Presented by Julie Esparza Brown, EdD jebrown@pdx

1. Presented byJulie Esparza Brown, EdDjebrown@pdx.edu Applying the RTI Model for Literacy with English Language Learners

2. Presentation Goals Define RTI and its promise and perils for ELL students Examine screening and progress monitoring tools for ELLs Define and differentiate reading instruction and intervention Identify evidence-based and culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions for each tier Define the ESL specialist’s role as a member of the intervention team Questions??

3. ELL Students Students whose home language (L1) is other than English (L2) and who are in the process of learning English. ELL students are a diverse group: U.S. born – second, third, fourth generation Foreign born – early or late arrival Formal instruction in L1 No instruction in L1, interrupted schooling Formal instruction only in L2 upon entering U.S. schools The term “ELL” student does NOT include fluent bilingual students.

4. ELL Students Many students live in linguistically isolated areas (in home country or U.S.). In U.S. schools, ELL students are also often linguistically isolated. They have: Limited exposure to Standard English Limited opportunities to interact with speakers who are proficient in Standard English Limited opportunities to obtain additional help with homework from peers who speak Standard English

5. ELL Students The majority of them: are U.S. born and have received all of their education in American schools. achieve oral fluency in everyday language but lag in measures of academic success and tasks requiring academic language proficiency.

6. What Do You Need to Ask About an ELL Student Who is Struggling? Is achievement both at a lower level and occurring at a substantially slower rate when compared to “true peers”? You must ask questions related to: Student’s history Learning context Learning content

7. Levels of English Proficiency Teachers must be aware of the student’s level of English proficiency when planning core instruction and choosing interventions. Typically ELL students show high levels of language growth in the first couple of years but the growth levels off as content becomes more difficult.

8. Definitions of Language Concepts

9. Language Acquisition Stages

10. Language Acquisition Stages

11. Language Acquisition Stages

12. Language Acquisition Stages

13. Language Acquisition Stages

15. Progress Monitor Student’s Language Acquisition Student’s English language development should be monitored. Consider: Can they participate in the oral language of a mainstream classroom Can the student read and write in English at levels similar to mainstream grade-level peers? To their “true peers” Whether the student reads and/or writes in L1 at grade level? Whether the student needs more intensive and explicit instruction in English language development? Would instruction in L1 be beneficial?

16. Appropriate Student Responses for Language Acquisition Stages

17. Literacy Development Strategies and Stages of Language Acquisition - Preproduction/Early Production Stages Shared reading Concepts about print Read aloud, listening post SSR Chants Choral/Echo Reading Dramatization/Role play Puppetry/finger plays Flannel board stories Recreations Interactive journals Language Experience Approach Alphabet games Book publishing Brainstorming/webbing Cloze activities Compare/contrast stories using illustrations Concentration games

18. Literacy Development Strategies and Stages of Language Acquisition – Speech Emergence Guided reading Story mapping Reader’s theater Innovations Process writing (emphasis on prewriting/drafting) Book talks Critical thinking questions/activities Idiomatic expressions Language focus lessons Literature circles Pair/share writing Pen pals Reciprocal teaching Retelling stories Scripting Syntax Surgery Vocabulary development activities All of the activities from previous slide, PLUS:

19. Literacy Development Strategies and Stages of Language Acquisition – Intermediate/Advanced Fluency Process writing (all steps) Journal writing Reader’s workshop Directed reading Research projects Creative dramatics Public speaking/formal presentations Use of scaffolding to allow access to grade level/age appropriate narrative and expository texts Continue with (modified-enriched) strategies previously introduced Debates Feature analysis Interviews Literature response Word studies (root words, prefixes, suffixes, word families) Write directions All of the activities from previous slide, PLUS:

20. Dynamic Assessment for Language (Miller, Gillam & Pena)

21. Oracy Instructional Guide A language proficiency assessment and intervention program.

22. Fourth Grade Slump “In fourth grade, an alarming number of students’ reading comprehension starts a drastic decline and rarely recovers. Early delays in oral language come to be reflected in low levels of reading comprehension, leading to low levels of academic success. If we are to increase children’s ability to profit from education, we will have to enrich their oral language development during the early years of schooling. Schools could do much more than they do now to foster the language development of less-advantaged children and children for whom English is a second language.” Andrew Biemiller American Educator Spring 2003

23. Language Slump Many ELL students are stuck at the intermediate level of English proficiency. Why? Because we have not identified the gap between the language a student knows and what is required to succeed academically. How do we do this?

24. Teach Academic English “Academic language is learned…from teachers and from textbooks. It is learned through frequent exposure and practice over a long period of time. The most reliable sources of academic language are written texts. They serve, however, as the basis for language development only with instructional help. Often explicit teaching of language structures and uses is the most effective way to help ELL students.” Wong-Fillmore and Snow, 2000

25. Systematic ELD A Focused Approach to Systematic ELD Instruction – Susana Dutro

26. Systematic ELD Clear purpose (language function and needed language form) backward mapped from lesson objective Meaningful, engaging and culturally relevant topics Instructional sequence I do it ( modeling, direct instruction) We do it (guided, interactive instruction) You do it (independent – collaborative and solo) A pace that is brisk yet appropriate

27. Systematic ELD Clearly identify proficiency level of each students Students do at least 50% of the talking Connect reading, writing, listening and speaking Explicitly build receptive and expressive language

28. Language Functions Language functions common to academic texts: Cause and effect Compare and contrast Elaboration Proposition and Support (problem/solution) Sequencing Source: Susana Dutro

29. Additionally… ELL students must navigate: Participating in classroom discussions Expressing and defending opinions Social courtesies in formal and informal settings Expressing time relationships And much more…

30. Determining What Language to Teach Vocabulary specific to the topic What are we talking or reading about? Functional language connecting topic vocabulary in sentences What are we saying about it?

31. Knowing the Student How long has the child been enrolled at current school? Where was child born? If child was foreign born: At what age did the child immigrate? Did he/she attend school in country of origin? Was it a rural or urban school? Was child making adequate progress? What type of instruction has the student had: Model of ELD or bilingual, if any Instructional model in other country What has been their access to core curriculum If child was born in U.S.: What immigration generation are they (e.g., parents immigrated here, student is second generation) Have they attended preschool? In English? Native language? What is the first language the child: Spoke Heard At what age did the child speak first words? At what age was the second language introduced?

32. Inappropriate and ineffective instructional programs MUST be ruled out before proceeding to a referral. The learning environment must be observed on more than one occasion and during different times of the day. Is there a disproportionate number of ELL students (or any other subgroup) who are struggling academically within that classroom? Knowing the Learning Ecology

33. Knowing the Learning Ecology Is scientifically-based instruction occurring that considers the students: Level of English language proficiency Level of native language proficiency Experiential background Cultural background and acculturation At the school level, is the child’s language and culture seen as an asset? Are all families encouraged to participate in school activities?

34. Knowing the Learning Ecology Does the teacher understand and/or speak the student’s primary language? What strategies does the teacher use to ensure the comprehensibility of the instruction (such as GLAD, SIOP)? Are modifications in the instruction made? What kind of feedback is given to the student? Does the student receive pull-out instruction by either ELD or SpEd staff? If so, what “core” instruction is the student missing?

35. Knowing the Learning Ecology What does the teacher do to involve the student? How is the student allowed to demonstrate knowledge and skills? Is the student able to complete independent work? Is the student instructed in homogenous or heterogenous groupings? Does the student actively participate in group work? How appropriate is the curriculum both linguistically and culturally?

36. Targeting the Specific Areas that Need Support “A problem is best defined as a discrepancy between a desired state and what is occurring?” Batsche et al. (2007)

37. The Importance of Oral Language Proficiency Reading in any language is dependent upon a child’s oral language abilities in that language in order to comprehend what is decoded. Reading instruction, however, should not wait until students are orally proficient. Research (Kwan & Willows, 1998) also seems to show that for young children, explicit, systematic instruction in L2 sounds/symbols benefits phonemic awareness and it does not appear to be dependent to sound/symbol instruction in L1.

38. The Importance of Oral Language in Literacy Development Children cannot comprehend what they are reading in a language they cannot speak and understand. It appears that readers must be familiar with a minimum of 95% of the vocabulary in the text to comprehend. Droop and Verhoeven (2003) found that extensive vocabulary training is crucial for efficient L2 reading comprehension.

39. Cultural Differences

42. What Do These Gestures Mean in Other Cultures Point at something in the room with your index finger. In the Middle and Far East it is impolite to point with the index finger. Use an open hand or your thumb instead. Form a circle with finger to indicate “OK.” In Brazil and German, this gesture is obscene. In Japan it means “money.” In France is means “worthless.” Pat a student on the head. The head is a repository of the soul to Buddhists. Wave hand with the palm facing outward to greet someone. In Europe, waving the hand back and forth can mean “No.” This is a serious insult in Nigeria if the hand is too close to another person’s face. Nod head up and down to say “Yes.” In Bulgaria and Greece, this means “No.”

43. Culture QuizAdapted from everything ESL.net Q: You are a middle school teacher with a new student from Mexico. You suspect she is not literate in their native language but wonder why she doesn’t seem to respond to the ESL/ELD teacher when he speaks Spanish. What do you think the problem may be?

44. Culture Quiz A: The student is from Mexico who does not speak Spanish but is from a rural village where a Mayan dialect is spoken.

45. Culture Quiz Q: Your new Somali Bantu students do not seem to be able to sit still at their desks. Even though you give them constant breaks to walk around and stretch, they are continually out of their seats. What’s the problem?

46. Culture Quiz A: These students come from a persecuted tribe in rural Somalia. Many children from this area have probably never been in school. They may have never sat in a chair.

47. Culture Quiz Q: Hui is a 6th grade student in your class who speaks no English. He has an allergy and his nose runs constantly. He uses his fingers instead of a tissue. You and the class are upset by his behavior while Hui is unaware of the impact of this behavior. What should you do?

48. Culture Quiz A: Give him a pack of tissues and teach him what we do in the U.S. when our nose is runny. In some cultures handkerchiefs and tissues are not used.

49. Culture Quiz Q: You are a fifth grade teacher. Your new student from South America does not seem to celebrate the birthday you have marked on the classes’ birthday calendar. Is this a religious observance?

50. Culture Quiz A: Children in many South American cultures celebrate their Saint’s Day rather than their birthday.