Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Best Practices: Content Instruction for ELLs
Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and Academic Literacy for Adolescent English Language Learners
Summary: Adolescent English Language Learners, who must simultaneously learn English and age–appropriate subject material, must perform double the work of their native language peers because they are held to the same accountability standards. This paper is the resulting work of a panel of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners convened to elucidate the issues and challenges adolescent ELLs face. They identify 6 main challenges to improving the literacy of ELLs, followed by suggested practical solutions and strategies for each, concluding with policy implications and recommendations.
Tags: Curriculum; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language Proficiency; Struggling Readers;
Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the Work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English language learners– A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Educating Language Learners: Getting at the Content
Author: Yu Ren Dong; ASCD
Summary: In "Getting at the Content" Yu Ren Dong proposes that by teaching language learning strategies, content area teachers can accelerate content mastery for their English language learners. Dong recommends actively teaching content-specific language while providing ample opportunities for students to use that language both in meaningful class discussion and in writing. The article includes vignettes from science and social studies classrooms that demonstrate how language instruction can be interwoven with content instruction.
Tags: Comprehension; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Vocabulary;
Target Population: All
Research Questions the Report Poses: How can teachers integrate language and content in mainstream subject-matter classes to facilitate English language acquisition?
Findings:
Our mainstream subject-matter classes are becoming increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse. It is imperative that subject-matter teachers sensitize their instruction to English language learners' backgrounds and needs and teach subject-matter knowledge through language.
Policy Recommendations:
- Subject-matter teachers should systematically teach discipline-specific language. They should also pay attention to the functional use of language in classroom discussions.
- Teachers should use writing as a tool to promote language development by aligning writing assignments with language-development needs.
- Teachers also need to be aware of students' English proficiency levels and cultural and education backgrounds so they can tailor their instruction to specific language needs.
Dong, Y.R. (2005). Educating language learners: getting at the content. Educational Leadership, 62(4), Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec04/vol62/num04/Getting-at-the-Content.aspx
Effective Programs for English Language Learners (ELL) with Interrupted Formal Education
Author: Office of English Language Learning & Migrant Education, Indiana Department of Education
Summary: Many immigrant students enter U.S. schools having had little or no prior schooling in their home countries. These children must master grade-level content at the same time that they are learning to speak, read, and write in English. This report discusses effective strategies for teaching ELLs who have not had the benefit of formal education or who have had interrupted formal education. The article includes an overview of recent research in this area, as well as recommended resources.
Tags: Differentiated Instruction; Intervention;
Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School
Findings:
- While the needs of Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFEs) may overlap with ELLs, SIFEs often need more additional support and remedial instruction than ELLs with a formal educational background.
- A well-designed program for SIFEs includes thematically organized literacy and content courses; small class size; and opportunities for teacher collaboration across ESL and content areas.
- After-school and Saturday programs can help students compensate for lost learning time and receive individualized instruction.
- Best practices for ensuring that SIFEs have access to the full curriculum include sheltered instruction, content-based ESL, standards-based learning, and collaborative learning.
Policy Recommendations:
N/A
Office of English Language Learning & Migrant Education, Indiana Department of Education. (2007). Effective Programs for English Language Learners (ELL) with Interrupted Formal Education. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Department of Education.
Helping English Language Learners Understand Content-Area Texts
Author: Indiana Department of Education; Office of English Language Learning and Migrant Education
Summary: Published by the Indiana Department of Education, this guide provides clear, detailed instructions for making content area text accessible to ELLs. The guide begins with a description of how teachers can survey textbooks in advance to identify potential areas of difficulty for ELLs. Also included are sections on building background knowledge, pre–teaching vocabulary and concepts, pre-reading strategies to increase comprehension, introducing the text, reading the text, demonstrating comprehension through speaking, and demonstrating comprehension through writing.
Tags: Comprehension; Differentiated Instruction;
Target Population: All
Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the best practical strategies that content area teachers can use to support English language learners in their classrooms?
Findings:
- Teacher preparation
- Building background knowledge (pre–teaching difficult concepts and vocabulary)
- Pre–teaching strategies to increase comprehension
- Introducing the text, with visuals and objectives
- Encouraging oral academic English
- Using writing to demonstrate and extend understanding of a text and its contents
Helping English Language Learners Understand Content-Area Texts. Indiana Department of Education. Indianapolis, Indiana.
Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Focus on Classroom Teaching and Learning Strategies (Part II)
Author: Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann
Summary: As with part one of this publication, part two amounts to a literature review. Part two looks for congruous instructional practices that are good for secondary ELL and native English speakers alike. The article shifts through a series of discussions about a variety of domains related to teaching and arrives at a conclusion in support of strategies beneficial to ELL students and native English language students.
Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Differentiated Instruction; Intervention; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;
Target Population: Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: What instructional practices dovetail in both the ELL adolescent literacy literature and non-ELL adolescent literacy literature?
Findings:
Eight instructional approaches are supported in both literatures (what's good for ELL adolescents and adolescent native English speakers):
- teacher modeling, strategy instruction, and using multiple forms of assessment;
- emphasis on reading and writing;
- emphasis on speaking and listening/viewing;
- emphasis on thinking;
- creating a learner-centered classroom;
- recognizing and analyzing content-area discourse features;
- understanding text structures within the content areas; and
- vocabulary development.
Policy Recommendations:
Any intervention aimed at ELLs should also benefit under–served learners generally.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu
Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part two: Focus on classroom teaching and learning strategies. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory .
The Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners (ELLs)
Author: National Council of Teachers of English (ELL Task Force)
Summary: This position paper is designed to address the knowledge and skills mainstream teachers need to have in order to develop effective curricula that engage English language learners, develop their academic skills, and help them negotiate their identities as bilingual learners. More specifically, this paper addresses the language and literacy needs of these learners as they participate and learn in English-medium classes. NCTE has made clear bilingual students' right to maintain their native languages. Thus, this paper addresses ways teachers can help these students develop English as well as ways they can support their students' bilingualism. In the United States bilingual learners, more commonly referred to as English language learners, are defined as students who know a language other than English and are learning English. Students' abilities range from being non-English speakers to being fully proficient. The recommendations in this paper apply to all of them.
Tags: Comprehension; Curriculum; Language Proficiency; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;
Target Population: All
Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the needs of ELLs? How can teachers address these needs?
Findings:
- Teachers need to get to know their students and about their home situations in order to be most effective.
- Writing well in English is often the most difficult skill for English language learners to master. Thus teachers should be aware that English language learners may not be familiar with standard American writing procedure like drafting, revision, editing, workshop, conference, audience, purpose, or genre.
- The best way to help students learn both English and the knowledge of school subjects is to teach language through content.
Policy Recommendations:
- Colleges and universities should offer pre-service teachers preparation in teaching ELLs including coursework in language acquisition, second language writing and readings, and culture classes.
- High school English departments should integrate programs that welcome and help acculturate late-arrival immigrant and refugee students with low literacy skills.
- The report also provides numerous practical recommendations for strategies in the classroom in various subjects.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The National Council of Teachers of English
1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096
Phone: 217-328-3870 or 877-369-6283
Fax: 217-328-9645
NCTE ELL Task Force. (2006). NCTE Position Paper on the Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners. National Council of Teachers of English: Urbana, IL.
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