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.