English Language Learners (ELLs): Who They Are and Ways to Assist Their Learning
English Language Learners (ELLs)
Profile of the ELL:
 many achieve a functional level of conversational English (everyday language)
within 2 years (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills, BICS)
 5 – 7 years are required by most to attain the grade-appropriate academic
proficiency of first-language (L1) English speakers (Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency, CALP)
 Academic tasks in all subject areas may be much more difficult for ELLs than for
L1 English speakers due to such things as limited background knowledge of the
subject matter, limited vocabulary, and inexperience with complex sentence
patterns
 ELLs need more time to process information as often they think and work in two
languages
 ELLs cannot be expected to have developed the same background knowledge
and skills as their peers who have been immersed in the Alberta Curriculum
throughout their years of schooling
ELLs in Non-ESL Classes:
 need opportunity for extensive oral interaction with English-speaking peers
 Evaluation: teachers of all disciplines need to recognize the value of the
content and organization of ideas in students’ written work
 teachers must provide instruction on specific features of English in all subject
areas (e.g., vocabulary or written structures specific to course content) for those
students whose written English indicates such a need
 First Langue Use: L1 is the foundation upon which English proficiency is built;
needed to ensure and enhance learning - the L1 is a tool for learning and
thinking, at least until the ELL is proficient enough in English to use it for a wide
range of academic purposes
 L1 may be used in a variety of ways: using bilingual dictionaries (paper is better
than electronic) and ESL learner dictionaries; writing drafts of notes and outlines
in the L1; collaborating with L1 peers before transferring to English
 Program Adaptations may include (see next pages for more specific
examples):
o modified expectations (of some or all course expectations)
o variety of instructional strategies (e.g., extensive use of visual cues,
graphic organizers, peer tutoring, strategic use of students’ first
languages)
o variety of learning resources (e.g., use of visual material, simplified texts,
ESL learner dictionaries, and bilingual dictionaries)
o modified assessment strategies (e.g., granting of extra time; use of oral
interviews; tasks requiring completion of graphic organizers and cloze
sentences instead of essay questions)

Note: When learning expectations in a course other than ESL and ELD
are modified, or accommodations to the learning environment are made,
this must be clearly indicated on the student’s report card.
English Language Learners (ELLs): Who They Are and Ways to Assist Their Learning
Assessing Academic Knowledge and Skills
Reduced Language Requirement:
 give oral tests
 create support for students’ written responses by: creating a cloze passage for
students to complete with words and phrases selected from a list; allow for use
of charts and other visual organizers to help students display knowledge or
demonstrate thinking
 focus on content rather than language to assess what a student knows
 assess performance on tasks that involve several different aptitudes or talents,
such as demonstrations, oral and written reports, graphic displays, video and
audio tapes, concrete models, or bilingual submissions
Practice and Feedback:
 practice provides risk-free opportunities for students to practise new knowledge
or skills and receive constructive feedback
 should not count for marks
Performance-Based Assessment:
 supports higher achievement for all students, especially ELLs, by providing
practice and feedback before final evaluation
 show models of acceptable and outstanding performance (e.g., sample stories,
lab reports, research projects, essays, and other written products; samples of
practical work and artistic creations; videotapes of oral presentations and
dramatic or musical performances; demonstrations of practical skills and of
physical performance in sports and fitness activities, etc.) Note: modelling is a
key strategy to assist learning and achievement in all students
 invite students to rank or rate the models to figure out the criteria for assessment
(i.e., have them determine what makes one example better or worse than
another)
 distribute assessment rubrics and discuss the differences between various
levels of achievement
 provide constructive feedback on process as well as product; base assessment
on your observation as well as students’ notes or logs
 invite students to do self-assessment and to submit their best performance for
summative assessment
Portfolio Assessment:
 teachers and students are involved in collecting and assessing examples of
performance and growth over time
 portfolios give a more complete view of the learner’s performance and
capabilities
 over time samples in a portfolio usually show significant growth in English in
ways that may be less noticeable through traditional tests and exams
 portfolios provide opportunities for students to assess and select their own work
for inclusion in the portfolio (e.g. they could choose one of various journal entries
to “polish” for evaluation and inclusion)
English Language Learners (ELLs): Who They Are and Ways to Assist Their Learning
Guiding Questions:
 give clear guidance in the phrasing of questions on tests and exams, and in
assignments
 communicate how much students should write, how many examples they should
give, etc.
 phrase questions simply
 avoid or paraphrase such words as identify, describe, discuss…
For example:
Instead of this…
Identify the major causes of World War I.
Explain how triangles can be classified.
Try this…
What were the four major causes of World War
I?
What are the two ways of classifying triangles?
Describe the levels of government and their
functions.
What are the three levels of government in
Canada? What does each do?
Thinking Time:
 ELLs often need to process information in two languages, therefore, everything
takes longer than for students who are processing in one language
 give more time to complete written tests or asks students to answer fewer
questions within the given time
 avoid multiple-choice and true/false questions that involve a lot of reading, or
“trick questions” that depend on comprehension of subtle differences in
vocabulary
 instead, use a variety of matching tasks, such as matching words/phrases to
visual representations of information, filling in partly completed visual organizers,
or completing cloze passages
 scaffold longer written responses through sentence completion tasks or by
providing a template or model/example
Open Discussion:
 openly discuss the modified or adapted expectations and assignments you are
using, (this is especially helpful in preventing L1 English students and their
parents from seeing the assessment as unfair)
 communicate in report cards when program is modified or adapted
 explain that less adaptation is required as students become more proficient
Dictionaries:
 encourage students to use dictionaries during tests and exams (for which
dictionaries are allowed) as they are essential tools of literacy and scholarship
(Note: electronic dictionaries can be detrimental as often information about how to use a
word is not offered)


paper dictionaries such as the Longman Academic Exams Dictionary or the
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English are recommended
beginning English learners need bilingual dictionaries to help them translate
(paper dictionaries are preferable to electronic translators)
English Language Learners (ELLs): Who They Are and Ways to Assist Their Learning
Weighting
 since ELLs absorb language at an amazing rate, it may be pertinent to weight
their performance more heavily in the latter part or last quarter of a semester
when their language proficiency may be considerably greater
 adjustment of the weighting of various components of specific tasks may give a
more accurate view of a learner’s capabilities
Achievement Charts and Rubrics
 when appropriate, performance criteria may need to be weighted differently or
alternative rubrics may need to be devised for ELLs (since most rubrics have
been created to assess first language English speakers)
 often expectations are that students have prior knowledge in a subject when
many ELLs may not
 e.g. in Social Studies, a certain level of prior knowledge is expected that ELLs
have not had the time and opportunity to learn; hence a different starting point
for assessment or “reaching back” to build background knowledge may be
necessary
 building of background knowledge or subject fundamentals need not be done in
class: homework and/or tutorial assignments could achieve this goal
Assessing Written Work
 it is important to remember that many students are highly proficient in a
language other than English and that they may be able to express what they
know extremely well in that language; although you may not be able to
understand what is written, a lot may be learned from how the student tackles
the task in the other language
 N.B.: there may be students and/or teachers who would be willing to translate L1
text; also, the CBE provides translators
 depending on the course and its level, it may be useful to have students provide
written answers in the first language as well as in English to determine what the
students know (this may reveal that the student knows more than he or she is
able to demonstrate in written English
 providing models of required written products improve achievement
More About BICS and CALP:
The acronyms BICS and CALP refer to a distinction introduced by Cummins (1979)
between basic interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language
proficiency. The distinction was intended to draw attention to the very different time
periods typically required by immigrant children to acquire conversational fluency in
their second language as compared to grade-appropriate academic proficiency in that
language. Conversational fluency is often acquired to a functional level within about
two years of initial exposure to the second language whereas at least five years is
usually required to catch up to native speakers in academic aspects of the second
language (Collier, 1987; Klesmer, 1994; Cummins, 1981a). Failure to take account of
the BICS/CALP (conversational/academic) distinction has resulted in discriminatory
psychological assessment of bilingual students and premature exit from language
support programs (e.g. bilingual education in the United States) into mainstream
classes (Cummins, 1984).
English Language Learners (ELLs): Who They Are and Ways to Assist Their Learning
Resources:
Coelho, Elizabeth. Program Planning and Assessment for ESL/ESD Learners.
Toronto: Toronto District School Board, 2001.
Cummins, Jim. Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills and Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency. Toronto, 2003.
http://www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/bicscalp.html