Instructional Preparation for
English Learners
Language Presentation
To Methods Block Students
1
Why Aren’t English Learners
Excelling?
 Linguistic
Differences
 Cultural Differences & Biases
 Poverty and Associated Challenges
 Under Prepared Teachers
2
Spanish Vowel Phonemes

/a/
paso (step)
/e/
peso (weght)
/i/
piso (floor)
/o/
poso (sediment)
/u/
puso (put)








3
English Vowel Phonemes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
/I/
/E/
/Ǽ/
/Ŋ/
/∧/
/Ư/
/ə/
/i:/
(pit)
(pet)
(pat)
(pot)
(luck)
(good)
(ago)
(meat)
9.
/a:/
10.
//
11.
14.
/3:/
/u:/
/eI/
/aI/
15.
/I/
16.
/Ie/
12.
13.
(car)
(door)
(girl)
(too)
(day)
(sky)
(boy)
(beer)
4
Special Note:

Note that there are only 24 phonemes in the Spanish
language
There are five vowels and each only has one sound
 The remaining 19 consonant phonemes also have only one sound
 Spanish words beginning with “s” are always followed by a
vowel



Spanish speakers have special difficulty with words that begin
with an “s” and followed by a consonant.


Solo, Saber, Soltero, Salud, Soledad, Santa Barbara, etc.
School, Stable, Stomach, Spring, Strolling, Scooter, etc.
There are 44 phonemes in the English Language, 20
which are new sounds for Spanish-speaking students.
5
Spanish Consonant Phonemes (19)









/p/
/t/
/k/
/b/
/d/
/g/
/T/
/s/
/tS/
paca (bale)
cata (tasting)
capa (cape)
cava (sparkling
wine)
cada (each)
toga (gown)
caza (hunt)
casa (house)
cacha (gun butt)










/x/
/m/
/n/
/ñ/
/l/
/l’l/
/R/
/r/
/f/
/Æ/
caja (box)
cama (bed)
cana (grey hair)
caña (cane)
cala (cove)
calla (shut up)
cara (face)
carra (stage part
forro (lining)
callo (corn on foot
6
English Consonant Phonemes (21)
/p/
 /b/
 /T/
 /d/
 /k/
 /g/
 /f/
 /Ø/
 /ð/
 /s/

pit
bit
time
door
cat
get
fan
think
that
send











/z/
/m/
/n/
/ŋ/
/l/
/r/
/w/
/h/
/ĵ/
/§/
/tƒ/
zip
man
nice
ring
leg
rat
wet
hat
yet
shop
chop
7
Special Note
 The
sound of “schwa”, usually pronounced “uh” is
the most common vowel sound in English: (..but
note that at times, that “sound” corresponds to
every other vowel and not just “u”)
 Again,
Birth, Bakery, Action, Under, Ancient, Person,
Television, Lesson, etc.
 This is extremely confusing for English Language
Learners.
8
“Reading First” is a Strong
Component of NCLB
 “Every
kindergarten through third grade reading
program must contain explicit and systematic
instruction in the following five areas:
 Phonemic
awareness
 Phonics
 Vocabulary
development
 Reading Fluency (inc. oral reading skills
 Reading comprehension strategies
9
Phonemes & Phonics Cautions

One way of simplifying the problem is to look for
commonalities & studying the differences:
English letters, b,c,d,f,l,m,n,p q,s and t represent sounds that
are similar enough to English that they may transfer readily
to English reading. Because English vowels have numerous
spellings, ELL students used to 1 to 1 Spanish
correspondence need to have the differences pointed out.
 Some of the English phonemes are not present in ELLs’
native language and, therefore, may be difficult for a student
to pronounce and distinguish auditorily, as well as to
decipher any meaning from what he/she hears. Oral
training in the “new sounds” is important.

10
English Phonetics Are Unique
Please Read This
Yue mae wundir
hau a purcin
cood reed funetikly
vairey fluently.
Sumtaimz it bukumz
daunwryt straenje.
(…but don’t try spelling this way in school!)
11
Phonetics Is Not The Only Problem

Lexicon: The vocabulary of terms as used in a
particular branch of knowledge.


Although a student may appear to speak English for
conversational purposes, “schooling” requires ever more
complicated uses of new and uncommon words that must
be taught throughout content instruction. (BICS & CALPS)
Pragmatics: The branch of linguistic study that deals
with how language is used, especially the factors
that influence people's choice of words.

Proper use of language in different settings is key to
acceptable behavior. Student must learn to use language
in practical settings. Instructional Conversations provides
12
the opportunity.
Some Truisms About Instruction
 Teach
words that students are likely to see and use
again.
 Teach words that are important to understanding a
concept or the text.
 Learning in rich contexts is valuable for
vocabulary development.
 Teaching specific words before reading helps both,
vocabulary acquisition and comprehension
13
California English Language
Development Test (CELDT)

ADVANCED: Students performing at this level of English
language proficiency communicate effectively with various audiences
on a wide range of familiar and new topics to meet social and academic
demands. In order to attain the English proficiency level of their native
English-speaking peers, further linguistic enhancement and refinement
are necessary.

EARLY ADVANCED: Students performing at this level of
English language proficiency begin to combine the elements of the
English language in complex, cognitively demanding situations and are
able to use English as a means for learning in other academic areas.
14
CELDT, cont.
 INTERMEDIATE: Students performing at this level
of English language proficiency begin to tailor the English
language skills they have been taught to meet their immediate
communication and learning needs.
 EARLY INTERMEDIATE: Students performing
at this level of English language proficiency start to respond
with increasing ease to more varied communication tasks.
 BEGINNING: Students performing at this level of
English language proficiency may demonstrate little or no
receptive or productive English skills. They may be able to
respond to some communication tasks.
15
CELDT English Language
Assessment Categories
K – 2 Listening & Speaking
 2nd
Word Analysis, Fluency & Vocabulary
Development, Reading Comprehension, Writing
Conventions, Strategies and Applications
 3rd – 5th Listening, Speaking, Word Analysis,
Fluency and Vocabulary Development, Reading
Comprehension and Literary Analysis, Writing
Conventions, Strategies and Applications

16
Ventura CELDT – 2003-2004
Grades
K
1
2
3
Overall Proficiency
4
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Total
Tested
Number and Percent of Students at Each Overall Proficiency Level
Annual Assessment - All Students
Advanced
Early
Advanced
5
7
5.0%
226
7.0%
179
5.0%
117
4.0%
286
10.0%
494
18.0%
133
6.0%
214
10.0%
312
17.0%
95
11.0%
218
17.0%
297
25.0%
219
25.0%
2,797
11.0%
32
25.0%
697
21.0%
425
13.0%
429
13.0%
768
26.0%
993
36.0%
713
32.0%
811
40.0%
744
41.0%
377
42.0%
481
39.0%
447
38.0%
335
39.0%
7,252
28.0%
38
30.0%
1,221
37.0%
1,126
34.0%
1,008
32.0%
1,105
37.0%
879
32.0%
947
42.0%
737
36.0%
494
27.0%
256
29.0%
328
26.0%
294
25.0%
219
25.0%
8,652
33.0%
24
19.0%
686
21.0%
979
30.0%
925
29.0%
560
19.0%
262
9.0%
315
14.0%
180
9.0%
137
8.0%
96
11.0%
138
11.0%
103
9.0%
77
9.0%
4,482
17.0%
27
21.0%
455
14.0%
580
18.0%
717
22.0%
281
9.0%
150
5.0%
147
7.0%
110
5.0%
135
7.0%
68
8.0%
84
7.0%
41
3.0%
17
2.0%
2,812
11.0%
128
100.0
%
3,285
100.0
%
3,289
100.0
%
3,196
100.0
%
3,000
100.0
%
2,778
100.0
%
2,255
100.0
%
2,052
100.0
%
1,822
100.0
%
892
100.0
%
1,249
100.0
%
1,182
100.0
%
867
100.0
%
Intermediate
Early
Intermediate
Beginning
Number
Tested
17
25,995
Catching Up…
 Actually,
there is no catching up unless the
dominant English speakers stand still for a while
and let the second-language learners continue
learning until they catch up.
 Teachers who are aware of the vast difference
between second language learners and native
speakers need to continually develop English
Learners Proficiency in English. Instructional
Conversations provides such an setting.
18
Instructional Conversations






Instructional Conversation is "talk in which ideas are explored
rather than answers to teachers' test questions provided and
evaluated.“ Five critical features include:
It is interesting and engaging.
It is about an idea or a concept that has meaning and
relevance for students.
It has a focus that, while it may shift as the discussion
evolves, remains discernible throughout.
There is a high level of participation, without undue
domination by any one individual, particularly the teacher.
Student engage in extended discussions -- conversations -with the teacher and among themselves.
19
Because The Teacher Is Aware of
Continual Language Development...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Arranges the classroom to accommodate conversation between
the teacher and a small group of students on a regular and
frequent basis.
Has a clear academic goal that guides conversation with
students.
Ensures that student talk occurs at higher rates than teacher
talk.
Guides conversation to include students' views, judgments, and
rationales using text evidence and other substantive support.
Ensures that all students are included in the conversation
according to their preferences.
Listens carefully to assess levels of students' understanding.
Assists students’ learning throughout the conversation by
questioning, restating, praising, encouraging, etc.
Guides the students to prepare a product that indicates the20
Instructional Conversation's goal was achieved.