1. Damaso Albino, MU Lysandra Alexander, PDE Jane Hershberger, CCIU
ESL Fundamentals:
Principles of Language Development
Damaso Albino, MU
Lysandra Alexander, PDE
Jane Hershberger, CCIU
Slide 1- Lysandra:
Hello! Welcome to the Migrant Education Program online training module ESL Fundamentals: Principles of Language Development. In the Educating the Educator module, we talked about effective lesson planning. In the Education 2.0 series we spoke about different teaching strategies. The ESL Fundamentals module is intended as a presentation of language development principles that you can consider as part of your lesson planning.

2. Purpose of this Module
To present basic principles of second language acquisition to Migrant Education Program (MEP) staff members that provide services to MEP English Learners (ELs)
Slide 2 – Lysandra
The purpose of this module is to present basic principles of second language acquisition to Migrant Education Program (MEP) staff members that provide services to MEP English Learners (ELs).

3. Overview of This Module
Second language acquisition:
Stages of language acquisition
WIDA levels of language proficiency
BICS and CALP
Academic language
Slide 3 – Damaso
This module will cover:
Stages of language acquisition
WIDA levels of language proficiency
BICS and CALP and
Academic language

4. Language Acquisition
Learning a second language is a very complex process that involves a lot of “brain connections”
Knowledge about thinking, language and culture transfer to the second language
Learning a second language takes a long time!
Slide 4 - Damaso
Learning a second language is a very complex process that involves a lot of “brain connections.” Knowledge about knowing (metacognitive), knowledge about language (metalinguistic) and knowledge about culture (metacultural) transfer from your students’ first language to their second language. It is important to note that learning a second language takes a long time and not all learners learn at the same rate.

5. Language Acquisition
Language learners develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills
Receptive skills:
Listening
Reading
Productive skills:
Speaking
Writing
Each skill needs practice and support
Slide 5: Jane
Language skills develop interdependently, but at different rates and in different ways. Each language skill (listening, speaking, reading and writing) is unique. Language skills do not have the same cognitive demands; for example, learning to speak is easier than learning to write. Language skills can be divided into receptive skills: listening and reading and productive skills: speaking and writing. Each skill needs practice and support.

6. Language Acquisition
We use language differently according to social settings
Formal
Informal
Pragmatics is the study of language as it is used in social context
It’s important to teach ELs pragmatics of English so they can adapt to differing social contexts
Pragmatics of a language follow cultural norms
Slide 6 - Jane
Pragmatics is the study of language as it is used in social context. Language can be formal or informal based on the setting and audience. For example, talking to friends is different from talking to teachers or other adults. In addition to the language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, your students need to know how to use language appropriately in social interactions.

7. Language Acquisition Stages of language acquisition
Pre-production – silent period
3-6 months
Early production
6 months
Speech emergence
1-2 years
Intermediate fluency
2-4 years
Advanced fluency
4-10 years
Slide 7 - Jane
Achieving fluency can take up to a decade! There are predictable levels of language acquisition that students go through. The pre-production (silent period) can take 3-6 months. Early Production takes about 6 months. Speech emergence takes one to two years. These first three stages go by really fast, but the last two (intermediate and advanced) can take years!

8. Language Acquisition WIDA Levels of Language Proficiency
Level 1 - Entering
Level 2 - Beginning
Level 3 - Developing
Level 4 - Expanding
Level 5 - Bridging
Level 6 - Reaching
For more information
PDE ESL Portal,
Slide 8 – Jane
WIDA started as a consortium of states that wanted to study best practices in ESL . Their website now says that WIDA does not stand for anything. To quote them: “ WIDA is just WIDA.” It’s Mission reads: “WIDA advances academic language development and academic achievement for linguistically diverse students through high quality standards, assessments, research, and professional development for educators.” The WIDA levels of Language Proficiency are based on the language acquisition stages:
Level 1 - Entering
Level 2 - Beginning
Level 3 - Developing
Level 4 - Expanding
Level 5 - Bridging
Level 6 - Reaching
Just as we said in the previous slide, the pre-production, early production and speech emergence levels go by very, so do levels 1-2 entering and beginning. Levels 3-4 developing and expanding tend to take longer and it can take years for our students to achieve levels 5-6 bridging and reaching. When you hear teachers talking about WIDA levels, these are the levels they’re referring to. English Learners take a Language Placement Test called the W-APT (It stands for WIDA Access Placement Test) to determine their initial English language level. Annually, ElLs in Pennsylvania take the WIDA ACCESS test to determine current language proficiency levels. The PA English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPs) are based on WIDA Levels. For more information on ELPs you can go to the PDE ESL Portal at the website listed on this screen.

9. Academic Language BICS v. CALP (Jim Cummins)
BICS – Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
Language skills needed in social situations
1-2 years to develop
Social language
10 percent of school success
CALP - Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
Formal Academic Learning
5-7 years / 7-10 years
90 percent of school success
Academic language
Teacher talk
Slide 9 – Damaso
It is really important that you understand the difference between BICS and CALP. BICS refers to Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills . This is the language used in social contexts. It takes 1-2 years to develop. Researches think that BICS accounts for about 10% of school success. CALP stands for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. This is the language needed to succeed academically in school. It can take years to acquire CALP! Researchers think that CALP accounts for the remaining 90% of school success. There is a learning module on academic language. For additional information on the Principles of Language Development, please refer to the handout provided in the additional resources section.

10. Resources ELL Overlay: http://www.pdesas.org/Page?pageId=15
ESL Portal:
Pennsylvania English Language Proficiency Standards:
WIDA CAN DO Indicators:
WIDA Guiding Principles:
Slide 11 – Lysandra
There are several resources that provide more guidance on the topics covered during this webinar. They are:
ELL Overlay
ESL Portal
Pennsylvania English Language Proficiency Standards
WIDA CAN DO Indicators
WIDA Guiding Principles

11. Education Apps
Below are some education apps lists and reviews of language websites/apps:
students/
Slide 12 – Lysandra
There are also some educational apps that can help students with fluency

12. For more information on ESL Fundamentals, please visit PDE’s website at www.education.pa.gov.
Slide 13 – Lysandra
Thank you for your attention to this webinar. If you have any questions, please refer them to your Project Manager. We are happy to provide further support in lesson planning if you would like more information.
The mission of the department is to academically prepare children and adults to succeed as productive citizens. The department seeks to ensure that the technical support, resources and opportunities are in place for all students, whether children or adults, to receive a high quality education.