Text Adaptations for ELLs: YES! You Can! By Tim McKay ESL Curriculum Supervisor Pittsburgh Public Schools

Why Adapt? ESL students have a very hard time understanding texts and instruction in English, especially at the upper grade levels Some ESL students come to our schools with limited formal school experiences When all children participate in instruction, classroom management is less of an issue

Two Primary Ways of Adapting Text Simplified Texts  Texts can be linguistically simplified by substituting frequently occurring vocabulary for infrequently occurring nontechnical vocabulary, shortening sentence length and restructuring sentences to reduce their complexity. The goal here is linguistic simplification to improve readability. When simplifying a text for ELLs, the purpose of adaptation is to eliminate overly complex language that might prevent the student from understanding the main ideas of text.

Two Primary Ways of Adapting Text Elaborated Texts  Elaborated texts aim is to clarify, elaborate and explain implicit information and make connections explicit. Words are often added to increase comprehension. The goal is to make a text more coherent and limit the ambiguity within it. Unlike linguistic simplification, improved text coherence (or understandability) does not necessarily decrease the difficulty of a text as measured by readability formulas.

Potential Benefits of Text Adaptation Linguistic simplification will presumably decrease the language load a reader must grapple with, allowing ELLs to concentrate on understanding the content of the text without the burden of language complexities. Simpler vocabulary would allow a learner to focus on essential meaning rather than become frustrated with overly complex words If a text is elaborated, it should provide greater text coherence and lead to higher levels of simplification. An elaborated text should make implicit references very explicit

Potential Drawbacks of Text Adaptation A text that is simplified may prevent the students from being exposed to the vocabulary and text structures that they will eventually need to know An elaborated text might make for more coherent and comprehensible reading, but a the same time remove inherent ambiguity that makes reading interesting Although texts should be easy enough for students to understand, tasks that are too easy never provide learners with the opportunity to see what they can actually accomplish

An Example: Today’s Cricket The batsmen were merciless against the bolwers. The bolwers placed their men in slips and covers. But to no avail. The batsman hit a lot of fours. They hit some sixes. No ball hit the stumps. No ball was caught. The men were at bat against the bowlers. They did not show any pity. The bolwers placed their men in slips. They placed their men in covers. It did not help. The batsmen hit a lot of fours. The y hit some sixes. No ball hit the stumps. No ball was caught.

The most important aspects of ELL text/lesson adaptation are… Strong lesson planning Plenty of scaffolding Use of graphic organizers Using the teachable moment Careful error correction

Who Will Benefit From Adapted Texts? Adapted texts may not meet the needs of all ELLs. A student’s specific learning needs and background knowledge must be taken into account when deciding to use adapted texts with a specific reader An elaborated text, which explicitly explains a concept that might not be familiar to an ELL who is not from the United States.

Why Would Reading An Adapted Text Be A More Effective Solution Than Other Teaching Strategies? Coherency of subject matter Key points are already outlined ELLs feel as though they are part of the class rather than being given work that is too simple Test construction may be clearer for teacher and students Curriculum requirements

How Will Adapted Texts Be Used? The need for adapted texts may not be ideal for all instructional settings The need for adapted texts depends in large part on how much support, or scaffolding, a teacher is able to provide during reading Individual considerations of students

When Will Adapted Texts Be Used? A adapted text should be considered only when the teacher feels that comprehension will be substantially limited if the text is not changed in some way The goals of a particular lesson should also be considered when deciding on text adaptation

Again…the most important aspect of lesson design for ELLs is… Scaffold

Where can I look for help with adaptations for ELLs? In the Teacher’s Edition On-line General Education colleagues Special Education Teachers The ESL Teacher