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Instructional Preparation for English Learners

Language Presentation

To Methods Block Students

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Why Aren’t English Learners Excelling?

Linguistic Differences Cultural Differences & Biases Poverty and Associated Challenges Under Prepared Teachers

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Spanish Vowel Phonemes /a/ paso (step)   /e/ peso (weght)   /i/ piso (floor)   /o/ poso (sediment)   /u/ puso (put)

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English Vowel Phonemes

1. /I/ (pit)

2. /E/ (pet)

3. /Ǽ/ (pat)

4. /Ŋ / (pot)

5. / /∧ (luck)

6. /Ư/ (good)

7. /ə/ (ago)

8. /i:/ (meat)

9. /a:/ (car)

10. door)

11. /3:/ (girl)

12. /u:/ (too)

13. /eI/ (day)

14. /aI/ (sky)

15. (boy)

16. /Ie/(beer)

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Special Note: Note that there are only 24 phonemes in the Spanish

language There are five vowels and each only has one sound The remaining 19 consonant phonemes also have only one sound Spanish words beginning with “s” are always followed by a

vowel Solo, Saber, Soltero, Salud, Soledad, Santa Barbara, etc.

Spanish speakers have special difficulty with words that begin with an “s” and followed by a consonant.

School, Stable, Stomach, Spring, Strolling, Scooter, etc.

There are 44 phonemes in the English Language, 20 which are new sounds for Spanish-speaking students.

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Spanish Consonant Phonemes (19) /p/ paca (bale) /t/ cata (tasting) /k/ capa (cape) /b/ cava (sparkling

wine) /d/ cada (each) /g/ toga (gown) /T/ caza (hunt) /s/ casa (house) /tS/ cacha (gun butt)

/x/ caja (box) /m/ cama (bed) /n/ cana (grey hair) /ñ/ caña (cane) /l/ cala (cove) /l’l/ calla (shut up) /R/ cara (face) /r/ carra (stage part /f/ forro (lining) /Æ/ callo (corn on

foot

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English Consonant Phonemes (21) /p/ pit /b/ bit /T/ time /d/ door /k/ cat /g/ get /f/ fan /Ø/ think /ð/ that /s/ send

/z/ zip /m/ man /n/ nice /ŋ/ ring /l/ leg /r/ rat /w/ wet /h/ hat /ĵ/ yet /§/ shop /tƒ/ chop

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Special Note

The sound of “schwa”, usually pronounced “uh” is the most common vowel sound in English: (..but note that at times, that “sound” corresponds to every other vowel and not just “u”)Again, Birth, Bakery, Action, Under, Ancient, Person,

Television, Lesson, etc.This is extremely confusing for English Language

Learners.

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“Reading First” is a Strong Component of NCLB

“Every kindergarten through third grade reading program must contain explicit and systematic instruction in the following five areas:Phonemic awarenessPhonicsVocabulary developmentReading Fluency (inc. oral reading skillsReading comprehension strategies

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Phonemes & Phonics Cautions One way of simplifying the problem is to look for

commonalities & studying the differences: English letters, b,c,d,f,l,m,n,p q,s and t represent sounds that

are similar enough to English that they may transfer readily to English reading. Because English vowels have numerous spellings, ELL students used to 1 to 1 Spanish correspondence need to have the differences pointed out.

Some of the English phonemes are not present in ELLs’ native language and, therefore, may be difficult for a student to pronounce and distinguish auditorily, as well as to decipher any meaning from what he/she hears. Oral training in the “new sounds” is important.

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English Phonetics Are UniquePlease Read This

Yue mae wundir

hau a purcin

cood reed funetikly

vairey fluently.

Sumtaimz it bukumz

daunwryt straenje.

(…but don’t try spelling this way in school!)

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Phonetics Is Not The Only Problem Lexicon: The vocabulary of terms as used in a

particular branch of knowledge. Although a student may appear to speak English for

conversational purposes, “schooling” requires ever more complicated uses of new and uncommon words that must be taught throughout content instruction. (BICS & CALPS)

Pragmatics: The branch of linguistic study that deals with how language is used, especially the factors that influence people's choice of words. Proper use of language in different settings is key

to acceptable behavior. Student must learn to use language in practical settings. Instructional Conversations provides the opportunity.

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Some Truisms About Instruction Teach words that students are likely to see and use

again. Teach words that are important to understanding a

concept or the text. Learning in rich contexts is valuable for

vocabulary development. Teaching specific words before reading helps both,

vocabulary acquisition and comprehension

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California English Language Development Test (CELDT)

ADVANCED: Students performing at this level of English language proficiency communicate effectively with various audiences on a wide range of familiar and new topics to meet social and academic demands. In order to attain the English proficiency level of their native English-speaking peers, further linguistic enhancement and refinement are necessary.

EARLY ADVANCED: Students performing at this level of English language proficiency begin to combine the elements of the English language in complex, cognitively demanding situations and are able to use English as a means for learning in other academic areas.

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CELDT, cont. INTERMEDIATE: Students performing at this level

of English language proficiency begin to tailor the English language skills they have been taught to meet their immediate communication and learning needs.

EARLY INTERMEDIATE: Students performing at this level of English language proficiency start to respond with increasing ease to more varied communication tasks.

BEGINNING: Students performing at this level of English language proficiency may demonstrate little or no receptive or productive English skills. They may be able to respond to some communication tasks.

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CELDT English Language Assessment Categories

K – 2 Listening & Speaking 2nd Word Analysis, Fluency & Vocabulary

Development, Reading Comprehension, Writing Conventions, Strategies and Applications

3rd – 5th Listening, Speaking, Word Analysis, Fluency and Vocabulary Development, Reading Comprehension and Literary Analysis, Writing Conventions, Strategies and Applications

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Annual Assessment - All Students

Grades K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Total

Tested

Overall Proficiency Number and Percent of Students at Each Overall Proficiency Level

Advanced7

5.0% 226

7.0% 179

5.0% 117

4.0% 286

10.0% 494

18.0% 133

6.0% 214

10.0% 312

17.0% 95

11.0% 218

17.0% 297

25.0% 219

25.0% 2,797

11.0%

Early Advanced 32

25.0% 697

21.0% 425

13.0% 429

13.0% 768

26.0% 993

36.0% 713

32.0% 811

40.0% 744

41.0% 377

42.0% 481

39.0% 447

38.0% 335

39.0% 7,252

28.0%

Intermediate38

30.0% 1,221

37.0% 1,126

34.0% 1,008

32.0% 1,105

37.0% 879

32.0% 947

42.0% 737

36.0% 494

27.0% 256

29.0% 328

26.0% 294

25.0% 219

25.0% 8,652

33.0%

Early Intermediate 24

19.0% 686

21.0% 979

30.0% 925

29.0% 560

19.0% 262

9.0% 315

14.0% 180

9.0% 137

8.0% 96

11.0% 138

11.0% 103

9.0% 77

9.0% 4,482

17.0%

Beginning27

21.0% 455

14.0% 580

18.0% 717

22.0% 281

9.0% 150

5.0% 147

7.0% 110

5.0% 135

7.0% 68

8.0% 84

7.0% 41

3.0% 17

2.0% 2,812

11.0%

Number Tested

128100.0

%

3,285100.0

%

3,289100.0

%

3,196100.0

%

3,000100.0

%

2,778100.0

%

2,255100.0

%

2,052100.0

%

1,822100.0

%

892100.0

%

1,249100.0

%

1,182100.0

%

867100.0

%

25,995

Ventura CELDT – 2003-2004

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Catching Up… Actually, there is no catching up unless the

dominant English speakers stand still for a while and let the second-language learners continue learning until they catch up.

Teachers who are aware of the vast difference between second language learners and native speakers need to continually develop English Learners Proficiency in English. Instructional Conversations provides such an setting.

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Instructional Conversations Instructional Conversation is "talk in which ideas are explored

rather than answers to teachers' test questions provided and evaluated.“ Five critical features include:

It is interesting and engaging. It is about an idea or a concept that has meaning and

relevance for students. It has a focus that, while it may shift as the discussion

evolves, remains discernible throughout. There is a high level of participation, without undue

domination by any one individual, particularly the teacher. Student engage in extended discussions -- conversations --

with the teacher and among themselves.

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Because The Teacher Is Aware of Continual Language Development...

1. Arranges the classroom to accommodate conversation between the teacher and a small group of students on a regular and frequent basis.

2. Has a clear academic goal that guides conversation with students.

3. Ensures that student talk occurs at higher rates than teacher talk.

4. Guides conversation to include students' views, judgments, and rationales using text evidence and other substantive support.

5. Ensures that all students are included in the conversation according to their preferences.

6. Listens carefully to assess levels of students' understanding. 7. Assists students’ learning throughout the conversation by

questioning, restating, praising, encouraging, etc. 8. Guides the students to prepare a product that indicates the

Instructional Conversation's goal was achieved.