English Language Learners in the Mathematics Classroom

Rocío Benedicto New Mexico State University MC2 Field Specialist

Did you know? There are sixty-six native languages, other than English, spoken by students in some school districts.

Language Diversity Three in four English Language Learners’ first language is Spanish. Other languages spoken by public school children include Vietnamese, Hmong, Cantonese, Korean, Haitian, Creole, Arabic, Russian, Tagalog, Navajo, Khmer, Mandarin, Portuguese, Urdu, Serbo-Croatian, Lao, Japanese, Punjabi, Armenian, Polish, French and Hindi. Crawford, James (2004). Educating English Learners: Language Diversity in the Classroom. Los Angeles, CA: Bilingual Education Services.

Newcomers Today 30.1% Mexico 27.3% from Asia 23% from other Latin American countries 13.1% Europe 2.2% North America (Canada, Greenland, etc.) 0.6% Oceania (Migration Policy Institute, 2008 found at

Hispanics/Latinos in the United States The United States has the second largest Spanish speaking population in the world. More than 53 million Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S.(Pew Hispanic Center, 2010). Come from every Spanish speaking nation in the world. The majority of Hispanics in the United Sates (66%) identify as Mexican, Mexican-American or Chicano (2006). The majority of Hispanics/Latinos live in 5 states.

7 States with the greatest population of Hispanics/Latinos (PEW, 2008) StatePopulation 2008Population 2000 California13,434,89610,928,470 Texas8,815,5826,653,338 Florida3,846,2672,673,654 New York3,232,3602,854,991 Arizona1,964,6251,292,152 Fuente: U.S. Census Bureau, Estimados demográficos, Julio 1, 2006

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Distribution of Hispanics/Latinos by age and gender Distribution of population by gender Age (years)Masculine% de HispanicsFemenine% de Hispanics < 18 years of age7,845, ,486, > 18 years of age15,506, , Distribution of population under 18 years of age < 5 years of age2,506, ,388, to 9 years of age2,111, ,041, to 14 years of age2,038, ,941, to 19 years of age1,982, ,846,8114.1

Hispanics/Latinos in U.S. Schools (K-12) The number of Hispanic/Latino students has doubled in the last 15 years. There are approximately 10 million Hispanic/Latino students in the K-12. One in five public school students in the United States is Hispanic/Latino. By 2040, the U.S. Census Bureau has projected that there will be more Hispanic/Latino children in U.S. schools than non-Hispanic/Latino children.

Use of the Spanish Language By youth under the age of 18 U.S. Born – approximately 70% speak Spanish in their homes Foreign born– more than 90% speak Spanish at home

Reflection Let’s pause for 10 minutes and take some time to reflect on what this information means for our K-12 mathematics classrooms. Each of you has a different colored paper in front of you. On that piece of paper write down 1) 2 things that you have learned, & 2) 1 question that you have Find the person who has the same colored paper as you and discuss your thoughts.

BREAK PLEASE BE BACK IN 10 MINUTE S

Share out discussion

What has been the response to linguistic diversity in the U.S. K- 12 classroom?

Objectives of Bilingual Education Not allow students to fall behind in academics because of lack of command of English. Gradually learn English as a second language. Ease the transition from the native language to English through subjects. Offer more opportunity for academic success through ease of transition into English.

Models Of Bilingual Education English immersion Transitional bilingual education Maintenance bilingual education Two-way bilingual education – Dual Language Immersion English as a second language (ESL)

Immersion Instruction is entirely in English. All subject content and communication is conducted in English. There is no instructional support for native language.

Transitional and Maintenance models Instruction for some subjects is in the students’ native language but a certain amount of each day is spent on developing English skills. Classes are made up of students who share the same native language.

One-way or Two-Way Immersion Instruction is given in two languages. Teachers usually team teach. This approach is also called dual language immersion.

English as a Second Language (ESL) May be the same as immersion but also may include some support to individuals in their native tongue. Typically classes are comprised of students who speak different languages but are not fluent in English. Students may attend classes for only a period a day, to work strictly on English skills, or attend for a full day and focus both on academics and English.

Arguments Against Bilingual Education Keeps students in a cycle of native language dependency. Costly Ineffective compared to the amount of money invested Is not systematized Massachusetts 2002 mid-year referendum Question 2 Arizona Proposition 203 – similar to California proposition. Implemented fall California Proposition 227 – approved in 1998 by California voters to basically eliminate bilingual education. Most LEP students are now in immersion programs.**

Reflection How does Moises’ (the boy in the movie) resemble students in the schools in which you are teaching/working? How do you and the teachers in your schools address the needs of students such as Moises?

Comprehensible Input How is mathematics understood by English Language Learners?

Language Acquisition - General Everyone agrees that human beings are born with the ability to learn language (to speak) We use language to communicate. 2 schools of thought of how we learn language Behaviorist – we learn language through modeling. Innatist – we are born with a mechanism that monitors grammar (the structure of language).

Krashen SLA Hypotheses The Natural Order Hypothesis - 'we acquire the rules of language in a predictable order' The Acquisition/ Learning Hypothesis - 'adults have two distinctive ways of developing competences in second languages.. acquisition, that is by using language for real communication... learning.. "knowing about" language' (Krashen & Terrell 1983) The Monitor Hypothesis - 'conscious learning... can only be used as a Monitor or an editor' (Krashen & Terrell 1983) The Affective Filter Hypothesis - 'a mental block, caused by affective factors... that prevents input from reaching the language acquisition device' (Krashen, 1985, p.100) The Input Hypothesis - 'humans acquire language in only one way - by understanding messages or by receiving "comprehensible input"’ **

Input Hypothesis

BICS & CALP BICS – Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills Sometimes referred to as playground communication. Immigrant and non-immigrant children learn this type of communication first. Communication is informal. CALP – Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Formal language used in academic and professional environments. This type of communication is learned through modeling by an adult. Is not often used outside of the classroom or professional environment. Source: Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/Academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters. Working Paper on Bilingualism, 19,

Relative Communicative Demands Source: Carr, J., Sexton, U. & Lagunoff. R. (2007). Making Science Accessible to English Learners: A Guidebook for Teachers. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.

5 Levels of English Language Development Beginning Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced Advanced (Refer to the Handout ELD stages for discussion) ELD stages

Academic Language Skills for the Math Classroom Listen with Comprehension Use Academic Vocabulary Ask and Answer Questions Communicate Critical Thinking (refer to handout for discussion)

Lexicon of Mathematics The terms that are used by mathematicians and math learners use to talk about mathematics. Content specific Uses of language are specific to mathematics quadratic, function, algebraic, geometric, sine, cosine Words that have a specific meaning when used in the math classroom Positive, negative, about, rational, irrational, infinity, imaginary (refer to handout for discussion)

6 Steps for Teaching Vocabulary Identify words all students need to know Identify words English Learners need to know Select the highest-priority words Choose key words for a day’s lesson Build from informal to formal understanding Plan many opportunities to apply key words

Word Walls, Sentence Frames, Graphic Organizers and Classroom Setup Word Walls *.*. Sentence Frames** Graphic Organizer *.*. Classroom Setup

Now it’s your turn to play There are several problems on the table Read the problem and solve (if you want to) How would you scaffold this problem for understanding? Write down your strategies Find a partner and discuss your strategies Write down both of your strategies on a large paper and place on the wall for group discussion