Help! What do I do?
By: Sydney Gochenour — November 2014
It was a normal Tuesday morning in Ms. Shaffer’s classroom when she heard a knock on the door. As a class, everyone turned around to see the new student standing in the doorway with the principal. “Here is your new classmate! His name is Pranav and he has some trouble with English, so be sure to have patience and understanding.” Mr. Bowers said. Pranav walked into the class and Ms. Shaffer escorted him to his new seat. “Now students lets greet our new classmate with a friendly welcome.” Said Ms. Shaffer. And as a class, they all greeted Pranav with a great hello. Pranav smiled back at the class but did not say a word. A few moments later Ms. Shaffer realized that Pranav did not say anything back because he had no idea what the class had said to him. Ms. Shaffer was notified two weeks ago that she was gaining a student who has some trouble with English and was going to be part of the English Language Learners. But little did she know, Pranav knew absolutely no English. You can only imagine the stress that just landed on Ms. Shaffer’s shoulders.
Situations much like this happen to teachers across the country on a yearly basis. Students enter the classroom not knowing much English or maybe they know none at all. Teachers sometimes have to scramble to find the right lessons to teach, activities to present, and assessments to run through with these students.
In today’s classrooms, language diversity has made its presence. Across our nation a census statistic shows that nearly 20 percent of children over the age of five speak a language other than English. And out of the 20 percent, there can be as many as 40 different languages that are spoken by these children (Beck & Melendez, 2013). The enrollment of English Language Learners (ELLs) in school corporations has shown an extensive growth over the last few years. In grades K-12 the nation has shown a growth of 57 percent for ELL students (Beck & Melendez, 2013). After seeing these statistics and knowing the range of diversity that could be in your class,
What would be the best way to instruct literacy and assess ELL students?
To know how to instruct further literacy for an ELL student, you first need to know where they stand on their knowledge of English. To test this, the student needs to go through a needs assessment.
This form of assessment shows teachers what the student’s strengths, needs, and personal experiences are. The student goes through a series of questions so the teacher has the opportunity to better understand. Sometimes the family can be contacted to present deeper information. The results show the teacher what they should be planning on implementing into the lessons in the future (Beck & Melendez, 2013).
For teachers it can be extremely nerve-racking and stressful to have a student put in your class who speaks very little English. Especially for a teacher who is monolingual. What most people do not realize is, “A teacher does not have to be fluent in a language to recognize its value to the leaner, permit its use in the classroom, and respect, affirm and legitimize its role in students’ learning and students’ self-esteem” (Franquiz & Reyes, 1998). When teachers respect student’s native languages, the classroom becomes an environment where learning can be reciprocal. Teachers will have the opportunity to become a learner right along with the students.
One of the most critical aspects to remember while teaching ELL students, is to know that the student’s first language plays a big role in the process of learning a second language (Chinn & Gollnick, 2013). For teachers to start their strategies on instructing literacy, they need to build on the student’s first language otherwise there may be serious consequences in the learning process. As stated by researchers Crawford and Krashen, “When students have the opportunity to provide a strong foundation in their native language, they gain both knowledge and literacy, and this powerfully supports English Language development” (Chinn & Gollnick, 2013).
So how do you incorporate the native language of the student into your instruction of literacy?
Teachers can sometimes get so wrapped up in the thought of having to come up with effective ways to instruct literacy to the new ELL students, that they forget to complete the obvious strategies. New students walk into classrooms already unfamiliar and nervous. Teachers have the opportunity to create a supportive learning environment to the students. They can create a multiliterate classroom with posters hanging throughout the room that show alphabets or common phrases in the languages that are used by students in the class (Haywood, Lorenzen, & Schwarzer, 2003). This is a simple way to help the new student be more at ease when first walking into the classroom.
To incorporate the native language in literacy instruction, teachers can first focus on the vocabulary of students in the class. To bring a more diverse vocabulary into the classroom, instruction needs to begin with a contextualized, repetitive, meaningful, introduction to the new word (Anthony, 2008). As a teacher, you would know the ELL students in your class and what languages they are comfortable speaking. Having this information gives you the opportunity to include these students into discussion. Teachers can do this when the class reads a-loud new books and comes across an unfamiliar word. When the class comes across an unfamiliar word, the teacher might then refer back to the text to reread the sentence. Then, the teacher should give the students the meaning of the new word and display examples of how the word can be used in context. The students will then proceed to repeat the word for reinforcement (Anthony, 2008). Now that the students have learned the new word in English, the teacher will now include the native languages that are apparent in the classroom. The teacher should ask an ELL student if they are able to translate the word in their language. As a teacher, you should encourage students to translate a word close to the unfamiliar word if they have trouble coming up with a straight translation. When the ELL student has a translation in mind they can share it to the class. The teacher can then repeat the word slowly and with the proper emphasis. Then, the class repeats the word together. Providing an ELL student the opportunity to share their language shows the student that their language is taken seriously and lets them know they are a competent member of the class (Franquiz & Reyes, 1998).
It is always great to stop and focus on specific words to build up a student’s vocabulary but in order for students to really make gains in vocabulary is through reading. In all classrooms there is a set time slot for students to engage in a reading block. During a reading block there are three key components that teachers have their students go through. There is time set out for independent reading, guided reading, and literature study. The teacher will separate the class strategically in order to provide the best instruction to all students. During the first section of the reading block, students will read independently and sometimes write out responses on what they are reading. The teacher has a general idea of what reading level each student is at. Because of this, the books that the students read are all controlled by the teacher. ELL students have the chance to engage in texts on their own during this time. After independent reading, students then move into guided reading. During this section the teacher puts the students into small groups and gives them texts to read and discuss. Typically the teacher stays with a group to work on developing awareness of their reading process. Depending on how many ELL students are present in a class, the teacher might use this time to work on developing effective strategies for reading challenging texts. The last section of the block is the literature study where students discuss a text with each other. When a group works together to problem solve, those skills used can then be transferred to the individual. Collaborative learning in second language for ELL students leads to functional practice and diversity in language (Perez & Torres-Guzman, 2002). It can also be beneficial for ELL students to conduct think a-louds during this time. Teachers can show a passage and stop at any points of confusion and show how to write in the margins. The teacher and students work together to further understand a text (Anthony, 2008).
Encouraging writing to students as a way to express ideas is important. Teachers can use the strategy of a writing workshop to instruct literacy. A writing workshop should be implemented at least three times a week for an hour each time. During the hour of writing, the teacher will present a mini-lesson to the class, give students time for writing, and opportunity for sharing as a whole (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001). When ELL students are working on their writing, teachers should encourage them to talk about their writing process. This pushes the students to use English to describe the writing process. It is essential to ELL students that they receive the chance to read a-loud what they have written. Students will then have the opportunity to notice errors, provide input, and improve their writing. Teachers can also let ELL students present their writing in both their native and second language (Anthony, 2008).
Now that we know how to instruct ELL students, how do you assess such diverse students?
There are very little issues in education that are as controversial as the topic of assessment for ELL students (Chinn & Gollnick, 2013). As you can imagine, standardized assessments can be extremely difficult for ELL students since they measure language proficiency and content knowledge. These students may have trouble understanding the questions on the test as well as the answer choices. Standardized tests show more of what the students don’t know rather than what they do know (Alvarez & Corn, 2008). “The most useful assessment is the one that makes students’ reading processes as transparent as possible, showing teachers how to plan appropriate instruction” (Alvarez & Corn, 2008). Luckily for teachers there are many forms of assessment that provide this “window” into students’ reading process.
Teachers should have the idea to observe and analyze the process and product of each students’ reading for assessment (Fountas & Pinnell, 2006). To do this teachers will need to take some of their assessments “on the run” while teaching class. During the independent reading time of the reading block, teachers can individually go up to students to ask them to read sections of the text. This way you can hear a sample of their oral reading. Teachers can also take a running record assessment to test the reading behaviors and comprehension of students. To successfully test comprehension teachers will have to know what the student knows before reading, during, and after. To gain this specific knowledge, you can look at the student’s writer’s notebooks, hearing discussions, and think a-louds (Serafini, 2012). Teachers have many options for assessing ELL students. There is no right or wrong answer to assessment, it greatly depends on how your students handle certain situations. Teachers know their students best. They know what will or will not work for their students.
In conclusion, teachers all across the nation will run into students who are learning English as a second language at some point in their career. Because of this, it is important to know the best ways to instruct literacy and assess ELL students. Providing ELL students with the opportunities above, will let the student have a chance to become more proficient in their language skills and become better English speaking students.
References
· Alvarez, L, & Corn, J. (2008) Exchanging Assessment for Accountability: The Implications of High-Stakes Reading Assessments for English Learners. Language Arts, 85(5), 354–365.
· Anthony, A. R. B. (2008) Output strategies for English-Language Learners: Theory to practice. The Reading Teacher, 61(6), 472–482.
· Beck, V., & Melendez, W. (2013) Teaching Young Children in Multicultural Classrooms. 4th Ed. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
· Chinn, P., & Gollnick, D. (2013) Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society. Pearson.
· Fletcher, R., & Portalupi, J. (2001) Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH. Heinenmann.
· Fountas, I, & Pinnell. (2006) Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency. Chapter 8: Assessing Comprehension and Fluency to Document Progress and Inform Teaching.
· Franquiz, M., & Reyes, M. (1998) Creating Inclusive Learning Communities through English Language Arts: From “Chanclas” to “Canicas”. Language Arts, 75(3), 211–220.
· Haywood, A., Lorenzen, C., & Schwarzer, D. (2003) Fostering Multiliteracy in a Linguistically Diverse Classroom. Language Arts, 80(6), 453–460.
· Perez, B., & Torres-Guzman, M. (2002) Learning in Two Worlds. 3rd Ed. Boston, MA. Allyn and Bacon.
· Seralini, F. (2012) Critical Issues in Literacy Pedagogy. University Readers.
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