Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs)
Learn how teaching ELLs is different than English-proficient students. For English language learners (ELLs), school can represent a formidable daily task, both socially and academically. In addition to the pressures that all adolescents experience, these students also experience a myriad of other strains: loss of identity, friends, and culture; an inability to express oneself in a familiar language; family expectations for academic success.
For mainstream content teachers without a background in English as a Second Language pedagogy, determining appropriate teaching methods and goals for these students poses a significant and unique challenge. Classroom teachers facing these challenges will benefit from understanding some rudimentary information about the characteristics of the non-native speaker and the impact of ELLs on classroom interactions.
Considerations for Teaching ELLs It is difficult to make generalizations about ELLs because they come from such diverse backgrounds. Some students will pick up English more quickly than others. The reasons for this do not always reflect intelligence or motivation, but rather they are related to a variety of different dependencies. Some of these are listed below with a brief description of how they affect the student.
Age—Typically, the older the student, the more difficult it is for them to acquire the second language naturally. Research has shown that children younger than 12 usually acquire languages more quickly than older children.
Native Language—A student's fluency in his or her first language directly impacts his or her acquisition of English. Also important are the proximity of speech sounds for oral communication and whether or not the first language uses Roman letters for written communication.
Literacy of Parents—The level of literacy of a student's parents may also affect the acquisition of written language. Some students' parents are illiterate in their native language. The students of these parents may have a tougher time learning how to read and write in English.
Reason for Immigrating—Gaining knowledge of why the student's family immigrated can help teachers understand the psychological implications of the move. For example, refugee status immigrants may be escaping violence, war, or political or religious persecution. These issues may surface in the classroom. English language learners pose unique educational challenges to mainstream classroom teachers. It is worthwhile to be aware of several specific difficulties that second language learners face.
True Communication Skills An important distinction exists between interpersonal and academic communication for all students. Who hasn't had a student who seemed to be successful communicating to friends, yet who was unable to apply those skills to an academic situation? This distinction is more prominent with ELLs. ELLs may take two years to become fluent in interpersonal communications.
Academic language takes far longer—most say at least five years or longer. Thus, many students are released prematurely from ESL courses only to be mainstreamed into classes for which they are not yet prepared to succeed.
Teachers must remember that informal communication is not reflective of academic language proficiency. Culture Matters Cultural differences can be a source of misunderstanding for teachers and their ELLs. People of all cultures express themselves both verbally and non-verbally. Non-verbal cues in one culture may represent something entirely different in another. For example, in Western cultures, when a student smiles at the teacher, it often indicates understanding. However, in many Asian cultures, smiling often camouflages confusion or frustration.
Educate yourself about your students' cultures. This will help you communicate that you value their heritage, but will also allow you to connect academic content to a student's set of experiences and knowledge about the world. Ultimately, students whose native culture is valued have a greater sense of self worth and higher academic achievement levels. Cultural Gaps It is easy to forget that not all students share the same background knowledge or experiences. Analogies are often used to help students understand new concepts. Teachers of ELLs must be careful to consider whether their ELL students share the background knowledge. Analogies often refer to shared histories or cultural experiences. For example comparing something to a common American childhood experience such as summer camp or little league may not resonate with an English language learner.
Cooperative Learning Learn more about making cooperative learning work in your classroom. Many students simply don't know how to share knowledge and research when their goal is learning. Their requirements are simple:
Well-designed group activities that have specific learning objectives and procedures training and experience making groups work motivation to succeed Six Strategies for Improved Teamwork
1. Teach students how to cooperate. Cooperative learning defies what most students have been programmed to do—work as an individual. You can help by explaining and modeling the specific skills students need in upcoming activities, whether they include listening, sharing information, or reaching consensus. Be sure to give students the chance to evaluate their group's success using criteria that is based on the skills that were taught.
2. Use the subject and task to guide the type of group you will use. Cooperative learning is most successful when the size and organization of the group fits the type of work that needs to be accomplished. For example, two-person peer reviews may be appropriate for honing editorial skills in an English class; whereas, a group of three or four might be more appropriate for a debate team in an American Government class.
3. Assign students to heterogeneous groups. Most experts agree that groups should contain a mix of different ethnicities and genders. You also should take into consideration how each student's personality and social skills will contribute to the group. By choosing the composition of the group yourself, rather than allowing students to do so, you can deter students from socializing too much. You also can help create a successful group dynamic. Frequently change the group composition to allow students to experience different group dynamics and academic levels.
4. Give students explicit instructions for each activity to jump-start cooperation. Write on the board the first three or four steps they will take once formed into groups. This will help get students on task immediately as they get into groups. Monitor their progress throughout the class to make sure they know what they should be doing and to answer questions. Make yourself available by circulating from group to group during the activity.
5. Hold each individual student accountable for participation and learning in group work settings. This can be achieved by assigning both a group grade and an individual grade. Make sure students know that they will each be held accountable for the material learned in the group work. Have students document their participation in the group and submit it to you.
6. Plan and organize transitions to group work. Transitions in any lesson can introduce an element of chaos if not planned and organized. Make sure students understand your expectations for an orderly and quick transition into groups. Assigning a group role ( leader, note taker, monitor) to each student in a group is an effective classroom management technique that can reduce the chaos.
Remember that students' cooperative learning skills are learned over an entire semester—not just one 45-minute period. Give students weekly opportunities to work in groups and their teamwork will improve with time.