English Language Learners

1. English Language Learners It takes a village to raise a child- African Proverb

2. How “lingual” r u? • Jambo • Assaalmu Alaykum • Hola • Marhaba • Johm Riab Sua • Bonjour • Ya’at’eeh • Zdravo • Shalhom • LOL wat up bff • a4 + (√16 - ½)2 = b ÷ 5c

3. Alphabet Soup • ACCESS- Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners- a standardized test with listening, speaking, reading and writing portions • LEP- Limited English Proficiency • ESL- English as a Second Language • ELL- English Language Learner

4. Alphabet Soup- 2nd serving • L1- First Language (Native Language) • L2- Second Language • WIDA- World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment- consortium of about 25 states who utilize the standardized assessments to fulfill the NCLB ELL requirements and the standards to form instruction

5. Communication • English Language Learners: • Arrive with diverse communication/educational experience, varying within the same language/culture • Wide range of experience depends on opportunities in their native country, length of stay in refugee camps and/or interim stops in other countries or US cities • Forms: • Written language with letters or symbols • Spoken language- historically some have no written language only oral communication i.e.. Somali

6. Public Education ELL Mandates • 1964- Civil Rights Act- no one can be denied access to Federally funded programs based upon race, color or national origin • 1968- Title VII- Bilingual Education Act- competitive grant process for assistance to school districts for ESL programs • 1969- Lau vs. Nichols- Lawsuit brought on behalf Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students in San Francisco that requiring English proficiency prior to inclusion in regular educational opportunities is unfair

7. Public Education ELL Mandates • 1974- US Supreme Court rules in favor of Lau, the plaintiff, which forced districts to provide opportunities for ESL students to expand their education beyond just learning English first • Post-1974- Districts had to develop LAU plans to identify and how to accommodate ELL students within the mainstream classrooms • 1981- Pyler vs. Doe- ruling that districts must serve undocumented students • 2001- No Child Left Behind (NCLB)- required annual assessment of LEP students in their language proficiency and tracking of student progress as they move through the system

8. Who Are ELL Students? • Arriving from all continents (except Antarctica!) • Native Spanish speakers-nationally largest number of ELL students • Most arrive with varying levels of educational experience to pursue opportunities for better life • Small percentage arrive with well educated parents, who have relocated for employment and were well educated in native country, primarily Asian and Western/Eastern European students

9. Initial Assessment • Performed at Multi-Lingual Intake Center in larger districts; individual school sites for districts with smaller ELL populations • Home Language Survey- to determine native language • Oral Language Use Survey and Literacy Survey- to determine level of development and exposure in native language and English • English Language Proficiency Test, Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement in Native Language and Measures of Academic Achievement in English to determine initial placement of student in ELL continuum

10. Language Development Levels • Performance indicators at each level guide teachers to the expected level of langauge development • Six Levels of Language Development- designated by WIDA • Entering- Identify; Point to • Emerging- Provide Examples; Locate; Classify • Developing- Pose Question; Describe • Expanding- Explain; Compare and Contrast • Bridging- Defend; Infer • Reaching- Higher-level thinking at peer level

11. Language Proficiency Standards • Five English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards (content areas) • Social and Instructional Language • Language of Language Arts • Language of Mathematics • Language of Science • Language of Social Studies • Complementary Standards for other learning areas • Visual Arts, Music, Performing Arts, Health, PE, Technology, Multiculturalism

12. ACCESS Test • Annual standardized assessment for ELL students to measure growth in the five ELP standards • Scores are reported for the language domains (and composites of these): • Speaking (Productive Language) • Writing (Productive Language) • Listening (Receptive Language) • Reading (Receptive Language) • Districts require students to attain certain scores to move from ELL classes to mainstream classes; commonly a score of 4 will move a student into mainstream classes

13. ACCESS Test • Students continue to be monitored and assessed annually until achieving scores of 6 in all areas or until graduation/completion of secondary education • Students may score high enough to move into mainstream classes, yet still may struggle in other language domains • Students generally achieve more quickly in the listening and speaking domains compared to reading and writing. • Students may converse well and understand spoken words, yet may not follow the meaning nor be able to read or write words as fluently as non-ELL students

14. How Do I Teach ELL Students? • The same manner you teach any student! • Know your students strengths and challenges • Many of the same scaffolds or Universal Design methods support ELL students’ needs • Collaborate with colleagues- ELL teachers, guidance counselors, educational technicians, community liaisons, interpreters • Celebrate what their experiences bring to your classroom and build global understanding!

15. Key Points to Remember • ELL students are still kids, growing up physically, emotionally and intellectually just like “American” students. • They carry the extra burden of living in a foreign culture, through no fault or choice of their own, while trying to meet our educational standards. • At that moment of frustration, imagine you or your child attending school and trying to learn biology or world history, written and spoken in Mandarin, Swahili or Dineh.

16. Credits • Legal Lecture Online.ppt; Linda Ward • Wida Draft Standards 2012. 7 Oct. 2011 http://www.wida.us/ • Gottlieb, Marge. “Standards and Assessment: The Bridge From Language Proficiency to Academic Acheivement.” and “Standardized Testing and Reporting: The Bridge to Fair and Valid Assessment.” Assessing English Language Learners. Corwin Press, 2006. 23-40, 151-167 • K’NAAN. (2009). Wavin’ Flag. On Troubadour (recorded 2010, Celebration Remix World Cup)