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Science Instruction for ELLs

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.

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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

Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners

Author: Fred Dobb. California Science Project.

Summary: "Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners" written by Fred Dobb and published by the California Science Project, identifies 10 elements crucial to good science instruction for ELLs: academic language through science instruction, affective factors, classroom talk, vocabulary development, the science textbook, science textbook teachers' guides, professional development, the Sheltered Science Instruction Observation Protocol, lesson study, and assessment. Dobb discusses each of these elements is in detail, with a particular eye toward providing practical information that teachers can use to support their ELLs' learning in the science classroom.

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Tags: Comprehension; Content Areas: Science; Differentiated Instruction; Vocabulary;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the most effective strategies for teaching science to English learners?

Findings:
ELLs need specialized instruction in all content subjects that cater to their language skills.

Policy Recommendations:

  • Develop academic language through scientific instruction and sophisticated vocabulary.
  • The key to building on ELL experiences and leading them to reading and writing about science is engaging them in purposeful guided instructional conversation.
  • Science vocabulary development represents a continuing thread of academic grow for ELLs as they progress in English proficiency.
  • Utilize Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) to teach science, with such strategies as: visual aids, demonstrations, pre-reading activities, graphic organizers, and adaptation of textbooks to make the content comprehensible.

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
California Science Project, 3806 Geology Building, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567. It also can be found online at http://csmp.ucop.edu/csp.

Dobb, Fred. (2004). Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners. 2nd edition. California Science Project: Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved from: http://docushare.ycs.k12.pa.us/docushare/dsweb/GetRendition/Document-7526/html.

Improving Science and Vocabulary Learning of English Language Learners

Author: August, D., Artzi, L., & Mazrum, J. Center for Applied Lingustics, CREATE

Summary: This report analyzes and reviews current research of effective science instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) and “the role of English language proficiency, learning in a second language, and first language knowledge in science learning,” and how it relates to instruction. In addition, the report examines and compares current research trends to the findings of two CREATE intervention studies that were effective in improving vocabulary and science knowledge.

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Tags: Content Areas: Science;

Target Population: Middle School

Research Questions the Report Poses:

  • What is the current research on effective Science instruction (including vocabulary/first language instruction) and ELLs?
  • Which of these methods seems to produce the best results?
  • Which intervention (CREATE) is more effective?/ Or what does the research suggest?

Findings:

  • Under CREATE intervention 1: Results show that students, all of whom were English language learners in this particular study, performed significantly better on the posttest with vocabulary that they had been explicitly taught using intervention methods than on vocabulary they were exposed to, but not explicitly taught.
  • Under CREATE intervention 2: Posttest results of students who had received the intervention showed statistically significant improvement over those who had not received it for both science knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Both CREATE interventions were effective in developing the academic vocabulary of English learners. Intervention B, the QuEST intervention, which had an additional focus on building science content knowledge, was successful in accomplishing this goal (August, Branum- Martin, Hagan, & Francis, 2009).
  • Combining good science teaching with scaffolding and a focus on language development is an effective method for helping English language learners in science classrooms.

August, D., Artzi, L., & Mazrum, J. (2010, August). Improving Science and Vocabulary Learning of English Language Learners. CREATE. Retrieved January 4, 2011 from: www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/CREATEBrief_AcademicLanguage.pdf

Language Accommodations for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments

Author: Jamal Abedi, Mary Courtney, James Mirocha, Seth Leon, and Jennifer Goldberg National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST)/University of California, Los Angeles

Summary: How do we create accurate assessments of students' abilities when their experiences with a particular academic subject have been in another language? If we account for this difference using accommodations, do the accommodations themselves have an unintended impact on the results? A study by the National Center for Research on Education, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles, measures the effectiveness, validity, differential impact, and feasibility of accommodations for ELLs.

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Tags: Books and Other Reading Materials; Comprehension; Content Areas: Science; Vocabulary;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses:

  1. Do accommodation strategies help reduce the performance gap between ELL and non-ELL students? (Effectiveness)
    2. < li>Do accommodation strategies impact the performance of non-ELL students on content-based assessments? (Validity)
  2. Do student background variables impact performance on the accommodated assessments? (Differential impact)
  3. Are accommodations easy to implement or use? (Feasibility)

Findings:

  • Accommodation effectiveness varies by type (ie English dictionary vs. bilingual dictionary vs. linguistic modification);
  • Accommodation effectiveness also varies by grade level;
  • Accommodation strategies did not impact the general student population, which suggests that the tests remained valid even with the use of accommodations.
  • Many background variables were significantly related to performance in the science assessments including time lived in US, initial grade enrollment in US, other schooling outside US, home language of Korean or Spanish, and fealty with spoken English at school.

Policy Recommendations:

  • Because bilingual dictionaries yield varying results of benefit, accommodations that are more "pre–packaged" would be more effective, such as linguistic modifications.

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Center for the Study of Evaluation National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing Graduate School of Education & Information Studies University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095-1522

Abedi, J., Courtney, M., Mirocha, J., Leon, S., and Goldberg, J. (2005). Language Accommodations for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments. National Center for Research on Education, Standards, and Student Testing: Los Angeles, CA.