1. English Learners: Instructional Strategies
Solange Lopes Murphy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
The College of New Jersey

2. Tentative Schedule Time Activities 9:00 – 9:20 Warm-up & Activity
9:20 – 10:15
ELs’ Diverse Profiles & Second Language Acquisition
10:15 – 10:30
Break
10:30 – 11:45
Instructional Strategies (cont.)
11:45 – 12:45
Lunch
12:45 – 2:45
2:45 – 3:00
Evaluation

3. Think-Pair-& Share
Working with ELLs

4. Activity

5. Factors that Make ELs Vulnerable
ELLs
Level of Literacy in L1
Sociocultural Context
Quality of Education
Assessments Used
Cultural Insensitivity
Low Expectations
Disability

6. ELs’ Diverse Profiles
Part I

7. It is critical for teachers to know…
What language they speak at home?
How much English they know?
How much prior schooling they have had?
When they came to the U.S.?
Whether their parents speak English?
What is the education level of their parents?
Activity:
Show participants the question “What do you want to know?” without the bullets from the slide and ask them to brainstorm some questions with a partner they would ask a new ELL in their classroom. The facilitator should write these questions on chart paper and post around the room.
Facilitator:
Explain that sometime it takes time to gather data, so what do you do in meantime to learn more about your ELL student(s)?
Meanwhile, as the teacher collects this information, how can we create comfortable environment for the ELLs? (Domain 2 of CCT) This is especially important for ELLs who may have very different cultural experiences in school.
Compare the participants responses to the answers on the PPT slide.

8. How Can Teachers Better Understand the Background of Their ELL Students?
English Language Learners come to our public schools with vastly different backgrounds. They fall into four categories:
Newly arrived students with adequate formal schooling;
Newly arrived students with limited formal schooling;
Students exposed to two languages simultaneously;
Long term English-language learners.
When content area teachers understand the varied literacy backgrounds of students, they can better develop literacy assessments. ELL students are not a homogeneity group, these students represent heterogeneous groups. Do not forget how diverse ELLS truly are.

9. 1. Newly arrived with adequate formal schooling
Have been in the country for less than 5 years.
Have had an adequate degree of schooling in their native country.
Perform in reading and writing at grade level.
Find it relatively easy to catch up with their native-English-speaking peers.
Have difficulty with standardized tests.
Have parents who are educated speakers on their L1.
Developed a strong foundation in their L1.
Demonstrate the potential to make fast progress in English.
Have found it easy to acquire a second or third language.

10. 2. Newly arrived students with limited formal schooling
Have recently arrived in an English-speaking school.
Have experienced interrupted schooling.
Have limited native- language and literacy skills.
Perform poorly on achievement tasks.
May not have had previous schooling.
May experience feeling of loss of emotional and social networks.
Have parents who have low literacy levels and could have difficulty learning English.

11. 3. Students exposed to two languages simultaneously
Were born in the US but have grown up in households where a language other than English is spoken.
Live in communities of speakers who primarily communicate in their L1 or go back and forth between languages.
Have grown up being exposed to 2 languages simultaneously.
May have not developed academic literacy in either L1 or L2.
Often engage in extensive code-switching.
Have acquired oral proficiency in a language other than English first but may not have learned to read or write in that language.

12. 4. Long-term English-language learners
Have already spent more than 5 years in an English-speaking school.
Have literacy skills that are below grade level.
Have had some English as a second language classes or bilingual support.
Require substantial and ongoing language and literacy support.

13. Depending on how much they bring to school, there needs to be more…
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching

14. Empowering English Learners

15. Second Language Acquisition
Part II

16. Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)
Language skills needed in social situations
When they are on the playground, in the lunch room, on the school bus, at parties, playing sports and talking on the telephone, etc.
Communication occur in a meaningful social context
Skills develop within six months to two years after immersion in the target culture

17. Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)
Refers to formal academic learning
This includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing about subject area content material
This usually takes at least five years
If a child has no prior schooling or has no support in native language development, it may take seven to ten years for them to catch up to their peers

18. Qualifying Words/Phrases
Academic Language
Nouns
Qualifying Words/Phrases
Verbs
Table
Evidence
Function
Opportunity
Outcome
Reaction
Role
Factor
Impact
According to the text,
In contrast,
Meanwhile,
Significantly
Due to the fact,
Generally,
Argue
Analyze
Convey
Demonstrate
Examine
Include
Involve

19. Stages of 2nd Language Development
Student Characteristics
Teacher Prompts
Pre-production
Minimal comprehension
Does not verbalize
Nods “Yes” & “No”
Draws & points
Show me…
Circle the…
Where is…?
Who has…?
Early Production
Limited comprehension
One- or two-word responses
Uses key & familiar words
Uses present tense verbs
Yes/No questions
Either/or questions
Who…?
What…?
How many…?
Speech Emergence
Good comprehension
Produces simple sentences
Makes errors
Misunderstands speech
Why…?
How…?
Explain…
Questions requiring short sentence answers

20. Stages of 2nd Language Development (cont.)
Student Characteristics
Teacher Prompts
Intermediate Fluency
Has excellent comprehension
Makes few grammatical errors
What would happen if…?
Why do you think…?
Questions requiring more than a sentence response
Advanced Fluency
The student has a near-native level of speech
Decide if…
Retell…

21. ** Where are most of my ELs in their 2nd language development?
** Should I rethink my questioning strategies to increase their comprehension & involvement in class?

22. Instructional Strategies for ELs
Jot down a couple of specific strategies you have used to help your ELs.

23. As a Rule of Thumb Depth is better than Breadth
Focus on essential learning as a starting point
Essential concepts
Essential vocabulary
Essential language structure
Approach error correction by focusing on specific, level-appropriate aspects of language

24. Sheltered Instruction SIOP
Language & Literacy
General Learning Skills
Academic Content
Co-Teaching
& Collaboration

25. SIOP: Components Lesson Preparation Building Background Knowledge
Comprehensible Input
Strategies
Interaction
Lesson Delivery
Practice/Application
Review and Assessment

26. SIOP Component 1: LESSON PREPARATION
Ensuring rigor and relevance

27. Component 1: Lesson Preparation (Learning Activities)
Objectives
Content
(What?)
Language
(How?)
More emphasis on language development; therefore, the need for
rich & developmentally appropriate context.

28. Lesson Objectives: Samples
Content Objectives (What)
Students will identify & describe the basic goods and services a family needs for everyday life. (2nd grade Economic Literacy 6.5.A.1.)
Language Objectives (How)
In pairs, students will read about the basic goods and services a family needs for everyday life.
Students will write about one of his/her families basic goods and/or services and share out loud with classmates.

29. Reading: Differential Definition
Being read to
“Reading” through picture walk
Foreshadowing
Reading independently

30. Writing: Differential Definition
Drawing
Copying
Fill in gaps
Free writing

31. Please underline the verb for each language skill in the different levels of proficiency.

32. Differentiation: Cognitive Function & Language Output
*Arrange pictures per oral information
*Describe pre-taught objects
*Identify facts
*Fill in graphic organizers
*Role play the text *Answer opinion questions
*Classify features of the text
*Take notes using graphic organizers
*Express opinion from oral scenario
*Explain with evidence
*Summarize information
*Connect to personal experiences
*Point to pictures
*Name objects
*Make sound/symbol relation
*Copy word, label
*Identify main ideas
*Make predictions
*Use context cues to determine meaning of words
Important to remind participants here that underlying the language function (communication process) is the cognitive demand, which is applicable across all levels of English language proficiency.
Identify
Describe

33. Meaningful Activities
Lesson Preparation
Objectives
Content Concepts &
Vocabulary
Supplementary
Materials
Meaningful Activities
Adaptation of
content
Content Objectives
Language Objectives
SIOP mini-lecture: Explain each feature of Lesson Preparation.
Content and language objectives are given equal importance. This is a crucial point in the success of SIOP – This is a key distinction between SIOP and regular content instruction. You may be doing this, but not explicitly and it needs to be explicit.
Ask participants why the above 5 features (objectives, content concepts, supplementary materials, adaptation of content, meaningful activities) are important features when planning a lesson for LEP students. Ask participants what else they do to prepare for a lesson.

34. Verbs for Writing Content & Language Objectives
Verbs for Content Objectives
Verbs for Language Objectives
Identify
Solve
Investigate
Distinguish
Hypothesize
Create
Select
Draw conclusions about
Listen for
Retell
Define
Find the main idea
Compare
Summarize
Persuade
Write

35. Highlighting Key Vocabulary
Tier 1 &
Tier 2
words
Emphasize
key academic
vocabulary
Extract
Compare
Use of L1
to help develop
phonemic
awareness

36. Sentence Frames

37. Content Area Challenges
It is hard for ELs to…
comprehend a text that contains a large number of unknown words, including figurative language, imagery and symbolism.
use homonyms and synonyms.
grasp academic language.
recognize correlations between letters and sounds.

38. Math: Challenges
There is misguided belief that math is less difficult for ELs.
Variety of meaning making systems – symbols, graphs, written and spoken language characterized by technical vocabulary and complex grammatical features
Specialized meanings for words
Imperfect transfer of math knowledge from one language to another
Linguistic abstraction

39. Resolva
En una prueba de salto de longitud Silvia saltó 1,5 m en su primera oportunidad, 1,75 m en la segunda y 2,3 m en su último salto. Si el record de 3 saltos está en 5,80 m ¿Cuánto le faltó para alcanzarlo?
A) 0,75 m. B) 0,25m. C) 0,55 m. D) 0,45 m.

40. History: Challenges High lexical density (the # of words per clause)
Complex sentence structure
Extensive nominalization

41. Sample
…The first civilizations arose in river valleys where rivers provided fresh water for raising crops and transportation for moving crops to market. Beginning in Mesopotamia, civilization spread west to Egypt and east to India. These three civilizations formed an early international trading network that eventually extended across the connected lands of Eurasia and North Africa, a vast region that lies in a temperate climate zone where most of the world's people have lived since prehistoric times.

42. Support Examples
Instructional supports illustrate the importance of scaffolding language development for ELLs, at least through level 4.
WIDA categorizes supports as sensory, graphic, or interactive, with some examples of each provided in the table. These can be found the in the 2007 Edition of the WIDA ELP Standards.

43. Specific Examples of Sensory Supports
Here are specific examples of the supports used in different content areas. These lists are not exhaustive. This graphic can be found in the 2007 Edition of the WIDA ELP Standards.

44. Example Use of Graphic Organizers
Students might refer to graphic organizers as they read to remind them of key language related to each narrative point of view. This graphic can be found in the 2007 Edition of the WIDA ELP Standards.

45. Meaningful Activities
Lesson Preparation
Objectives
Content Concepts &
Vocabulary
Supplementary
Materials
Meaningful Activities
Adaptation of
content
Content Objectives
Language Objectives
SIOP mini-lecture: Explain each feature of Lesson Preparation.
Content and language objectives are given equal importance. This is a crucial point in the success of SIOP – This is a key distinction between SIOP and regular content instruction. You may be doing this, but not explicitly and it needs to be explicit.
Ask participants why the above 5 features (objectives, content concepts, supplementary materials, adaptation of content, meaningful activities) are important features when planning a lesson for LEP students. Ask participants what else they do to prepare for a lesson.

46. Activity In teams, you will: Content Objectives:
Craft language objectives for the given content objectives
Identify key vocabulary & anchor sentences to be highlighted in the lesson,
Identify supplementary materials to facilitate learning,
Describe ways to adapt the content and learning outcomes to ELs at different levels of English proficiency.
Share ideas with the whole group.
Content Objectives:
Students will be able to justify their decisions based on unit rates in real-life scenarios (e.g., choosing which car to buy based on gas mileage in miles/gallon).
Students will be able to track daily weather on a class weather chart, including temperature, wind direction and precipitation.
Students will be able to infer the author’s intended effect of figurative language in a poem.

47. SIOP Component 2: BUILDING BACKGROUND

48. Building Background Knowledge
Connect to
Student’s Prior Experiences
Connect to Past Learning
Emphasize Key Vocabulary

49. How do you approach vocabulary instruction in your classes?
Think-Pair-& Share

50. Focusing on Vocabulary & Academic Language

51. Marzano’s Characteristics of Effective Vocabulary Instruction
Use student friendly descriptions, not definitions
Use linguistic and nonlinguistic representations (gestures, draw pictures)
Gradually develop word meanings (discuss what they mean in different contexts)
Teach students how to use word parts
Use different types of instruction for different types of words
Example: verbs always show a relationship between two nouns so explicitly tell the students this
Students need to discuss the terms they are learning
Use games
Focus on academic vocabulary relevant to the curriculum being taught
1.When people first learn words they understand them more as descriptions of words as opposed to definitions.
2.Linguistic/nonlinguistic – remember the dual coding theory we talking about earlier
3.Vocabulary knowledge seems to grow gradually, moving from the first meaningful exposure to a word to a full and flexible knowledge.” Stahl (1999 in Marzano p73)
4.Teaching parts of words can enhance student understanding of new terms.
5.Just read off the slide
6. As students discuss terms, they are encoding the information into their own words; this allows the students to have a deeper understanding of the word and it increases the chance that the information will be stored into permanent memory.
7.Make learning words fun!
8. Just read off the slide

52. Four Square Vocab Model
This basic four square model of vocabulary instruction can be adapted for various grade levels and content areas.

53. 7±2 key vocabulary words per lesson
Prokaryote
(definition in own words)
An organism whose cell lacks a nucleus and some other cell structures
(picture)
(sentence)
Prokaryotes live in your intestine.

54. Situation Generation
Pose a question using the target vocabulary and have students create a situation that applies.
For example:
*Describe the setting of a story you recently read.
*What would be an example of a proper noun?
*Give me an example of when you would want to estimate an amount instead of finding the exact amount.

55. Activity
In pairs, refer to a lesson you have recently taught and discuss how you would emphasize or strengthen background knowledge, key vocabulary, and key sentence starters or anchor sentences.
Share with the group.

56. SIOP Component 3: Comprehensible Input
Increasing accessibility

57. Making Input Comprehensible
To Make Input Comprehensible
Appropriate Speech
Modeling & Visuals
Clarity

58. Brainstorm ways to make this content comprehensible to ELs.
Activity: Math
Brainstorm ways to make this content comprehensible to ELs.

59. Word Problem
Jason started making oatmeal cookies at 9:15 A.M. It took him 1 hour and 15 minutes to make the dough and 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake all of the cookies. What time was it when Jason finished making cookies? Include A.M. or P.M. in your answer (for example, 11:58 A.M.).

60. SIOP Component 4: Learning Strategies
Increasing accessibility

61. Learning Strategies: What is involved?
Cognitive & Metacognitive Learning Strategies
Scaffolding Techniques
Variety of Questioning

62. 1. Learning Strategies Cognitive: Rereading Highlighting Reading Aloud
Taking notes
Mapping information
Finding key vocabulary
Mnemonics
Metacognitive:
Predicting / Inferring
Self-questioning
Monitoring / clarifying
Evaluating
Summarizing
Visualizing

63. Example
Squeepers

64. Hierarchy of Questions: Considering Language Output
From easiest to hardest:
1. Point to
2. Yes/No
3. Either/or
4. Wh-
5. Open-ended

65. Bloom’s Questions Knowledge: Who is the author of the poem?
Comprehension: Outline the main events in the story.
Application: Write a list of interview questions you would ask if you had the opportunity to talk to the narrator.
Analysis: Select a word or phrase from each stanza of the poem. How do these words / phrases contribute to the story?
Synthesis: Imagine that you had been the person who found the dead deer. Write a new stanza for the poem, telling what you would have done.
Evaluation: Did the narrator make the right choice? Why or why not?

66. SIOP Component 5: Interaction
Creating Opportunities to Use Academic Language

67. Opportunities for Interaction Use of L1 to Clarify Concepts
Group Configurations
Wait Time
Use of L1 to Clarify Concepts

68. Cooperative Learning Activities
1. Information Gap Activities
7. Story summaries
2. Jigsaw
8. Literature study groups
3. Four corners
9. Writing headlines
4. Numbered heads together
10. Science & math investigations
5. Round robin/roundtable
11. Think, pair, & share
6. Questionnaires & interviews
12. Debates

69. Why & when is it important to use the student’s native language in the class?

70. SIOP Component 6: Lesson Delivery
Increasing accessibility

71. Support Content Objectives Support Language Objectives
Lesson Delivery
Support Content Objectives
Support Language Objectives
Student Engagement
Appropriate Pacing

72. Activity • You will watch a short SIOP teaching segment.
Please review the questions below and be prepared to discuss them after you’ve watched it.
1. What did the teacher do in this lesson to engage the students?
2. Explain how you would determine if the students knew how to distinguish fact and opinion by the end of the lesson?
3. Are there any things you would do to improve this lesson delivery?
Give teachers 3 minutes to share and when they come back – do a beach ball toss – If they get the negative facing them, what is a challenge they face and ideas they have to meet this challenge: if they get the positive sign facing them, what are some classroom routines that have helped them to maximize student time on task?

73. Seven Rules of Engagement Linda B. Gambrell
Students are more motivated when…
the tasks & activities are relevant to their lives,
they have access to a wide range of materials,
they have ample opportunities to engage in sustained activities (e.g., reading),
they have opportunities to make choices,
they have opportunities to socially interact with others,
they have opportunities to be successful,
they receive constructive and supportive teacher feedback.

74. SIOP Component 7: Practice & Application

75. Practicing & Applying Content & Language Knowledge
Integration of All
Language Skills
Hands-on
Practice with
New Knowledge
Application of
New Knowledge in
New Ways

76. Instructional Idea Sorting items, identifying & explaining properties
Supermarket “shopping” activity
Sorting items, identifying & explaining properties

77. SIOP Component 8: Review & Assessment
How do you review material & assess students?

78. Effective Teaching Cycle for English Learners
Develop lesson
using
CCSS and
SIOP model
Teach lesson
Reteach
Make adjustments to
Improve student
comprehension
Ongoing assessment of
student comprehension
and work
Review key concepts
and vocabulary

79. Best Practices for ELLs
In Summary
Best Practices for ELLs
Focus on language and literacy
Emphasize academic vocabulary
Activate & strengthen background knowledge
Promote oral interaction
Give students feedback on language use

80. It is critical that teachers…
Provide multiple exposures to new terminology to build familiarity, confidence and proficiency.
Paraphrase – it provides and effective scaffold , especially after words and phrases have been previously defined and discussed in context.
Do use pictures and non-print (gestures, role-play, Pictionary, charades.)
Help students become more familiar with academic language through introducing and modeling academic tasks.
Have students create personal Word Study Books

81. Closure Please complete the sentences: I learned that… I wonder…
I still would like to know…