set them up for success rather than allowing them to fall. WORKSHOP CONSTRUCTI NG EXPERT SCAFFOLDING The importance of providing individualized & specialised support for EAL/D learners LEESA HOLBERT EDLA345 TESOL Techniques Lecturer Dr. Dianne Cullen Good teachers drive their students to the sky & help them gain confidence, but through the scaffolding they provide, set them up for success rather than allowing them to fall. Pauline Gibbons 2015

One quarter of Australian students are EAL/D learners What constitutes an EAL/D learner? ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc EAL/D learners include: Refugees Migrants International students EAL/D learners have : Diverse educational backgrounds Diverse linguistic backgrounds Diverse literacy backgrounds Formal schooling or little or no formal schooling Varying SAE experience Possible emotional, psychological or physical trauma EAL/D learners come from : Metropolitan, reginal or rural areas Remote or very remote areas Socio-economically advantaged situations Socio-economically disadvantaged situations Australian born children One quarter of Australian students are EAL/D learners

Our Goal - An inclusive classroom with high teacher expectations Know cultural & linguistic backgrounds Value, utilise & extend linguistic and cultural resources Promote intercultural understanding Use opportunities for deep learning CREATE AN INCLUSIVE SPACE A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PROFILE helps to predict Learning needs English language needs Our Goal - An inclusive classroom with high teacher expectations

FOUR MAIN SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT How children learn their first language L1 NATIVIST THEORY Chompsky, Fodor, Bloomfield An innate process Children naturally “pick up” language Reliant upon natural language abilities BEHAVIORIST THEORY Lado, Skinner, Weinriech Operant conditioning Stimulus, response, feedback, reinforcement. A mechanistic process An unconscious, automatic process COGNITIVE THEORY Piaget L1 – linked to cognitive development Stages Sensorimotor Preoperational Operational Concrete Operational Formal Operational L2 - conscious process of thinking SOCIAL INTERACTIONIST THEORY Vygotsky Social in origin Social influences determine L1 & L2 Learning occurs between individuals The zone of proximal development (ZPD) Distance between existing developmental state & developmental potential FOUR MAIN SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

L1 How children learn their first language L1 acquisition is an innate human potential staged with cognitive development influenced by stimulus, response, feedback, reinforcement social in origin Language development requires a linguistic environment There are predictable patterns of L1 development How children learn their first language

To learn language a child must be stimulated by linguistic input immersed in language Young children appear to acquire oral language very easily when continually exposed to other speakers of the language using it in meaningful context. Davison 1991 “ Language development involves a continuing process of making meaning

How children learn their second language There are defined patterns of L2 development and predictable phases of acquisition EAL/D children are at a later stage of cognitive and linguistic development than during L1 acquisition Children learn language through authentic meaning making The development of L2 is an active & collaborative process The development of L2 is social in origin A good foundation in L1 is good for building L2 KEY PRINCIPLES OF L2 DEVELOPMENT

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATERS LEARNING GOALS Fluent control of sounds Spelling Vocabulary Grammar & features of language EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATERS FOUR Phases of English Language Learning L2 Some print literacy in L1 Beginning English A growing degree of print literacy & oral language competency in English Emerging English Further development of knowledge of print literacy & oral language competency in English. Developing English Sound knowledge of spoken & written English, including competency with academic language. Consolidating English

L2 learners have specialised needs What this knowledge means in terms of classroom procedure The underlying processes and phases of L1 & L2 development share similarities but are NOT THE SAME LEARNERS OF L1 & L2 DIFFER IN LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS CONDITIONS L2 learners have specialised needs MUCH MORE IS NEEDED then simply … immersing them in language

Implications of this knowledge for EAL/D syllabus design Listening Speaking Reading Writing Learning through meaning focused INPUT Using listening Using reading Focus on messages conveyed by language Learning through language items & features Attention to sounds & spelling Direct vocabulary study Attention to discourse features Learning through meaning focused OUTPUT Speaking Writing Focus on conveying ideas and messages Development of language items & features 4Strands in a balanced approach 4Skills

CENTRAL RESEARCH-BASED PRINCIPLES suggest LEARNERS need COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT COMPREHENSIBLE OUTPUT Opportunities to use STRETCHED language TEACHERS MODELING ACADEMIC REGISTERS ALL LINGUISTIC RESOURCES Opportunities to use NEW language TO LEARN OTHER THINGS THE INTERGRATION OF LANGUAGE & CONTENT

INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM HIGH CHALLENGE HIGH SUPPORT A LANGUAGE FOCUSED CURRICULUM HIGH CHALLENGE HIGH SUPPORT INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM AUTHENTIC TASKS COGNITIVELY CHALLENGING TASKS “Considerable research over the years suggests that a high challenge, high support classroom benefits all children” Pauline Gibbons 2015

Implications of this knowledge for EAL/D teaching STRATEGIES INSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCES ASSESSMENT SPECIFIC TO LANGUAGE NEEDS SPECIFIC TO LEARNING STAGE INCLUSIVE SUPORTIVE TARGETED SYSTEMATIC EXPLICIT Not just opportunities for use! Teaching EAL/D should be methodical & well planned 1.    In the conclusion, de Courcy et. al. give a number of EAL/D teaching strategies. List eight of them. ·       Strategies must be based on their language needs ·       Targeted instruction ·       Systematic instruction ·       Explicit instruction ·       Inclusive supportive classroom environment ·       Supportive classroom environment ·       Appropriate learning experiences ·       Appropriate assessment practices  2.    The conclusion in de Courcy et. al’s article is similar to a statement on teaching strategies made by Davison (in the middle of her article). How does Davison’s comments/suggestions extend those in the article Teaching EAL/D learners in Australian Classrooms? Davison’s comments support de Courcy’s article in the strategies that are required for teaching ESL children.  She emphasizes the need for specialist language development activities and immersion that include: ·       More repetition and practice ·       More explicit instruction and concept-checking ·       More careful paraphrasing of difficult vocabulary ·       More demonstration and modelling ·       More highly structured and sensitive elicitation of existing knowledge ·       More opportunities for controlled teacher-student and student-student interaction ·       More time to absorb the rhythms and patterns of the target language ·       Methodical, planned language development

TALK Advancing techniques for teaching, speaking & listening OPPORTUNITY for controlled teacher-student interaction for controlled student-student interaction TIME to absorb language rhythms & patterns TALK Views to enhance language learning environments within the classroom

Remember ALL TEACHERS are teachers of the ENGLISH language! MORE Repetition Practice Explicit instruction Concept checking Careful paraphrasing of vocabulary Demonstrations & modelling Elicitation of existing knowledge Teacher-student interaction Student- student interaction Time to absorb rhythms & patterns It is the nature of the scaffolding which will be most critical for the success of L2 learning. “Learning is essentially collaborative and social, and it is a partnership between teacher and student.” Pauline Gibbons 2015 Remember ALL TEACHERS are teachers of the ENGLISH language!