English Learners (ELs) learn the English language through formal English as a second Language (ESL) instruction as well as language development opportunities within the context of grade-level content. ESL methods are designed to promote language development in the areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Formal ESL instruction is offered by highly qualified ESL teachers. Additionally, it is the district expectation that all teachers develop teaching skills in order to help ELs learn and succeed. This includes providing ample and appropriate opportunities for language development as well as sheltering grade level content in such a way as to make it comprehensible to ELs.
With that said, it is critical that ELs have access to the academic content at their grade level so that their linguistic, academic and cultural needs are met. There are certain instructional strategies that are highly likely to increase the academic achievement of ELs who are not making sufficient academic progress. Of the 10 Effective Instructional Strategies listed below, the 6 strategies (bolded in the list below) will be reviewed briefly with specific recommendations for classroom practice and application with ELs.
- Identifying Similarities & Differences
- Setting Objectives
- Providing Feedback
- Effort & Providing Recognition
- Cues & Questions
- Nonlinguistic Representation
- Summarizing & Note Taking
- Homework & Practice
- Cooperative Learning
- Generating & Testing Hypothesis
On average, all of the 10 strategies listed are effective and have a significant impact on student achievement, however, the 6 strategies selected are highly effective with students whose first language (L1) is not English. Also, note that no strategy works all the time; it is important to use a variety of strategies Purposefully, Emotionally and Explicitly (P, E & E) and that teachers must know when, why and how to use these strategies when planning for instruction. The combination of these strategies will give educators the most “bang for their buck.”
As educators, it is necessary to understand that students acquire second language acquisition through the progression of these 5 Stages:
Stage 1: Pre-production—students have minimal comprehension, no verbal production and can nod answers to questions, draw cartoons and pictures, point to objects or print, move to show understanding, categorize objects or pictures, match words or objects, pantomime and role play.
Stage 2: Early Production—students have limited comprehension and can produce one/two word responses. Students can identify people, places, things, can list and categorize, repeat memorable language, listen with greater understanding an use routine expressions independently.
Stage 3: Speech Emergence—students have good comprehension and enough proficiency to make simple sentences (with errors). Students can describe events, places, people, can define new vocabulary, recall facts, retell information from text, explain academic concepts, summarize, compare and contrast.
Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency—students have excellent comprehension and make few grammar errors and can give opinions, debate with others, justify views or behaviors, negotiate with errors, persuade, express the results of synthesis, analysis and evaluation.
Stage 5: Advanced Fluency—students have near native speech and can produce written language that is comparable to that of a native speaker of English of the same age.
Teachers who are effective with ELs provide instruction that reflects their students’ stages of second language acquisition, supports students moving forward in language acquisition and engages ELs at all stages of language acquisition in higher-level thinking activities. The 6 ETS presented here will offer assistance in planning effective lessons for all students, including ELs:
I. Setting Objectives
Generalizations/key points:
- Narrows ELs’ focus;
- Encourages students to personalize their learning.
Teacher recommendations for classroom practice for EL application:
- Set Learning Objectives that are specific, but flexible;
- Contract with students to obtain specific Learning Objectives;
- Set Language Objectives in addition to Content Objectives. It is critical to set both Content Objectives and Language Objectives for ELs.
Steps for setting Language Objectives:
- Determine the language functions the ELs will need to participate in the lesson. To determine the language function we should ask: 1) What is the purpose for communication in this lesson? 2) What does the learner have to accomplish with the language?
- Identify what language structures the EL will need to participate in the lesson. To identify the language structures, it is suggested that teachers think in terms of: 1) sentence 2) key words or vocabulary 3) grammatical usage—mini lessons (should be taught for practical use in authentic context).
II. Providing Feedback
Generalizations/key points:
- Feedback should be corrective in nature, timely and criterion referenced;
- ELs should be able to effectively provide their own feedback.
Teacher recommendations for classroom practice for EL application:
- Use criterion-referenced feedback;
- Focus feedback on specific types of knowledge;
- Use student-led feedback;
- Give feedback on work selection for pre-production students;
- Model for early production students;
- Expand on what speech emergent students have said;
- Help intermediate and advanced fluency student to speak with higher fluency.
III. Cues & Questions
Generalizations/key points:
- Cues and questions should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual;
- Higher level questions produce deeper learning that lower level questions, waiting briefly before accepting responses increases the depth of students’ answers;
- Questions are effective learning tools even when asked before a learning experience.
Teacher recommendations for classroom practice for EL application:
- Use explicit cues;
- Ask questions and elicit inferences;
- Use analytical questions;
- Ask higher-level questions of all ELs
- Use real objectives, pictures and sketches;
- Plan for ELs to access their background knowledge and connect to cues and questions more quickly.
IV. Nonlinguistic Representation
Generalizations/key points:
- Nonlinguistic generalization should allow ELs opportunities to elaborate on their knowledge;
- A variety of activities produce nonlinguistic representations;
- Application of nonlinguistic representation enhances ELs’ content understanding AND offers opportunities for ELs to talk about their choices;
- It increases ELs’ academic language and comprehension. Seeing is understanding!
Teacher recommendations for classroom practice for EL application:
- Use graphic organizers to represent knowledge;
- Make physical models to represent knowledge;
- Generate mental pictures to represent knowledge;
- Draw pictures or pictographs to represent knowledge;
- Engage in kinesthetic activities that represent knowledge.
V. Summarizing & Note Taking
Generalizations/key points:
- When summarizing, students must learn to delete some information, substitute some information and keep some information at a fairly deep level;
- Teaching of the explicit structures of information is key to successful information summarization.
Teacher recommendations for classroom practice for EL application:
- Teach students the “rule based” summarizing and note taking technique;
- Use summary frames;
- Teach the “reciprocal teaching” technique and text structures.
VI. Cooperative Learning
Generalizations/key points:
- Cooperative learning groups should rarely be organized by ability;
- Cooperative learning groups should be small;
- Cooperative learning groups should be regularly mixed with time for independent practice.
Teacher recommendations for classroom practice for EL application:
- Use a variety of criteria for grouping students;
- Manage group size;
- Combine cooperative learning groups with other types of classroom instruction to help foster language application;
- Plan independent time for ELs to work on skills and processes they must master.
Concluding thoughts:
The goal of language acquisition support for ELs in schools is to promote students’ learning of both social and academic English. The expectation should be that all teachers develop teaching skills in order to help ELLs learn and succeed. When ESL instruction is offered to ELs by highly qualified ESL teachers, in combination with all classroom teachers developing effective teaching strategies, students will learn and succeed.
Nancy E. Testa, Ed. D.
Edwards Educational Services