1. Strategies to Accelerate Academic Learning for English Learners Inspeccin InglsInspeccin Ingls G.Zazpe - S. RomanoG.Zazpe - S. Romano

2. OBJECTIVES Identify academic learning needs. Describe instructional model to accelerate academic learning. Identify learning strategies that assist academic content and literacy development 3. Academic needs of English Learners Develop academic vocabulary Read to acquire new information Understand information presented orally Participate in classroom discussions Write to communicate knowledge and ideas 4. What is academic content? Alligned to National Curriculum and the English syllabus Cognitively appropriate Content information and content processes 5. How does academic content develop literacy? Practice in reading and writing across curriculum areas Interaction with authentic texts Development of discipline-specific vocabulary Incrase motivation through interesting topics 6. What is academic content? Language used during teaching and learning Language in content textbooks Language of literature Language used to cummunicate new concepts Language of literacy 7. Input: academic Language and Content Texts Literature genres: stories, novels,poetry, biography Informational texts: articles, essays textbooks. Oral texts: teachers, speakers, peers presenting their work, video, TV,films, live performance Personal texts: Journals, e-mails, instant messages, letters 8. The teachers role Model academic language Add language activities to content lessons Have high expectations Teach students how to learn (through strategies) SBL 9. Thinking about thinking DeclarativeDeclarative knowedge:knowedge: Self knowledge World knowledge Task knowledge Strategy knowledge ProceduralProcedural knowledge:knowledge: Planning. Monitoring/ identifying problems. Evaluating 10. What are learning strategies? Thoughts and actions that assist learning tasks Ways to understand, remember and recall information. Ways to practice skills efficiently. 11. What does research say? All second language learners use strategies BUT : GOOD language learners use more varied strategies and use them more flexibly Frequent use of learning strategies is correlated to higher self-efficacy. Strategy instruction improves academic performance. Instruction needs to be explicit. Students need to develop metacognition Transfer is difficult Language instruction matters. 12. Why teach learning stragies? Show students how to be better learners Build students self efficacy. Increase student motivation for learning. Help students become reflective and critical thinkers. 13. Metacognitive strategies Planning : understand the task, set goals, organize materias and find resouces. Monitoring : while working on task- check your progress on the task, check your comprehension as you use the language. Do you understand? If not, what is the problem?check your production as you use language. Are you making sense? If not, what is the problem? 14. Evaluation: after completing the task- asses how well you have accomplished the learning task; asses how well you have used learning strategies, decide how effective the strategies were, identify changes you will make the next time you have a similar task to do. 15. Metacognitive strategies Self -managment: manage your own learning: determine how best you learn, arrange conditions that help you learn, seek opportunities for practice, focus your attention on the task. 16. Social learning strategies Cooperation: work with others to: Complete tasks. Build confidence Give and receive feedback. For more info: www.calla.ws 17. New competencies for EFL professionals What do they imply and which key elements or qualities are involved in todays teacher praxis? 18. Why the need to talk about professionals? Know the subject well Act ethically Have good interpersonal relationship skills Work cooperatively,avoid working in isolation Consult others in case of doubts or queries Be accountable for what you do Evaluate what you do constantly Keep on learning and updating yourselves 19. Lets reflect together..... The most important knowledge teachers need to do good work is a knowledge of how students are experiencing learning and perceiving their teachers actions. Steven Brookfield 20. Our praxis Our profession is evolving permanently, there are some basic and classical skills we must manage, but there are others related to the profession itself which need to be taken care of as well. 21. New teaching competences Teachers should be fully equipped to respond to the evolving challenges of the knowledge society, but also to participate actively in it and to prepare learners to be autonomous lifelong learners. What actions do you take in your lessons to achieve this goal? Talk it over with a colleague 22. Top qualities for teachers working as EFL instructors Work in pairs and exchange ideas on the above issue. 23. Qualities for teachers Now , change the pair you have worked with and consider the issue above. 24. Lets share our professional skills....... Focus on the competencies our students need to develop as successful learners. Differentiate our teaching, use formative evaluation to actively fight against school failure Develop an active and cooperative pedagogy, based on problem solving activities and projects Be ethical in everything you do and remain true to yourself (facing ethical dilemmas of our professional) 25. Professional development Keep on developing yourselves, reading, participating and reflecting on you praxis. Reflect on your teaching, question everything you do either individually or in groups (or both) Participate in the ongoing development of novice or inexperienced teachers Work cooperatively explaining what you do and what can work well in certain situations and with specific students 26. Professional development Involve yourself in institutional projects, support principals ideas and contribute with innovative and creative ideas Commit yourselves on individual or collective methods of innovation. Integrate the ICTs 27. The networked teacher 28. The reflective practitioner We have to fall back on routines in which previous thought and sentiment has been sedimented. It is here that the full importance of refelction-on and in-action becomes revealed. (Schn) As we think and act, questions arise that cannot be answered in the pesent. The space afforded by recording, supervision and conversation with our peers allows us to approach these. Reflection requires space in the present and the promise of space in the futures (Smith 1994: 150) 29. What research has shown.... Research on effective teaching over the past two decades has shown that effective practice is linked to inquiry, reflection, and continuous professional growth (Harris 1998) Reflective practice can be beneficial form of professional development at both the pre- service and in-service levels of teaching. By gaining a better understanding of their own individual teaching styles through reflective practice, teachers can improve their effectiveness in the classroom. 30. EFL teachers profile lets consider the following dimensions Personal dimension Administrative dimension Technical academic dimension Community dimension 31. Administrative dimension Register (record of stsprogress, daily plans, syllabus, studentsprofile) Follow annual plan and syllabus coverage Analysis of diagnostic results Keep registers at the right place so they can be available Never take registers home Written tests should also be kept at school after being turned in to students Keep record of students sent to Tutorias. 32. Technical dimension Be good model of the language taught Possess deep theoretical knowledge to back up your praxis. Motivate students Practice the four skills daily, balance the activities presented. Be able to adapt to different realities. Use the foreign language as much as possible. Encourage students to use English all the time. Adopt ICTs and develop technology oriented lessons. Teach not only the language but also the culture. 33. Academic dimension Be commited to your own profession. Keep updated, attend salas, meetings, workshops. Share good practices (materials we use in our lessons, websites) Avoid working in isolation Be members of a professional organization Be suscribed to EFL magazines (online or printed) 34. Communitary dimension Attend salas by the ones organized by your PADs Share the best practices with your community. Promote, organize and participate actively in the activities that concern your classes and institutions (e.g. Organizing local activities) Be open to interact with native speakers and foster students interaction with ETAs and the like. 35. Problems detected... written tests 2014 Why do we have to change the format of the written tests? Is it true that Inspeccin does not want that we teach Grammar in the classroom? 36. Why we need to change.......? We have observed that tests do not asses what has been taught. We need to weigh according to outcomes and course emphasis. Improve instructions Contextualize all tasks Improve studentswriting dramatically 37. Principles of assessment When testing we have to consider: praticality, reliability, validity, authenticity and washback effect. 38. Written tests : former and new format Listening and reading Comprehension tasks are designed in the same way (always aiming at COMPREHENSION) Vocabulary and use of English will be checked in the written part. A rubric will be fundamental in order to assess it correctly. Pre writing task (not only vocabulary but strategies that help students to organize ideas, vocabulary,etc) leading to the written task itself. Include two options. 39. Balance your tests CB Bachillerato Listening 25% 15% Reading 25% 20% Vocabulary 20% 25% Writing 30% 40% 40. PRE WRITING ACTIVITIES They should provide key words/ideas Provide meaning and be meaningful Provide structure Help organize studentswork Motivate/ facilitate THIS HELPS STUDENTS OVERCOME THEIR FEAR TO WRITE 41. The use of graphic organizers as pre writing activities Graphic organizers guide learnersthinking as they fill in and build upon a visual map or diagram. They are visual learning strategies for students and are applied across the curriculum to enhance learning and understanding of subject matter content. In a variety of formats dependent upon the task graphic organizers facilitatestudents learningby helping them identify areas of focus within a broad topic such as a novel or article. Because they help the learner make connections and structure thinking students often turn graphic organizers for writing projects. 42. Types of graphic organizers Webs, concept maps, mind maps and plots such as bar charts, pie charts,Venn diagrams, are some of the types of graphic organizers used in visual learning to enhance thinking skills and improve academic performance on written papers, tests and homework assignmets. 43. Teaching with graphic organizers Cause and effect Note taking Comparing and contrasting concepts Organizing problems and soluctions Relating information to main themes and ideas Organizational skills Vocabulary knowledge Sequency 44. The writing prompt Do not give so much information that the student just repeats the prompt in his or her writing. Make sure you indicate the audience The topic should be of interest to the students and the teacher. Remember you have to rad the writing! Avoid topics that are too abstract have hidden biases, are too controversial or are too complex. Provide limits on the amount of writing you expect. 45. Assessing writing Content (the ideas expressed) Organization and structure of the writing cohesiveness Clarity, logical organization Accuracy of meaning (vocabulary) Accuracy of language conventions (grammar,spelling,punctuation) Register (level of formality of the writing) Style (for advanced levels) What we assess depends on our purpose 46. Use of rubrics to assess writing A rubric can be holistic or analytical. A rubric is a list of criteria and a description of how well the criteria is met at different scores, ranges. 47. Holistic rubrics : consider multiple criteria at once when determining the score or grade 48. Analytic rubrics: consider multiple criteria separately 49. Strategies to encourage Stick posters or positive messages and labels on the walls to familiarize students with written codes. Have a bulletin board with weird news, news from famous people, horoscope, beauty tips, fashion styles, etc. Have a mailbox. Make word snakes for new vocabulary Make collages with visual representations of specific vocabulary Copy songs, rhymes or poems Paste labels with idioms. 50. Encourage creative pieces of work Have a graffitti as a sort of complaint wall Make sts fill in soundless filmstrips. Complete cartoon strips. Make them write postcards for a special person Make them keep a journal with new vocabulary. Make them re-write a fairy story Make them write weather reports with pictures Make them design new covers for books Copy shopping lists or restaurant menu 51. Ways to contact us: