Professional Development Tool

If you are in the position to provide Professional Development for your teachers in the area of ESL but don't know where to start, this is a great tool. In Resource B (pp. 119-122) of Mary Ann Lachat's book, Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners, there is a survey that you can give teachers that allows them to self-evaluate their need for training in many areas. The survey is very comprehensive and would allow you to really see what the needs of your staff are. If don't have access to the book, leave me a comment and I can make you a copy of the survey and mail it to you or I can scan it and email it to you.

Why and How to Use Blogs with ESL Students

Blogs are web logs/journals that are maintained as a place to share thoughts and ideas, photos and videos, etc (like the one you're reading!). Readers can comment on entries (called posts).

There are several reasons to use blogs with ESL students. According to Lori Langer de Ramirez in Empower English Learners with Tools, blogs can be used for:

• Class debates
• Poetry collections
• Creative writing
• Novel or story reviews
• Commenting on essential questions
• Responding to photos of art, historical figures, and audio files of music or speeches
• A detective or suspense short story in installments (meaning different blog posts build on the story over time)
• Group discussions 
• Writing journals or diaries

Students can practice reading and writing as they write blog posts and comment on other's posts. They can also practice speaking and listening if audio or video files are part of the blog they are viewing or creating. Blogs can be great practice for all four language domains! 

One last feature of blogs that makes them a great tool for ESL students is that blog posts can serve as a sort of writing portfolio, whereby students can look back over earlier posts and see their growth in writing. Students also love being able to use technology and being independent in creating something of their own. 

Professional Development Resource

Dr. Christel Broady is the Program Director for the ESL Endorsement program at Georgetown College. She is a KYTESOL board member and is a frequent speaker at the state and national level. She is a passionate advocate for ESL students. She is available for professional development. You can contact her at Christel_Broady@georgetowncollege.edu

Matching Instruction to Language Acquisition Phase

Earlier, I did a post on the four general stages of language acquisition. In this post, I wanted to give you a couple of tips I found on matching instruction to each phase/level.

Beginning Level (Preproduction Stage)-
Provide concrete activities featuring input that is augmented by pictures, real objects, carefully modified teacher speech (see post on guarded vocabulary), and frequent repetition of new vocabulary

Early Intermediate and Intermediate (Early Production and Speech Emergence)-
Ask questions that evoke responses of single words and brief phrases
Provide opportunities for student to use their primary language as they acquire the second language

Early Advanced Level (Intermediate Fluency)-
Engage student in opportunities to speak with greater complexity, read several pages of text even thought they may have limited comprehension, and write paragraphs
Offer a curriculum that supports and explicitly teaches learning strategies


Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Stages of Language Acquisition

I wanted to give you some information on the general stages of language acquisition so you could work on recognizing them in your ESL students and providing the proper support at each stage. Here are the four stages:

1. Preproduction- this is also called the silent period because the learner is absorbing the sounds and patterns of the new language, tuning into the pace of speech, and starting to pick up on words. Understanding is highly contextualized and the learner often communicates non-verbally. If you have a "silent" student, do some investigating and see if they might simply be in this stage of acquisition. If so, be patient with them; don't force them. Give them low stress opportunities to express themselves.
2. Early Production- the learner attempts words and phrases (single or two/three word phrases)
3. Speech Emergence- learners are a bit more confident and talk readily; begin to use full sentences
4. Intermediate fluency- learners are able to initiate and participate in conversations; they begin to self-correct language errors 

In a later post, I'll give you some ideas on how to match instruction to each of these stages!


Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

The Phases of Acculturation

Acculturation is the process of adjusting to a new or non-native culture. It is helpful to be aware of its phases so that you may recognize them in your students and be of support to them during the process of learning a new culture. The phases are as follows:

1. Honeymoon-there may be a sense of excitement at the sense of novelty of life in a new culture
2. Hostility- As time goes by and the newness wears thin, students may find that their cultural mannerisms are misunderstood and/or that they struggle to understand their new culture. In this phase, students often feel impatient, anxious, frustrated or even angry. Teachers can offer support by cultivating a supportive, respectful, and caring classroom environment.
3. Humor- Students begin to reshape their cultural identity as they begin to understand more about their new culture and how they fit into that culture
4. Home- Students at this phase "value and celebrate their own bicultural and bilingual identity". They feel at ease in the second culture

Source: Herrera, S.G & Murry, K.G. (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods. Boston: Pearson.

Administering a Classroom Test to ESL Students

Assessment is part of every mainstream teacher's classroom. Here are a few tips on adapting test taking for your ESL students:

• Let students know throughout the unit how their achievement will be measured
• Align instructional methods and assessment methods
• Check comprehension frequently throughout instruction
• Supplement tests with other measures (observation, participation, discussions with students, and projects)
• Review tests "through the eyes of an English learner". Look for difficult language and cultural bias; provide support such as word banks
• Read tests to beginning English learners
• Allow more time for English learners or give the test in sections

Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Science: Developing Scientific Language

Here are some ways to help your ESL students more easily understand the language of science:

• Provide appropriate contexts for new vocabulary, syntactic structures, and discourse patterns. Isolated lists or exercises do not appear to facilitate language acquisition.
• Engage students in hands-on activities in which they discuss concepts in a genuine communicative context.
• Promote activities in which students actively debate with one another about the truth of a hypothesis or the meaning of data gathered.

Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Math: Alternative Means of Demonstrating Math Knowledge

• Produce or find three different drawings for the number x
• Write three story problems that have the number x as an answer
• Find out the favorite ice cream flavor of ten people you know. Invent a way to show this information to the class.

SSource: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Math: Developing Mathematical Language

The language of math can be difficult for ESL students. Here are some ways to help develop mathematical language:

• Pairs or small groups of students discuss the mathematics in their everyday language and relate it to everyday uses before moving to mathematics terms and concepts
• Use mathematical language together with appropriate actions and concrete objects
• Relate new terms to what students already know
• Recycle vocabulary to reinforce understanding and familiarity with the language in context
• Verbalize the strategies used to solve problems
• Provide both oral and written forms of new structures and vocabulary

Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Literature- Helping Students Work with the Text

Here are some ideas to help students work with the text, increasing comprehension and aiding in language development:

• Character review: Specific students become a character and provide background for other students' questions throughout the reading
• Image/theme development: Charts, graphs, pictures, and symbols can trace the development of images, ideas, and themes
• Read-along tapes/CD's/podcasts: These mediums encourage slower readers, allow absent students to catch up, and provide auditory input for students who learn through that modality
• Visual summaries: Groups of students create chapter reviews, character analyses, or problem-solutions

Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Activating Prior Knowledge in Literature Instruction

Here are some ideas for activating prior knowledge in literature instruction:

• Anticipation/reaction guides: a short list of statements provokes students to agree or disagree
• Pictures, art, movies: Visual means build a feeling for the setting
• Physical objects: Items relating to the reading selection allow students to identify and discuss
• Experiences: Field trips can interest students in the topic

Source: Weed, K. Z. & Diaz-Rico, L. T. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

What am I Responsible For?

I came across this a blog post from a colleague (who has a great blog that can be found here) and thought I would pass along the information since it is concise and helpful for mainstream classroom teachers. Often, mainstream teachers wonder what role they may play in the education of their ESL students and exactly what they are accountable for. Here are a few of the responsibilities of the mainstream teacher:

1. Be sure that the student has been identified as an English Language Learner (ELL) and is receiving services. This process is normally begun via the Home Language Survey (HLS), but if you have a student that you suspect is an ELL, you should be sure that they have been identified as such and are receiving services.
2. Teach Annual Measurable Achievement Outcomes (AMAOs). These are language development and proficiency goals that are mandated by Title III of NCLB. 
3. Implement necessary accommodations. Typically, an ESL student will have a Program Services Plan (PSP) that will inform you of the accommodations they qualify for. You are required to provide these accommodations throughout the school year.
4. Communicate with parents/caregivers in a language they understand. This may mean you utilize an interpreter or translation services. 

Beginning of the Year Considerations

The first few days of school are nerve-wracking for any student, but for a bilingual or ELL student, those first days can be even more overwhelming. This article gives four really practical and helpful ways to connect with your English Language Learners at the beginning of the year.

Affordable Over-the-Phone Interpreting

Check out this service, TransAct, that provides interpretation over the phone. This could be an affordable and resourceful way to ensure that you are meeting federal law that requires you to communicate with parents in a language that they can understand.

Tips for Holding a Conference with ELL Parents

Here is an article with some really helpful tips on conferencing with the parents of your ELL students. The article is short but very practical, covering where to sit, body language, what to bring, and many other things. I think you'll find this to be a great resource!

Free Podcasts to Use with ESL Students

• 30 Newest ESL Podcasts A round-up of podcasts geared toward ESL learners from various sites
• Culips ESL Podcast A Canadian-based podcast of interesting topics discussed by 20- and 30-somethings
• English Media Lab The audio is not great, but the files include their own comprehension questions
• ESL Pod Offers podcasts in 2 formats – ESL Café is a longer episode that addresses various cultural topics and current events, the ESL Podcasts are short dialogues that focus on idioms and grammatical issues
• International Teachers of ESL Journal’s recommended listening sites A listing of various sites where one can find podcasts and transcripts on various topics
• Jokes in English Short jokes with transcripts compiled from various sources
• Learn English A-Z The site itself can be a little confusing, but the links to other sites, including ESL MP3s are helpful
• Talk English There are 34 conversations, mostly about college life, for listening practice with comprehension questions and transcripts
• Voice of America News Great resource for current events in the USA and the world. Also has many lessons on the meaning and origins of words and phrases.

Source: Lexington Public Library System

Developing an ESL Program

To go along with the post I did on Thursday about developing an ESL program, here is a resource that walks you through each step I described and allows you room to jot down ideas, notes, and rationales. I hope this is helpful to you as you seek to ensure that your school complies with federal laws concerning  instruction of our English Language Learners. Remember that this is important because your school's federal money depends on your compliance with all federal laws.

You can find the document here.

Developing an English Language Program and the Classroom Teacher's Role

Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) mandates that every local school district provide its English Learners with instruction in English language development while also being held to the same educational standards and outcomes as their English fluent peers. Development of aforementioned program is mostly left to state education agencies (SEA). There are eight basic steps for developing an English Language program:

1. Educational Approach- The district must select a sound educational approach for providing English language development and meaningful participation in content
2. Identification- The district is responsible for identifying all students potentially needing EL/LEP services. (Administer Home Language Survey to ALL students enrolling in your district)
3. Assessment- The district is responsible for assessing each identified potential EL /LEP student for English proficiency. (Administer W-APT)
4. Placement into English Language (EL)/Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Program Services- The district is responsible for providing its EL/LEP students with a program of services consistent with its chosen educational approach.
5. Staffing and Resources- The district is obligated to provide the necessary resources and staffing to implement the educational approach selected.
6. Transition from EL/LEP Services- The district is responsible for implementing state criteria for exiting an EL/LEP student from the EL/LEP program into regular program participation.
7. Monitoring- The district will ensure that students transitioned from the EL/LEP program will meaningfully participate in the education program. (Students are monitored for two years after being Redesignated Fully English Proficient (RFEP).
8. Program Evaluation- The district will develop evaluation procedures to periodically evaluate and revise its EL /LEP program.

So as a classroom teacher, what is your role in each of these steps? Let's take a quick look at that:

1. Educational Approach- Speak up in a diplomatic way based on your knowledge of English Language Development and the unique needs of your school setting
2. Identification- Identify students who may not have been previously identified if you think they might be eligible for English Language services
3. Assessment- Encourage your eligible students to be available for testing
4. Placement into EL/LEP Program Services- Make sure that the services that your ESL students are receiving are consistent with the educational approach chosen
5. Staffing and Resources- Make your staffing and resources known to your department chair and/or administration
6. Transition from EL/LEP Services- Provide your input on whether or not the student is ready to transition out of the program
7. Monitoring- Continue to make observations as to whether or not the student is able to participate in the mainstream program
8. Program Evaluation- Provide an informed opinion on the program

Source: Kentucky Department of Education

Home Language Survey

What is a Home Language Survey (HLS)?

A Home Language Survey is a survey given to all students who enroll in a school system. It is one of the first screening processes to identify students as English Language Learners.

What questions are on the Home Language Survey?

Kentucky requires that, at a minimum, the following questions be included on the HLS:

1. What is the language most frequently spoken at home?
2. Which language did your child first learn when he/she first began to talk?
3. What language does your child most frequently speak at home?
4. What language do you most frequently speak to your child?

If the answer to any of these questions is a language other than English, the student is given an English proficiency test to determine if they qualify for English language development services.

Source: Kentucky Department of Education

Ways Administrators Can Support ESL and Bilingual Instruction

There are many ways that administrators can support ESL and bilingual instruction. Here are a few of them:

• Advocate for funding increases at the district level
• Work with teachers to configure classes and class sizes to the benefit of English learners
• Appoint a lead or mentor teacher to help new teachers adjust to and meet the needs of English learners
• Monitor marking policies to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to receive high grades
• Give staff members who have expertise in English-language development or primary-language instruction time to be of assistance to other teachers
• Give teachers with English-language development or primary-language assignments an equal share of mentoring and supervisory assistance
• Set an example of respect and encouragement for diverse language abilities and cultures within the school

Source: Weed, K. Z. & Diaz-Rico, L. T. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Parental Obligations and Involvement Document

This is a link to a document from the U.S. Department of Education that explains the parental involvement responsibilities of the state and local education agencies as well as the school. It also includes ideas for strengthening parental involvement. It is a little lengthly (30 pages plus appendices), but it is a very thorough and accurate view of the school's responsibilities to parents. The document is also in an easy to follow Q&A format, so you can look quickly and easily for answers to specific questions. I hope this will be a helpful resource to you as you seek to comply with federal and state laws and regulations.

How to Work with an Interpreter

In an earlier post, we talked about the fact that parents are legally entitled to receive information from the school in a language that they can understand. This means that at times, you may need to employ the services of an interpreter. Relying on a bilingual aid or teacher is not the best idea since interpretation should be provided by a trained and certified professional. Here are some tips on working with an interpreter:

• Meet regularly with the interpreter to facilitate communication, particularly before meeting with a student or parent.
• Encourage the interpreter to chat with the client before the interview to help determine the appropriate depth and type of communication.
• Speak simply, avoiding technical terms, abbreviations, acronyms, professional jargon, idioms, and slang.
• Encourage the interpreter to translate the clients's own words as much as possible to give a sense of the client's concepts, emotional state, and other important information.
• During the interaction, look at and speak directly to the parent/client. Listen to the clients and watch their nonverbal, affective response by observing facial expressions, voice intonations, and body movements.
• Be patient. An interpretive interview takes longer.

Source: Weed, K. Z. & Diaz-Rico, L. T. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Great Tip for Teachers with ESL Students

I came across this great tip earlier in the week. It is a simple way to help ESL students with spelling:

Display a word bank on a classroom wall with commonly used words that native speakers would already know but that ESL students might not yet be familiar with

An easy tip you might try soon!

Source: Weed, K. Z. & Diaz-Rico, L. T. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Responsibilities of an ESL Teacher

It is likely that you have an ESL teacher in your building, and if you have any ESL students in your classroom, hopefully you have partnered with the ESL teacher many times and understand his/her responsibilities to some extent. If not, here is a quick summary of what a typical ESL teacher knows and does:
The ESL teacher is responsible to:

• Know current laws and regulations regarding ESL students and make sure they are being followed/implemented in their school
• Educate all stakeholders regarding current laws and regulations
• Build the ESL program by training teachers, developing appropriate communication with all stakeholders, and advocating for students in the school and community
• Have knowledge of ESL approaches, methods, and strategies, as well as cultures of students and knowledge of the community in which they live 

Parents as Resources

As you have seen from previous posts, connecting with parents and having them as a resource is invaluable. Educating a child truly is a partnership, and parents need to feel a valued part of that.

Here are some more tips on ways to do just that:

• Establish an explicit open-door policy so parents will know they are welcome
• Send written information home about classroom assignments and goals, and encourage parents to reply
• Call parents periodically when things are going well and let them know when they can call you
• Suggest specific ways parents can help in assignments
• Get to know the community by visiting the community
• Let parents know when you are available to visit homes or talk at some other location
• Arrange several parent conferences a year and let parents talk about their child's achievement
• Solicit parents' views on education through a simple questionnaire, telephone interviews, or student or parent interviews

Source: Weed, K. Z. & Diaz-Rico, L. T. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

How to Encourage Active Listening and Learning

One of the greatest skills we can teach our students is to think critically. It is and will continue to be one of the most vital skills one can possess in our global society with instant access to a wealth of information. I wanted to give you some tips from criticalthinking.org on encouraging active listening and learning in your classroom.

Regularly call upon your students to:

• Summarize or put into their own words what the teacher or another student has said
• Elaborate on what they have said
• Relate the issue or content to their own knowledge or experience
• Give examples to clarify or support what they have said
• Make connections between related concepts
• Restate the instructions or assignment in their own words
• State the question at issue
• Describe to what extent their point of view on the issue is different from or similar to the point of view of the instructor, other students, author, etc
• Take a few minutes to write down any of the above
• Write down the most pressing question on their mind at this point. The teacher then uses the above tactics to help students reason through the questions
• Discuss any of the above with a partner and then participate in a group discussion facilitated by the instructor.

A note about calling on students: This can be difficult if the same students always raise their hand while you never hear from other students. One tip I tried was to write down each student's name on a popsicle stick and put them all in a cup. When it was time to answer a question, I pulled out a popsicle stick and that student was called upon. Then I left their name out of the cup to keep it fair. This helped involve all students. At the end of class, I put all the names back into the cup for next time. I noticed that when students know they might be randomly called on, they paid more attention and were more engaged. If I called on them and they didn't know what they wanted to say, they could ask another student for help or I guided them through the thinking process.

How Does Your Curriculum Stack Up?

I have talked in several posts about building a culturally inclusive classroom. One aspect of this is the curriculum you use. While you may not be able to choose it, you can be aware of biases present in order to make appropriate supplementations. Here are some questions to help you think about bias in the curriculum:

• What groups are represented in texts, discussion, and bulletin board displays? Are certain groups invisible?
• Are the roles of minorities and women presented in a separate manner from other content, isolated or treated as a distinct topic?
• Are minorities (and women) treated in a positive, diversified manner, or stereotyped into traditional or rigid roles?
• Are the problems faced by minorities presented in a realistic fashion, with a problem-solving orientation?
• Is the language used in the materials inclusive, or are biased terms used, such as masculine forms?
• Does the curriculum foster appreciation of cultural diversity?
• Are experiences and activities other than those common to middle-class European-American culture included?

These questions are a good starting point to help you evaluate your curriculum and, if bias is found, find authentic resources with which to supplement your curriculum. I hope these are helpful!

Source: Weed, K. Z. & Diaz-Rico, L. T. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Rights of Parents

Federal law is very clear when it comes to the rights that the parents of our ESL students have. They are as follows:
Parents must be informed:

• When a child has been identified as qualifying for support services
• Reasons for identification
• Level of English language development
• How the instructional program will help with English language development
• How methods of instructional program differ from mainstream instruction
• How exit from the program will be determined

Again, it's important that as mainstream teachers, we know these laws because we are held accountable for their enforcement. As educational professionals, it is our responsibility to our ESL students to know their rights and make sure they are being followed. For more information on what laws apply to ESL students, check out this very simple and straightforward policy guide. You can find it here.

Landmark Cases for ESL Education

Several court cases have served as the foundation for the laws and regulations guiding the education of English language learners in our country. Below are three of the most important along with a brief description of how they affected schooling. It's important to be familiar with these cases because from them spring the regulations and requirements that school districts must comply with in order to receive federal funding. That is why it is so important to understand what is legally required of your school in regards to the education of all students, but in this particular format, English Language Learners.

Keyes v. Denver (1973)- U.S. Supreme Court declared that schools must desegregate; meant that English learners could not be segregated from the English speaking peers

Lau v. Nichols (1974)- U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school districts must take the steps needed to provide English learners with an instructional program in which they can be given equal access to an education

Castaneda v. Pickard (1978)- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that districts must establish a three-prong test for ensuring that their educational program for English learners is consistent with a student's right to an education. The three prongs require that the instructional program be:

1. based on sound educational research
2. implemented with adequate commitment and resources
3. evaluated and proven to be effective

How Does a Student Become an ESL Student?

You may be wondering how a student goes from registration to receiving ESL services. Here is a summary:

1. When a student registers for school in a given district, they are given a Home Language Survey. 
2. If the student indicates a primary language other than English, an English Language Proficiency test is administered. More information about one example- the WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) can be found here. Tests like this aid in making placement decisions. Students are tested in each of the four language domains--reading, writing, listening, and speaking-- and given a score of 1-6. These results are used in conjunction with other criteria, such as teacher judgment, parent request, interviews, writing samples, etc, to determine placement.
3. If it becomes evident that the student is eligible for support services, the parents/caregivers are notified and placement is given. 
4. A Program Services Plan (PSP) is developed by a committee (ESL teacher, mainstream teacher, counselor, parent, student) and includes English proficiency levels, placement, accommodations, and background information.

More Lingo

Here are some more acronyms you might hear in regards to your ESL students. I hope this is helpful in better understanding your resources and your students, as well as your communication about them.

• BICS- Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills- the language ability needed for casual conversation; usually develops within two years
• CALP- Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency- the language ability needed for learning academic skills and concepts in situations in which contextual clues are not present and an abstract use of language is required
• CUP- Common Underlying Proficiency- refers to the conceptual knowledge that acts as the foundation on which new skills are built; both languages, L1 and L2, facilitate development of such fundamental cognitive patterns within individuals
• SUP- Separate Underlying Proficiency- refers to the separate conceptual knowledge bases in L1 and L2, assuming that the two languages operate independently
• i + 1- comprehensible input- new information that an individual receives that is one step beyond his or her current stage of competence

Instructional Methods

• CALLA- cognitive academic language learning approach- a method of instruction that is grounded in the cognitive approach and focuses on the explicit instruction of learning strategies and the development of critical thinking as a means of acquiring deep levels of language proficiency
• ICB- integrated content-based- a communicative method that involves the concurrent teaching of academic subject matter and second language acquisition skills; this method often employs thematic units as well as content and language objectives across subject areas
• SDAIE- specially designed academic instruction in English- a variation of sheltered instruction that emphasizes cognitively demanding, grade-level appropriate core curriculum for ESL students; primarily applies to students who have attained an intermediate or advanced level of proficiency in L2 (English)
• SIOP- sheltered instruction observation protocol- a vehicle for delivering scaffolded instruction of the existing curriculum so that instruction is more comprehensible for individuals who are acquiring English

Source: Herrera, S.G & Murry, K.G. (2011). Mastering esl and bilingual methods. Boston: Pearson. 

Knowing the Lingo

When it comes to the educational world, there is no shortage of lingo. The same is true of English Language Learners. I want to do a series of posts that let you in on some of the lingo/acronyms you might hear when it comes to talking about your ESL students.

• CLD- Culturally and linguistically diverse-Applies to an individual whose culture or language differs from that of the dominant group
• ELD- English language development- used in some states for the programming model most commonly referred to as English as a second language (ESL)
• ELL- English Language Learner- individuals who are in the process of transitioning from a home or native language to English 
• ESL- English as a second language- a programming model in which linguistically diverse students are instructed in the use of English as a means of communication and learning
• ESOL-English for speakers of other languages- instruction that focuses primarily on the development of vocabulary and grammar as a means of learning English
• L1-first language- the first or native language acquired by an individual
• L2- second language- the second language acquired by an individual

Source: Herrera, S.G & Murry, K.G. (2011). Mastering esl and bilingual methods. Boston: Pearson. 

Cultivating Parent Partnerships, Part 2

Yesterday I did a post on cultivating parent partnerships and why this should be our goal as educators. Parents/caregivers of your ESL students may be even more hesitant to come to the school or initiate contact with you, so I wanted to give you some information on home visits to give you even more tools to cultivate those partnerships. Here are some tips to having a quality home visit:

• Allow the family to do the majority of the talking and question asking
• View the home visit as a way to step into your student's world
• Listen attentively
• Let your agenda be nothing else but to learn from the family; don't try to hold a parent/teacher conference
• Gather information that can be used in the curriculum or to make future connections with the student

According to Powell and Rightmyer (2011), "Research shows that there are many positive benefits to conducting home visits. Families tend to change their attitudes towards the educational process, their ability to work successfully with their child improves, and they begin to utilize outside resources more often. Children demonstrate positive behavior changes and their self-esteem improves. Most importantly, the gap between home and school is bridged. Families begin to feel empowered and a real sense of partnership develops. Friendships are formed and mutual trust and respect can be found"(p. 75).

What better incentive could we need to try a home visit soon?!

Source: Powell, R. & Rightmyer, E.C. (2011). Literacy for all students. New York: Routledge.

Cultivating Parent Partnerships, Part 1

"We must appreciate that a child's parent is their primary educator, and as such, they play a critical role in the child's academic success" (Powell & Rightmyer, 2011).

Parent/teacher partnerships increase student achievement, increase student educational aspirations, increase length of time spent attending school overall, and increases ratings/opinions of schools in general (Powell & Rightmyer, 2011).

This is just one example of all the research that shows the benefits of teacher/parent partnerships. So how do we as teachers develop those partnerships? Here are some ideas and things to consider:

Make your school/classroom a welcoming environment
Your classroom should be clean and inviting
Display student work
Look around your classroom--Pictures and literature should convey an appreciation of diversity
Encourage parents to participate/volunteer in a way that they feel comfortable

Communication
All communication should be open, polite, and respectful
Use vocabulary that families can understand (avoid educator lingo)
Use titles (Mr. Mrs. etc)
Be clear and concise
Have written material translated, if possible and/or necessary
Give full attention when the parent is talking

Give Them Time to Talk

One of the best ways to help your ESL students meet content and language goals is by giving them plenty of opportunities to talk. Here are some tips on creating conversation in your classroom:

• Arrange the classroom to accommodate conversation between the teacher and a small group of students on a regular and frequent schedule
• Have a clear academic goal that guides conversation with students
• Ensure that student talk occurs at higher rates than teacher talk
• Guide conversations to include students' views, judgments, and rationales, using text evidence and other substantive support
• Ensure that all students are included in the conversation according to their preferences
• Listen carefully to assess levels of students' understanding
• Assist students' learning throughout the conversation by questioning, restating, praising, encouraging.
• Guide the students to prepare a product that indicates the goal of the instructional conversation was achieved.

Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T & Weed, K.Z. (2010). The crosscultural, language, and academic developmental handbook. Allyn & Bacon: Boston.

Inside Outside Circles

Here's a short video I made (my first one!!) describing one of my favorite cooperative learning activities. I've used it many times in my high school Spanish classroom, and students always love it and it's a great way to formatively assess because you have the chance to hear all students working with the content, as well as practicing listening and speaking skills. I hope you're able to try it soon and that you love it as much as I do!

Best Practices Booklet

At www.tolerance.org, they have put together a great booklet of information on best practices in the following areas:

• Communication
• School Climate
• Student Registration 

Each section shares best practice information regarding your English as a Second Language population of students and parents, as well as practical tips. It is very short but very useful! You can find the booklet here.

Thanks to Dr. Broady's blog for making me aware of this great resource so I can pass it on!

Connecting with Parents

Here is a short video where a teacher shares some ideas she has used to successfully connect with parents. Enjoy!

Great Teacher Interview

I recently did a blog post about building a culturally responsive classroom. We talked about how the four components of such a classroom are as follows:

• Using what students know
• Affirming students' identities
• Presenting diverse perspectives
• Examining real-world issues

In this interview, you will hear from a teacher that has created such a classroom, and the interview is full of great ideas and tips as well as lots of her personal experience. Check it out here! 

Need Culturally Inclusive Lesson Plan Ideas?

I recently came across this website via a blog I follow (here), and it is loaded with great stuff! There are lots of lesson plan ideas and resources, as well as interviews with teachers that have great ideas. Lesson plan ideas are labeled with age/grade levels, so that makes it easy to find what you need. Check it out! I think you'll easily find something you can use!

Viewing Your ESL Students as an Asset

As mainstream teachers, it is sometimes easy to fall into the trap of thinking of all of the things our ESL students do NOT have, rather than considering all they DO bring to the classroom. This is called a deficit mentality versus an asset mentality.

I follow a blog (here) that posted this video, and it is a short but powerful description of an asset mentality and shows how we as educators can determine to have a paradigm shift, where the focus becomes all our students possess rather than what they lack. I hope you'll watch and be impacted as I was!

Wiki What?

You, like me only a short time ago, may have heard the word wiki and really have no idea what it is, but guess who does know? Probably your students. Technology is ever changing, and students have a way of staying on top of all of the latest technological developments. Tapping into this natural interest and excitement is a great way to engage your students.

In this post, I want to talk a little about wikis (because a little is all I know!) and how they might be beneficial in your classroom. I am deeply indebted to Lori Langer de Ramirez's book Empower English Language Learners with Tools From the Web. This short and highly relevant book has helped me to understand what a wiki is and how it can be integrated into your classroom.

A wiki is basically a webpage that, depending on your settings, can be edited by anyone. It is a quick and convenient way to add content to the Web. Basically, if you are authorized to make changes, you click the edit button, add the content or make the changes you would like, and then save. The wiki keeps a history of who made what changes to the site. You can also easily create links to new pages.

Wikis are nice because they provide a fast and convenient way for students to "work" together or with their teachers. Due to the lack of face to face time, they may also allow students, particularly ESL students, to interact and contribute more than they might otherwise.

De Ramirez gives the following suggestions for ways to use wikis in your classroom:

• Webquests
• Collaborative projects
• Coauthoring of essays or reports
• Interactive games (i.e. "what would you do next..." games)
• Planning for a class event
• Sign-up sheets for events
• Quick and easy Web sites with links and resources
• Online study communities
• A place to post and share student work

Join me in learning more about wikis and sharing tips and ideas on how to use them!

Building a Culturally Responsive Classroom, Part 3

In Part 2 of this post series, I told you I would give you some ideas for the last two components of a culturally responsive classroom. To review, such a classroom has four components:

• Using what students know
• Affirming students' identities
• Presenting diverse perspectives
• Examining real-world issues

In Part 2, I gave you what were hopefully some ideas to get you started in the first two components. Now I'd like to give you some ideas for the second two. Most of these ideas come from Literacy for All Students (Powell & Rightmyer, 2011).

Presenting diverse perspectives--

• Teach students to view all texts and non-print material with a critical eye
• Encourage students to question and challenge the ideas presented and to question what is missing
• Provide students with specific structures that require them to view an issue from different perspectives
• Have students dramatize a text so that they view it from the point of view of multiple protagonists
• Ask students to take various stances as they read aloud from a text
• Allow questions to come and be discussed without trying to provide an immediate explanation

Examining real-world issues--

• Take a few minutes of class time to engage students over real-world issues
• Function as the guide, not the authority, helping students examine issues through various perspectives
• Include texts that deal with the real-life issues of your students as well as national and global issues

Building a Culturally Responsive Classroom, Part 2

In Part 1 of this post, we talked about why the culturally responsive classroom should be the goal of every teacher. In this post, I hope to give you some ideas to get you started in building your own culturally responsive classroom.

To review, the framework for the culturally responsive classroom includes the following (simplified from the bullet points in the previous post):

• Using what student know
• Affirming students' identities
• Presenting diverse perspectives
• Examining real-world issues

Let's briefly take a look at some ways to address the first two of these components. In a later post, we'll talk about some ideas for the second two.

Using what students know--

In order to use what they know, you must know what they know! This means you have to build relationships not only with your students but also their families and communities. You can connect to students by "intentionally and consistently including opportunities for discussion and sharing" (Powell & Rightmyer, p. 133). Give students opportunites to share about themselves (through pictures, family interviews, sharing of songs or traditions, etc) and include the information you glean into your lessons. In a later post, we'll talk about home visits as another great way to gather this kind of information.

Affirming students' identities--

Having and incorporating multicultural literature in your classroom is a great starting point. Here are some tips (from B.Y. Louie, 2006) to keep in mind when choosing such literature:

• Check the text's authenticity
• Help learners understand the characters' world
• Encourage children to see the world throught the characters' perspectives
• Identify vaules underlying the characters' conflict resolution strategies
• Relate self the the text and critique the portrayal of characters in the text and in popular media
• Use variants of the same story or collection of stories to help students build schema
• Encourage students to talk, write, and respond throughout reading the multicultural texts.

I hope these tips and ideas are a helpful starting point for you as you begin to think about your classroom as a culturally responsive one!

Building a Culturally Responsive Classroom, Part 1

First let's talk about the components of a culturally responsive classroom and why that should be your goal, then we can talk more about the how-to's.

According the Powell and Rightmyer in their book Literacy for all Students, the curriculum in culturally responsive classrooms is designed to do the following:

• make explicit links to student' cultural knowledge
• affirm students' identities
• prepare students to understand multiple perspectives 
• involve students with real-world, relevant issues in order to empower them to transform their communities

Creating a culturally responsive classroom will create an inclusive environment in which every student is respected and set up for academic and social success. As Powell and Rightmyer tell us, "Students whose language, ethnicity and race are not represented in the school's dominant culture experience varying degrees of success in school" (p. 127). As educators, we want our classrooms to represent the language, ethnicity and race of all of our students so that they feel an integral part of the culutre of your classroom.

But Can Your ESL Students Understand You?

One term that ESL teachers and researchers often use when talking about instructing ESL students is guarded vocabulary. Yesterday, I posted a video link to Stephen Krashen talking about comprehensible input and how important it is that your students be able to understand you. One way to help with this is by using guarded vocabulary, so I wanted to explain the term a little more so you can be sure to implement it in your classroom.

According to Herrera and Murry in their book Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods, guarded vocabulary does NOT involve "unnatural speech or raising the volume of instruction" (p. 275) but rather involves " linguistic actions on the part of the instructor that increase the comprehensibility of instruction" (p. 275). So what does that mean? What are these linguistic actions? Well here are some ideas...

• Slowing the rate of speech
• Emphasizing word enunciation
• Simplifying the vocabulary used. In other words, stating things as simply as possible
• Using more consistent vocabulary with appropriate repetition (songs, raps, chants, etc)
• Using shorter sentences with simpler syntax
• Inserting more pauses between phrases

I hope these ideas are helpful and you are able to implement some of them right away! First, try making some observations about your speech and see which of these ideas your students could most benefit from. 

Sending the "Right" Message

Stephen Krashen maintains that people acquire language when they can understand the message. You may have heard the term comprehensible input but are wondering what it means and how you can use it with your ESL students. Here is a short video where Stephen Krashen explains and demonstrates comprehensible input. If the concept of comprehensible input is new to you, I think this video will really help clarify!

25 Online Games for English Language Learners

Check out this blog post at http://broadyesl.wordpress.com for some great ideas for games to teach and review English!

http://broadyesl.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/25-terrific-online-games-for-english-language-learners/

Welcome to My Blog!

A short podcast I created to welcome you...

Ways to Involve Parents in Your Classroom

"Strong parent involvement is one factor that research has shown time and time again to have positive effects on academic achievement and school attitudes" (Ovando & Collier, 1998)

If you are looking for a way to increase achievement among your English Language Learners, and students in general, then make room for them to volunteer in your classroom. Realize that some of the parents of your ESL students may work multiple jobs in order to provide for their children and may be intimidated by the school environment. These are possible reasons why parents may not volunteer, so don't assume it's because they are disengaged or indifferent to the child's education. When parents are able to volunteer, here are some ways they can contribute:

• Setting up learning centers
• Working with projectors, recorders, listening posts
• Sharing about their culture
• Accompanying small groups to the library
• Recording primary-language stories
• Supervising individual testing

Tips for Choosing Appropriate Materials for Use with English Language Learners

Diaz-Rico and Weed, in their book The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook, give the following tips on how to choose appropriate material for your English Language Learners. The two most important questions to ask are these:

• Are the content objectives for the lesson adequately presented by the material?
• Is the material comprehensible to English learners?

How do you know if it's comprehensible to all students? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the information accurate, up-to-date, and thorough?
• Are the tasks required of students appropriate to the discipline?
• Is the text clearly organized, with print and layout features that assist students' comprehension?
• Does the text appeal to a variety of learning styles?
• Is the language of the text straightfoward, without complex syntactic patterns, idioms, or excessive jargon?
• Is new content vocabulary clearly defined within the text or in a glossary?
• Are diagrams, graphs, and charts clearly labeled and complement and clarify the text?
• Will most of the students have prior experience with the content, or will much time be necessary for schema building?

These questions are attributed to Allan & Miller, 2005)

I know all of these questions may seem overwhelming but hopefully they just give you some ideas for how to look at your materials with fresh eyes, taking all of your learners into consideration.

Tips on Language Error Correction, Part 2

Here are some more tips on how to address language errors in your ESL students:

• Listen carefully and make observations from writing samples so you can identify the recurring errors your students are making
• Address these errors in mini-lessons to the whole class, a small group of students, or one-on-one
• When you address errors, have students jot down their errors along with the corrections in a journal. This gives them a reference source to use in the future.

When and How to Correct Language Errors in Your ESL Students, Part 1

This is a topic I am always wondering about, and I recently read some of the best advice I've heard on the subject. The following are some of the perspectives offered by Diaz-Rico and Weed in their book The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook:

• In the early stages of language learning, fluency is more important than accuracy, therefore converse in and model appropriate language.
• Focus on the student's message and provide correction only when meaning is not clear.
• If students are older or have higher English proficiency, they need and will benefit from feedback on recurring errors. 
• Listen for recurring errors and then address them whole class, in small groups, or one-on-one.
• Random errors need not be corrected; focus on recurring errors.

Strategies for Increasing Comprehensibility

When communicating with your ESL students, you want to make sure they understand your meaning as clearly as possible and vice versa. Here are few ways to help make sure you and your students are understanding one another:

• Use sentence structures that expand the students' output by supplying needed phrases and vocabulary
• Use gestures to convey instructions
• Concentrate on understanding and communicating rather than on error correction
• Provide alternative grouping procedures so that students can share their understanding with one another and with the teacher
• Maintain regular classroom procedures and routines

These ideas were drawn from Diaz-Rico and Weed's The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook

Making Text More Understandable to English Learners

Here are some ways to make a text more comprehensible to the English learners in your classroom:

• Supply an advance organizer for the text that highlights they key topics and concepts in outline form, as focus questions, or in the form of concept maps
• Change the modality from written to oral. By reading aloud, you can also model the press of posing questions while reading to show prediction strategies used when working with text
• Tape-record selected passages for students to listen to as they read along in the text. These recordings could even be uploaded to your class website or blog for students to access at home.
• Develop a study guide for the text. For each reading section, create ten sentences that reflect the main ideas, then turn each sentence into a question or selectively omit key words that students must supply
• Ask student to work in groups so they can share their notes and help one another complete missing parts or correct misunderstood concepts

Try one of these ideas in your classroom today!

These ideas were taken from a great book called The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Devlopment Handbook by Lynne T. Diaz-Rico and Kathryn Z. Weed

Ways to Supplement the Verbal Presentation of a Lesson

English learners, and students in general, are more likely to comprehend a concept when that concept is contextualized. This means that the concept is reinforced through the use of media, realia, manipulatives and human resources. Take a look around your classroom and see if you have plenty of visuals to help reinforce the lessons you are currently teaching. Here are some items to help you do this:

Object Resources

• Picture files
• Maps and Globes
• Charts and posters
• Printed material such as illustrated books, catalogs, and magazines
• Puzzles
• Science equipment
• Manipulatives such as M&Ms, buttons, tongue depressors, and gummy bears
• Costumes
• Computer software
• Internet

Human Resources

• Cooperative groups
• Pairs
• Cross-age tutors
• Heterogeneous groups
• Community resource people
• School resource people
• Parents 
• Pen pals (adult and child)
• Keypals

These suggestions come from the Diaz-Rico/Weed text The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook

Helping Students to Understand Internet Safety Guidelines

I wanted to give you an idea for a quick assignment that students will enjoy and will also be helpful for them in evaluating their use of not only the computer and peripherals but also the caution they exercise when using social media. This assignment addresses all four standards of Goal 1. Goal 1 states: Language learners demonstrate foundational knowledge and skills in technology for a multilingual world.

Have students look at the facebook page or blog of someone they do not know. Have them collect and note all of the information they can find about the creator of the page/blog. Ask them to look at posts/status, pictures, about me sections, comments, etc. Have them note all the ways that personal information or information about location is available on the page/blog. If you do this assignment in the lab, leave about 25 minutes at the end of class for discussion. This assignment could also be given as homework, but it might be easier to do it as a class in the lab. Initiate a discussion where students share what types of personal information they were able to find out about someone they did not know. Ask students if they would like this same information available about themselves and why or why not. Have them talk about why information like this (location, age, photos, etc) is sensitive and not appropriate for general consumption. The goal is to help students learn to exercise appropriate caution when using web resources (TESOL Technology Standards: Goal 1, Standard 3), although as a side benefit, students must demonstrate their ability to meet Standards 1, 2, and 4 in the process. As a follow up assignment, have them visit their own facebook page or blog and make sure their settings are set to the maximum amount of privacy and make sure they are not giving away information that they don't want available to the general public.

As I Learn, the Blog Grows

Since I started this blog, I have learned so much more about English Language Learners and their needs. I hope that I can share some of that here on this blog in a way that will be useful and encouraging to teachers that are seeking information on how to help meet the unique needs of their ELLs. Please check back as I make several new additions over the next few weeks!