Building ELLs' Academic Language Proficiency: Putting it All Together Grade 6 - 12

1. Building ELLs' Academic Language Proficiency:Putting it All TogetherGrade 6 - 12 Presented by Jennifer Scoggin jennifer.litlife@gmail.com NYC Charter Center

2. Who is here today? LitLife 2011

3. LitLife’s Core Values

4. Equity

5. Dignity

6. Collaboration

7. Workshop Goals • Academic Vocabulary: Background and Strategies • Test Specs and Changes: NYSESLAT and ELA • Practical Strategies for Test Preparation All with the lens of supporting the ELLs in your classrooms LitLife 2011

8. ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

9. What is Academic English? Academic English is the language of the classroom, of academic disciplines (science, history, literary analysis) of texts and literature, and of extended, reasoned discourse. By: U.S. Department of Education (2007)

10. Characteristics

11. Consider: Type of Text Two types of written text: • Narrative text tells a story and usually follows a familiar structure. Narrative text may be the invention of an author, the reporting of factual events, or the retelling of a tale from oral tradition. It is often written in informal, everyday English. • Expository text provides an explanation of facts and concepts. Its main purpose is to inform, persuade, or explain. It is usually written in academic English.

12. So what? How does building academic English help readers and writers?

13. BICS vs. CALP

14. Research shows that students develop social language known as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) through interacting with peers in formal and informal settings and that this type of language is distinct from the variety of English required for academic success (Collier, 1987; Cummins, 1984). 

15. In his now classic work, Cummins notes that BICS is typically acquired over a period of one or two years, but academic language, termed Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) can take up to five to eight years to master (Cummins, 1984).

16. You may already realize that… A common misperception is that students learning English as a new language should be expected to complete academic tasks on par with other native English-speaking students once they can communicate in English for social purposes.

17. What this means for the classroom teacher is that appearances can be deceiving.  Although an English language learner may seem fluent, if she experiences difficulty with academic tasks in content areas or language arts, it may be due to a lack of CALP. 

18. However… English learners do not need to master conversational oral English before they are taught the features of academic English.

19. In reading, knowledge of academic English helps students gain perspective on what they read, understand relationships, and follow logical lines of thought.

20. In writing, knowledge of academic English helps students develop topic sentences, provide smooth transitions between ideas, and edit their writing effectively.

21. Reading, discussing, and writing about texts needs to be a central part of the English language development instruction dispersed throughout the day.

22. Stages of Second Language Acquistion

23. Stages of Second Language Acquisition cont’d.

24. Specific Recommendations • Teachers must understand that instruction with ELLs should include time and focus devoted to the development of academic English even in primary grades. • Daily academic English should be integrated into the core curriculum. • Conversational English does not need to be established prior to regular instruction in academic English. Gersten et. al, 2007

25. Experts agree that English learners require time each day when the primary instructional goal is developing academic English (as opposed to mastering the academic content). Consider devoting a daily block of time to developing this type of language with ELLs.

26. So what could this look like? Mrs. Barker’s Classroom: Making Classroom Routines Rich Vocabulary Experiences

27. How did she do that? • Select words carefully • Provide multiple encounters with targeted words • Provide direct instruction of word meanings • Provide daily guided practice • Give opportunities to use new words across a variety of contexts • Periodically review words and their meanings

28. Selecting Words to Teach • A 3-tier process: • Basic words (such as house, car, toy) • Words key to comprehension (such as curious, drowsy, gazing) • Low-frequency words usually associated with specific content (such as proton, peninsula)

29. Classroom Routines: Tier 2 Words

30. Classroom Behavior: Tier 2 Words

31. But...developing students’ vocabulary is NOT just about teaching a group of new words. It’s also about teaching strategies for inferring word meaning.WORD CONSCIOUSNESS

32. Fostering Word Consciousness Six elements to consider: 1. Create a word-rich environment 2. Recognize and promote adept diction 3. Promote word play 4. Foster word consciousness through writing 5. Involve students in word investigations 6. Teach students about words

33. Creating a word-rich environment Sit in one student’s seat. Take a 360-degree scan of your classroom. Think about what the texts your students’ READ, HEAR and USE.

34. Types of word walls: * name * seasonal or monthly * synonym * content * high-frequency * word wall brainstorms Word Walls LitLife 2011

35. “Lexicon Lounge”: Word Stations What can you include in a word station? * word card files * photographic word books * wordplay and riddle books * dictionaries and thesauri * class word games

36. Sentence Walls LitLife 2011

37. Classroom Labels Classroom elements to consider labeling: * supplies * furniture * areas of the room * the library Actively engage students in creating labels WITH you.

38. Classroom Libraries Do you have... * a wide variety of genres - both informational and expository? * a variety of reading levels? * books with rich vocabulary? * books that explore word use?

39. Fostering Word Consciousness Six elements to consider: 1. Create a word-rich environment 2. Recognize and promote adept diction 3. Promote word play 4. Foster word consciousness through writing 5. Involve students in word investigations 6. Teach students about words

40. Classroom talk • What words or terms are YOU using? • What words or terms are YOUR STUDENTS using? Are we elevating students’ vocabulary through example? Remember Mrs. Barker?

41. Read Aloud Provides implicit and explicit exposure to new words Some tips: • Discuss new and interesting words • Explain the meaning of new words • Provide examples of the word’s meaning • Help students connect the new word to their experience • Read the same text three or four times in a week • Have students keep personal word notebooks Remember, choose read alouds from a wide variety of genre - both informational and expository!

42. Fostering Word Consciousness Six elements to consider: 1. Create a word-rich environment 2. Recognize and promote adept diction 3. Promote word play 4. Foster word consciousness through writing 5. Involve students in word investigations 6. Teach students about words

43. Games • I Spy games (available at www.briarpatch.com) • Apples to Apples Junior • Concentration (picture and words) • Applause, Applause • Word Associations

44. Wordplay books • Why the Banana Split by Rick Walton • Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clement • Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra Frasier • Donavan’s Word Jar by Monalisa Degross and Cheryl Hanna • The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter and Giselle Potter

45. Fostering Word Consciousness Six elements to consider: 1. Create a word-rich environment 2. Recognize and promote adept diction 3. Promote word play 4. Foster word consciousness through writing 5. Involve students in word investigations 6. Teach students about words

46. Revising Make careful consideration of word choices a routine part of revising. • Use those synonym word walls. • Become word hunters. • Rely on mentor texts. • Use word wall brainstorms.

47. Writing our way to a better vocabulary! Engage your students in writing activities deliberately designed to focus on words. Try... vocabulary driven shared writing, paired writing or individual writing

48. Fostering Word Consciousness Six elements to consider: 1. Create a word-rich environment 2. Recognize and promote adept diction 3. Promote word play 4. Foster word consciousness through writing 5. Involve students in word investigations 6. Teach students about words

49. Word Detectives Examples of potential word investigations: * The vocabulary used by certain individuals in the school (the art teacher, the PE teacher, the technology teacher) * How vocabulary changes from the classroom to the playground * How vocabulary changes at home and in school * Different ways people address or greet each other

50. Fostering Word Consciousness Six elements to consider: 1. Create a word-rich environment 2. Recognize and promote adept diction 3. Promote word play 4. Foster word consciousness through writing 5. Involve students in word investigations 6. Teach students about words