More than Good Teaching: Understanding Language Acquisition for ELLs

1. More than Good Teaching: Understanding Language Acquisition for ELLs Kathy Salmon

2. Where are you located? • Practice using Elluminate. • Use a symbol to mark where you are!

4. Session Overview • Myth or Fact? • Cummin’s BICS and CALP • Quadrants of BICS and CALP • Common Underlying Proficiency • Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development • Krashen’s Comprehensible Input • Roessingh’s Vocabulary Counts • Oxford’s ESL Learner Strategies

5. Myth or Fact? Read the following statements. Decide if they are myths or facts. Place an A beside Myths and B beside Facts: • Children have acquired a second language as soon as they can speak it. • Children learn second languages quickly and easily. • The younger the child the more skilled in acquiring a second language. • The more time students spend in a second language context, the quicker they learn the language. • All children learn a second language in the same way. http://www.apples4theteacher.com/resources/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17

6. Myth 1 • Children have acquired a second language as soon as they can speak it.

7. Iceberg • BICS (1-2 years) • Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills • Surface level – Here and Now • Familiar Content • Face to Face Conversation • High Frequency Vocabulary – 2000 words • Simple Sentence Structure • Low Pressure • CALP (5 or more years) • Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency • Experience and exposure to culture • Lectures, formal, written text, specialized terminology, humour, culture, idioms, textbook language, social appropriateness, non-verbal communications • Limited Interaction (textbook) • More Abstract • Less familiar content • Decontextualized • Low frequency Vocabulary • High Stakes (lots of pressure) • The iceberg metaphor

8. BICS or CALP? • Reading a textbook • Discussing the theme in a novel • Writing a journal response about personal experiences

9. Apply it tomorrow… • Think of an ELL in your class. • What is their level of BICS and CALP? • What is the level of teacher talk in the classroom? • What is the level of student response in the classroom Sample student responses • One hundred fifty-two • ..this hundred place? • For expanded notation you have to know place value.

10. Myth 2 • 2. Children learn second languages quickly and easily

11. SURFACE FEATURES OF L1 SURFACE FEATURES OF L2 COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY The Dual Iceberg: Full Bilingual Proficiency • The “Dual Iceberg” Representation of Bilingual Proficiency (Cummins, 1980, 36; 1996, 111)

12. SURFACE FEATURES OF L1 SURFACE FEATURES OF L2 COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY Underdeveloped potential that needs to be built in L2 Young Arrivals: Low Levels of L1 and L2 (balanced but inadequate bilingualism)

13. SURFACE FEATURES OF L2 SURFACE FEATURES OF L1 COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY Underdeveloped potential Young Arrivals: Low L1, Better Developed L2

14. SURFACE FEATURES OF L1 SURFACE FEATURES OF L2 COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY Underdeveloped potential that may be developed in L1 and/or L2 Junior High Arrivals: Uneven L1 and L2

15. Interpersonal Communication SURFACE FEATURES OF L2 SURFACE FEATURES OF L1 Basic Skills COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY Underdeveloped potential - Use L1 to help build this in L2 Older Arrivals: Full L1 Proficiency, Intermediate L2 Proficiency

16. What’s your CUP? • Create a dual iceberg to represent your language proficiency in L1 and L2 • If you do not have an L2, think of a student in your school or your own child and their dual iceberg.

17. Apply it tomorrow… • Is this a good strategy? • Talking to a peer in L2 about a new concept • Using a translator or bilingual dictionary • Suggesting a family continue to talk in L1 at home • Supporting a families decision to send their children to a weekend language school

18. Myth 3 • 3. The younger the child the more skilled in acquiring a second language

19. Words, words, words… • What is the average vocabulary of a native English speaking student entering grade 10? • Write down a number on the screen

20. Roessingh’s Vocabulary Trajectories http://apollo.ucalgary.ca/eslrw/node/3

21. What words do I teach? • Word Lists: • Ogden’s Basic Words (850) http://ogden.basic-english.org/words.html • Comprehensive Vocabulary Word List (by topic): http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/lists/c/

22. Some Types of Vocabulary? • Subject specific - the words related to curriculum topics (These might also be in context defined.) • Context-defined - multiple meanings - transferable words across subjects i.e., “role”, noun clusters; i.e., ”global warming” • Academic Words – the language of thinking processes required to do academic tasks; i.e., “ compare”, “contrast” • Connectors– words and phrases used to show the relationship of ideas; i.e., ”whereas”, “the most important” • Figurative Language –Words or phrases that go beyond literal meaning and require contextual, social and/or cultural reference for understanding i.e., ”fork in the road”

23. Identify the type of Vocabulary • Subject specific • Context-defined • Academic Words • Connectors • Figurative Language Math Dictionary: Certain We use the word certain in probability to describe events that will definitely happen. July is certain to come after June. If a coin is tossed it is certain to land with either heads or tails face up.

24. Identify the type of Vocabulary • Subject specific • Context-defined • Academic Words • Connectors • Figurative Language Certain We use the word certain in probability to describeevents that will definitely happen. July is certainto come after June. If a coin is tossed it is certain to land with eitherheadsortails face up.

25. Where to find different types of words? • Word Lists: • Subject Specific Word list: http://www.vocabulary.com/dir-wordlist-word_list • Words with Multiple Meanings: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/multmean.html# • Academic Word List http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist/Publications/awlsublists.pdf • Connector Words - Common Transition Words: http://csd.mcmaster.ca/accesstomac/images/common.pdf • Figurative Language http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/20-language-arts/343-figurative-language.html

26. What words for which age? http://www.lextutor.ca Kids list (http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/kids/kid_list_display/ )

27. Apply it tomorrow… • Put a sample of your spoken language in the vocabulary profiler on lextutor. http://www.lextutor.ca • Put a sample of some students spoken language in the vocabulary profiler • For your next lesson • Look at the vocabulary required for your next lesson? • Recognize the vocabulary level of your students. • Decide what vocabulary to teach

28. Myth 4 • 4. The more time students spend in a second language context, the quicker they learn the language.

29. Quality and Quantity Time • ELLs benefit from: • Explicit language instruction • Appropriate resources • Language learning strategies • …At the ‘just right level’

30. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development • is the difference between what a child can do on their own and what they can do with assistance. • It includes all things that a child can do only with the help of a more-knowledgeable other. • It is a scaffolding process, where supports are provided by a parent, teacher, or peer who has already has mastery of the task. http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm

31. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Practice: Think of a learner in your class Think of one thing they can do on their own Think of one thing they can do with assistance now

32. Krashen’s Comprehensible Input Comprehensible means to understand Input means “what goes in” • Learning takes place when the brain can connect new information to existing knowledge. • It is important to provide students information at their language level. • Language proficiency is increased by gradual steps always working from student’s present language level. • Use 1st language to help make connections in 2nd language

33. Comprehensible Input Hypothesis • The learner learn language he can understand by connecting it to known concepts and prior knowledge. • Language that is not understood is just “L2 noise” http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.htmlhttp://www.languageimpact.com/articles/rw/krashenbk.htm

34. Comprehensible Input + 1 (CI +1) • Input must be comprehensible and also needs to be one level of linguistic complexity beyond the learner’s level to develop L2 proficiency. • CI + 1 CI + 10

35. Apply it tomorrow… • Think about what is being taught. • Think about the Comprehensible Input Level of the student • Are any adjustments required?

36. Myth 5 • All children learn a second language in the same way.

37. Learner Profiles • On the screen write the different aspects of the learner profile (preferences, modalities, affect, attributes etc.)

38. More Krashen: Affective Hypothesis • Motivation, self-esteem, and interpersonal acceptance can limit or enhance the speed and amount of L2 learned.

39. Affective Filter Hypothesis • A filter or mental block can prevent L2 from getting in if a learner is anxious, afraid to take risks and in a stressful learning environment. • Relaxation, confidence to take risks, and a pleasant learning environment help to lower the filter.

40. Aptitude Hypothesis • Learners do have “innate” (natural abilities) aptitude to learn L2. • More impactful than aptitude is the learner’s attitude, which can enhance or impede the natural abilities to learn L2.

41. The Learner’s Affective Traits • Self-Concept • The way I see my self • The way I interact with others • My disposition towards learning tasks • The way I deal with problem solving and challenges • Skills (related to literacy, numeracy, relationships and problem solving etc.) • Strategies; cognitive, meta-cognitive, linguistic, socio-affective etc. • Cognitive Potential • Motivation (Intrinsic, Extrinsic)

42. Rebecca Oxford’s ESL Learner Strategies • Avoidance/reduction strategies • Message replacement (try to simplify) • Topic Avoidance (change the subject) • Message abandonment (give up!) • Achievement/Compensatory Strategies • Circumlocution (talk around– describing when word is unknown) • Approximation (word that is close to intended word: • Restructuring (re-stating in a different way) • Literal Translation (from L1 to L2 or L2 to L1, occasional errors) http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/oxford01.html

43. Rebecca Oxford’s ESL Learner Strategies • Stalling or time-gaining strategies • Fillers, hesitation (um, like, ahh, you know) • Self and other repetition (echoing and copying) • Self Monitoring Strategies • Self-initiated repair (recognize own errors and ask for correction) • Self-rephrasing (re-state independently and self correct) • Interactional Strategies • Appeals for help • Direct – “What do you call..?” • Indirect – “I don’t know the word in English” • Meaning Negotiation Strategies • Clarification requests – “What does this mean?” • Confirmation requests – “Does this mean _______ or ______?”

44. Learner Profiles Think of language of assessments and language level of student • Learning Styles Self Assessment: http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html • Student self assessment of language http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/selfassess2.html • Student self assessment of language http://www.acceleratedlearning.com/method/test_launch.html • ESL K-12 Proficiency Benchmarks http://education.alberta.ca/media/1111060/esl_benchmark1.pdf

45. Think about it… What things do you currently know about your students? What other additional information would you like to find out?

46. Where we’ve been… • Myth or Fact? • Cummin’s BICS and CALP • Quadrants of BICS and CALP • Common Underlying Proficiency • Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development • Krashen’s Comprehensible Input • Roessingh’s Vocabulary Counts • Oxford’s ESL Learner Strategies

47. ATA Webinar and Print series: Understanding ESL Learners Graphic by Ray Campbell http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Professional%20Development/Specialist%20Councils/Special%20Projects/Pages/Index.aspx

48. Wiki - Entry • http://erlcdpl.wikispaces.com/message/list/Getting+Started+in+ESL+-+Intake+Strategies • Type in one “aha” or question

49. Thank You! Your participation was appreciated! Please complete the session evaluation which Jann will email you. Join us for a session on Differentiation for ELLs by Carla Fisher on March 2, 2010