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Key Issues in Bilingual Special Education Work
Paper #9
Instructional Activities for Second Language Learners
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Children with Disabilities
New York State Education Department
Fall 2002
Teaching English language learners (ELLs) presents a major challenge to educators. The number of children is growing, the language backgrounds are becoming more varied and there are few bilingual teacher role models to follow.
If that is not difficult enough, provision of services to this population is governed by a set of special regulations and legislation. The majority of the research literature provides a great background on learning styles and language acquisition but little practical advice for the classroom teacher. Research is valuable but ….. where do we go for examples of successful classroom practices? Where do we find methods and materials? It is important to link this research with practice, because tomorrow morning, someone is going to have to teach.
New York State Education Department Published Resources
For teachers in New York State, the premier resource for Native Language Arts, English as a Second Language and English Language arts is The Teaching of Language Arts to Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners: A Resource Guide for All Teachers developed by the Office of Bilingual Education. The publication, which is available on CD-ROM, includes a discussion of educational reform, research on language literacy, teaching and learning of language arts, formal and informal assessment, applications of English language standards for English language learners, parent and family involvement and selected learning experiences.
This resource and other resources such as language glossaries are available through the New York State Education Department under Bilingual Education in the
publication catalog. (www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/pub/catalog.pdf)
A Review of Web Resources
The basic premise used in preparing our list of references was that the average teacher would like to find hands-on resources that are easy to read and could be used in his/her classroom. Textbook references and materials that have to be purchased were not included in this resource list. Instead, the focus is on materials that would provide the teacher with insight into techniques that can be used effectively with second language learners.
We are directing the reader to materials that were particularly prepared for second language learners. The reader will notice quickly that the better lessons focus on a particular skill area and are presented in an uncomplicated fashion with a specific student language ability in mind. Some skills that we would anticipate in our first language students (English-speaking students) need to be specifically taught to the second language learner. A review of specific second language learner lesson plans provides teachers with models for making his/her lessons more appropriate for new language learners.
What am I looking for?
There is nothing more frustrating than to need something and not know how to start looking. It is a little like using the dictionary to find the spelling for a word you can’t spell!
English as a second language instruction emphasizes the language arts areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The lessons should be focused on specific, well identified skills and provide teaching methods that are grade and language skill appropriate. Content area instruction for second language learners should ensure that the students understand the language and content being taught by providing ongoing student feedback.
The Search is On
The search for lesson plans for second language learners on the web is frustrating because a broad search on ‘lesson plan’ does not immediately result in much for the second language learner. However, a search on ‘lesson plan + ESL’ becomes more productive! The problem with this type of searching is that you will identify a mixed bag of grade level and content area topics along with non-lesson plan results.
This initial search uncovers a series of possibilities that will provide the searcher with a general overview of the type of lessons provided to second language learners.
Grade and Content Area Search Engines
There is a more efficient way to search for lesson plans on the web. The secret is that there are a few ‘lesson plan search engines’ that focus searches to particular topics and grade levels when searching under English as a second language.
The New York State Education Department website at
the New York State Academy for Teaching
and Learning www.nysatl.nysed.gov is in the process of reviewing English as a Second Language lesson plans and will be posting them shortly. This site should be monitored periodically for the posting of English as a Second Language lesson plans.
Recommendations for Search Engines
The first recommendation for a lesson plan search engine is The Gateway to Educational Materials (www.thegateway.org), funded by the U.S. Department of Education. You may refine your search on this site to indicate whether you would like to include only free materials.
The second recommendation is AskERIC lesson plans (http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/lessons) also funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
One can search for lesson plans and also highlight "Things for ESL/EFL Teachers" and "Links for Teachers" at The Internet TESL Journal www.iteslj.org
A last recommended searchable site is found at
Teachers.net www.teachers.net
Miscellaneous Stops on the Web
In addition to the search engine sites, there are various sites that provide interesting references to lesson plans and other topics in the education of second language learners. These include:
Some Thoughts on Using a Stranger’s Lesson Plans
The internet provides a constantly changing vista of resources and contacts for the teacher of the second language learner both in the United States and abroad.
Our search did not result in the discovery of a vast ‘virtual’ storage room filled with lesson plans. The search uncovered examples that can be used ‘as is’; some that can be modified and used; and others that would best be kept in the ‘virtual’ storage room! Hopefully, this experience will result in better educational opportunities for the second language learner.
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ERIC Identifier:
ED424790Developing Language Proficiency and Connecting School to Students' Lives: Two Standards for Effective Teaching. ERIC Digest.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
The Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE) has developed the following five pedagogy standards for effective teaching and learning for all students, including students placed at risk for academic achievement: (1) teachers and students producing together, (2) developing language and literacy across the curriculum, (3) connecting school to students' lives (4) teaching complex thinking, and (5) teaching through conversation. These standards emerge from principles of practice that have proven successful with majority and minority at-risk students in numerous classrooms in several states. They incorporate the broadest base of knowledge available and reflect the emerging professional consensus about the most effective ways to educate linguistically and culturally diverse students. (See the full report to learn more about all five standards.)
This digest focuses specifically on two of these standards--developing language and literacy across the curriculum and connecting school to students' lives--and provides examples of how they are implemented in the classroom. Indicators are introduced for each standard, revealing its action components and their functions in teaching and learning.
STANDARD: DEVELOPING LANGUAGE AND LITERACY ACROSS THE
CURRICULUM
Language proficiency in all four modalities (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) is key to academic achievement. The following indicators provide some examples of how teachers can focus on developing student competence in the language and literacy of instruction across the curriculum.
Language and literacy are social and cultural practices that can occur outside of school. Children from literacy-rich environments have experience with print media in their culture, and this gives them implicit knowledge about the meaning of print. Students without a literacy-rich background lack implicit knowledge of print, and need explicit instruction for literacy to develop. In this view, the teachers' role is to involve students in literate activity to accomplish learning, such as in the biodegradability project described below. This activity demonstrates how "Reading and writing are cultural practices, and direct instruction is required for those experiencing problems with them" (Purcell-Gates, 1997, p.98). The implications for direct instruction are clear, that is, teachers provide specific support when needed in the activity to assist understanding.
KINDERGARTNERS STUDY BIODEGRADABILITY (incorporates indicators
1, 3, 5, and 7)I put gravel in the bottom of a 10-gallon aquarium. Then my kindergartners threw in leaves we collected on a nature walk and some food items, such as apples. I made sure the apples were near the glass so we could watch them rot. The kids also "planted" a plastic bag and an aluminum can. They put potting soil on top and watered it regularly. We put it in a south window and they were so interested that they checked it often even during free play. They kept records of the degrading process by drawing pictures each time they observed the project. They labeled the items in the drawings which showed the process of change. We discussed the drawings and students shared the most important change that their drawing documented. This information was written down by the student or the teacher and pasted on the drawing. The students compiled their drawings in the order that they made them to make a book about the biodegrading process. After the project was completed, they placed the books in the classroom library to read with peers (AERA-K Division K:Teaching and Teacher Education Listserv@asu.edu ).
This project used items familiar to the students, like apples and leaves. Teachers assisted students' language learning by helping them label items in the drawings of their observations, record the information in writing, sequence the drawings and written observations, and create books about the project that others could read. Overall, the project connected student language with literacy and content area knowledge and provided many opportunities for students to interact with each other and with their teacher.
Participation in social contexts has an important influence on academic achievement. Students' informal talk and participation in general activities reveal information about their language proficiency, families, and prior experiences in school and outside of school. Teachers use such informal opportunities to learn about students while encouraging student interaction in the emerging social context of the classroom. They can also promote understanding and increase student language development by using a number of strategies, including these:
Teachers can connect instruction to compelling topics drawn from outside of school, including television, the Internet, and other interactive technologies. When teachers draw on a variety of social contexts to emphasize the explicit connections among the students' experience, language, literacy, and academic knowledge, they create an environment in which the students can also develop their language skills.
STANDARD: MAKING MEANING: CONNECTING SCHOOL TO
STUDENTS' LIVES
Teachers connect teaching and the curriculum by using experiences and skills from students' home and community. The following indicators provide some examples of direct and indirect approaches teachers can use to explore and draw on students' familiar and local contexts of experience.
Teachers who make meaningful connections to learning uncover and understand the sources of students' knowledge. When a sixth-grade middle school class in Zuni, New Mexico, designed a unit on the pinon nut, teachers used a traditional Zuni activity as the context for their students to think about familiar things in new ways.
PICKING PINON NUTS (reflects indicators 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7)
The mathematics teacher came in (to the team planning meeting) and proposed a project with pinons. There is a bumper crop this year. He said, "I just figured that the pinons are here, and we can't ignore them since all the students are eating them all the time. Why not study them?" We all got excited and creative, and in a team meeting came up with the following interdisciplinary unit on "Discovery of the Community." We will take our students pinon picking at Pia Mesa Road. This activity will be integrated into our academic lesson plans in the following ways:
The pinon unit provided opportunities for teachers to work jointly to plan, teach, learn about the community and its traditions, and discuss their lessons. It involved contexts external to school where student learning is situated, such as cultural tradition, staple crop harvesting and preparation, and marketing a cash crop. Teachers began with what students knew to make a meaningful connections in an instructional project. Parents were included in field trips and other related activities. For students, learning was collaborative, hands-on, and supported by the community.
The project required them to apply their knowledge in practical circumstances. From the beginning, the tasks of the unit required considerable group cooperation, interdependence, and student choice about participation, which challenged teachers to grant independence and students to accept responsibility. Teachers' joint planning for cooperative, independent, and structured activities assured success for all students at some level and increased their understanding of the concepts covered.
CONCLUSION
In the same way that content standards address broad curriculum goals for what instruction should address, performance standards describe concrete examples and specific definitions of student proficiency, and opportunity-to-learn standards describe capacity to ensure equal access to education, CREDE's pedagogy standards describe what teachers can do to assist students learning. Because students enter school today with more disparate ethnicities, languages, and cultures than ever before, language development and making meaning are important standards for ensuring that teaching leads to learning for all students.
REFERENCES
Purcell-Gates, V. (1995). "Other people's words: The cycle of low literacy." Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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This report was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Dept. of Education, National Library of Education, under contract no. RR93002010. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of OERI or ED.
Title: Developing Language Proficiency and Connecting School to Students' Lives: Two Standards for Effective Teaching. ERIC Digest.
Note: Based on a report published by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence: "Pedagogy Matters: Standards for Effective Teaching Practice" by Stephanie Stoll Dalton. See FL 025 564.
Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);
Available From: ERIC/CLL, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016; Web site:
http://www.cal.org/ericcll
Descriptors: Academic Standards, Classroom Techniques, Cultural Awareness, Elementary Secondary Education, English (Second Language), Family Environment, High Risk Students, Kindergarten, Language Proficiency, Literacy Education, Low Achievement, Second Language Learning
Identifiers: ERIC Digests