Improving Academics through Language

Acquisition

Presented by: Elizabeth Suman

ARE YOU A CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHER?

Definition• “The validation and affirmation of the home

culture and home language for the purposes of building and bridging the student to success in the culture of academia and mainstream society. Simply put, CLR is going to where the students are culturally and linguistically for the aim of bringing them where they need to be academically. Metaphorically, CLR is the opposite of the sink and swim approach to teaching and learning.” Sharrocky Hollie PhD

Components• You can define it

• Something that you are not that you do

• You are not confused about your identity

• You know who you are serving or not serving

• You don’t celebrate Black History Month

• Practice every day in every way

ACRONYMS

How many of these acronyms can you identify?

• ELL• LEP• FLEP• ESOL• ESL• TESOL• LAB-R• L1

• L2• HLQ

• BICS • CALP• SIOP• LEAP• SIFE• NYSESLAT

HOW IS AN ELL/LEP STUDENT IDENTIFIED?

Types of programs RCSD has for LEP/ELL students

• Free Standing ESOL : This is the type of program we have at School #41

• Bilingual: Spanish/English • LEAP (Learning through English

Academic Program) : It’s a self-contained class for LEP/ELLs who are newcomers.

What does Free Standing ESOL at School #41 Look Like?

• Can be push-in or pull-out: I do pull-out only• Students are grouped together by grade level

and language ability which is determined by the NYSESLAT score

• The NYSESLAT is given every May and includes 4 parts: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. It is also given by grade level: K-1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12.

• NYSESLAT scores are either Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced or Proficient(When a student reaches proficient, they exit the program)

Free Standing ESOL at School #41 Cont.• According to the NYS regulations for ESOL found in

CR Part 154, beginning and intermediate students should receive 70 minutes of ESOL a day and advance students should receive 35 minutes a day.

• Currently all of my students are receiving 35 minutes of ESOL a day due to my being stretched so thin between three schools.

• ESOL focuses on building all four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking

• Lessons are alligned with what their classroom teachers are teaching

• ELL/LEP students also receive test accommodations which include: separate location, extended time, and listening passage read three times.

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BASICS

Language Development Basics

• BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) 1-2 yrs. to develop

• CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) 5-7 yrs. to develop

Stages of Language AcquisitionStage Characteristics Approximate

Time FrameTeacher Prompts

Preproduction The student: • Has minimal comprehension• Does not verbalize• Nods “Yes” and “No”• Draws and points

0-6 Months • Show me...• Circle the...• Where is...?• Who has...?

Early Production

The student: • Has limited comprehension• Produces one- or two-word

responses• Participates using key words

and familiar phrases• Uses present-tense verbs

6 Months-1 year

• Yes/no questions• Either/or questions• One- or two-word

answers• Lists• Labels

Speech Emergence

The student :• Has good comprehension• Can produce simple

sentences• Makes grammar and

pronunciation errors• Frequently misunderstands

jokes

1-3 years • Why...?• How...?• Explain...• Phrase or short-

sentence answers

Intermediate Fluency

The student :• Has excellent

comprehension• Makes few grammatical

errors

3-5 years • What would happen if...?

• Why do you think...?

Advanced Fluency

The student has a near-native level of speech.

5-7 years • Decide if...• Retell...

STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Activity• Can you read the story The Traveler?• This is how students with lack of CALP see

the reading tasks we give them. • What can we do to make something like

more meaningful? • One way to do it is through the SIOP

model.

SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol)

• Lesson Preparation• Building Background• Comprehensible Input

• Strategies• Interaction

• Practice/Application• Lesson Delivery

• Review/Assessment

Lesson Preparation• Content Objective

• Language Objective• Content concepts appropriate

• Supplementary Materials• Adaptation of content to all

levels • Meaningful Activities

Building Background• Concepts explicitly linked to

students’ background experiences

• Links explicitly made between past learning and new

concepts• Key vocabulary

Comprehensible Input• Speech appropriate for students’

proficiency level• Clear explanations

• A variety of techniques used to make content concepts clear

Strategies• Ample opportunities provided

for students to use learning strategies

• Scaffolding Techniques• A variety of tasks that

promote higher order thinking skills

Interaction• Frequent opportunities for

interaction and discussion• Grouping configurations

• Sufficient wait time for student responses

• Ample opportunities for students to clarify concepts in L1

Practice/Application• Hands-on materials and/or

manipulatives• Apply content and language

knowledge • Activities integrate all language skills (reading,

writing, listening and speaking)

Lesson Delivery• Content Objectives clearly

supported• Language Objectives clearly

supported• Students engaged approximately

90%-100% of the time• Appropriate Pacing

Review/Assessment• Review of key vocabulary

• Review of key content concepts

• Regular feedback• Assessment of student

comprehension and learning

CULTURAL MISCUES

Some Examples• Talk: When it is and is not appropriate to talk in

a classroom• Personal Space• Clothes• Materials• Male and Female roles• Asking questions• Entering and Leaving the classroom• Classroom movement (group work, amount of

movement)• Pace, time• Different teachers with different expectations

Code Switching• We speak differently in different situations• We need to validate the way our students

speak in addition to teaching them standard English

• Many children don’t know that there is any other way to speak

• Through literature and the use of role play we can both validate our students’ home language and teach standard English

• Different registers of language can also be explored in writing

Final Thought“Equality means getting what you

need, not the same thing”