Regional County Office of Education Lead Collaboration Meeting August 10, 2010

1. Regional County Office of Education Lead Collaboration Meeting August 10, 2010

2. Discussion: “Research to Guide English Language Development Instruction” by W. Saunders & C.GoldenbergDianna Gutiérrez Education Programs ConsultantLanguage Policy and Leadership Office

3. Chapter Overview • Chapter synthesizes studies and research that identify guidelines for effective English language development (ELD) instruction. • Provides guidelines for instructional practice based on existing research. • Authors found little research that focuses specifically on K–12 ELD instruction and conclude that most of the current ELD instruction is driven by theory. • Fourteen guidelines for ELD instruction are outlined.

4. Chapter Organization • Explanation of ELD instruction • Description of the research base for ELD instruction • Report research related to fourteen ELD instruction guidelines. Guidelines are grouped in three categories.

5. Defining ELD Instruction • ELD instruction is designed to help English learners (ELs) learn and acquire English to a proficiency level that maximizes their capacity to engage successfully in academic studies taught in English. • Distinction between ELD and sheltered instruction can get blurred. • Primary goal of ELD instruction is to learn and acquire English by mastering ELD standards. To evaluate, first measure progress on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). • Primary goal of sheltered instruction is to teach skills and knowledge identified in the content area standards. To evaluate, first measure progress on California Standards Tests (CSTs).

6. ELD Instruction Research Base • Chapter draws heavily on six syntheses and/or meta-analyses that represent diverse populations and contexts. • Small body of research to guide design and delivery of K–12 ELD instruction. - Very few studies focus on the effects of instruction - Most studies involve college-age and adult learners studying a foreign language • Most of the research on ELs in the U.S. have focused on evaluating bilingual or English immersion programs to measure the effects of the overall program, not the ELD instructional component.

7. Guidelines for ELD Instruction • Guidelines based on relatively strong supporting evidence from EL research (two). • Guidelines based on hypotheses emerging from recent EL research (nine). • Guidelines applicable to ELD but grounded in non-EL research (three).

8. Guidelines Based on Strong Supporting Evidence from EL Research • Providing ELD instruction is better than not providing it. -While exposure to English is beneficial, studies have established that instruction aids second language acquisition. • ELD instruction should include interactive activities among students, but they must be carefully planned and carried out. -Providing ELs with opportunities to interact with more proficient English speakers does not result in actual gains. -One study found that incorporating interactive tasks that required accurate use of English form produced stronger learning outcomes than tasks that did not require correct us of the language form.

9. Guidelines Based on Hypotheses Emerging from EL Research 3.A separate block of time should be devoted to ELD instruction. -One large study found that Kindergartners in bilingual and English immersion programs who received ELD in a separate block made greater gains. -Hypothesize that longer ELD block combined with focused, systematic language instruction helped accelerate oral language growth. 4. ELD instruction should emphasize listening and speaking, though can incorporate reading and writing. -Two studies provided evidence suggesting that devoting more instructional time to listening and speaking yields significantly higher levels of oral language proficiency.

10. Guidelines Based on Hypotheses Emerging from EL Research 5. ELD instruction should explicitly teach elements of English (e.g. vocabulary, syntax, grammar, functions, and conventions). -Studies based primarily on college and adult-level foreign-language contexts found on average, explicit instructional approaches were more than twice as effective. 6. ELD instruction should integrate meaning and communication to support explicit teaching of language. -At least one source of evidence supporting the importance of incorporating meaning and communication in language-learning contexts. -No definitive empirical evidence related to the appropriate balance and exact relationship.

11. Guidelines Based on Hypotheses Emerging from EL Research 7. ELD instruction should provide students with corrective feedback on form. -Three studies tested the effects of implicit (recast) and explicit (prompt) forms of corrective feedback and found stronger positive effects for prompt than recast feedback. -Another study found that higher proficiency learners seemed to benefit equally from recasts and prompts and lower proficiency learners benefited more from prompts. 8. Use of English should be maximized during ELD instruction, the primary language should be used strategically. -Five studies found that when teachers used more English for instruction, ELs tended to use more English with their peers and vise versa.

12. Guidelines Based on Hypotheses Emerging from EL Research 9. Teachers should attend to communication and language learning strategies and incorporate them in ELD instruction. -One study found that more proficient ELs demonstrate a wider repertoire of language-learning strategies than less proficient ELs. -Another study suggests that explicit instruction on how to use strategies, especially metacognitive strategies, might be beneficial for ELs’ oral language development.

13. Guidelines Based on Hypotheses Emerging from EL Research 10. ELD instruction should emphasize academic language as well as conversational language. -Academic language is the language that is needed in academic situations, for example, during classroom instruction. -The concept of academic language has gained attention, but no studies have tested the hypothesis that ELs’ language development benefits from ELD instruction that focuses heavily on academic language. -Hypothesis emerges from at least two findings: (1) ELs take from five to seven years to achieve native-like proficiency in oral and literacy and (2) the rate at which students acquire proficiency tends to slow as they move to higher levels of proficiency.

14. Guidelines Based on Hypotheses Emerging from EL Research 11. ELD instruction should continue at least until students reach level 4 (early advanced) and possibly through level 5 (advanced). -Studies have found that ELs require four to six years to achieve early advanced proficiency, the average oral English proficiency achieved advanced proficiency by fifth grade, and progress from beginning to middle levels of proficiency is rapid, but then plateaus. -Hypothesize that if ELs continue to receive explicit ELD instruction in levels three through five, they can excel oral proficiency and avoid the plateau

15. Guidelines Applicable to ELD but Grounded in Non-EL Research 12. ELD instruction should be planned and delivered with specific language objectives in mind. - Evidence that objectives can enhance learning if objectives, teaching and assessment are coordinated. -Hypothesize that instructional objectives will be useful for ELD instruction as it is for other types of academic instruction.

16. Guidelines Applicable to ELD but Grounded in Non-EL Research 13. ELs should be carefully grouped by language proficiency for ELD instruction; for other portions of the school day should be in mixed classrooms and not in classrooms segregated by language proficiency. - There is no research that directly relates to how ELs should be grouped, for what purpose, and how much of the school day. -Studies in other content areas found homogeneous groupings for the entire school day lead to lower achievement among lower-achieving students -ELs should be regularly assessed to monitor progress and to make certain instruction and placement is appropriate.

17. Guidelines Applicable to ELD but Grounded in Non-EL Research 14. The likelihood of establishing and/or sustaining an effective ELD instructional program increases when schools and districts make it a priority. -Very little experimental research in this area. - Literature suggests that a sustained and coherent focus of academic goals in schools and districts is associated with higher levels of student achievement. -Studies agree that what gets emphasized in schools and districts can influence what teachers do and what students learn. One study suggests this is also true for ELs.

18. Implications for Practice • Much work needs to be done to develop an empirical research base on which to build effective ELD instructional programs. • No single practice or principle will be sufficient to help ELs gain access to high-level, mainstream academic curriculum. • Must test individual components and guidelines and develop comprehensive ELD programs.

19. Discussion • What are some of the key insights from the chapter? • When providing technical assistance to Title III LEAs, how do we apply these guidelines? -How do we decide which guidelines to implement? -How do we prioritize the guidelines? -What are some of the challenges we encounter during implementation?