Differentiating Instruction
for English Learners
Center for Education Placements and Partnerships
University Supervisors’ Workshop Series
Dr. Linda Shuford Evans
TESOL Program, Department of
Inclusive Education
Kennesaw State University
Aims for the Workshop
• What do we mean by differentiating instruction for
English learners?
o Learner characteristics
o Language considerations
o Cultural considerations
• What guidelines are available to facilitate
differentiation for English learners?
o WIDA
o Sheltered Instruction
• What would I look for as a field placement supervisor if
I wanted to determine whether differentiation for
English learners was happening in the lesson?
English Learners in the US
• Demographics
o Changing populations
o Primary languages
Mapping language
English Learners in Georgia
Students of Hispanic/Latino Heritage in Georgia
Conclusions?
We’ve got a lot of work to do as
educators!
Teacher education is a critical
element in improving the
educational attainment of English
learners.
Question 1
What do we mean by
differentiating instruction for
English learners?
Partial answer: The same thing we mean when we
differentiate for any student…
learning styles
abilities
interests
But with a particular emphasis on language in
our instruction.
Language as a
Learning Vehicle
• How important is language to a
student’s understanding of a lesson?
http://tapestry.usf.edu/Nutta/
Who are our learners?
Jaime—Grade 2
Born in NYC;
father works as
custodian &
mother stays at
home with baby
sister.
Emilia—Grade K
Born in Mexico;
parents are
migrant workers.
Phuong—Grade
10
Born in Vietnam;
family owns a
restaurant.
Ernesto—Grade 8
Born in Georgia; mother
is a doctor & father is an
engineer.
Francois—Grade 5
Born in Haiti;
mother is a nurse.
Pause & Reflect
If you were going to plan
instruction for your student,
what would you want to
know about him/her?
(groups/cards/share)
Students may vary with
regard to…
• Prior schooling experiences
• Oral language abilities in native/home language
(vocabulary—how many words?)
• Oral language abilities in English
• Literacy levels—reading and writing—in native/home
language
• Literacy levels—reading and writing—in English
• Similarities between native language & English
(grammar, orthography, pronunciation)
Students will also vary
by…
• Prior life experiences (migrant, immigrant, refugee,
U.S. born)
• Familiarity with the topic of the lesson
• Interest in the topic of the lesson
• How long they have been in the class (continuity from
previous lessons)
• Learning styles/preferences
• Personalities
Let’s look a little more deeply
at academic language —
the language of school and
school tasks.
Let’s start with vocabulary…
The Astoundingly Critical
Nature of Vocabulary
only 8-10
words can be
taught directly
each week =
approx 400
words
native English
speaking children
acquire approx
1000 words per
year
enter K
with approx
5000 words
lower SES cuts
that approx in half
the rest are
learned
incidentally
Pause & Reflect : What are some sources of incidental word learning in a lesson?
Background Knowledge
Concepts and Language -- Relationship
IDEAS
ASSOCIATIONS
CONCEPTUAL
DEVELOPMENT
SCHEMA
EXPERIENCES
VOCABULARY
Question 2
What guidelines are available
to facilitate differentiation for
English learners?
Two answers:
WIDA Standards
Sheltered Instruction
WIDA: World-Class Instructional Design
and Assessment
Guidelines for four
language domains:
o Listening
o Speaking
o Reading
o Writing
At five proficiency levels
for each:
o Entering
o Beginning
o Developing
o Expanding
o Bridging
In five areas:
Social & instructional language plus the language of
Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies.
WIDA: World-Class Instructional Design
and Assessment
2012
Amplification
of
The English
Language
Development
Standards, K12 (link)
Language Evaluation: ACCESS
• Students are administered the ACCESS test each spring.
• Students receive scores in the following areas:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Oral language
Literacy
Comprehension
• Scores range from 1.0 to 6.0 in each of the areas above.
• Teachers have access to the scores, so the student
teacher will as well. The scores should be used to guide
instruction and differentiation for the range of language
abilities in a group or class.
• NOTE: The use of composite scores is not recommended.
• WIDA guides for language
levels and considerations
across content areas…
• Sheltered instruction
operationalizes the WIDA
standards.
SIOP: Sheltered Instruction
Operational Protocol
Sheltered Instruction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty3n07UaFUU
SIOP Lesson Delivery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVGbz4EqyGs
What to look for?
Aligned to state &
national standards
Aligned to WIDA
Standards
Are the language and concepts in the lesson comprehensible to
all of the students?
See sample lesson template
Applying Differentiation
Strategies for English Learners
1. Appropriate planning for both content and language
objectives that account for students’ strengths and
needs.
2. Effective delivery of instruction with multiple modes
of participation in the language domains.
3. Appropriate and differentiated assessments that
effectively evaluate students’ learning/achievement of
objectives.
Making Lessons Comprehensible
“…differentiated instruction is not the same
as individualized instruction. Every student
is not learning something different; they
are learning the same thing, but in
different ways…differentiating instruction is
a matter of presenting the same task in
different ways and at different levels, so
that all students can approach it in their
own ways” (Trujo, 2004).
Ideas for Differentiating
for English Learners
Classroom environment
o Arrangement of furniture/room
to allow for collaboration and
different types of activities
based on needs of students
o Grouping – flexible groups that
change depending on the
objectives and domains being
emphasized.
o Resources – word walls, picture
dictionaries, listening centers,
reading centers with leveled
books, personal dictionaries &
word lists
Comprehensible input –
provide alternate ways of
accessing key content
Charts
Books in native language
Simplified text
Realia
Movies/video support
Slower speech
Gestures
Hands on activities
Activating/building background
knowledge
o Pre-teaching key vocabulary
o Providing follow-up practice
opportunities
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Pause & Reflect
Thinking about your particular English
learner and their language domain levels,
how could a student teacher modify a
lesson to differentiate for the student’s
particular strengths and needs?
(chart paper/share)
Additional Videos
Grade 1 Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gh196iaQfA
Shaping the Way We Teach English: Individual Learner
Differences
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETHQztHHqKM
Article:
http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/41025/?theme=p
rint
Many thanks!
Linda Shuford Evans
levans39@kennesaw.edu