Effective Practices for Teaching English Language Learners A Resource Document for North ...

26 Pages·2009·0.22 MB·English

Effective Practices for Teaching
English Language Learners

A Resource Document for North
Carolina’s ELL Work Group
The Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) at Edvantia is one of 21 technical
assistance centers—16 regional centers and 5 content centers—funded by the U.S. Department of
Education. The ARCC provides the state education agencies in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Virginia, and West Virginia with intensive technical assistance to address the No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) requirements and meet student achievement goals. The ARCC at Edvantia is a dynamic,
collaborative network consisting of the Center for Equity and Excellence in Education (CEEE), ESCORT,
the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), the SERVE Center for Continuous Improvement at the
University of North Carolina–Greensboro, and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).

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Table of Contents

What the Research Says .........................................................................................................1
Key Findings ....................................................................................................................2

Effective Instructional Practices ............................................................................................4
Literacy and ELLs ............................................................................................................5
Instructional Framework for Teaching Reading to ELLs ..........................................5
Recommendations for Reading Instruction and Intervention ....................................6
Mathematics and ELLs ....................................................................................................6
Recommendations for Mathematics Instruction and Intervention .............................7

Developing Language Proficiency Skills ...............................................................................7

Building Academic Language Skills in Content Areas .........................................................8
Characteristics of Academic Language ...........................................................................8
Academic Language Proficiency vs. Academic Content Knowledge .............................9
Project QuEST—Quality English and Science Teaching ................................................10
Supporting ELLs in English-Only Academic Settings ....................................................10
SIOP Model .....................................................................................................................11
Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) ..............................................................11

Characteristics of Effective Programs at the Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Levels ...13
Elementary School ...........................................................................................................13
Middle School ..................................................................................................................13
Secondary School .............................................................................................................13

Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs ..................................................................14
What Teachers Need to Know and Be Able to Do ..........................................................14

Effective Professional Development Models .........................................................................15
Project GLAD ..................................................................................................................17
English Learners and the Language Arts (ELLA) ...........................................................17
ELLA’s Effective Practices for ELL Students .................................................................17
Doing What Works ..........................................................................................................17
Instruction and Learning Appraisal for ELLs ..................................................................18

Resources ...............................................................................................................................19
Publications ......................................................................................................................19
Web Sites .........................................................................................................................21

References ..............................................................................................................................22
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Effective Practices for Teaching English Language Learners

English Language Learners (ELLs) are defined as students whose first language is not
English and who are in the process of learning English. As part of its efforts to address the
educational needs of ELLs, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is a
member of the World Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium. After
adopting English Language Proficiency Standards for ELLs, the DPI is now building its capacity
to develop and deliver quality professional development on the standards and research-based
practices for teaching ELLs. This professional development initiative will first target DPI staff
and then expand into statewide professional development for administrators and teachers.
In response to the DPI’s request for technical assistance, staff of the Appalachia Regional
Comprehensive Center (ARCC) prepared this brief, which aims to (1) increase the DPI staff’s
understanding of the current research on ELLs, and (2) build DPI capacity to implement a
systemic professional development initiative that will increase the achievement of ELLs.

What the Research Says

Historically, research on ELLs has been dominated by debates on the language of
instruction, limited on important topics (e.g., accelerating English language development),
neglectful of student outcomes, and difficult to put into practice. However, the ELL research
base is changing as researchers reach consensus on some issues, focus on student outcomes,
examine similarities and differences in effective practices for ELLs and non-ELLs, and reduce
their emphasis on the language of instruction.
Two recent syntheses of the research on educating ELLs, Developing Literacy in Second-
Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and
Youth (National Literacy Panel) and Educating English Language Learners (Center for Research
on Education, Diversity, and Excellence), represent the most comprehensive information to date
on effective approaches to help ELLs succeed in school. Although research to guide policy and
practice remains insufficient, the key findings from these two reviews do provide guidance based
on current research about effective practices for teaching ELLs. The key findings from these
research syntheses are outlined in the following section.

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Key Findings
1. Teaching children to read in Language 1(e.g., Spanish) promotes achievement in
Language 2 (e.g., English).
The data are inconclusive on the length of time for L1 instruction; however, ELLs can learn to
read in L1 and L2 simultaneously. Knowing academic skills in one language helps ELLs learn
academic skills in another because ELLs can transfer literacy skills from the first to the second
language. Data on the effectiveness of “English immersion” are limited.
2. Components of effective instruction generally apply to ELLs.
What works for L1 instruction generally works for L2. Key components of effective instruction
include
(cid:131) clear goals and objectives
(cid:131) well-designed instruction and instructional routines
(cid:131) clear input and modeling
(cid:131) active engagement and participation
(cid:131) informative feedback
(cid:131) application of new learning
(cid:131) practice and periodic review
(cid:131) interaction with other students
(cid:131) frequent assessments, with reteaching as needed (August & Shanahan, 2006).
Similar findings apply to literacy instruction in L2 when specific components of literacy
instruction (e.g., phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, reading
comprehension strategies, and writing) are emphasized (August & Shanahan, 2006).
3. Accommodations are necessary, primarily due to language limitations, when teaching
ELLs in L2.
Several effective practices can be used for both ELLs and non-ELLs; however, interventions that
target language and text comprehension skills tend to be less effective for ELLs. The most
common accommodations include
(cid:131) targeting language and content skills
(cid:131) making tasks very clear
(cid:131) providing redundant information through gestures, visual cues, pictures,
demonstrations, “realia”
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(cid:131) using graphic organizers (tables, webs, Venn diagrams)
(cid:131) providing material with familiar content since cultural or background knowledge can
influence comprehension
(cid:131) providing extra practice and time
(cid:131) seeking student responses commensurate with their language proficiency (August &
Shanahan, 2006)
Thomas & Collier (2001) found that ELLs in bilingual programs (maintenance and two-
way) had the highest academic and English language achievement. In general, ELLs who come
from a higher socioeconomic status; are literate in their first language; and have had high-quality
exposure and instruction in their primary language, in English, and in academic subject areas,
also had the highest achievement.
Research on the characteristics and optimal conditions for classrooms and schools, rather
than types of programs that help meet the needs of ELLs, identified a list of “best practices” for
schools and districts (August & Hakuta, 1997):
(cid:131) supportive schoolwide climate
(cid:131) school leadership
(cid:131) customized learning environment
(cid:131) articulation and coordination within and between schools
(cid:131) use of native language and culture in instruction
(cid:131) balanced curriculum that includes both basic and higher order skills
(cid:131) explicit skill instruction
(cid:131) opportunities for student-directed instruction
(cid:131) use of instructional strategies that enhance understanding
(cid:131) opportunities for practice
(cid:131) systematic student assessment
(cid:131) staff development
(cid:131) home and parent involvement

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Effective Instructional Practices

Teachers who provide explicit skill instruction, student-directed activities, instructional
strategies that enhance understanding, opportunities to practice, systematic student assessment,
and a balanced curriculum, either alone or in combination, have the strongest academic outcomes
for ELLs (August and Hakuta, 1997). Information on three of these strategies—explicit
instruction, opportunities to practice, and adjusting instructional language—is provided.
1. Explicit Instruction
Explicit instruction is defined as task-specific, teacher-led instruction that demonstrates how to
complete a task. The routines and consistent language used in explicit teaching provide ELLs
with clear, specific, and easy-to-follow procedures as they learn not only a new skill or strategy
but also the language associated with it (Linan-Thompson & Vaughn, 2004).
2. Opportunities to Practice
Effective teachers provide ELLs additional practice and review. This can occur during
instruction by giving students multiple opportunities to use the target skill and receive feedback
or by engaging students in choral response and all-response activities.
3. Adjusting Instructional Language
For instruction to be meaningful, ELLs must understand the essence of what is said to them
(Linan-Thompson & Vaughn, 2004). Teachers can adjust the level of their English vocabulary
during instruction by using clear, explicit language when they introduce a new concept. By using
consistent language, effective teachers enable ELLs to focus on the task rather than trying to
figure out the meaning of new words.
The Center on Instruction has developed three books that provide research-based
recommendations on teaching ELLs. Major highlights from each book follow.
1. Research-based Recommendations for Instruction and Academic Interventions
For all learners, reading is fundamental to the development of content-area knowledge and
academic success. ELLs often lack the academic language necessary for comprehending and
analyzing text while many ELLs struggle with fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Francis,
Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006a).
2. Research-based Recommendations for Serving Adolescent Newcomers
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All adolescent ELL newcomers need instruction in academic language, which is necessary for
text comprehension in the content areas. They must be provided direct, explicit instruction to
support their comprehension of challenging texts and intensive instruction in writing for
academic purposes (Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006b).
3. Research-based Recommendations for the Use of Accommodations in Large-scale
Assessments
Assessments of content knowledge are influenced by ELLs’ language proficiency. Assessments
with the most linguistically challenging content have the largest performance gaps between ELLs
and non-ELLs. It is easier to separate language proficiency from content knowledge in some
areas (e.g., mathematics) than in others (e.g., reading, language arts). Appropriate
accommodations for ELLs on assessments can address their linguistic needs; however,
accommodations alone will not be effective in raising test scores of ELLs (Francis, Rivera,
Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006c).

Literacy and ELLs
ELLs can benefit from effective reading instruction even before they are fully proficient
in English as long as the instruction is comprehensible (Linan-Thompson & Vaughn, 2004).
Vocabulary development, essential for both reading comprehension and development of English
oral language skills, is considered to be the most critical element of literacy instruction for ELLs.
Even effective teachers cannot teach ELLs all the vocabulary they need; therefore, they must
teach strategies for learning new vocabulary so ELLs can learn new vocabulary on their own.
ELLs use the same cognitive strategies as non-ELLs to comprehend the text they read
(Linan-Thompson & Vaughn, 2004). Effective teachers provide ELLs a framework for using
strategies prior to, during, and after reading to help them comprehend text.

Instructional Framework for Teaching Reading to ELLs
(cid:131) Whenever possible, ELLs should be taught reading in their primary language.
(cid:131) Instruction in the primary language develops first-language skills, promotes reading in
English, and can be carried out as ELLs are concurrently learning to read other academic
content in English.
(cid:131) ELLs should be helped to transfer what they know in their first language to learning tasks
presented in English because transfer is not automatic.
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(cid:131) Similar approaches can be used to teach in both the first and second language. However,
instructional adjustments or modifications will continue to be necessary for some ELLs
until they reach sufficient mastery of academic English to permit them to be successful in
mainstream instruction.
(cid:131) ELLs need intensive oral English language development (ELD), especially vocabulary
and academic English instruction.
(cid:131) Effective ELD provides both explicit teaching of features of English (such as syntax,
grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and norms of social usage) and multiple meaningful
opportunities to use English.
(cid:131) ELLs also need academic content instruction, as do all students. ELD must be in addition
to, not instead of, instruction that promotes content knowledge. (Echevarria, Short, &
Powers, 2006)

Recommendations for Reading Instruction and Intervention
(cid:131) Provide early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics
in order to build decoding skills.
(cid:131) Increase opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated vocabulary knowledge.
(cid:131) Equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge, through reading instruction, to comprehend
and analyze challenging narrative and expository texts.
(cid:131) Focus on vocabulary development and increased exposure to print.
(cid:131) Provide ELLs with multiple opportunities to engage in structured, academic talk.
(Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006a)

Mathematics and ELLs
There is much less research on mathematics instruction for ELLs. However, academic
language is as central to mathematics as it is to other academic areas and remains a significant
source of difficulty for many ELLs who struggle with mathematics.
ELLs need rigorous and supported opportunities for academic and linguistic success in
secondary mathematics. Structured mathematics scaffolding tasks that challenge students, while
simultaneously providing them with the necessary support to achieve the lesson’s specific
learning objectives, amplify and enrich the linguistic and content knowledge needed to achieve
in secondary mathematics (Hamburger, 2008).
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The Secondary Teacher Education for English Learner Integration (STEELI) identified
the following as the top five strategies for teaching mathematics to ELLs:
(cid:131) Tactile, concrete experiences of math
(cid:131) Daily re-looping of previously learned materials
(cid:131) Problem-solving instruction and task-analysis strategies
(cid:131) Teacher think-alouds
(cid:131) Student think-alouds
Tools available to teachers on the STEELI Web site include (1) training modules on strategies,
(2) video clips of strategy use, (3) posters of strategy steps, and (4) Innovation Configuration
Maps. The Innovation Configuration Maps provide a description of how a program, practice, or
innovation looks in actual practice.

Recommendations for Mathematics Instruction and Intervention
(cid:131) Provide early, explicit, and intensive instruction and intervention in basic mathematics
concepts and skill.
(cid:131) Ensure academic language support so ELLs can understand and solve the word problems
that are often used for mathematics assessment and instruction. (Francis, Rivera, Lesaux,
Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006a)

Developing Language Proficiency Skills

SEAs have developed and are implementing English Language Proficiency (ELP)
Standards for ELLs. These standards identify the language skills necessary for ELL students to
be able to communicate effectively and participate fully in school. SEAs must also develop
assessments to measure the progress of ELLs toward achieving fluency in English. Three
specific recommendations for developing language proficiency skills are provided in the
National Literacy Panel report (August & Shanahan, 2006).
1. Make text in English more comprehensible by using texts with content that is familiar to
students.
When ELLs read texts with more familiar material (for example, stories with themes and content
from the students’ cultures), their comprehension improves.
2. Build vocabulary in English.
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