The Basics
► “Home language” and “Target language” are used instead of L1 and L2
► ESOL and Not ESL (English for speakers of other languages)
► BICS develops social language and CALP works toward Academic language
► Language learning and language acquiring are two different things
► Oral communication skills in a second language may be acquired within 2 or 3 years, but it takes 4 to 6 years to acquire the level of proficiency needed for understanding the language in its academic uses (Collier, 1989; Cummins, 1981).
► Teachers can make a difference for students, no matter what delivery model they are hired to use if their teaching is based on research and best classroom practices
► ESOL teachers should be prepared, to discuss theory, research, and policy in the field of Second Language Acquisition, and articulate their own "philosophy of second language acquisition."
What do teachers need to know?
► The knowledge of linguistics to see speech patterns that children bring to school from their homes.
► Children who are learning in a second language may have language problems in reading and writing that are not apparent if their oral abilities are used to ordeal their English proficiency.
► Quick and easy solutions are not appropriate for complex problems
► Second language learning by school-aged children takes longer, is harder, and involves more effort than many teachers realize
► Critical period hypothesis refers to a first language only. There is not necessarily a "critical age" for learning a second or third language, but age can influence language learning efforts.
What do teachers need to do?
► Teachers are responsible for selecting educational
materials and activities above the bar.
► Be able to communicate with ELLs:
At the level appropriate to students’ understanding, with slower speed, clear pronunciation, simple syntactical structures, repetition, rephrasing and checking for understanding.
► Be prepared to work with children from many different cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds.
► Avoid misconceptions about second language learning
► Teachers need to give students feedback for their writing, understand English structure, discuss structural features of written language with their students, and explicitly teach them how to write effectively.
What to Expect from your ELLs
► Teachers should not expect miraculous results from children learning English as a second language in the classroom.
► Learning a second language is as difficult for a child as it is for an adult
► Young children do not have access to the memory techniques and other strategies that more experienced learners use in acquiring vocabulary and in learning grammatical rules.
► Language learners might hesitate or stop speaking for a while before they get used to the new setting
Supporting ELLs in the general classroom environment
► Help children learn and use aspects of language associated with the academic discourse of the various school subjects.
► Help students become more aware of how language functions in various modes of communication across the curriculum.
► Prepare students for passing writing proficiency assessments.
► Help students understand, and teach them subject matter using simplified English. They need to use pictures, gestures, demonstrations and the like to allow children to acquire English naturally and automatically.
► Avoid indicating the language errors ELLs make so that learners will not be self-conscious and immobilized in using the language.
► Help students to achieve the levels of language and literacy competence required for the various assessments that constitute gateways to completing school successfully, getting into college and finding jobs.
► Engage their ELLs more by asking tiered questions that are tailored to each ELL’s level of second language acquisition.
► Teachers need to assess how much of the content ELLs understand.
Stages of language acquisition & Typical behaviors
► Teachers need to tie instruction for each student to their particular stage of language acquisition.
► Teachers need to work within the student’s zone of proximal development—that gap between what students can do on their own and what they can with the help of more knowledgeable individuals (Vygotsky, 1978).
► Teachers need to gain insights into their students' stages of second language acquisition to meet the requirements of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which requires ELLs to progress in their content knowledge and in their English language proficiency.
► Factors influencing language acquisition:
Socioemotional development
Academic background
Family responsibilities
Cultural identity formation
Classroom Issues
► Teachers need to link concepts to students’ background
► Teachers need to use past learning as a link to new concepts
► Teachers need to highlight key vocabulary and teach throughout the lesson
► Teachers need to actively engage students
► Teachers need to provide opportunities for interaction
► Teachers need to plan a wide variety of activities (student-centered and teacher-centered)
► Teachers need to address multiple learning styles and intelligences
► Teachers need to act as a facilitator during cooperative learning, group and pair activities, learning centers.
Students’ home language & Cultural identity
► Children develop oral proficiency first in their native language.
► Oral language functions as a foundation for literacy and as the means of learning in school and out.
► Teachers need to know how is lexicon acquired and structured and how dialects are different.
► Teachers need to be cautious of their using simplified language and asking low level questions.
► Teachers need to be cautious against withdrawing home language support too soon
► Teachers need to be able to communicate. To communicate successfully, teachers must know how to structure their own language output for maximum clarity and have strategies for understanding what students are saying.
► An understanding of linguistics can help teachers see speech patterns that children bring to school from their homes.
► Teachers must be prepared to work with children from many different cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds.
► Affirm students' home language and/or first dialects as you encourage them to become proficient in SAE
► Teachers can support this development process by honoring students' diverse backgrounds and celebrating the beauty that exists in each human experience.
The role of linguistics for classroom teachers
► Teachers should focus on the opportunity that cultural and linguistic diversity provides.
► Diverse children enrich our schools and our understanding of education in general.
► Students need not to know about the terms "pragmatics" and "semantics" in classroom instruction, but teachers do to deal with the concepts and their implications for ELLs.
► Lexical ambiguity will present challenges in the ESOL classroom.
► Morphology and syntax should be taught as part of grammar instruction embedded in a context- and content-rich approach.
► Teachers need to slow down their speech and enunciate their words.
Concepts of Linguistics and Communication
► Linguistic competence vs. performance Just because you CAN say something and be grammatically correct, doesn't mean you SHOULD
► Creative aspect of language-An infinite number of sentence possibilities
► Sapir-Whorf hypothesis-Does the language itself influence the culture?--also called linguistic relativity vs. determinism
► Semantics vs. syntax-The meaningless sentence that is grammatically correct, or Noam Chomsky's famous sentence that illustrates that idea
► Register-Inappropriately calling Hugh Laurie "Tiger" (very informal) and also complex vocabulary and syntax to sound impressive (very formal)
► The recursive rule-You can add phrases to a sentence to make it longer and longer and still be correct
► The communicative aspect of language-It is most important to effectively communicate your ideas rather than be technically correct
► Morphology-We can understand made-up words like "Hitlerian" and "frillions" because they take advantage of our knowledge of morphemes
Based on Linguistics and second language acquisition theory and research
► https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Z3CUpHUBQWUh7RLknd2_sM9KI8OTxx9dBtU5cfYWl5qhE1D0mc6bLW6kmasKSz9nUcCnI8zecEiSSbratTYjErotZl3idJSapgsXlw0DFbb7FL94YdvoBtdaKXmhZgt-S3Virzl3I8ei/s1600/children_holding_hands_around_the_world150.GIF
► Haynes Judie , Stages of Second Language Acquisition
► http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_stages.php
► Hill Jane D. and Björk Cynthia L., Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners Facilitator's Guide, http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108052/chapters/The-Stages-of-Second-Language-Acquisition.aspx
► http://www.apsva.us/15401081182015517/lib/15401081182015517/reepcurriculum/index.html
► Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2007), An Introduction to Language, Thomson Wadsworth: Boston
► Bankss James A., Teaching for Social Justice, Diversity, and Citizenship in a Global World. Retrieved Apr.17.2011
► http://depts.washington.edu/centerme/Fs04Bankss.pdf
► Peregoy, S. and Boyle, O. (2005). Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL: A Resource Book for K-12 Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
► Vygotsky L.S., (1978) Mind in Society. The Development of Higher Psychological Processes.
► Hill Jane D. and Björk Cynthia L. , Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners Facilitator's Guide
► http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108052/chapters/The-Stages-of-Second-Language-Acquisition.aspx
► Stages of Second Language Acquisition
► http://www.academicesl.com/docs/09-2Stages_of_Second_Language_Acquisition-Chart.pdf
► Echevarria, J. V. (2004). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Mode. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
► ***All of the graphics and images are retrieved from Google search engine clip arts. The purpose of this presentation is just educational and no other is intended.
