic English to high levels,master challenging academic skills and content taught through English,adopt new social skills that would permit them to integrate with their English-speaking classmates and teachers.However, in recent years, recent political and legislative initiatives that disfavor bilingual education have made these educational options difficult to access, despite evidence of their success (Goldenberg, 2009). Along with these politically-motivated changes, it would appear that educators and policy-makers no longer recognize the native language skills of ELLs as an important educational resource and, indeed, it would even appear that they discredit it having any role in the education of ELLs.What does the research say?At the same time that the role of the home language is diminishing in public education policy, there have been growing political and legislative expectations that educational policies and classroom practices be backed up by scientific, empirical evidence. With respect to ELLs, there is undeniable and growing evidence that the home language of ELLs is of considerable benefit to their overall academic success. There are multiple sources of such evidence. First, recent meta-analyses have shown that educational programs that systematically incorporate use of ELLs’ home language result in levels of academic success, including achievement in literacy and other academic subjects, that are as high as and often better than that of ELLs in English-only programs (Genesee & Lindholm-Leary, in press). In a review of these meta-analyses, Goldenberg (2008) notes “Readers should understand how unusual it is to have five meta-analyses on the same issue conducted by five independent researchers or groups of researchers with diverse perspectives. The fact that they all reached essentially the same conclusion is worth noting. No other area in educational research with which I am familiar can claim five independent meta-analyses based on experimental studies — much less five that converge on the same basic finding.” (p. 15).Second, in a study of ELLs in two-way immersion programs, Lindholm and Aclan (1991) found a significant positive relationship between individual student’s level of bilingual proficiency and their achievement in math and reading in English. Furthermore, the students who were classified as “high bilinguals” were able to attain grade level results by fourth grade in English reading and by third grade in English math.Third, a growing body of evidence from researchers around the world has shown that bilingual children exhibit significant cognitive advantages in comparison to monolingual children (e.g., Bialystok 2006; Chin & Wigglesworth, 2007; Kovaacs & Mehler, 2009). These advantages have been demonstrated in executive control processes related to selective attention and inhibition and monitoring of attention when, for example, children are engaged in problem solving.Fourth, and finally, extensive research, again from around the world, has found that children who are learning to read in a second language are able to transfer many skills and knowledge from their first language to facilitate their acquisition of reading skills in the second language. The best evidence of this comes from studies showing that students with strong reading skills in the home language also have strong reading skills in their second language. Much of this work has been done on ELLs in the U.S. (August & Shanahan, 2006; Riches & Genesee, 2006).What we see in the U.S., then, is a push for research-based policy but the creation of policies that contradict the research. Debate concerning the value of using ELLs’ home language in specially-designed programs, such as two-way immersion, will undoubtedly continue, and so it should since it makes little educational sense to diminish U.S. students’ opportunities to become bilingual in an increasingly globalized community.Back to topHome Language in the ClassroomIn the meantime, teachers and students can’t wait for these policy debates to be settled before deciding how or whether to draw upon ELLs’ home language. The question arises how can schools and teachers, even those who are monolingual, act on evidence that clearly shows the personal, cognitive, linguistic and educational value of using the linguistic resources that ELLs bring to school. There is no simple or single answer to this question, but a number of options are worth exploring that, at the moment, are often overlooked and discounted. Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan (2009, Chapter 3) offer a number of suggestions:To encourage students to see connections between their languages and, thus, to better understand how languages are structured and organized, talk to ELLs about their home language — ask them:How is the home language the same and how it is different from English?Are there words in the home language that sound the same and mean the same thing in both languages?Are there words in the home language and English that sound the same but mean different things?As part of phonological and metalinguistic awareness exercises to facilitate reading acquisition, ask students:to say words that start with the same sound(s) in English or the L1.how words are changed and formed in the home language — singular and plural forms, present tense and past tense forms of verbs — to enhance their word knowledgewho are new to your class, to read books in their home language to show you what they know about reading.By using the collective skills and knowledge of all students (both ELL and English-L1 students) in the classroom, even a monolingual teacher can tap into these valuable language resources that ELLs have and do so with the confidence that these methods will promote their language development — in English as well as the home language.Back to topEducation for AllA hallmark of public education in the U.S. is respect for and appreciation of the individual skills and backgrounds of students as a foundation for furthering their education. Taking advantage of ELLs’ home language resources is asking no more than the same respect and appreciation for this group of learners. At the same time, parents, teachers, educational leaders in local school districts, and politicians should discuss how best to provide all students in the U.S. with high quality educational programs that promote competence in additional languages. At stake is not only the competitiveness of individual students once they enter the work force but, indeed, the ability of the U.S. itself to compete in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural world.Back to topVideo: Using the Home Language as a ResourceDearborn Public Schools ELD Director Rose Aldubaily discusses the value of using students’ home language as a resource. About the AuthorFred Genesee is Professor in the Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal. He has conducted extensive research on alternative forms of bilingual and immersion education for language minority and language majority students. His current research interests also include language acquisition in pre-school bilingual children, internationally-adopted children, second language reading acquisition, and the language and academic development of students at-risk in bilingual programs. He is the recipient of the Canadian Psychological Associate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community or Public Service and the 2-Way CABE Award of Promoting Bilingualism. Publications include:Genesee, F., Paradis, J., & Crago (Eds.) (2010). Dual Language Development and Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism and Second Language Learning, 2nd Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing.Cloud, N., Genesee, F., and Hamayan, E. (2009). Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners: A Teacher’s Guide to Research-Based Practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Back to topAcknowledgementsOur policy section is made possible by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation. The statements and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.

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https://ellevationeducation.com/

ELLevation is used to organize data from diagnostic assessments and ACCESS. ELLevation also lists strategies that match students’ language proficiency levels and is used to track student progress.

Our school district uses this resource to keep track of EL students' data from ACCESS and Star assessments. Teachers can reference the scores of EL students, find their English language proficiencies, and find effective, research-based strategies for each student. I highly recommend EL and classroom teachers to schedule a meeting to go over student data and devise a general plan for the classroom.

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Ellevation: ML Program Management Tools for K-12

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Ellevation: EL Program Management & Teaching Tools: K-12

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Ellevation is the first and most powerful suite of tools designed specifically for professionals serving English Language Learners. Ellevation saves school districts time, while teachers maximize

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Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Reading Instruction

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Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Reading Instruction

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https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/curriculum-and-instruction/articles/supporting-ells-mainstream-classroom-reading-instruction

This resource offers strategies to support EL’s in reading. Many of these are already implemented in everyday classrooms. Still, teachers need to be more intentional when working with EL’s as they require explicit instruction and time to practice the skills.

Reading Rockets has great resources on reading instruction. As reading is integrated into every content area, this article is a must read for all teachers.

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1. Read to students every day

2. Support students' comprehension as much as possible

3. Teach the alphabet when necessary

4. Teach phonics in context

5. Check comprehension frequently

7. Support native language literacy

8. Encourage reading outside of the classroom

9. Establish an English Language Learner Center

10. Make up individualized activity packs for your newcomers

You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Reading Instruction

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You can and should use what you already know to be effective, research-based reading instruction to English language learners (ELLs). However, ELLs will need additional support in learning how to read, and the strategies here will help you to provide assistance in your everyday teaching, particularly for newcomers (students who have recently arrived in the U.S.).

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Academic Language and ELLs: What Teachers Need to Know

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Academic Language and ELLs: What Teachers Need to Know

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https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/academic-language-and-ells-what-teachers-need-know

Colorín Colorado has a plethora of resources for EL teachers. This particular site offers information regarding the role of academic language in the classroom. Social vs. academic language is discussed as well as how cognates can be used to aid in language learning.

Teachers should be aware of the differences between social and academic language acquisition. Once they are aware, teachers need to know how to plan and teach both to students.

As always, Colorín Colorado offers additional resources at the end of this article.

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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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How to Use Technology to Help ELLs Achieve Language Mastery

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How to Use Technology to Help ELLs Achieve Language Mastery

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https://www.continentalpress.com/blog/how-to-use-technology-to-help-ells/

The website discuss why technology is so important for ELLs in their language learning. It also offers nine different technology tools that are free and can be easily implemented into everyday lessons. As with any instruction support tool, technology usage should be planned and purposeful in learning. The authors also offer suggestions on how to use technology when communicating with families.

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How to Use Technology to Help ELLs Achieve Language Mastery | Continental Educational Publisher

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Struggling with how to use technology to help ELLs in your classroom? Check out these nine effective edtech tools for English learners!

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Teachers should never stop learning. The world of education is constantly changing and the teaching community needs to keep up with the best practices and methods in teaching. As we continue to welcome EL families into our schools, we must keep abreast of ways to support them. Looking for professional development can be daunting and overwhelming, especially for new teachers.

Here are a few suggestions:

Contact your instructional coach or ELL district coordinator. They have information regarding training and may be able to register teachers for professional development courses.

Attend live webinars. Some are free, some may be at a cost to you. WIDA offers free webinars on subjects such as how to help students with bilingual writing and strategies for supporting multilingual newcomers.

Visit sites such as Colorín Colorado or Edutopia. They have many resources for working collaboratively with EL teachers, ELL families, and students.

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Stephen Krashen has five hypotheses concerning learning acquisition. Two of these, the affective filter and comprehensible input, are commonly seen in the classroom.

The first, the affective filter, states that learners must feel safe and comfortable in an environment before they take chances in the classroom. (Lavendez, 2010). Teachers should work towards creating a space where all students feel valued and free to make mistakes in their learning.

Comprehensible input + 1 is a hypothesis that states teachers should deliver instruction at a slightly higher level than a student's current proficiency (or ability) level. This works best when teachers know their EL students' current proficiency levels and work toward that next level. Make sure to use visual aids and less complex vocabulary during instruction.

Lavadenz, M. (2010). From theory to practice for teachers of English learners. The CATESOL Journal, 22(1), 18-47. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1112046.pdf

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Academic and Social Languages-Jim Cummins

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Academic and Social Languages-Jim Cummins

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Jim Cummins is widely known for his language acquisition theory which states there are two types of language: BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALPs (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency).

BICS is usually developed first. This happens through social interactions; listening to peers and teachers or playing at recess or other unstructured times. This social language is necessary for students to communicate their basic needs to others. BICS can take 6 months to five years to develop. Teachers should provide plenty of team/class building activities while making sure students feel comfortable practicing their English skills.

CALPs refer to content-specific vocabulary. This can take anywhere from four to seven years to develop. When teaching content vocabulary, teachers should front load words with pictorial aids, realia, or movements/gestures to aid in understanding. Students should also have opportunities to work in collaborative groups where they can problem-solve and use the content vocabulary.

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College students are often asked to draft a teaching philosophy to help frame their thoughts on teaching. After a few years of experience, your teaching philosophy will have shifted and changed. So why write a new one? There are several reasons.

1. A teaching philosophy can help remind teachers of their values. What's important to you as a teacher?

2. It describes teaching methods used in the classroom. Getting these in written form can spark reflection and discussion on best practices.

3. It helps to set goals for both teachers and students. What are the professional goals you have? What academic goals do you have for students?

4. It includes the ways students are assessed; are you a traditional test-giver or do you provide alternative methods of assessing students?

Writing a new teaching philosophy can take time, but it helps to reflect on how teachers teach, assess, and learn. Once it's written down, create a pictorial image or flyer. Hang it in your classroom or keep it in a safe place to reference often.

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What Accommodations can be Made for ELLs? 

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What Accommodations can be Made for ELLs? 

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Assessments are created to measure a student's understanding of the material that has been taught. EL students are often assessed along with the rest of their peers, even if they are not proficient in the English language. They often end up being tested not only on the content (math, science, etc) but also on their English skills. This can be frustrating to ELLs and the assessment data does not give an accurate picture of understanding. In order to level the playing field, accommodations can be given to EL students. These include:

Human reader: Having a teacher read the question and answer choices helps students spend less time decoding the words and more time focusing on what is being asked. This is especially useful for math word problems as they tend to be lengthy. Human readers also help pace students while testing.

Small Group Environment: Fewer students in a classroom decrease the need for privacy/testing folders which are bulky and take up space and block light. Students can be spread out in the room during testing. Having fewer students can also lessen the anxiety of having a lot of people in the room.

Extended Time. Students may need additional time to process test questions or work out math problems. Students feel less pressure when they are not on a timed schedule.