English-language learner: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:45, 29 March 2024

Revision as of 09:51, 29 March 2024

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== Models of instruction ==

There are a wide variety of different program models that may be used to structure the education of English-language learners (ELLs). These program models vary depending on the goals of the program and the resources available. Some researchers describe program models as existing on a spectrum from more monolingual forms to more bilingual forms.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Colin |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.21832/baker9899 |title=Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism |last2=Wright |first2=Wayne E. |date=2021-03-31 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |doi=10.21832/baker9899 |isbn=978-1-78892-988-2 |s2cid=241801261}}</ref> Others distinguish between English-only program models and bilingual program models.<ref>{{cite book |id={{ERIC|ED517794}} |last1=Moughamian |first1=Ani C. |last2=Rivera |first2=Mabel O. |last3=Francis |first3=David J. |title=Instructional Models and Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners |date=2009 |publisher=Center on Instruction }}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Professional Development SIOP.jpg|thumb|At a professional development seminar, educators learn about the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model, a specific model of sheltered instruction used to accommodate English -language learners in mainstream classrooms.]]

Fast-track to English programs encourage students to use English as quickly as possible and offer little to no native language support. In transition-bilingual programs, instruction begins in the student's native language and then switches to English in elementary or middle school. In [[Dual language|dual language programs]] (also known as two-way bilingual or two-way [[Language immersion|immersion]] programs), students become fluent simultaneously in their native language and English.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learning and Thinking Differences in English Language Learners |date=5 August 2019 |url=https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/english-language-learners/understanding-learning-and-thinking-differences-in-ells}}</ref> [[Sheltered instruction]] is another approach in which integrates language and content instruction in the mainstream classroom environment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hansen-Thomas |first=Holly |date=2012-07-13 |title=Sheltered Instruction: Best Practices for ELLs in the Mainstream |journal=Kappa Delti Pi Record |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=165–69|doi=10.1080/00228958.2008.10516517 |s2cid=144305523 }}</ref> Program models utilizing sheltered instruction may also be referred to as content-based instruction (CBI) or content language integrated learning (CLIL).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ping |first1=Wang |title=Understanding bilingual education: an overview of key notions in the literature and the implications for Chinese university EFL education |journal=Cambridge Journal of Education |date=2 January 2017 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=85–102 |doi=10.1080/0305764X.2015.1118439 |s2cid=147483836 }}</ref>

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=== Scaffolding ===

[[Scaffolding Theory|Scaffolding theory]] was introduced in 1976 by [[Jerome Bruner]], David Wood, and Gail Ross.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pea |first1=Roy D. |title=The Social and Technological Dimensions of Scaffolding and Related Theoretical Concepts for Learning, Education, and Human Activity |journal=Journal of the Learning Sciences |date=July 2004 |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=423–451 |doi=10.1207/s15327809jls1303_6 |s2cid=58282805 |url=https://telearn.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00190619/file/A117_Pea_04_JLS_Scaffolding.pdf }}</ref> Bruner adapts [[Lev Vygotsky]]'s [[zone of proximal development]] theory to child development. In the context of aiding ELL students, scaffolding is seen as a way to offer more support to ELL students initially through additional strategies and approaches, which are gradually removed as the student gains independence and proficiency. Different scaffolding strategies include associating English vocabulary to visuals, drawing back to a student's prior knowledge, pre-teaching difficult vocabulary before assigning readings they appear in, and encouraging questions from students, whether they be content-related or to ensure comprehension. All of these additional areas of support are to be gradually removed, so that students become more independent, even if that means no longer needing some of these associations or seeking them out for themselves.

=== Labor-based grading ===

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A study to examine anti-racist pedagogy within predominantly white versus predominantly Mexican classrooms concluded that Mexican elementary-level students had a firmer grasp on cultural inequalities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Borsheim-Black |first1=Carlin |title='It's Pretty Much White': Challenges and Opportunities of an Antiracist Approach to Literature Instruction in a Multilayered White Context |journal=Research in the Teaching of English |date=2015 |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=407–429 |jstor=24398713 }}</ref> According to the findings, the social and cultural maturity of the Mexican students is a direct result of having faced the inequalities themselves. Another study{{fact|date=August 2022}} on Caucasian first-grade teachers and their ELL students indicated biases that ultimately affected students' desire to learn. A combination of misinformation, stereotypes, and individual reservations can alter teachers' perception when working with culturally diverse or non-native English speakers. Teachers are placed in the position to teach English-learning students, sometimes without the necessary training, as mentioned above. From a Walden University study, a handful of teachers at an elementary school expressed not having the energy, training, or time to perform for these students.<ref>{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|305224931}} |last1=Couch |first1=Marsha |date=2010 |title=First grade teachers' perceptions of and expectations for ELL students }}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref>

An ESL teacher, in a study called "Losing Strangeness to Mediate ESL Teaching", "connects culture to religious celebrations and holidays and the fusion invites students to share their knowledge".<ref name="Rowsell2007">{{cite journal |last1=Rowsell |first1=Jennifer |last2=Sztainbok |first2=Vannina |last3=Blaney |first3=Judy |title=Losing Strangeness: Using Culture to Mediate ESL Teaching |journal=Language, Culture and Curriculum |date=July 2007 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=140–154 |doi=10.2167/lcc331.0 |s2cid=144057826 }} p147.<!-- Rowsell, J., Sztainbok, V., & Blaney, J. (2008). Losing strangeness: using culture to mediate esl teaching. --></ref> This has encouraged students to open up and talk about their cultural backgrounds and traditions. "Teachers who encourage CLD students to maintain their cultural or ethnic ties promote their personal and academic success."<ref name="Herrera2007">{{Cite book|last1=Herrera|first1=Socorro|title=Assessment Accommodations for Classroom Teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students|last2=Murry|first2=Kevin|last3=Cabral|first3=Robin|publisher=Pearson/Allyn and Bacon|year=2007|isbn=978-0-205-49271-8|___location=Boston}}</ref>{{rp|90}} Students should not feel that they need to lose their identity in the classroom, but rather that they gain knowledge from both their culture and the world around them. It have been proven to be beneficial to bring culture into the ESL classroom in order for the students to feel a sense of worth in school and in their lives. Similarly, the sharing one different cultural backgrounds can benefit other students in the mainstream classroom who may not have the cultural maturity or dual identities that these students are able to shed a light on.

Another reason that an ESL student may be struggling to join discussions and engage in class could be attributed to whether they come from a culture where speaking up to an authority figure (like a teacher or a professor) is discouraged. This makes classes that are graded based on participation especially challenging for these students. Strategies that can mitigate this discomfort or misunderstanding of expectations include offering surveys or reflective writing prompts, that are collected after class, inquiring about student's educational and cultural backgrounds and past learning experiences. Regardless of how much training an instructor has on teaching ELL students, being open to learning about them as an individual rather than a part of a larger group and making efforts towards tailoring and personalizing their learning experience can contribute to the student's overall success.

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== Enriching the classroom environment ==

In order toTo maintain an environment that is beneficial for both the teacher and the student, culture, literature, and other disciplines should be integrated systematically into the instruction. Postponing content-area instruction until CLD students gain academic language skills bridges the linguistic achievement gap between the learners and their native-English speaking peers.<ref name="Herrera2007"/>{{rp|173}} Relating to culture, teachers need to integrate it into the lesson, in order for the students to feel a sense of appreciation and a feeling of self-worth rather than ostracization. When working with English -language learners, it is suggested that teachers try to understand the cultural background of their students in relation to education. What might be incorrect in English, might be correct in one's native language. If this is the case, then the student may transfer information from their first language to the second.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|title=Literature Review {{!}} Teaching Diverse Learners|url=https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/teaching-diverse-learners/literature-review-1|access-date=2021-10-13|website=www.brown.edu}}</ref> Students will benefit substantially from the use of literature in instruction as well. "Reading texts that match learner interests and English proficiency provide learners with comprehensible language input—a chance to learn new vocabulary in context and to see the syntax of the language."<ref name="Rabideau1993">{{cite web|url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED358749 |id={{ERIC|ED358749}} |last1=Rabideau |first1=Dan |title=Integrating Reading and Writing into Adult ESL Instruction. ERIC Digest |date=March 1993 }}</ref> Students can also gain additional motivation and enjoyment from the addition of literature. Students also can gain motivation in writing by teachers allowing them to write about culturally relevant topics that allow students to express where they come from and aspects of their culture.<ref name=":02"/> By integrating other disciplines into the lesson, it will make the content more significant to the learners and will create higher order thinking skills across the areas. Introducing language in other contexts focuses not only on learning a second language, but using that language as a medium to learn mathematics, science, social studies, or other academic subjects.<ref name="Reilly1988">{{cite web|url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED296572 |id={{ERIC|ED296572}} |last1=Reilly |first1=Tarey |title=ESL through Content Area Instruction |date=May 1988 }}</ref> These varying approaches aid ELL students' awareness "that English is not just an object of academic interest nor merely a key to passing an examination; instead, English becomes a real means of interaction and sharing among people".<ref name="Oxford2001p5">{{cite magazine |last1=Oxford |first1=Rebecca |title=Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL classroom |magazine=ESL Magazine |volume=6 |issue=1 |date=2001 |pages=1–7 }}</ref> Therefore, students will be able to communicate across the curriculum, acquire higher level skills, and be successful in their daily lives.

=== Strategies for supporting ELLs in the classroom and beyond ===

Allowing students to translanguage, or alternate, between English and their native language is an essential strategy for English -language learners. In the classroom, English -language learners can often feel intimidated when asked to speak, so when students are allowed to use their first language to help produce their second language, it lessens some of the anxiety that can occur.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|first=Jennifer|last=Gonzalez|date=2014-12-11|title=12 Ways to Support English Learners in the Mainstream Classroom |url=https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/supporting-esl-students-mainstream-classroom/|access-date=2021-10-13|website=Cult of Pedagogy|language=en}}</ref> Oftentimes in the classroom, teachers ask students to communicate complex ideas and translanguing helps students do this. In this case, teachers are not concerned so much about their language output, but rather if they are able to communicate their ideas.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|date=2016-07-26|title=What is translanguaging?|url=https://ealjournal.org/2016/07/26/what-is-translanguaging/|access-date=2021-10-13|website=EAL Journal|language=en}}</ref> By allowing students to translanguage in the classroom, it allows students to process and convey their ideas in a lower-risk output situation (worksheets) that can lead to more high-risk output situations (essays and projects).<ref name=":22" />

When it comes to writing, constant and a variety of feedback needs to be given. This could be about syntax or sentence structures, which feedback could be given on a rubric.<ref name=":02"/> Modeling effective writing is also an essential strategy, which can be done by vocalizing their reasoning for choice in vocabulary, sentence structure, and even purpose for writing.<ref name=":02" /> Teachers should chunk writing steps into manageable sections for English -language learners.<ref name=":02" />

[[File:Karvachar Armath Lab at work.jpg|thumb|Technology usage in the classroom can be beneficial for English -language learners.]]

Incorporating technology is one strategy for supporting English-Languagelanguage Learnerslearners in the classroom. The internet makes it possible for students to view videos of activities, events, and places around the world instantaneously. Viewing these activities can help English-Languagelanguage Learnerslearners develop an understanding of new concepts while at the same time building topic related schema (background knowledge).<ref>{{Cite web|title=6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners|url=https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-essential-strategies-teaching-english-language-learners|access-date=2020-06-11|website=Edutopia|language=en}}</ref> Introducing students to media literacy and accessible materials can also aid them in their future academic endeavors and establish research skills early on. This can also help students visually as well. For English -language learners, listening all the time can become very taxing, so teachers should add in visual as much as they can to support students.<ref name=":13"/> Technology allows teachers to do this because images can be projected on the screen as well as text when learning new concepts.

Experiential learning is another strategy to support ELL students. The teacher can provide opportunities for English-language Language Learnerslearners to acquire vocabulary and build knowledge through hands-on learning.<ref>Schecter, S. R. (2012). The predicament of generation 1.5 English language learners: Three disjunctures and a possible way forward. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(4), 322.</ref> This can include activities such as science experiments and art projects, which are tactile ways that encourage students to create solutions to proposed problems or tasks.

A strategy that requires more involvement from educators is supporting the students outside of the school setting. To respond to deficiencies in the public school system, educators and student activists have created spaces that work to uplift ELL and their families.&nbsp;Labeled as family-school-community partnerships, these spaces have sought out cultural and linguistic responsiveness through encouraging participation and addressing needs outside of school.&nbsp;It is an interpretation of growth through art and community bonding meant to prime student development.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chappell|first=Sharon Verner|title=The Arts and Emergent Bilingual Youth: Building Culturally Responsive, Critical and Creative Education in School and Community Contexts|publisher=Taylor & Francis Group|year=2013}}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref>