Meeting the Needs of English
Language Learners
Waipuna Lodge February 2010
UCCE April 21 2010
Gaylene Price UC Education Plus
Jane van der Zeyden Learning Media
gaylene.price@canterbury.ac.nz
janevanderzeyden@learningmedia.co.nz
Key Messages in relation to national standards
Schools must recognise the diversity of English language learners and
provide them with the learning support needed to enable them to
access the New Zealand curriculum at age- appropriate levels as soon
as possible.
This will be achieved through policies, processes, teaching and
assessment practices, professional development, the equitable use of
resources and through effective communication with families. P.2 Meeting the
needs of English language learners module
Accelerated progress must be the goal for English language learners. A
sense of urgency and the need to “catch a moving target” are key
messages for schools and teachers.
Schools will need to make informed decisions on whether to use the
English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) to track, monitor and
report on English language learners progress and achievement in
reading and writing.
Which students are we referring to?
ESOL funded students from migrant, refugee or NZ born
backgrounds
Previously funded students
Students from homes where a language other than English is
spoken
Students transitioning from kura to English medium-learning
environments
Students from bilingual education settings
Students with specific identified language learning needs
International fee paying students
The facts
•There are over 27,000 ESOL funded students in
primary and intermediate schools. They come from 163
ethnic groups and speak 115 different languages
•1,022 primary or intermediate schools have funded
students.
•Samoan students account for 12.31% of funded
students, Tongan 12.30%, Chinese 7.9%
•2 schools have 300+ funded students BUT
•195 schools have 10-19 students
•593 schools have 1-9 students or 47.6% of funded
schools
It is estimated that 22% of our school students come
from a language background other than English
Source: Ministry of Education 2009 ESOL database
The bigger picture
The New Zealand Curriculum is supported
by both the Literacy Learning Progressions
and the English Language Learning
Progressions.
Learning Areas and Language
Students who are new learners of English or coming into an
English medium environment for the first time need explicit
and extensive teaching of English vocabulary, word forms,
sentence and text structures, and language uses.
As language is central to learning and English is the medium
for most learning in the New Zealand curriculum, the
importance of literacy in English cannot be overstated.
(The NZ Curriculum, 2007:16)
It is important to have the same end goals in
sight for all learners, but also focus on the
specific language needs of English
language learners in order to make
progress to the same proficiency in as short
a time frame as possible.
)
What the national standards say:
Guidelines for English Language Learners in
Years 1 to 4:
Students working within Foundation and Stage One of the
English Language Learning Progressions may be tracked,
monitored and reported on to parents using the English
Language Learning Progressions rather than National
Standards for a period of up to two years.
Guidelines for English Language Learners in
Years 5 to 8:
Students working within Foundation, Stage One, or Stage
Two of the English Language Learning Progressions may
be tracked, monitored and reported on to parents using the
English Language Learning Progressions rather than
National Standards for a period of up to three years.
Why would schools choose to use the English Language
Learning Progressions to monitor, track and report progress?
•It enables teachers to better identify the learning needs of
English language learners.
•The English Language Learning Progressions contain
specific detail to help teachers understand the language
learning process.
•The English Language Learning Progressions provide
indicators and next steps for teachers based on sound
theories of additional language acquisition.
•It may be inappropriate to use national standards which
involve tools and /or processes that have been normed for
native speakers of English.
Scenarios
In groups read the scenarios and decide
a. would the student fit the criteria for tracking,
monitoring and reporting using ELLP ?
b. If so, why would it be more appropriate for this
student?
Purpose of the English Language
Learning Progressions (ELLP)
The progressions explain what teachers need to know about
English language learners to maximise their learning and
participation.
They will enable teachers to choose content, vocabulary and
tasks that are appropriate to each learner’s age, stage and
language learning needs.
The progressions are intended primarily for teachers of
English Language Learners but are also useful for teachers
of any students who would benefit from additional language
support.
Overview
of
Document
The English Language Learning Progressions provide a
nationally consistent set of progressions for teachers
to use, to:
identify stages and patterns of progress in the
language development of English language learners in
years 1-13;
analyse the complexity of oral and written texts;
monitor and report on English language learners’
progress.
The progressions are presented in four
booklets:
Introduction / Years 1-4 / Years 5-8 / Years 9-13.
(ELLP, 2008, Introduction, p.2)
The English Language Learning
Progressions will help you to find answers
to questions like these:
How do I know the level of English proficiency a
learner has?
•How do I know where to start with a learner?
•How do I know whether a text is easy or difficult
for my learners?
•How do I know if my learners are making the
expected progress?
•What are the important things to know about
learning in an additional language?
•
•
•
•
What do learners need to know, understand and
produce at different stages of English language
acquisition?
How do I decide what to teach, what materials to
choose, and what types of learning tasks to design?
How do I help my learners to become effective
listeners, speakers, readers and writers?
What are the next steps that my learners need to
take in order to make progress?
p.3 The English Language Learning Progressions, 2008
Mind Map or Ripple task
Key Message
ESOL pedagogy will benefit all
students
How does it all fit
together?
A suite of resources
English Language Intensive Programme (ELIP)
Supporting English Language Learning in Primary Schools
(SELLIPS)
Making Language and Learning Work 3 DVD
Language Enhancing Achievement of Pasifika (LEAP)
Selections Series
Learning Through Talk
ESOL Funding Assessment guidelines
ESOL Progress Assessment
MOE CD Roms (texts)
Sounds and Words
Effective Literacy Practice
Fa’afetai lava
Vinaka vaka levu
Doh Je
Dank U Wel
Evxaristo
Thank you
Gaylene Price
Jane van der Zeyden