English Language Learners ELLs By Nancy Tavarez Correa

List 3 things you know about ELLs and 3 things you want to know. KnowWant to KnowLearned

Essential Terminology Bilingual Education ESL : English as a Second Language ELS: English Language Services LESA : Limited English Speaking Ability (1968) LEP : Limited English Proficiency ELLs : English Language Learners L1 : Native Language L2 : Target Language, English BICS : Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills CALP : Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency WIDA : World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment

Why people migrate to the USA? Better economical opportunities – Completed a higher education in their country but were unable to find a job in their field – Completed only the elementary or secondary education and were unable to find a job that provided the basic needs Escaping War Religious Freedom

Migration Pattern and Bilingualism in USA 1664: At least 18 languages were openly accepted, consisting of German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Irish, and Welsh among others 1694: German language schooling 1830: progressive large wave of immigrants resulted in native language instruction in certain areas 1847: Ohio Law authorized instruction in German and English, Louisiana followed with French-English, about a dozen states had similar laws 1889: major attacks to bilingualism, but the Germans fought back 1900: Italian, Jews and Slavs began to outnumber Germans, Irish and Scandinavian 1906: First federal language law- English speaking requirement for naturalization 1915: 24% of the schools in American taught in German-English 1924: Decline of bilingualism due to WWII and the anti-German feeling

Federal Laws and Mandates Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or Bilingual Education Act of 1968 Lau Vs. Nichols (1974), Lau Remedies (1975) Major Amendments to the Bilingual Education Act – 1974: defined bilingual program – 1978: extended to include all aspects of English literacy – 1980 : Native language instruction for content area – 1984 : Allowed 4% of funding special alternative programs – 1988 : Increased funding of alternative programs to 25% – 2002 : Expiration of Title VII and the birth of NCLB

Federal Laws and Mandates The NCLB, Title III : – Judges school performance based on percentage of ELLs that are reclassified as fluent – Mandates annual “secure” language assessments – Withhold funds for failure to show academic progress in English – Funds are distributed by state through a formula grants based on ELLs enrollment – OBEMLA changed to OELALEAALEPS

New Jersey Laws and Mandates New Jersey Bilingual Education Administration Code: N.J.S.A. 18A:35 – Bilingual Education: 20 or more students in the district - must provide native language instruction based on the students language proficiency – At Least 2 ESL periods: more than 10 students in the district – English Language Services: less than 10 students in the district – Staff serving as ESL or Bilingual Teacher must have the respective certification: Bilingual/Bicultural Teacher or/and ESL teacher – State Language proficiency assessment : ACCESS for ELLs – Exempt from taking the Language Arts portion of NJASK, GEPA if they have been in the country for less than 1 year

Who is considered an ELL? Born is USA Migrated to USA A student whose first language is other than English and is in the process of acquiring full proficiency Has grade level proficiency in the native language or is in the elementary grades? YesNo Student is likely to transition without major difficulties Student is likely to struggle with the second language

Theories & Research Stephen Krashens – Comprehensible Input – Form vs. Function – Learning vs. Acquisition Jim Cummins – Common Underlying Proficiency – Interdependence of First and Second Language – Comprehensible Input Thomas & Collier – Bilingual Education in urban setting

Stages of Acculturation/Assimilation Acculturation Vs. Assimilation Stage 1: Euphoria – Excitement, new experiences Stage 2: Culture Shock – Hostility, anxiety, panic Stage 3: Anomie – Recognize positive and negative, identity crisis Stage 4: Adoption – Able to navigate the new culture, high level of comfort

Activity 1 : Jose has been in this country for about two years. He is a new student at your school. What do you need to know about him? What type of services should he receive? What strategies would you use to reach him?

Language Acquisition BICS – Social language, cultural awareness – Takes approximately 3-4 years CALP – Academic language – Takes approximately 5-7 years

Activity 2: BICS vs. CALP Explain the following message if f(x) is defined and continuous on the interval [a,b] and differentiable on (a,b), then there is at least one number c in the interval (a,b) so that the first derivative of f(c) equals the quotient of the difference between f(b) and f(a) over b-a. In other words, there exists a point in the interval (a,b) which has a horizontal tangent. Meaning that there exists a point such that the tangent line is parallel to the line passing through (a,f(a)) and (b,f(b)).

Language Proficiency (WIDA & ACCESS) Level 1: Entering – pictorial or graphic representation of the language of the content areas; words, phrases, or chunks of language when presented with one-step commands, directions, WH-questions, or statements with visual and graphic support Level 2: Beginning – general language related to the content areas; phrases or short sentences; oral or written language with phonological, syntactic, or semantic errors that often impede the meaning of the communication when presented with one to multiple- step commands, directions, questions, or a series of statements with visual and graphic support

Language Proficiency (WIDA & ACCESS) Level 3: Developing – general and some specific language of the content areas; expanded sentences in oral interaction or written paragraphs; oral or written language with phonological, syntactic, or semantic errors that may impede the communication but retain much of its meaning Level 4: Expanding – specific and some technical language of the content areas; a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguistic complexity in oral discourse or multiple, related paragraphs; oral or written language with minimal phonological, syntactic, or semantic errors that do not impede the overall meaning of the communication when presented with oral or written connected discourse with occasional visual and graphic support

Language Proficiency (WIDA & ACCESS) Level 5: Bridging – Uses the technical language of the content areas; a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguistic complexity in extended oral or written discourse, including stories, essays, or reports; oral or written language approaching comparability to that of English proficient peers when presented with grade level material

Teaching Strategies Know the Language Proficiency Level of your students as this will determine your instruction and assessment. For example: Level 1 & 2 ELLs, their comprehension needs to be assessed through oral activities with the class, partner or team work, presentations and illustrations. Level 3 & 4: their writing should be accepted as correct even when many grammatical errors may be present and may disturb the meaning. Level 2-4, creative spelling should be encouraged throughout the lesson. Do not try to correct each grammatical errors as they are part of the natural process of Language acquisition. The materials used throughout the lesson should vary with the Language proficiency level.

Teaching Strategies Total Physical Response ( TPR) – Allow students to respond by actions rather than words – Particularly useful during the silent period (Language Proficiency L1) Visuals and Manipulative – Hands-on artifacts, realia Scaffolding – Model the skills and language, allow students to use your example and modify as needed

Teaching Strategies Cooperative learning : groups – Peer tutoring, small group activities Plan opportunities for peer interaction – Maximize the time for oral interaction Error vs. Mistake – error correction – Do not correct all the errors as they are part of the language acquisition process

Teaching Strategies Use authentic and functional language/lessons – Negotiate meaning, ask for clarification, argue persuasively Comprehensible Input: – Support communication with gesture and body language, paraphrase content, give additional examples, elaborate on students background knowledge, avoid jargons, run on sentences, be watchful of figurative language and idioms Word Walls/Word List – word list reference book, writing process Differentiated Instruction : Language Proficiency – Language proficiency and age appropriateness

Teaching Strategies Teach and practice study skills – Structure note-taking, outlining, use of reference material Teach and model reading and writing strategies Use a variety of graphic organizers

Activity 3 : Alexis has been in this country for seven years. His ACCESS score placed him at level 3 of language proficiency development. He transferred to your school in the middle of the year. What do you need to know about him? What are the challenges you will face? What strategies would you use to reach this student?