EDMT5533

TEACHING IN MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOMS 

Semester 1, 2011

Presentation two

SUPPORTING ESL LEARNERS IN MAINSTREAM CLASSROOMS

The importance of talking and listening for The importance of talking and listening for second language learnerssecond language learners

TALK facilitates

questioning

clarifying

deducing

negotiating

hypothesising

critically analysing

constructingdeconstructingreconstructing

risk taking

Talk facilitates…

Mode Continuum

Context embedded

Spoken like text Written like text

Writing up a science experiment

Language used while doing aAn experiment

Discussing an experiment with the teacher

Explaining findings of an experiment

Context reduced

Language around the taskPut it overLike this?Yeah that’s goodWe let it go now?123 nowOhOooohLook! Look it’s falling!It’s too high up maybe?It needs to be more up. Oh no!

Teacher/student discussion(T) So explain to me what happened in your

experiment?

(S) It went up but then it fell down.

(T) What do you mean? What fell down?

(S) The balloon. It couldn’t stay up..up

(T) Why do you think it wouldn’t stay up?

(S) This..part was going over..down..

(T) The neck.. that’s the neck. What was wrong

with it? Is it too big?

Teacher/student discussion(S) The neck of the balloon yeah it was going downlike this (demonstrates) and the balloon didn’t float up. We thought it would cos it is big but it didn’t.(T) Why do you think this giant balloon would not hover properly?(S) The neck of the balloon was falling down andthe um um air was not going down.. properly..itstopped the balloon hovering quickly on the table.(T) I see..the long neck of the balloon was not staying upright reducing the air flow. Do you agree?(S) yeah

More complex language in the explanation

“In our experiment the balloon was a giant balloon and we thought this balloon would make the hovercraft hover really quickly. We were wrong. The neck of the balloon was too long and it could not stay upright properly it was bent over reducing the air flow and reducing the movement of the hovercraft across the table.”

Writing the explanation using the correct register

In the hovercraft experiment, the variable was a giant balloon. The hypothesis was that the size of the balloon would make the hovercraft move more quickly across the tabletop. The experiment failed. The neck of the balloon was too long and it bent down stopping the air flow and reducing the movement of the hovercraft across the table.

“In our experiment the balloon was a giant balloon and we thought this balloon would make the hovercraft move really quickly. We were wrong. The neck of the balloon was

too long and it bent down stopping the air flow and reducing the movement of the Hovercraft across the table.”

Scaffolding student learning

student controlteacher control

controlled guided independent

shared control

Scaffolding student learning

student controlteacher control

controlled guided independent

shared control

Activities facilitate language learning when they are designed to allow:

Noticing aspects of language.Students are using receptive language skills

Recycling of target language.Students are using receptive & productive language skills

Recasting of target language.Students are using predominantly productive language skills

Learning English as a second language – activities

Learning English as a Second Language - Facilitating language learning

Recasting of target language.Students are usingpredominantly productive language skills

Language output

Noticing aspects of language.Students are using receptive language skills

Language input

Recycling of target language.Students are using receptive & Productive language skills

Language uptake

Scaffolding Language Learning

When planning for teaching ask these questions:1. Is the task challenging and relevant?2. What spoken demands will there be?3. What listening demands will there be?4. What texts will the students need to read?5. What specific vocabulary does the topic require the students

to know?6. What aspects of grammar does the topic require the

students to use?

Facilitating Second Language Learning - group work"When group work is set up effectively it has important

advantages over whole-class work for second language learning. McGroarty (1993) suggests that it offers benefits to second language learners in ways that are important for language learning.”

Reference: Kagan and Magroarty

1. Learners hear more language: learners hear a greater variety of language, and have more language directed toward them: group work situations increase the input to the learner.

2. Learners say more: the more a learner hears the more their output is also increased because they tend to take more turns, and in the absence of the teacher, have more responsibility for clarifying their own meanings.

3. Language is contextualised: what learners hear and what they learn in group work is embedded more easily because language is heard and used in an appropriate context and used meaningfully for a particular purpose.

Facilitating Second Language Learning - group work

4. There is likely to be considerable message abundancy: that is, similar ideas will be expressed in a variety of different ways by a variety of people.

5. Meaning is made: the need to get information or clarify meaning increases the likelihood of learners asking questions that genuinely seek new information.

6. Positive affective outcomes: Second language learners and those who are not confident often feel more comfort able working and speaking with peers in a smaller groups than being expected to perform in a whole-class situation.

Facilitating Second Language Learning - group work

Practical Ideas for Supporting the Second Language Learners in your Classroom

Negotiating School• Keep routines simple and use the same language each

time. • Use images and written labels with spoken language

wherever possible• Use “School language” such as recess, PE, numeracy

groups, literacy, assembly etc. • Use the same names for things in the school e.g. boys toilets, office, photocopy room, staff room• Use subject specific terminology in context if you want the

students to use it.

THE ROLE OF TALKING IN LEARNING

Communicative activities provide:• students with the opportunity to hear and use language.

• a situation where there is a need to use language in order to do the task.

• ESL students with opportunities to hear more proficient language modelled. Note: It is important that the language needed to for students to participate in the task be introduced before they do the task.

Examples of communicative activities

Enquiry and elimination• Using two matching posters or a set of matching

picture cards one student chooses a card or identifies an object on the poster (unseen by the other participants). The other students must guess what it is by asking yes/no questions, thus allowing them to eliminate certain characteristics. For students to develop the skills necessary for effective participation in enquiry and elimination games it is essential that they first build up familiarity with the pictures in question before they participate in the activity.

Barrier games• Otherwise known as information gap activities the aim is

for each student to share their information with the other students in order to complete the task. This can be done in pairs or teams. By taking turns, students ask questions in order to obtain information and complete the task, eg spot the difference, crosswords with down clues on one and across clues on the other, matrices with different information on each, describe and draw where one student describes and the other must draw what is described, cloze passage where the students have different words missing.

Examples of communicative activities

Rank orderingGroup or pairs of students rank items and justify their decisions, eg: likes and dislikes in food, things with the loudest sounds, sizes of animals, reasons e.g. Why we should wear hats at school.

Collaborative problem solvingEach member of the group has part of the information needed to solve a problem. Each member must share the information orally and contribute to the group problem solving process.

Examples of communicative activities

Sorting and classifyingIn pairs or groups, students sort objects into various categories determined by them and justify their reasons.

SequencingIn pairs, students sequence a series of pictures, dialogue, life cycles, texts etc, and recount the events.

MatchingIn large groups students must match: picture halves, words and pictures, shapes, colours etc.

Examples of communicative activities

Labelling and DescribingI Spy

Matrix Activities

Bingo

Examples of communicative activities

Examples of communicative activities

Communicative activities give all students:• substantive communication with others• opportunities to use of meta-language/ technical language

• a chance to negotiate meaning.• A fun way to learn and interact with peers in English

Learning English as a Second Language – ESL Based Teaching Sequence