Transcript Literacy Success for English Language Learners in Elementary Schools Dr. Gilda Del Risco Kean University of New Jersey October 27, 2004

Literacy Success for English
Language Learners in
Elementary Schools
Dr. Gilda Del Risco
Kean University of New Jersey
October 27, 2004
Professional Development and
In Class Co-Teaching
“Probably nothing within a school has more impact on
children, in terms of skills development, selfconfidence, and classroom behavior, than the
personal and professional growth of teachers. When
teachers individually and collectively examine,
question, reflect on their ideals, and develop new
practices that lead toward those ideals, the school
and its inhabitants are alive. When teachers stop
growing, so do their students.”
By Roland Barth
Many English Language Learners:
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Come from countries where they have received
less than age appropriate education.
Some are illiterate in their native language.
Some have never attended school.
School has been interrupted by war or political
reasons.
Sheltered Instruction
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“The term sheltered indicates that such
instruction provides refuge from the
linguistic demands of mainstream
instruction, which is beyond the
comprehension of English-language
learners.” (Echevarria & Graves 1998).
Meaning is to be conveyed directly in
the target language through the use of
demonstration and visuals.
• Make your instructional talk more
understandable by speaking clearly.
• Repeat key points
• Define essential vocabulary in context
• Pair your talk with nonverbal communication
cues:
objects, pictures, graphs, and gestures.
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Verbal and nonverbal communication
When we pair these two communication
channels, words and meanings become
discernible to the learner.
Strategies
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Try to make the information relevant to their
lives - Learning occurs best when connections
are made to existing knowledge.
Make the students a part of the situation.
Acknowledge their input – Positive feedback is
a powerful influence on the brain’s chemistry. It
is essential for the development of a good
self-concept (Sylwester 1997).
Comprehensible Input
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Language that is used in ways that make it
understandable to the learner even though
second language proficiency is still limited.
• use visuals, realia, manipulatives, and other
concrete materials
• use gestures, facial expressions, and body
language.
• repeat, rephrase, and/or paraphrase key
concepts, directions, etc.
• build on what students already know.
• be careful of idioms and slang.
Strategies to Promote Early
Literacy
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Creating a literacy-rich classroom
environment.
Books, books, books…
Daily routines:
-morning message
-wall dictionary
Reading aloud to students
Word Families
READING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE
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Classroom strategies for beginning readers:
• Language-experience approach
• Literacy Centers
• Patterned books
• Illustrating stories and poems
• Shared reading with big books
• Direct Listening-Thinking Activity (DL-TA)
• Reader’s theater
• Story map
(NJCCS 3.1)
READING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE
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Classroom strategies for intermediate readers:
• Cognitive mapping
• Direct Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA)
(Fluency)
• Literature response journals
• Developing scripts for reader’s theater. (Fluency)
• Adapting Stories into plays and scripts for film
and videotape.)
• Literacy Centers
(NJCCCS 3.1)
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Phonemic Awareness
Recognizing that speech is made up of a
series of sounds that can be manipulated.
It Is not Phonics
Phonics
Is a means to decode printed word made up of
sounds and is built on the child’s ability to
understand Phonemic Awareness.
Phonemic Awareness Preceds Phonics.
(Rothman Barbara. BER)
(NJCCCS 3.1)
Phonics Instruction for English
Language Learners
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The purpose of phonic instruction is to help students recognize words
independently, not to have them state rules.
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Principles:
-Provide ample time for students to read and write for meaningful purposes,
allowing. students to develop their own understanding of sound/symbol
correspondences
-Teach phonics within a meaningful context. Enjoy the story or poem for
meaning first, then teach the skill.
-Remember that phonics and other word recognition strategies are a means to
an end: comprehension.
(NJCCCS 3.1)
(Peregoy and Boyle, 2000)
Recognizing Words Independently
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Using big books to teach sight words and phonics
Poems and song lyrics written in large format on chart paper
(to develop word recognition and phonics knowledge)
Predictable books with repetitive patterns and phrases to
teach or reinforce sound/symbol correspondences, including
consonants, vowels, and letter sequences found in rhyming
words.
Ask the students to write their own stories following the
pattern in predictable books that they have heard several
times. This will provide a chance for the students to put their
phonics and sight word knowledge into meaningful practice.
Older students who are new to literacy – Same strategies.
Short texts with age-appropriate content. Fortunately by
Remy Charlip.
• Song lyrics and poems – Good sources of predictable
texts.
(NJCCCS 3.1)
First Language
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“During the initial years of exposure to English,
continuing cognitive and academic development
in first language is considered to be a key
variable for academic success in second
language.”
(Garcia 1994; Tinajero & Ada, 1993. In Collier, 1995)
Later on, apply the techniques used to teach
English as a second language.
Yo quiero
escribir en
mi idioma.
Writing in a Second Language
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Strategies to assist beginning writers:
• Oral discussion
• Partner stories using pictures and
wordless books
• Personal journals
• Dialogue journals
• Buddy journals
• Free writing
(NJCCCS 3.2)
Strategies to assist intermediate writers
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Show and not tell - Provides descriptive
details about what the writer wants to convey.
Sentence combining
Sentence shortening
Sentence models
Process Writing:
-Prewriting
-Drafting
-Revising
-Editing
-Publishing
(NJCCCS 3.2)
Initial Strategies to Teach English
Comprehension to English language Learners
Pre-reading Strategies
 Background Knowledge
Necessary to
construct
meaning from text.
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Development of key vocabulary
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Background Knowledge – Teacher builds upon the
language, culture and experiential background that
students bring to the classroom and relate knowledge to
new information provided in the text.
(NJCCCS 3.1)
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Students may experience difficulties due to lack
of prior knowledge on the particular topic to be
read.
Background knowledge can often be
accomplished through a sharing of the groups’
knowledge.
It may be recorded in a graphic format.
Guided Reading Strategies
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Use questions before and during the reading to help the
students to get meaning from the reading.
Hypothesizing or predicting questions. What do you think
this story is about? What do you think will happen next?
Data acquisition questions
Summary questions
Reading aloud – Teacher model predicting, inferring, and
connecting mew text to prior knowledge.
(NJCCC 3.1)
Post-Reading Strategies
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Retelling a story after reading
- Offers a means for reinforcing and
supporting comprehension.
- Provides a means for integrating writing into
the program. It can be done in cooperative
learning groups, paired writing, or individually.
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Building on the knowledge gained through the
prereading activities.
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More reading
(NJCCCS 3.1)
At – Risk Students
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Remedial classes and pullout programs have
been found to slow down learning
Accelerated Learning
- Focus on enrichment rather than remediation.
- Building on the strength that all students bring
to the classroom.
- Draw on students experiences and interest.
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Language Experience Approach
- discussion bases on the content of the text
- review vocabulary found in the reading
- students summarize the reading or story
for the teacher, who acts as a scribe and
writes sentences on the board or chart
paper.
(NJCCCS 3.1, 3.2)
ERRORS
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Teacher should take into consideration:
• The student’s English language
developmental level
• The prevalence of the error type
• The importance of the error type for
communication
• Teacher’s specific goals for the students in
terms of English language development
• Should be corrected in a non-threatening way
• Repeat correctly what the student has said
incorrectly
Assessment
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Portfolio Assessment
Multiple Measures for Assessment
- Do not assess only through written tests.
If you do not assess the English language
learners in many different ways, you will
not find out what they really know.
Observations
- Anecdotal records
- Check lists
- Concrete materials. Opportunities to
demonstrate that they understood the
information.
References
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Echevarria, J. and Graves, Anne. (1998). Sheltered Content Instruction Teaching EnglishLanguage Learners with Diverse Abilities. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Friedlander, M. (1991). The Newcomer Program: Helping Immigrant Students Succeed in U. S.
Schools.
http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/ncbepubs/pigs/pigs.htm
Carrasquillo A. and Rodriguez V. (2002). Language Minority Students in the Toronto: Multilingual
Matters Ltd.
Coolier, V. (1995). Promoting academic success for ESL students. NJTESOL/NJBE
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Krashen, S., and Terrell, T. (1983). The Natural Approach. Hayward: The Alemany Press.
Peregoy, S. F. and Boyle, O. F. (2000). Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL. New York:
Longman.
Rothman, B. Practical phonics strategies to build beginning reading and writing skills. BER.
Sternberg, R. J. (1994). Allowing for Thinking Styles. Educational Leadership 52, 3.
Sylwester, R. (1997). The Neurobiology of Self-Esteem and Aggression. Educational Leadership
54 (5), 75-79.
Tomlinson, C. A. The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. ASCD.
Willis, S. and Mann, L. (2000). Differentiating Instruction. In Curriculum by the Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Weinberger, S. (1992). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free
Spirit Publishing.