TXCC Webinar 7
Instructional Strategies
for English Language Learners
April 6, 2010
Today’s Objectives:
Participants will be able to
• assist teachers in providing a learning environment that
addresses affective and academic needs of English language
learners (ELLs) and
• use training materials to provide professional development
for administrators and teachers on incorporating the English
Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) in content-area
instruction.
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Today’s Presenters
• Georgina González, Program Associate, TXCC
georgina.gonzalez@sedl.org
• Heather Solano, Bilingual Coordinator, Pflugerville ISD
heather.solano@pflugervilleisd.net
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Webinar Agenda
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ELLs in Texas
Affective Components that Influence Learning
Strategies for ELLs
Practice with strategies
Summary and resources
Evaluation
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ELLs in Texas
Texas student population: 4.8 million
ELLs
817,074 (16.9%)
Bilingual
456,051 (9.4%)
ESL
310,725 (6.4%)
PEIMS, Fall 2009
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From Your Perspective
• Think about a teacher who was a positive influence
on you when you were a student.
• Share with a colleague how that relationship affected
your academic performance.
• Share your experience in the chat pod.
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Affective Component: Experts Believe —
• Staff need to know individual student characteristics
and his/her background and mobility.
• Home language experiences can contribute to second
language (English) literacy development.
(August, & Shanahan, 2006; ESC Region 4, n.d.)
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Affective Components that
Influence Learning
• Safe learning environment
• Respectful
• Appreciate learners for their work
(Krashen, 2002)
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Affective Components that
Influence Learning
An optimal classroom environment for all learners is
one that
 promotes openness,
 reduces anxiety,
 builds confidence,
 is respectful of all learners,
 builds relationships between students and teacher,
and
 increases empathy for all learners.
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Participant Input
• Based on your ESC experience with districts and
schools, provide examples of how to address the
affective needs of students in the classroom.
• Please post your responses to the chat pod.
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Considerations for Instruction
Listening
Reading
Speaking
Writing
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Considerations for Instruction
Advanced High
Advanced
Intermediate
Beginning
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Considerations for Instruction
How language domains,
proficiency levels,
and instructional
strategies
interact
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Strategies for ELLs
IES Practice Guides:
Effective Literacy and English Language
Instruction for English Language Learners
in the Elementary Grades
Organizing Instruction and Study
to Improve Student Learning
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Strategies for ELLs
August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in
second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel
on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
and
Walqui, A. (2009). Oral language in disciplinary literacy
development: The design and implementation of quality teaching
for English learners and a large-scale effectiveness study (Slides
presented at CREATE Conference).
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Instructional Strategies for ELLs
1. Develop academic language
2. Facilitate regular peer-assisted learning opportunities
3. Use quizzes to re-expose students to key content
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Instructional Strategies for ELLs (cont.)
4. Ask questions requiring deep
explanations
5. Combine graphical presentations
with verbal descriptions
6. Allow opportunities for oral
language development
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Review Handouts
Handout 1a—Overview of Texas Administrative
Code for Education (Title 19)
Handout 1b—English Language Proficiency
Standards Crosswalk
Handout 2—Learning Activity (Weather Lesson)
Handout 3—Breakout Room Instructions
Handout 4—Resource List
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Screen for Reading Problems and
Monitor Progress
• Assess for reading problems as soon as possible.
• Provide a targeted intervention.
• Monitor students progress.
Gersten et.al., 2007, pg 9.
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Strategy 1: Develop academic language
• Provide instructional time to development of
academic language
• Explicitly teach English language in content areas
Examples:
– Academic vocabulary (“photosynthesis”)
– Cognates (“map” = Sp. “mapa”)
– False cognates (“exit” not equal
to Sp. “éxito”)
Gersten et.al., 2007, pg. 23
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Aligning Instructional Strategies to ELPS
Strategy 1: Develop academic language
Example of how Strategy 1 aligns with the ELPS:
“internalize new … academic language by using and
reusing it in meaningful ways in speaking and writing
activities”
§74.4 (c)(1)(E)
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Implementation
Strategy 1: Develop academic language
Sentence frames—
• Help students participate in class orally and in writing
• Can be used in whole group or small group
• Teacher models in part of sentence; students complete
sentence
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Sentence Frame Example
If conducting an activity in which students are making
predictions or expressing opinions, the following sentence
frames might be used:
What I predict will happen [during this lab activity/in
this text] is that______________________.
I respectfully disagree with your [position/prediction].
I believe _________________________.
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Strategy 2: Facilitate regular peerassisted learning opportunities
Must include
– heterogeneously grouped students,
– a specific structured task with correct
and incorrect responses, and
– a task that extends regular instruction.
Gersten et.al., 2007, pg. 28
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Aligning Instructional Strategies to ELPS
Strategy 2: Facilitate regular peer-assisted
learning opportunities
Example of how Strategy 2 aligns with the ELPS:
“demonstrate listening comprehension . . . by. . .
collaborating with peers, . . . commensurate with
content and grade-level needs.”
§74.4 (c)(2)(I)
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Implementation
Strategy 2: Facilitate regular peer-assisted learning
opportunities
• Use after instruction as alternative to
individual seatwork.
Example:
– Jigsaw
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Participant Input
Share examples of peer-assisted learning opportunities
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Strategy 3: Use quizzes to re-expose
students to key content
• Cloze assessment after delayed period of time
• Short answer
• Immediate feedback with the
correct answer
Pashler et.al., 2007, pg. 21
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Aligning Instructional Strategies to ELPS
Strategy 3: Use quizzes to re-expose students to key
content
Example of how Strategy 3 aligns with the ELPS:
“use . . . content area text, enhance and confirm
understanding. . .”
§74.4 (c)(4)(F)
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Implementation
Strategy 3: Use quizzes to re-expose students to
key content
• Administer quizzes between initial instruction and
final cumulative test.
• Quizzes must be closed-book in order for students to
recall information actively.
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Strategy 4: Ask questions requiring
deep explanations
• Use instructional prompts that encourage to ask and
answer to “deep-level” questions.
• Questions should facilitate elaboration.
Pashler et.al., 2007, pg. 29
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Aligning Instructional Strategies to ELPS
Strategy 4: Ask questions requiring deep explanations
Example of how Strategy 4 aligns with the ELPS:
“demonstrate comprehension of increasingly complex
English by participating in shared reading . . .
responding to questions . . .”
§74.4 (c)(4)(G)
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Implementation
Strategy 4: Ask questions requiring deep
explanations
• Try a think-aloud
• Model when
– demonstrating how to solve a problem or
conduct a lab activity,
– before reading aloud a new text, or
– during writing.
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Strategy 5: Combine graphical
presentations with verbal description
Combine graphical presentations of key processes
and procedures with verbal descriptions.
Pashler et.al., 2007, pg. 13
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Aligning Instructional Strategies to ELPS
Strategy 5: Combine graphical presentations with
verbal description
Example of how Strategy 5 aligns with the ELPS:
“use pre-reading supports such as graphic organizers,
illustrations…”
§74.4 (c)(4)(D)
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Implementation
Strategy 5: Combine graphical presentations with
verbal descriptions
• The following slides contain photographs of
teacher and student works created using both
linguistic and nonlinguistic representations.
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Strategy 6: Allow opportunities for oral
language development
• Well developed oral proficiency in English associated
with English reading and writing
• Provide opportunities for students to engage in
discussions.
• Focus initially on simple ideas and then grammar.
August & Shannahan, 2006; Walqui, 2009
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Aligning Instructional Strategies to ELPS
Strategy 6: Allow opportunities for oral language
development
Example of how Strategy 6 aligns with the ELPS:
“express opinions, ideas, and feelings ranging from
communicating single words and short phrases to
participating in extended discussions on a variety of
social and grade-appropriate academic topics;”
§74.4 (c)(3)(G)
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Implementation
Strategy 6: Allow opportunities for oral language
development
• Students need to practice speaking in contentarea classes
Example: Inside-outside circle
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Breakout Room Activity –
What you will need:
• Handout 1a—Outline of Texas Administrative
Code for Education (Title 19)
• Handout 1b—English Language Proficiency
Standards Crosswalk
• Handout 2—Learning Activity (Weather Lesson
for Grade 2)
• Handout 3—Breakout Room Instructions
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Breakout Room Activity (10 minutes)
• Read Handout 2 (Learning Activity—Weather Lesson
for Grade 2).
• Modify the weather lesson for ELLs using the assigned
strategy, language domain, and proficiency level for
your assigned breakout room.
• Post your modifications in the breakout room chat pod.
• Respond to prompts from your breakout room facilitator.
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Breakout Room Sessions
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Participant Input
Facilitators, please report on lesson modifications made
during the breakout sessions.
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ESC Resources for ELLs
• Please click the raised hand icon to report verbally on the
resources you are currently using with ELLs
OR
• Post your responses to the chat pod
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References
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August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners:
Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth.
ESC Region 4. (n.d.). Building Connections in High School Content Areas Through Sheltered
Instruction.
Kagan, M., Robertson, L., & Kagan, S. (1995). Cooperative Learning Structures for
Classbuilding. Kagan San Clemente, CA: Cooperative Learning.
Krashen, S. (1989). We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the
input hypothesis.
Pashler, H., Bain, P. M., Bottge, B. A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M. et al. (2007,
September). Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning.
Walqui, A. (2009). Oral language in disciplinary literacy development: The design and
implementation of quality teaching for English learners and a large-scale effectiveness study.
Gersten, R., Baker, S. K., Shanahan, T., Linan-Thompson, S., Collins, P., & Scarcella, R. (2007).
Effective literacy and English language instruction for English learners in the elementary
grades.
Complete citations for these references can be found on Handout 4, Resource List for Teaching
ELLs.
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Important to Remember
• Affective components that influence learning
• Considerations for instruction (language domains,
proficiency levels)
• Instructional strategies
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Training Resources
• Facilitator guide
• Additional resources
http://txcc.sedl.org/resources/webinars/
material/webinar7/index.html
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Evaluation
We appreciate your feedback!
Please complete an evaluation form, available at
http://tinyurl.com/y8zko2k
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Next Webinar
Webinar 8 Information:
Reducing Dropouts and Increasing Graduation Rates
May 18, 2010
9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Register online at http://txcc.sedl.org/resources/webinars
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Additional Upcoming Webinars
Webinar 9: Working Systemically in Action
June 8, 2010
9:00–11:00 a.m.
Further information will be posted, as it becomes available, at
http://txcc.sedl.org/resources/webinars/upcoming.html
Archived webinars are available for viewing at
http://txcc.sedl.org/resources/webinars/archived.html
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Thank you for participating!
Evaluation link:
http://tinyurl.com/y8zko2k
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