Transcript Balanced Literacy Using the Cognitive Academic Language

New Pathways to Academic
Achievement for K-12
English Learners
TESOL
March 26, 2009
Anna Uhl Chamot
The George Washington University
Objectives
Identify the academic needs of K12 English learners;
 Describe instructional approaches
that meet these needs;
 Provide guidelines for selecting and
teaching content knowledge,
language and literacy, and learning
strategies.
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Who are our English
Language Learners?
Linguistically and culturally diverse.
 Differing educational backgrounds.
 Variety of approaches to learning.
 Range of levels of family literacy.
 Differing family attitudes towards
school.
 Differing family expectations.
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What Do K-12 English
Learners Need to Learn?
 Socialization
and acculturation
to school.
 Conceptual development.
 Linguistic development.
 Literacy development.
 Learning how to learn.
Cognitive-Social Learning
Theory
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Learning is mentally active and strategic.
Require higher level thinking.
Social context, interaction are critical.
Content learned through connections to
prior knowledge.
Processes leaned through practice
individually and with peers.
Learning strategies can be taught and
learned.
Five Instructional Principles:
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Identify and build on students’ prior
cultural, conceptual, and linguistic
knowledge.
Practice interactive teaching and
learning.
Teach students to work collaboratively.
Focus on learning processes and
strategies.
Help students evaluate their own
learning.
What kinds of content?
 Differentiated
according to
students’ needs and interests.
 Cognitively and linguistically
appropriate.
 Content information and
content processes.
Selecting content
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Identify National and State Standards
for subject and grade level.
Set learning outcomes.
Work backwards to design activities.
Differentiate instruction.
Include content from history, social
studies, literature, mathematics,
science, art, music, etc.
Collaborate with content specialists.
How can ESOL teachers teach
content?
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Find out students’ prior knowledge.
Study the school curriculum.
Look at students’ textbooks for major
content subjects.
Identify major concepts and themes.
Find material through a variety of
resources, including the Internet.
Use content-based ESL instructional
materials.
Ask content teachers.
Working with Content
Teachers
Research on Content-ESL team
teaching
 Planning together
 Defining classroom roles
 Differentiating instruction
 Integrating language and content
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Integrate Language
Development and Content - 1
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Analyze language difficulties in
textbooks.
Observe the language requirements in
content classes
Provide language activities with each
content infusion.
Teach vocabulary and discourse of
content subjects.
Integrate Language
Development and Content - 2
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Practice reading, listening, speaking, and
writing in all content subjects.
Use students’ prior linguistic knowledge.
Develop language awareness:
comparisons, register, grammar, spelling,
pronunciation, etc.
Teach students how to learn.
What are learning strategies?
Thoughts and actions that learners
use to help them to complete a
learning task.
 Ways to understand, store, and
recall information.
 Ways to practice skills so that they
are mastered more easily.
 Useful for listening, reading,
speaking, writing, vocabulary,
grammar.
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What Learning Strategies
Are NOT!
Not
learning styles!
Not teaching strategies!
Not memorized
formulas!
Why teach learning
strategies?
Show students how to be better
learners.
 Build students’ self-efficacy.
 Increase student motivation for
learning.
 Help students become reflective
and critical thinkers.
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Why promote thinking in
the ESL class?
Interdependence of language and
thinking.
 Need for critical thinkers.
 High standards in education.
 Career challenges.
 Independent and life-long learning.
 Motivation.
 Self-knowledge and reflection.
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What does the research say?
All second language learners use
strategies - BUT
 “Good” language learners use more
varied strategies and use them
more flexibly.
 Frequent use of learning strategies
is correlated to higher selfefficacy.
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More research findings
Strategy instruction improves
academic performance.
 Instruction needs to be explicit.
 Students need to develop
metacognition.
 Transfer is difficult.
 Language of instruction matters.
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Teaching Learning Strategies
 Focus
on the learning process.
 Model and teach learning
strategies explicitly.
 Develop students’ awareness of
their own thinking and learning
- their metacognition.
CALLA: An instructional model
for academic achievement
 Standards-based
objectives for:
 Curriculum content
 Academic language
 Learning strategies
 Assessment of each objective
 Student self-assessment
 Differentiated instruction
Integrating Content, Language,
and Learning Strategies
PREPARATION
EXPANSION
CALLA’S FIVE PHASES
PRESENTATION
SELF-EVALUATION
PRACTICE
For more information:
www.calla.ws
[email protected]