Best Practices in ELL
Instruction:
Multimodal Presentation
Professional Development by:
Heather Thomson
T3 845
A Quick Video…

“ESL Struggles and Strategies”
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bWU238PymM



Are any of the struggles addressed in the
video struggles which you yourself have
experienced with your ELL students?
Can you see yourself using any of the
strategies presented in the video?
Discuss with group members.
Broad Overview of Best
Practices in ELL Instruction

What every teacher needs to know
about instructing English Language
Learners:
– Language related knowledge and skills
– Effective teaching strategies
– Issues in cultural diversity and crosscultural respect
– Collaboration with ESL specialists
Language Knowledge
and Skills




Teachers must gain knowledge bases in first- and
second- language acquisition theory
ELLs with strong literacy skills in their first language
are more likely to succeed in gaining literacy in a
second language
For ELLs, conversational language abilities are
different from academic language abilities
“A safe, welcoming classroom environment, with
minimal anxiety about performing in a second
language, is essential for ELLs to learn.” (Li & Protacio, pg. 363)
Source: Li, G., & Protacio, M. S. (2010). Best Practices in Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs. In G. Li
& P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best Practices in ELL Instruction (pp. 353- 375). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Effective Teaching
Strategies




Teachers must hold high expectations for
their ELL students
Teachers must work to make content (i.e.
lessons/activities) comprehensible
Teachers must engage ELLs in both oral and
written interactions
Teachers must create assessments which
are authentic in nature (Li & Protacio, pg. 363)
Source: Li, G., & Protacio, M. S. (2010). Best Practices in Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs. In
G. Li & P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best Practices in ELL Instruction (pp. 353- 375). New York, NY: The
Guilford Press.
Addressing Cultural
Diversity




Create a classroom community which values
student differences
Incorporate students’ diverse backgrounds
and heritages into themes of study
Recognize that student behavior may be
influenced by cultural beliefs
Recognize that cultural identity may affect
student learning styles (Li & Protacio, pg. 366-368)
Source: Li, G., & Protacio, M. S. (2010). Best Practices in Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs. In
G. Li & P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best Practices in ELL Instruction (pp. 353- 375). New York, NY: The
Guilford Press.
Collaboration with ESL
Specialists



Content area teachers are very
knowledgeable about their subject, but may
not know how to present their material to
ELLs
ESL specialist understand how to make
content comprehensible to ELLs, however,
they may not have in depth content area
expertise
Working together creates the best outcome
for ELL students! (Li & Protacio, pg. 365)
Source: Li, G., & Protacio, M. S. (2010). Best Practices in Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs. In
G. Li & P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best Practices in ELL Instruction (pp. 353- 375). New York, NY: The
Guilford Press.
Teacher Self Survey


To what extent do you know about or
use these best practices?
Use the survey to reflect on your own
practices in ELL instruction.
Click HERE for Teacher Survey
Narrowing our focus to:
Effective Teaching
Strategies


One effective teaching strategy is to
present content or lessons in multiple
modes- i.e. with visual, auditory,
and/or kinesthetic components.
These multimodal presentations make
the content more comprehensible for
English Language Learners.
What is multimodality?

“A multimodal approach to learning
requires us to take seriously and attend
to the whole range of modes involved in
representation and communication.” (Boyd &
Thompson, pg. 152)

“Multimodality refers to the modes of
representation beyond print, including
such domains as the visual, auditory,
gestural, and kinesthetic.” (Boyd & Thompson, pg. 154)
Source: Boyd, F. B., & Thompson, M. K. (2008). Multimodality and Literacy Learning. In K. A.
Hinchman & H. K. Sheridan-Thomas (Eds.), Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction
(pp. 151-163). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Why are multimodal
presentations important for
ELLs?



Simply reading a text may not be enough
for ELLs to fully comprehend the content.
In order to aid ELLs in constructing
meaning, we must present the information
to them in multiple modes.
“In comparison to native speakers, second
language kids missed more aspects of the
storyline, nuances of character, and key
concepts. Multiple strategies increase
comprehension.” (Cary, pg. 45-46)
Source: Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top Ten Questions
(2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Examples of Multimodal
Presentation




Objects
Pictures
Movement
Video
Source: Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top
Ten Questions (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Objects




The use of real objects in the classroom is what is
known as Realia.
When presenting ELLs with new content,
vocabulary or texts, it is helpful to support the
information with Realia so that students have a
concrete idea of what you are talking about.
For example, if students are reading the book Stone
Fox, in which dog sledding takes place, bring in a
sled for the students to see!
“Having a sense of what a sled is and how much
strength… is needed to pull one is critical to
understanding Stone Fox.” (Cary, pg. 42)
Source: Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top Ten Questions
(2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Pictures



Pictures are another important aspect in creating
multimodal presentations
“Images can help readers interpret texts, and visual
images can prove to be important tools in supporting
students’ comprehension.” (Moje & Speyer, pg. 205)
“ELL kids need the visuals and the many details they
contain to help them make better sense of the readaloud. For students with very low English proficiency,
no picture often means no story.” (Cary, pg. 43)
Sources: Moje, E. B., & Speyer, J. (2008). The Reality of Challenging Texts in High School Science and Social Studies. In K. A.
Hinchman & H. K. Sheridan-Thomas (Eds.), Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction (pp. 185-207). New York, NY: The
Guilford Press.
Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top Ten Questions (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Movement


“Whole-class physical involvement” is a
great way to help make concepts come
to life for ELLs (Cary, pg. 42)
Examples include:
– Games (i.e. grammar races)
– Acting out scenes from books
– Moving letter tiles to spell words
Source: Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top
Ten Questions (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Video



Videos are a great example of multimodal
presentation because they include both
visual and auditory elements.
“A video’s images, speech, movement, and
music provide a rich mix of meaningbuilding cues.” (Cary, pg. 43)
“Most teachers find their use of video
increasing as their ELL numbers go up.” (Cary,
pg. 43)
Source: Cary, S. (2007). Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers’ Top Ten Questions
(2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Teacher Collaboration


How do you see yourself using these
teaching strategies to create multimodal
lessons for ELLs in your own classroom?
Form groups according to either:
– Grade level OR
– Content Area

In your group decide:
– Which strategy you would like to try (Realia,
pictures, movement, video/technology)
– How each of you could incorporate the strategy
into an upcoming lesson to create a multimodal
presentation for your ELL students
Extensions

As soon as you can, try actually using
the multimodal lesson/activity which
you created today in your own
classroom!