Session I, Part II
Teaching Techniques
Objective 1: Knows how to organize learning around content
and language objectives and align learning with standards
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Content and Language objectives
Sheltered instruction
Content-based instruction
Student-centered learning
Content and Language Objectives
• Learning is organized around both objectives
– Content objective: identifies the content (i.e., the facts,
concepts of skills of the discipline) to be acquired
– Language objective: how language will be used to achieve
the content objective; the communication skills necessary
to make the content comprehensible
• Language objectives are critical for ELLs. In order to
teach ELLs effectively, teachers must have an
understanding of the language demands of the
curriculum and teach accordingly.
• Learning objectives should be communicated clearly to
students before instruction begins and students should
have opportunities to ask questions about the
objectives
Language Objectives
Language Objectives: The Fate of the World
Depends Upon Them
Sheltered Instruction
• All students in the classroom are ELLs (L1 may be
the same for all students or there may be many
different L1s in the class) – students are at around
the same language proficiency level
• Content instruction is in English, but the language
used is adjusted to match the proficiency level of
students in the classroom
• Focus is on making content comprehensible and
accessible to ELLs
• No native language support or development
• Goal: fluency in English
Content-Based Instruction
• CBI is a teaching approach that focuses on
learning language through learning about
something.
• Language comes second to the content.
• Although language acquisition is subordinate
to the material being presented, the teacher
must recognize and be prepared to help
students with language skills.
• The sheltered classroom is a form of content
based instruction.
Student Centered Learning
• Focuses on the needs of the students
– Ability level
– Interests
– Learning style
• Teacher’s role is facilitator
– Plan global goals
– Assist students in achieving these goals
• Students are responsible for their own
learning as they assume active roles in the
classroom
Objective 2: Understands that language instruction should be
age appropriate
• Games and activities used for younger
students will need to be modified for older
ones
• ELL activities can typically be modified to
make them age appropriate for a particular
group of students
• Students benefit from explicit instruction
around how a particular game or activity will
help them achieve a language objective
(particularly older students and adults)
Objective 3: Knows how to collaborate with general education and content
area teachers in designing classroom activities appropriate to the language
acquisition levels of English-language learners
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Language Acquisition Levels
Collaboration
Peer tutoring
Educational technologies
Stages of Second Language Acquisition
Stage & Approximate Time Frame*
Characteristics
Preproduction
0-6 months in school
• Minimal comprehension
• Non-verbal responses
Early Production
6 months – 1 year in school
• Limited comprehension
• One or two word responses
Low Intermediate / Speech Emergence
1-3 years in school
• Speaking in short phrases, simple sentences
• Frequent mistakes in grammar, word order
and usage
High Intermediate Fluency / Int. Flueny • Developing academic & figurative language
3-5 years in school
• Excellent comprehension
• Makes fewer grammar mistakes
Advanced Fluency
5-7 years in school
• Near-native level of speech
• Advanced skills in cognitive & academic
language
*Research shows that lack of L1 skills and/or previous schooling can cause
these time frames to lengthen significantly.
Collaboration with Teachers
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One teach, one observe
One teach, one assist
Team teaching
Parallel teaching
– Class split in half
– Teachers simultaneously provide the same instruction
• Station teaching
– Instruction divided into multiple stations in the room
– Each teacher provides instruction at one station
– Each student participates at each station
• Alternative teaching
– One teacher takes a small group to the side of the room
for instruction
Other Teaching Models
• Peer tutoring
– Peers tutor students who are weak in certain skills
– Benefits both students
• Tutor reinforces his/her learning
• Tutored student gains valuable insights into learning
• Educational technologies
– Technology offers advantages when tutoring
students
• Students can practice skills in nonjudgmental
environment
• Machine does not become tired, lose focus or derail the
learning (though the student may!)
Objective 4: Knows how to use various methods for promoting
students’ acquisition of productive and receptive language skills
in both social and academic contexts
• Productive language skills
– Speaking
– Writing
• Receptive language skills
– Listening
– Reading
Productive & Receptive Language Skills
– Receptive skills are used when listening and
reading. Students receive the message and
decode the meaning to understand it.
– Productive skills are used when speaking and
writing. Students use the language they have
acquired and produce a message through speech
or written text.
– In order to fully develop both productive and
receptive language skills, students must have
many opportunities to produce and receive
language in all four of its domains.
Pronunciation and Syntax
• In order to produce correct pronunciation in
English, students must have multiple
opportunities to receive (listen to) nativesounding English
• In order to produce proper syntax in speaking
and writing, students must be exposed to
proper English in listening and in reading
• It is through the development of their
receptive abilities that students will ultimately
develop their productive abilities
Listening Comprehension Strategies
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Repetition
Gestures
Facial expressions
Realia
Illustrations
Slowing the pace of instruction
Tone of voice
Targeted vocabulary
Speaking Strategies
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One-on-one conferences with students
Group activities
Brainstorming and problem-solving sessions
Group discussions
Role-playing
Reenactments
Presentations (recitations, summarizations,
asking questions, speeches, etc.)
• Sentence frames and vocabulary walls to draw
from in speaking
Reading Comprehension Strategies
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Modeling
Read Alouds
Independent Practice
Comprehension Activities
Activate Prior Knowledge
Cognates for Clues
Think Alouds
Graphic Organizers, Charts, Timelines
Front-load vocabulary
Variety of texts
Explicit instruction
One-on-one conferences
Duet reading
Listen/repeat exercises (echo reading)
Choral reading
Singing / rhythmic reading
Writing Strategies
• Model (verbalize their thinking and writing)
• Visuals before writing (models, examples,
pictures, realia, etc.)
• Cooperative learning (collective exploration of
topics and writing)
• Teach writing process explicitly
• Break writing projects into small chunks
• Teach grammar in context of writing
• Integrate spelling into writing instruction
• Provide a list of core words for students to use in
writing (focus words for the writing) – word walls,
vocabulary banks, etc.
Objective 5: Knows a variety of strategies for teaching language
skills both discretely and integratively
• Phonics instruction
– Necessary for the non-native speakers, just as it is
helpful for native speakers. Instruction should follow
same sequence as for native speakers:
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Single consonants at beginning of words
Short and long vowels
Letter patterns and word families
Digraphs (ex: th, ch, ph) and blends (ex: cl, bl, tr, cr)
• Pronunciation accuracy (see pronunciation above)
• Grammatical accuracy (see syntax above)
• Morphological knowledge (will be covered in
linguistics session)
Objective 6: Knows a variety of strategies for supporting
content-based language learning
For content-based instruction to be effective, teachers
must help ELLs develop the English language skills
needed to access the content.
Strategies to help ELLs access the content:
– Activate schema or prior knowledge
– Contextualize key concepts and language of a lesson
– Modify and augment content-area texts to meet gaps in students’
prior knowledge, background and/or vocabulary
– Demonstrate or model tasks to be completed
– Utilize questions to promote critical-thinking
– Provide explicit instruction in metacognitive and cognitive
strategies
– Provide multiple opportunities for students to learn and use
academic vocabulary
– Provide opportunities for students to use English for
communicative purposes
– Assess lesson content through various means
– Provide comprehensible and meaningful feedback
Objective 7: Knows how to design lessons and activities that
help students become more effective language learners by
developing their cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies
• Lessons designed to develop cognitive and
metacognitive strategies
– Metacognitive Strategies
• Centering your learning
• Arranging and planning your learning
• Evaluating your learning
– Cognitive Strategies
• Practicing (sound repetition, etc.)
• Receiving and sending messages
• Analyzing and reasoning
• Creating structure for input and output
Metacognition
• An Intro to Metacognition
Objective 8: Knows techniques to help students activate prior
knowledge and support appropriate transfer of language and
literacy skills from L1 to L2
• Activating prior knowledge
– Introducing vocabulary before content
– Asking questions about a topic
– Asking questions about related topics
– Brainstorming about the topic
– Using graphic organizers
• Schema (Theory of Carrell & Eisterhold)
• Positive and negative language transfer
SCHEMA
• Schema is the framework around information
stored in the brain
• As new information is received, schemata are
activated to store the new information.
Schemata refers to prior knowledge and must be
tapped into for understanding to be achieved.
What is being learned must be connected to what
is known in order for learning to take place.
• The schema theory (Carrell and Eisterhold)
explains how the brain processes knowledge and
how its representations facilitate comprehension
and learning.
VOCAB TERMS
• POSITIVE TRANSFER – when L1 and L2 share
common rules, positive transfer may occur. A
rule that applies in L1 also applies in L2 and
helps the learner acquire L2 faster. However,
overgeneralizations can cause problems.
• NEGATIVE TRANSFER – when L1 and L2 have
rules that are in conflict with each other,
negative transfer may occur. For example,
when a learner applies rules of syntax from
Spanish to English, he or she might say, “I have
a car blue.”
Objective 9: Knows how to design and use activities and assignments
to provide students with authentic language use and meaningful
interaction in English
• Communication must be meaningful and purposeful
for students to learn. Otherwise, they may not try.
• Communicative language teaching
– Meaning through interaction in target language
– Materials or texts that reflect real-world language
– Rehearse language outside classroom by focusing on
language forms, skills, or learning process
– Focus on prior knowledge
– Plan for links between classroom and real-world language
• Communication is necessary – students must
interact with the teacher and peers in order to
develop their skills. They must develop their skills in
all four domains.
Objective 10: Is familiar with best practices for teaching English
Literacy to both literate and nonliterate English-language
learners
• Techniques for teaching literate versus
illiterate students in their native language
• Newcomer Students