• 65% ELL Growth from ‘93 – ’04 in Public School

• Every School district will be effected; large and small

• Content Teachers

Video: Learning English

How hard is it to understand English?

• Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, BICS-Language needed to function in everyday interpersonal contexts -Reached soon after a child enters school -Not related to academic achievement

• Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, CALP -Proficiency needed to function in academic settings -Skills needed to use language outside of immediate interpersonal context -Related to Literacy Skills

Video – Coast Guard

Social Language•The purpose of language is communication make friends, listen to music, watch TV, play video games•With these children being immersed in an English speaking environment they develop social language skills •They can retell events, express opinions, talk about experiences•This takes about 6months to 2 years to develop this type of language competence

Academic Language•The language of the classroom requires students to use the language in a conceptually demanding and cognitive complex.•Situation specific, meaning that it has to be learned students will not be able to naturally acquire this language through immersion in activates through life•Students have to use different forms of language to accomplish the following

Compare Analyze Define Classify PredictContrast List Order DescribeExplain

•The challenge is for ELLs that they need to use this language while they are speaking, listening, reading, and writing•This may take 5-7 years to reach full development (or longer)•Academic language is cognitively challenging with abstract concepts. It is also context reduced meaning that there is a lack of environmental clues.

The next step in Cummins theory was how to make cognitive challenging language more comprehensible for ELLs in the classroom.•The key was to embed academic language with CONTEXT.•Using environmental clues helps ELLs learn and grasp onto the demanding content.

• Cummins came up with a framework to demonstrate what makes language easier or more difficult.

• The Affected Filter: Fifth hypothesis - widely accepted and has had

a large impact in all areas of second language research and teaching since the 1980s. The Affective Filter embodies Krashen's view that a number of affective variables play a role in second language acquisition. This filter is more like a emotional filter which influences/controls how much actual learning will take place versus input.

These affective variables include: motivation, self-confidence and learner anxiety. These variables determine the strength of the filter.

• The Comprehensible Input Hypothesis: The second hypothesis that impacts content teaching is the

comprehensible input. This idea is represented in the formula i+1. In this formula i is for input that is comprehensible to the language learner, and + 1 is the next level where the language is advanced just enough for the learner to be challenged by it but at the same time will be able to learn it. Krashen calls this the “teachable/learnable area,” this is the area that is in between the language learner’s actual and potential language development.

Zone of Proximal Development

Distance between a student’s actual developmental level and level of potential development

Zone of Present Development - Independent ActivityZone of Proximal Development - Learning with AssistanceZone of Future Development - Un-learnable at This Stage

Using the Zone of Proximal

Development-Become active

participants-teachers need to

scaffold instruction

Video: Heather Bowman

• Meaningful Output– supports Vygotsky’s ZPD and improves upon

Krashen’s comprehensible output theory– believes meaningful output is vital to the process

of language acquisition because it gives learners opportunities to develop language in contextualized, meaningful situations.

– key to Swain’s theory is meaningful negotiation

When speakers communicate, they offer a certain amount of give-and-take to the conversation to reach more complete understanding. For native and nonnative speakers, this exchange can serve as a trial-and-error and the language is continuously modified until both participants understand each other.

Think about if you were walking the streets of a Spanish speaking country and stopped to ask someone for directions, but had minimal understanding of the native language. How would you and the native speaker communicate in order to reach an understanding?

– How meaning is negotiated through interaction:– Nonnative speaker receives input from other

speaker. – If they do not fully understand what was said, they

ask for more comprehensible input by repetitions or clarifications

– The native speaker must then paraphrase or offer environmental clues such as gestures, facial expressions or drawings

• Concept highlights the importance of small group interactions in a classroom setting.

• When ELLs participate in meaningful academic conversations with their peers, they receive input and feedback that leads them to compare their language use (vocabulary, pronunciation, structure) and conceptual understandings with those of their peers.

• They are able to talk back and forth until everyone in the group can contribute to the discussion.

• It’s important to have ELLs interact in academic conversations with their peers who are on their same level, rather than limiting them to adult instruction and help. This way, they gain confidence and understanding among their peers.

Principle 2: Meaningful Learning•Learning can be made meaningful for ELLs by appealing to their interests, expanding their existing knowledge, and creating concrete learning that goes beyond rote memorization.

Principle 4: The Intrinsic Motivation Principle •When one’s own needs, wants and/or desires are the source of met, the behavior itself becomes self-rewarding.

Principle 5: Strategic Investment•The greater the variety of strategies a learner can develop for processing information, the greater the possibility of academic success.

Principle 7: Self-Confidence•The “I Can Do It” principle states that student self-assessment is a critical factor in learning.•Building this self confidences requires verbal and nonverbal approval and encouragement.

Principle 8: Risk Taking•Willingness to use uncertain language promotes long-term retention and intrinsic motivation.•Teachers must provide reasonable challenges and rewards student’s attempts.

Principle 9: Language-Culture Connection•Learning a new language involves learning a new culture including beliefs, customs, and values.

• Teachers ask a lot of questions to check for comprehension.

• RECALL questions. • Simple Sentence Frames:

– How many _____________ are there?– What color is the ________________?– Who is the _____________?– Where is the _________________?– May I __________________?

“Teachers can choose assignment and assessment strategies that evaluate ELL’s mastery of content knowledge without confusing it with their

knowledge of English language” (pg 3)