Reading English:
What’s the Task for
English Language
Learners?
Elfrieda H. Hiebert
University of California,
Berkeley
(www.textproject.org)
Aims of Today’s Presentation
I.
Vocabulary & English Language
Learners
•Identifying the Tasks of English vocabulary
• Challenges for English Language Learners
II. Instruction that Supports English
Language Learners
2
Vocabulary & English
3
(from Calfee & Drum, 1981)
Language Learners
Anglo-Saxon
Common, everyday, down-to-earth words
EX: cold, sweat, dirt
Vocabulary & English
Language Learners
Romance
1066 (Norman Conquest)-1399 (Henry IV, a native
Anglo-Saxon speaker assumes throne): French is
spoken by upper classes; English by lower-classes.
French loan words remain.
EX: frigid, perspiration, soil
Anglo-Saxon
Common, everyday, down-to-earth words
EX: cold, sweat, dirt
4
(from Calfee & Drum, 1981)
Vocabulary & English
Language Learners
Greek/Latin
Specialized words
used mostly in
science
EX: thermometer,
geography
Romance
1066 (Norman Conquest)-1399 (Henry IV, a native
Anglo-Saxon speaker assumes throne): French is
spoken by upper classes; English by lower-classes.
French loan words remain.
EX: frigid, perspiration, soil
Anglo-Saxon
Common, everyday, down-to-earth words
EX: cold, sweat, dirt
5
(from Calfee & Drum, 1981)
Vocabulary & English
Language Learners
Greek/Latin
Specialized words
used mostly in
science
EX: thermometer,
geography
New Words through compounding
of word parts:
thermosphere, geopolitical
6
(from Calfee & Drum, 1981)
Romance
1066 (Norman Conquest)-1399 (Henry IV, a
native Anglo-Saxon speaker assumes throne):
French is spoken by upper classes; English by
lower-classes. French loan words remain.
EX: frigid, perspiration, soil
New Words through derivations: frigidity,
frigidness, refrigerator
Anglo-Saxon
Common, everyday, down-to-earth words
EX: cold, sweat, dirt
New Words through compounding: cold-blooded, cold-natured,
cold-drink, cold-running
1. Words of School
Tasks (e.g.,
abbreviation,
journal)
The Five
Vocabularies
of School
2. Content-specific
words (e.g.,
chromosomes,
geographical
representation)
3. General Academic
words (e.g., similar,
process)
7
Greek/Latin
origins
Romance
origins
4. Literary Words (e.g.,
rasping, gingerly)
5. Core Words (e.g., the, where, both)
AngloSaxon
origins
What are the linguistic challenges for
ELLs--especially with the core
vocabulary?
 Compound words
 Idioms
 Polysemous meanings
8
Compounds & Idioms
Compound
off
off season, off-ramp, off-line, offset, offshoot, offshore,
offspring,
offstage, off-the-record, off-the-wall
under underachiever, underage, undercharge, underclass,
undercover,
undercurrent, undercut, underdog, underestimate, undergo,
undergraduate, underground, undergrowth, underhand,
underhanded, underlie, underline, undermine, underneath,
undernourished, underpaid, underpants, underpass,
underprivileged, underrated, underscore, undershirt, underside,
undersized, understaffed, understand, understate, understudy,
undertake, undertone, undertow, underwater, underweight,
underworld, underwrite
high
knee-high, waist, high, high-born, highbrow, highchair,
high-class, high-definition, high explosive, high-frequency,
high-grade, high heels, high jinks, high jump , highlands,
high-level, highlight, high-mind ed, high-pitched, high-powered,
high pre ssure, high-profile, high-rise, high roller, high school,
high-speed,
high-spirited, high-strung, high-tech, high tide, high-tops,
highway
9
Idioms
off on the wrong foot, off
the mark, off the record,
off the hook
under a cloud, under
control, under cover,
under fire, under oneХs
belt, under oneХs breath,
under oneХs nose, under
oneХs own steam, under
the sun, under the table,
under the weather, under
the wire, under the
weather, water under the
bridge
high no on, high and lo w,
be left high and dry
High-Frequency Words & Polysemy
back
10
adverb
1) where someone or something was before
2) into the condition that someone or something was in
before
3) in the direction that is behind you
4) doing the same thing that someone that s/he has done
to you
5) away from someone or something
6) in or toward an earlier time
noun
1) part of your body between your neck and legs, opposite
your stomach and chest.
2) part of something that is furthest from the front
3) part of a seat that you lean against when you are sitting
verb
1) to move backwards, or to move a vehicle move
backwards
2) to support someone or something, especially by using
your money or power
adjective
1) at the back of something
II. Instruction That Supports
ELLs
i. Language-rich talk, including
idioms & compound words
ii. Support “funds of knowledge”-critical background knowledge
needed for comprehending literary
and content-area texts
11
12
i. Languagerich
interaction
13
ii.
Develop funds of knowledge
Conditions:
rain, snow,
hail, sunny
& clear,
sunny &
cloudy
Weather
climate
zones:
continental,
polar,
tropical,
mountain,
desert, mild
Seasons:
winter,
spring,
summer, fall/
autumn
14
Reading is where vocabularies and
concepts are extended & developed.
15
Comparison of Spoken & Written Language
(from Hayes & Ahrens,1988)
Printed Text
Abstracts
Newspapers
Popular Magazines
Adult books
Comic Books
Children’s Books
Preschool Books
Rare Words per 1,000
128.0
68.3
65.7
52.7
53.5
30.9
16.3
Television Texts
Popular adult shows
Popular children’s shows
Cartoons
Mr. Rogers & Sesame Street
22.7
20.2
30.8
2.0
Adult Speech
Expert eyewitness testimony
College graduates to friends
28.4
17.3
Particular Funds of Knowledge are acquired
solely through academic presentations
(texts, lessons, selected media)
 Representational forms of
government
 Photosynthesis
 Many historical events
 Atom-splitting
16
Ways of supporting funds of
knowledge:
i.
Building new knowledge on students’
existing knowledge
ii. Supporting students to organize new
knowledge
iii. Sharing new knowledge
17
i. Building new knowledge
on students’ existing
knowledge
18
19
ii. Supporting
students to
organize new
knowledge
20
iii. Sharing
new
knowledge
21
22
23
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