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The Five Instructional Approaches to Teaching English Language Learners

NAME

ELL359: Cont. Issues in English Language Instruction

Instructor:

Date: 7/30/2013

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One of the fasting growing bodies of students in the US now days is the English language

learners. Therefore, to ensure success, an education is the golden key. Different policy makers

and educational institutes across the nation have come together to provide English Language

Leaners (ELLs) the opportunity to have an education. The purpose of this paper is to inform the

readers of the various English Language Learner instructional programs such as Bilingual

Education, Dual Language Instruction, Pull-Out Instruction, Sheltered English Instruction, and

English Immersion that are available. Moreover, the essay will shed light on what researchers

believe are the strengths and limitations of these program options. Towards the end of the

research, I will provide two active learning activities that could be incorporated by educators

within their classes.

To start, there are different types of English language learners and so educators need to

ensure that these students are in the correct programs. For example, in the US there are students

who have been in the ELL programs in US schools for over six years and have not acquired a

sufficient English proficiency to be enrolled in mainstream classes. Taking this into account and

as previously stated, these long-term English language learners (LTELs) or any type of ELL

must be placed in appropriate programs.

When considering what type of program will work for ELLs, administration must bear in

mind that all students have different educational, English and cultural experiences. All these

factors will impact individual students and affect how they perceive information. The first

program to be discussed is Bilingual Education. According to Garcia &

Bartlett, (2007) Bilingual education has never enjoyed widespread support in the USA a

majority of public has not given positive support to bilingual education throughout the US, but

experts Thomas and Collier as cited by Syrja (2011) find that “bilingual programs have the best

long-term impact on ELL achievement" (Pg. 30). There are many ELLs who did not receive a

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proper education in their native country and so when these students come to the US, they are

behind their grade level in English and their native language. An advantage of having a bilingual

problem is that students will develop their native language (L1) literacy while also learning

English (Syrja, 2011). Garcia &Bartlett, (2007) inform us that there are two models of bilingual

programs: early exit or transitional bilingual education is used for a very short time period

where minority ELLs are quickly moved into core English instruction and late exit or

maintenance programs "in which students are kept in the home language as long as possible and

are gradually transitioned into all-English instruction" (Syrja, 2011, Pg. 30).

In a Dual Language Instruction program, the language instruction is geared towards both

majority and minority students. So, each and every student in the classroom is involved in

simultaneously learning two different languages. Different school districts use two types of

models of instruction; there is the 90/10 model and the fifty-fifty split model. In the 90/10

model, native English speakers experience full immersion in the second language while minority

language speakers attend ESL maintenance programs. According to Syrja (2011), the fifty- fifty

split model of instruction uses a 50 % of English instruction during the day while the remaining

50 % accounts for the second language being learned by students.

From a personal experience, an ESL Pull-Out Instruction is a program in which ELLs are

pulled out of their regular mainstream classrooms by an ESL paraprofessional for a portion of

the day to allow students to practice as well as develop their English language skills. Rennie,

(1993).states, that ESL pull-out instruction methods are most commonly used in elementary

education and schools.

English language learners can have an atrocious time trying to learn content based

material in mainstream classrooms. Therefore, Sheltered English Instruction as Echevarria, and

Graves (2011) mention is a teaching style that is geared towards making grade-level academic

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subjects comprehensible to diverse learners as well as developing the ELLs English proficiency

by using scaffolding techniques. Depending on the school distract as well as funds, sheltered

instruction may serve as both an instructional method and or a program option. To ensure that

this strategy runs properly, the schools’ administration must hire sheltered educators who are

certified in different content areas. Since the goal of classroom instruction is more geared

towards meaning and comprehension, Mark Rounds’ (2010) posted a Krashen video about

Language Acquisition from the 80s. In this video, Krashen discusses the need for teachers to use

comprehensible input for ELLs as a means of natural second language acquisition. Educators

thus must design lesson plans with the students’ language levels in minds. Teachers will use a

variety of English activities as well as tasks that include “reading, discussing, and writing about

standards-based ideas, processes, and information” (Echevarria, and Graves, 2010).

The final program is English Immersion. From the name we can tell that this program is

only in English. So, English language learners are motivated to abandon their native language in

favor of instruction in English. If there are students with very low English skills, these learners

are enrolled in ESL classes such as the pull out ESL program. In the United States, there are two

different types of programs; "submersion" and or "structured". The first program submersion,

also called sink or swim is a recent fading pedagogy in the US because ELLs are placed in an

English only classroom without any form of ESL aid for children. So students who have any

type of foundation in the English language will swim while learners who lack a background in

English will be labeled at risk students and thus sink in the program. The latter program is an

intensive English language program for non-proficient English language learners that is designed

to accelerate the students’ learning by providing direct instruction of the English language.

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The Advantages and Disadvantages

Kerper & Wink, (2001) state, that having bilingual programs in educational institutes

encourages positive multicultural relations among learners and educators. Krashen (n.d) as cited

by James E. Alatis (1996), also advocates incorporating equal instruction in the Ells’ first

language because it teaches learners both general and world knowledge. Therefore, enrolling

ELLs in bilingual programs motivates students to mental functions such as critical thinking.

On the other hand, parents and educators believe that having a bilingual program such as

early exit places students with limited proficiency English language at a disadvantage because

this program is used for a short period of time. Therefore, learners who do not have strong

English skills will be placed in mainstream classes without remedial English courses. When a

learner’s native language is phased out it seems to the public that policy makers regard the

students’ mother language as a thing which is not significant to maintain during their lifetime.

There are many agencies throughout the nation that require trained bilingual speakers, so

communities believe that when schools encourage that students’ native language is not relevant

for their future; this will impact their cultural identity.

Moreover, research informs us that Leaners can develop their cognitive, emotional, and

higher mental thinking by using their native language. If students have a solid foundation if their

native language, they will be able to develop and expand their schemata while learning as well as

transfer that information into English. So if a learner lacks literacy in his first language, there

seems to be a lesser chance that he will develop higher order thinking skills in his English

language.

Frengel, (2003) states that there are about 266 documented dual Language Instruction

program in the USA. He advocates for schools to use Dual Language Instruction program

because it favors cross-cultural relations by allowing English speaking students and Ells to work

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together side by side and experience new things by learning from each other. In addition, in

regards to academic achievement as well as performance of learners in both languages,

assessments on Dual Language Instruction program show that it is one of the best models of

instruction in attaining the goal of teaching English to language minority learning as well as

nurturing literacy development in the learners’ native language (Lamus.D., R, 2008). Another

advantage of instructing learners in two different languages is the cognitive stimulus activities it

will provide students. Leaners that might be lagging behind academically will be able to develop

21st century skills such as analytical thinking and creativity that are needed in their grade levels

(Collier & Thomas, 2003). The Center for Applied Linguistics states that a disadvantage of the

program is finding qualified as well as trained educators who are bilingual as well as the fact that

not all parents and school personnel support the belief that students can develop their native

language by learning another.

It should be noted that pull-out ESL programs are not considered bilingual educational

programs because the students’ native language is not used during instruction. On another note,

ESL professionals will be working with smaller groups of ELLs and providing only English

instruction to those students. Many teachers face the issues of having diverse learners with

mixed English proficiency levels in one classroom. Therefore, allowing trained specialists to

provide one to one instruction to a small group of learners ensures that there is meaningful

learning. Undoubtedly, this type of instruction has drawbacks which affect all diverse learns.

For example, McKeon, (1987) empathizes that fact that these ESL programs are not usually

linked to the content that students are learning in their regular classes. As a consequence,

students will miss a variety of content based subjects in their regular classrooms because they

have been pulled out from their classes.

Allowing students to learn from an all student centered instructional design encourages

students to have more of a meaningful learning because of discovery. According to Echevarria,

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Vogt & Short, (2010), sheltered instruction provides suitable activities for diverse learners that

focus on developing their social, linguistic and cognitive skills because educators accommodate

language and content while infusing diverse cultural awareness. An additional benefit of this

type of program is that learners do not have to leave their classroom for remedial English courses

such as the ESL pull out program. Even though Krashen supports comprehensible input

Crawford (2003) states as cited by Carolyn Patton (2006), that the most successful instructional

strategies will have its own its setbacks. "Sheltered English instruction is an intermediate

strategy [and so it is only] appropriate for students who have successfully emerged from the third

stage of the natural approach” (pg. 1). As we all know, the skills in learning a new language

consist of reading, writing, speaking as well as listening. Therefore, Patton (2006) states, that a

drawback of sheltered instruction is that it often do not have sufficient writing development in

the English language.

Each program has its own pedagogical strategies that are deemed to be appropriate. In an

English immersion one of the benefits is that students will be in an English speaking

environment. However, Virginia Graves from the University of Michigan states that educators

will need to breakdown their English to a level that the limited English proficient (LEP) students

can understand” (Pg. 2). This maybe a useful short-term tool that teachers can use to help their

students, however, in the long run, students with more proficient English abilities will suffer in

the end. Another drawback is that the program is not very concerned about the English language

learners’ abilities in learning the material because the main focus of the program is to develop

English-language proficiency. The purpose of these types of programs is to aid immigrants and

English language learners to assimilate faster into the American and English culture. The

University of Michigan (n.d) states that all the learners enrolled in these programs will be taught

as if they all have similar backgrounds and values. One of the issues of this type of program is

that cultural identities will be lost.

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Active learning tasks

There are multitude of activities and tasks that educators can use to ensure that their

students achieve success in the classrooms. In a bilingual educational program, teachers can be

as creative as they would like. For example, when reading for comprehension, I would supply a

dictionary or a sheet of vocabulary words and definitions on it to go along with the reading

assignment. These words could have pictures or the translations of the English words in the

students’ native language. For another activity I would give the students a cloze activity with the

words in a box. Students would read the sentences and fill in the blanks with the correct words.

Visual aides are very useful for students who might have low levels of any language. They give

students cues that help them understand a certain topic and solidify. As we all know "a picture is

worth a thousand words. Mind maps and graphic organizers are a simple way to help students

organize their thoughts and information. The Vimm diaghram helps learners compare and

contrast information. Comparing and contrasting, as Syrja, (2011) said guides students to find

“similarities and differences between two historical events, people, characters, things, solutions,

organisms, stories, ideas, or cultures.” (116).

Dual Language Instruction must involve creating a welcoming classroom environment

that allows learners to develop their identities and portray their languages and backgrounds in a

respectful and authentic way. For example, The Action Thermometer and Think-Pair-Share are

an excellent method to introduce different ideas about various cultures. Leaners would be able to

firmly choose a measured side of what they think about a particular subject matter. Moreover,

the Action Thermometer would give those Ells who may be a bit weaker in personality a voice

and opportunity to express themselves. These types of task can help enhance and strengthen an

individual’s ideals and creative thinking in K-8 education. As Fredrick, (2002)mentions, another

great task that educators can use with ELLs and FEP students is role playing in the classroom.

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Here students can experience what their peers go through in real-life situations, which will helps

students feel accepted, included, and respected.

Pull-Out Instruction methods and techniques can be similar to any other program

methods. While I was teaching in Kazakhstan, I provided tasks such as word games, mix and

match words and pictures tasks, the total physical response and so forth. The manner in which

the program is conducted depends on the teacher. For example when I wanted to conduct a

reading lesson with my ESL students, I would do some pre-reading activities with my learners

such as frontloading the vocabulary. I would also have my students work in pairs and brainstorm

about the topic so that I could assess their prior knowledge. This would prepare learners for

words that they might not know while reading. So by “conducting pre-reading activities such as

examining the section headings and illustrations [could help students learn to read and write

better]” (Short & Echevarria, 2005). Since ESL pull out programs have small groups of ELL

learners, educators can use cooperative grouping so that students could learn from each other.

For example if there are two students who speak the same language, the teacher would be able to

pair students together. One activity that is useful in reducing the command of the written

language, involves using pictures. Instead of using a written dialogue, I would give students time

to draw pictures on a page in their journal regarding what they have learned about a certain

concept. Later on, students can work in pairs and develop their oral skills by internalizing the

information and communicating it to their partner.

Sheltered English Instruction is about activity involving learners in their own education.

Teachers can use routine questioning, small-group, and cooperative-group activities, partner, and

individualized sharing opportunities, and role-playing to keep students physically active and

involved in their learning"(Echevarria & Graves, 2011). This way, educators can instruct

content in a meaningful manner that will ultimately provide the best opportunities for the ELL

academic success.

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In English Immersion programs all students can engage in whole classroom debates. In my

classrooms I prefer to have a wealth of activities that include videos, sing along songs,

interactive games, and language arts tasks. Another task that learners can complete is a read

aloud activity. Doing this task students can hear and learn words that they usually do not hear in

everyday conversations. While a teacher is reading she can use the questioning method and

pause during the reading to ask students comprehension questions.

Reflection on Bilingual Education

I am bilingual and a half. I am a native English speaker as well as a proficient Arabic speaker as

well. The part of being half, involves the Russian that I learned while teaching ESL in

Kazakhstan. On that note, being bilingual is beneficial because it offers people opportunities that

may not be available to mono-linguistic speakers. So a person will have more options than

others. Students can learn new and exciting information about the world they live in. So in the

end, I hope that bilingual education will used more effectively because it can provide high order

thinking skills for our learners.

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References

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and Future Prospects. Georgetown University Press

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http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el200310_thomas.pdf

Echevarria, I, J & Graves, A (2011). Sheltered Content Instruction: Teaching English Language

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Echevarria, J., M.E. Vogt & D. Short (2010). Making content comprehensible for elementary

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Bilingualism,

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Graves, V (n.d) An Analysis of Two Types of Bilingual Education: Two-Way Immersion vs.

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