We’re All Language and Content Teachers: Principles and Practices in Integrating Language and Content Instruction Dr.
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We’re All Language and Content Teachers: Principles and Practices in Integrating Language and Content Instruction Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) [email protected] Who’s Responsible for English Language Learners (ELLs)? “I can’t teach science or mathematics or social studies; I’m an English teacher.” “Send them to me after they’ve learned English; I’m not an English teacher.” The Dilemma “Students cannot develop academic knowledge and skills without access to the language in which that knowledge is embedded, discussed, constructed, or evaluated. Nor can they acquire academic language skills in a context devoid of [academic] content.” (Crandall 1994:256) The Answer: Language and Content Teachers: Collaboration & Cooperation Content Teacher’s Role content related to language skills curriculum & materials for content learning methods of teaching & assessing content learning Language Teacher’s Role language related to academic content curriculum & materials for language learning methods of teaching & assessing L learning Together: An Integrated, ContentBased Approach Rationale for Integrated Instruction Language is acquired most effectively in meaningful contexts Content provides that meaningful base Integrated instruction helps bring together linguistic, cognitive, & social development Integrated instruction focuses on needed school genres/discourse (Adapted from Genesse, F. 1995) Understanding the ELL Who? What problems? What strengths? Understanding the ELL Language acquisition issues Issues of prior education and literacy Cross-cultural issues Other issues poverty, war, family What Makes Content Areas Difficult for ELLs? Your experiences? What Makes Content Areas (Texts and Discussions) Difficult for ELLs? Complex concepts Unfamiliar (academic) language Unfamiliar discourse structure Lack of/different background knowledge Unclear directions Other Two Types of Language Proficiency Social Language (BICS) (Basic, Interpersonal Communicative Skills) Everyday (primarily oral) communication Informal, contextualized, interactive, clues outside of language, cognitively easy Academic Language (CALP) (Cognitive, Academic Language Proficiency) Restricted (primarily written) communication formal, decontextualized, little interaction, few cues, cognitively complex (Adapted from J. Cummins, 1981) Levels of Language Proficiency (and appropriate questions to ask) Level 1: Pre Production minimal comprehension no speech listen, point, act out, draw. clap, show me Level 3: Speech Emergence increased comprehension speak in phrases/short sentences with errors tell, describe, role play, Wh-Qs Level 4: Intermediate Fluency Level 2: Early Production Good comprehension Limited comprehension Converse socially One/two word responses Begin to develop academic L name, list, either-or, analyze, support, evaluate yes-no, some Wh-H Qs What do you think? What would happen if….? What Can We Do to Adapt Instruction for ELLs? What has worked for you? Jim Cummins’ Model Cognitively undemanding 1 3 ContextEmbedded 2 ContextReduced 4 Cognitively demanding Less-Demanding More Demanding Developing simple vocabulary Following demonstrated directions Repeating Answering simple Qs Developing academic vocabulary Participating in academic discussions Writing simple science reports Simple reading & writing Engaging in routine conversations Writing answers to simple Qs Understanding academic presentations w/out visuals/demonstrations Oral presentations Taking standardized tests What Can We Do to Adapt Instruction for ELLs? Three Guidelines Increase sources of information (context) Decrease complexity (of concept, text or task) Increase interaction Increase Sources of Information: Reduce Reliance on Academic Text Use pictures, charts, graphs, maps Use demonstrations, gestures Involve students in discovery & experiential learning Embed in meaningful context: thematic teaching Provide opportunities to learn from others Use multiple media & opportunities to learn Decrease Complexity of Concept, Text, or Task Activate background knowledge Focus on vocabulary Chunk information Provide graphic organizers, outlines Paraphrase, repeat, summarize Use comprehension checks & clarification questions Consciously teach learning strategies Use variety of texts Use variety of assessments Adapt texts Increase Opportunities for Interaction Use cooperative activities Jigsaw Round Robin/Round Table Numbered Heads Together Encourage peer- , cross-age, cross-proficiency tutoring Increase interactive writing Journals, response logs Try content literature circles Encourage project work Adapting Texts for ELLs Reduce text (“Less is more!”) Select most important information Use graphic organizers Assign different sections to students Simplify structure Put topic sentences first Reduce complex sentences Make relationships clear Build redundancy Repeat key ideas, words, phrases Adapting Texts for ELLs Simplify vocabulary Avoid non-essential vocabulary Pre-teach, define difficult words Avoid synonyms Provide visual support Use graphic organizers, outlines Relate to students’ experiences Developing Thematic Units to Integrate L & C Instruction IDENTIFY THEME OR TOPIC IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE TEXTS TO USE OR ADAPT IDENTIFY LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES Vocabulary Grammar Functions IDENTIFY ACADEMIC CONCEPT OBJECTIVES IDENTIFY CRITICAL THINKING/STUDY SKILLS/STRATEGY OBJECTIVES DEVELOP ACTIVITIES SEQUENCE ACTIVITIES INTO A UNIT Sample Thematic Unit Plan Topic: Student Profile: Language Skills: Listening: Speaking: Food and Nutrition Beginning or Intermediate/Elementary Grade Students Listen to a story (A Very Hungry Caterpillar) Talk about foods (good for you/not so good) Retell story Write dialogue for caterpillar and act out story Sing caterpillar song Reading: Read language experience story Read and sequence sentences from story (strip story) Writing: Fill out calendar/graph of caterpillar’s foods Fill out own calendar of daily foods Make a caterpillar book and label Content: Understand the value of different foods Study skills/Strategies: Sequence information Make predictions and confirm/disconfirm them Language Objectives: Grammar: Like/don’t like On + days of the week Past tense Vocabulary: Days of the week, colors, fruits, other foods (pizza, cake, ice cream), caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly The Importance of Vocabulary Needs to be consciously taught and practiced Is responsible for much of comprehension and motivation to read Should be taught in chunks when possible Major resource: Academic Word List Academic Word List http://language.massey.ac.nz/staff/awl/headwords.shtml Based on 3,500,000 word academic corpus Consists of 570 “headwords” with related words for total of 3,000 words Most frequent academic words Occurred in Arts, Commerce, Law, Science Occurred over 100 times in corpus Occurred at least 10 times in each area Excluded are the 2000 most frequent words from West’s General Service List proper nouns, Latin forms http://www.jbauman.com/aboutgsl.html (Developed by Adrien Coxhead & colleagues in Wellington, NZ) Teaching Vocabulary: 25% on each Learning from input (L,R) Most common 2,000 words (about 80%) Stored as one unit Focused language learning 100,000 + most infrequent words Teach patterns; roots & affixes Learning from output (S,W) Use words; repetition Fluency activities (L,S,R,W) Use known words & grammar (Paul Nation) Some Vocabulary Activities Word walls Matching Word analysis Webs Word games Personal dictionaries Cloze/fill in blank Act out/draw/circle/point to items that match definition Intensive and extensive reading The Importance of Writing Writing is: a form of output a means of building fluency a way of developing accuracy (in grammar, vocabulary, etc.) a critical skill for academic success a source of input Writing and Reading: Complementary Practices We learn to read by reading, and We learn to write by writing. But We also learn to read by writing, and We learn to write by reading. Some Guiding Principles Writing: is a way to demonstrate proficiency helps us discover what we do or do not know is a process (not everything needs to be graded) is more than a paragraph or essay conventions differ cross-culturally can be collaborative Collaborative Writing Writing does NOT need to be a solitary act. Any stage in the writing process can be collaborative (pre-writing, drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, publishing) Collaboration: Provides opportunity for meaningful communication Promotes meta-cognition and metadiscussion of writing (and language) Writing to Build Fluency Low-risk way to draw upon implicit knowledge Journals or Logs Pen or Key Pals Free-writing or Quickwrites Informal Writing: emails, blogs, discussion boards Fluency or Accuracy: Not Both Important to focus on EITHER Fluency OR Accuracy Fluency: focus on meaning, use of implicit learning, risk-taking Accuracy: focus on form, use of explicit (monitored) learning, care Focus on Fluency AND Accuracy only after practice with both. Some Last Thoughts Focus on key concepts & language Modify your own language Provide multiple opportunities to acquire both language and concepts Let students work together Provide time to think, rehearse Validate students’ prior knowledge Encourage hands-on learning Ask questions at students’ level of English Some More Last Thoughts The Changing School Population 1 of 3 children is ethnic or racial minority 1 of 5 speaks a L other than English at home 1 of 10 was born outside the U.S. 1 of 5 has a parent who was born outside the U.S. ELLs are fastest-growing population in our schools Further Reading: The following are available at: http://userpages.umbc.edu/%7Ecrandall/index.htm Crandall, J. A. (ed.) (1987). ESL through content-area instruction: Mathematics, science, social studies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents. Crandall, J. A. (1994). Content-centered language learning. ERIC Digest ED 367142. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. http://userpages.umbc.edu/%7Ecrandall/index.htm Crandall, J. A. (1998). Collaborate and cooperate: Teacher education for integrating language and content instruction. English Teaching Forum, 36(1), 2-9. Crandall, J. A. (1998). The expanding world of the elementary ESL teacher. ESL Magazine, 1(4), Crandall, J. A., Jaramillo, A., Olsen, L., & Peyton, J. K. (2002). Using cognitive strategies to develop English language and literacy. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Additional References Crandall, J. A. (1999). Cooperative language learning and affective factors. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affective factors in language learning. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Crandall, J.A. & Kaufman, D. (eds.) (2003). Content-based instruction in higher education settings. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. Kaufman, D. & Crandall, J. A. (eds.) (2005). Content-based instruction in elementary and secondary school settings. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. Crandall, J. A., Nelson, J., and Stein, H. (2006). Providing professional development for mainstream and novice or experienced ESL and bilingual teachers. In Field, R., & Hamayan, E. (eds.) Educating English language learners: A handbook for administrators. Philadelphia: Caslon, Inc.