Challenges of the Lingustic Dimension

This is a great video for mainstream teachers to watch. This video discusses challenges and second language acquisition. A definite must see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_LOBBLmgYc

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is sometimes neglected in the classroom due to its complexity. CLD Students often face challenges in instruction. These challenges include interrupted cognitive development in L1, instruction that fails to target a variety of learning styles, In English vocabulary knowledge and comprehension are primary determinants of reading comprehension ability, core structures of some subject areas are extremely difficult for ELL students, and some content areas require a high level of declarative and precedural knowledge of integration.

As teachers, what can we do??
Teachers need to keep the following in mind:

•  Self- Concept/ Self- Esteem: Create a safe environment by being friendly- make the student feel appreciated!!
• Peer Acceptance and Socialization: Adolescents often have a strong desire to belong to a group for feelings of self- worth.
• Physical Development: Teachers need to be aware that ELL students are experiencing not only the expected physical changes, but also the additional stresses related to cultural and linguistic differences.
• Development of Abstract Reasoning:Teachers have an even greate responsibility to influence intellectual development by being caring, and nuturing role models.

Being aware of these, also facilitates in teaching modifications that are "cross- culturally sensitive, effective in reducing the need for reteaching, and designed to reduce the slope of the learning curve for all students" (36). We need to make sure students not only understand the concept, but are also able to transfer and apply the content to other situations. Our ELL students would be much more successful if we connected concepts so they are able to transfer the information. If we do this for other students, why shouldn't we be doing this for ELL's as well?

Herrera, Socorro G., & Murry, Kevin G.  (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods:              differentiated instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

CLD Students: Asset or Liability?

I am currently reading the book, "Mastering ESL And Bilingual Methods." I am not the type of person who enjoys reading textbooks, however there is a lot of valuable information in this book. When reading, there was a section that really stuck with me. It was named "The CLD: Asset or Liability." It says "You might well ask, Why assets and liablities? The sad fact is some of our schools continue to perceive the CLD student as a liability- a student who is liable to fail because he or she cannot understand or speak the language of instruction" (7). This statement honestly bothers me. In schools there are many students who struggle to understand the content and instruction. But that's our job as teachers. It says "educators are responsible for educating all students" (10). It is our job- we need to find a way to deconstruct and help these students understand the content. No child should ever be seen as a liability. Schools need to see the assets these students bring. These assets include:

multilingualism, experiences and schooling in another country, and familiarity with multiple cultures and ethnicities. These assets should be used as an enhancement. The stereotype of ELL students being a liability because they don't understand the language needs to end. Teachers need to recognize there is more to it than language development. It also includes cognitive and academic development for CLD students to be successful.

 

Herrera, Socorro G., & Murry, Kevin G.  (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods         differentiated instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Language Objectives

Language Objectives aren't as confusing as they first seem! Watch the small clip below to see how I created my language objectives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbC5_IxoGm8

ELL + Silent Period

Silent Period with ESL
When deciding on a student, I had two options. One girl will not speak at school. The little boy I chose did not speak at school last year, which caused a low score, however is this year. This made me wonder if it was common for ELL students to have a silent period. Here’s what I found- and there is so much out there on the topic!
“According to Stephen Krashen, most new learners of English will go through a “silent period” which is an interval of time during which they are unable or unwilling to communicate orally in the new language. The silent period may last for a few days or a year depending on a variety of factors. It occurs before ELLs are ready to produce oral language and is generally referred to as the “Pre-production” stage of language learning. ELLs should not be forced to speak before they are ready and we don’t want to embarrass students by putting them on the spot.. What determines the length of the" silent period?" There are several factors involved. First, personality plays a key role. A normally shy and quiet youngster in native language is usually going to take longer before they feel comfortable speaking. Native culture will also play a role. In many cultures, for example, girls are not expected to speak out. They play a more passive role in family and classroom dynamics.
The Pre-production Stage of Language Learning
Your students are learning during this silent, pre-production stage. They are acquiring language every day.

• They may have up to 500 words in their receptive vocabulary.
• New learners of English can listen attentively and they may even be able to copy words from the board.
• They will be able to respond to pictures and other visuals.
• They can understand and duplicate gestures and movements to show comprehension.
• Choral reading and Total Physical Response methods will work well with them.
• English language learners at this stage will need much repetition of English.
• They will benefit from a “buddy” who speaks their language.
• Teachers should focus attention on listening comprehension activities and on building a receptive vocabulary.

(http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/pre_producti_silent_period_93415.php)
I also found that students are able to comprehend what is being said. This is very true in the young girl at my school. She is able to nod or shake her head to questions, and she will do her work at school. However, it harder for ELLs to express their ideas. This shows that comprehension precedes actual production. “Nevertheless, with more exposure on those topics, and if they became meaningful to me and part of my everyday reality, after a while I would be able to start to use that specific jargon as part of my everyday vocabulary. In this example, the stretch of time between my initial exposures to the topic, maybe the first time I heard a report on those topics and the time when I could talk about it freely without jargon or any language-related problems could be considered my silent period in the field.”
http://www.eslbase.com/articles/acquisition

WIDA Can Do Descriptors

WIDA Can Do Descriptors are very helpful when creating language objectives. The WIDA Can Do Descriptors show where and what an ELL student is capable of doing. For example, if a student is on a level 1, Entering, the student may point to pictures or answers. These Can Do Descriptors show where a student is, and where and what is needed to push them to the next level. These also help identify modifications a student may need. They include many domains, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. There are many practical applications that can be used with these Can Do Descriptors. For example, you can identify the student's level and incorporate it into your lesson plans when differentiating and making modifications.

 

Legal Responsibilities

Under civil rights law, schools are obligated to ensure that English learners (ELs) have equal access to education. However, the Office of Civil Rights does not explicitly require a school corporation to use a specific intervention or program in order to serve their LEP students. However, the OCR has outlined the following procedures that school corporations should follow in order to ensure that their programs are serving LEP students:
- Identify students who need assistance;
- Develop a program which, in the view of experts in the field, has a reasonable chance for success;
- Ensure that necessary staff, curricular materials, and facilities are in place and used properly;
- Develop appropriate evaluation standards, including program exit criteria, for measuring the progress of students; and
- Access the success of the program and modify it where needed
(Source: “The Provision of Equal Education Opportunity to Limited- English Proficient Students”, August 2000)

English Language Proficiency Testing
Published: 12/18/2012 1:43 PM

To meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title III requirements, states are mandated to identify and annually administer a standards-based English language proficiency test to all English Language Learners (ELLs) in grades K-12.Main Content In order to comply with the NCLB requirement of an annual English Language Proficiency Assessment for ELLs, Kentucky joined the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium in 2006. The WIDA Consortium’s goal is to provide research based assessments, standards and professional development to its member states. WIDA provides Kentucky with a placement test called the W-APT (WIDA ACCESS Placement Test) as well as the annual English Proficiency Assessment of ACCESS (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State) for ELLs.
ACCESS for ELLs
This is an English language assessment tied to the state’s language proficiency standards with varying stages of second language acquisition. It contains social and academic language contexts. For Title III accountability, ACCESS for ELLs measures annual gains in English language proficiency-Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs).

Alternate ACCESS for ELLS®
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs® is an individually administered paper and pencil test. It is available in four grade level clusters: Grades 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. There is not a Kindergarten form. The test allows students to demonstrate their English language proficiency in all four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and in four of the five ELP standards (social and instructional language, and the language of language arts, mathematics and science).
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs® is designed for ELLs with significant cognitive disabilities. A student with significant cognitive disabilities is identified as having one or more of the existing categories of disabilities under IDEA (e.g., intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities, etc); and their cognitive impairments may prevent them from attaining grade level achievement standards, even with the best instruction. (adapted from U.S. Department of Education: Alternate Achievement Standards of Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities Non Regulatory Guidance, August 2005).
In order to receive meaningful information from the test, it is very important that only students who meet all 3 criteria below participate in the assessment. Other ELs should continue to take the existing ACCESS for ELLs® assessment, with appropriate accommodations as necessary. Participation has to be decided by the student's IEP team.
Participation Criteria:

• The student has been classified as EL.
• The student has a significant cognitive disability and is eligible for special education services under IDEA.
• The student is in an alternate curriculum aligned with their state's academic standards and is participating in the state's alternate accountability assessment

WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT)
W-APT is the screener that is based upon the ACCESS for ELLs. Its purposes are for the following:
1. To identify students who may be candidates for English as a Second Language (ESL) and/or bilingual services.
2. To determine the academic English language proficiency levels of students new to a school or to the U.S school system in order to determine appropriate levels and amount of instructional services.
3. To accurately assign students identified as ELLs to one of the tiers for ACCESS for ELLs.
The W-APT test forms and administration manuals are located on the WIDA website. Districts must enter their W-APT username and password to view and print the files.
The W-APT calculator is a tool that calculates speaking, reading, listening and writing proficiency scores along with composite proficiency levels (CPL) scores and grade-adjusted CPL scores.

(Taken from:http://education.ky.gov/AA/distsupp/Pages/EL-Testing.aspx)