1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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!