"Read Me First"

Welcome Teachers!

This is a Professional Development Module about Integrating Technology for ESL Learners. Below you will find a list of resources that I have put together for you to become more familiar with English Language Proficiency Standards and Technology Standards for 21^st Century Learners. I have also included key information for working with ESL student populations. As you read through these posts, I would like to you consider the following guiding questions:

1.     Are certain ASSL and ISTE Technology Standards more accessible for students with limited language proficiency?

2.     What are some challenges an ESL student might encounter when trying to integrate technology and learning at school?

3.     Do you believe these challenges would increase or decrease in the home setting?

4.     What stage of second language development does ESL student become competent in “school” language?

5.     Who are the EL support teachers in your school? Have you reached out to them to help you modify classroom activities for ELs?

6.     How could you model one of the Academic Language Functions listed for an ESL student in your mainstream class?

7.     ELs struggle with citation due to a lack of vocabulary and structural knowledge, how could sentence stem support students in paraphrasing vs. plagiarizing?

8.     Do you know if any online recourses that could assist an EL students in developing academic vocabulary?
 9.     In the sample SIOP lesson plan, how has technology been integrated into the ESL Lesson?

Once you have finished reviewing these materials, please be sure to print out the “Tip Sheet: How to Help ELs in the Mainstream Classroom” and post it in your classrooms for a quick reference of EL-friendly modifications. Also, be sure to evaluate the professional development module by responding to one of the guiding questions in the comments section of its corresponding thread. Your feedback is critical to ESL student success, so please don’t hesitate to leave additional comments regarding any lingering questions or concerns.

 

Thank you for your invaluable time and wisdom, 

and enjoy the PD!

English Language Proficiency Standards: Overview

 

Link to English Language Proficiency Standards: At A Glance

http://www.elpa21.org/sites/default/files/12.22.14 Standards At A Glance.pdf 

Standards for Students, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

 

 

Standards for the 21st Century Learner, American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

Second Language Acquisition Process

1st Stage: BICS (Social Language)

o   Students work to build background knowledge

o   Students work to build social vocabulary

o   Students strengthen the domains of Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking

o   Student develop oral language

2nd Stage: CALP (Academic Language)

o   Students build content specific background knowledge

o   Students build academic vocabulary

o   Teachers must scaffold learning experiences

o   Students strengthen the domains of Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking

o   Students are explicitly taught grammar

English as a Second Language Programs

What is the main role of EL support staff?

○Develop language proficiency through grade level content

○Prepare EL students to demonstrate improved academic and language proficiency on state language proficiency and content assessments 

Importance of Academic Vocabulary

○Limited vocabularies prevent students from:

○comprehending content texts

○understanding directions when completing assignments

○improving overall academic achievement

ELs need exposure to Tier 2 vocabulary words such as: for example, addition, subtraction, continent, describe, classify, summarize, identify, beaker, compare, paragraph 

Examples of Academic Language Functions

○identification

○labeling

○enumeration

○classification

○sequencing

○organizing

○definition

○compare/contrast

○argumentation

○descriptions

○explanations

○predictions

○inferences

○analysis

EL Statistics

What we know about ELLs:

o        43% of Latino students born outside of the US drop out of HS compared to 15% first generation Latinos. (US Dept. of Education, 2002)

o        In February 2001, it was reported that ELLs had dropout rates up to four times that of their native English-speaking peers. (McKeon, NEA Research, 2005)

o        In 2000-2001, of the states that tested ELLs in reading comprehension, only 18.7 percent of ELLs were assessed as being at or above the norm. In the same year, almost 10 percent of ELLs in grades 7-12 were retained. (McKeon, NEA Research, 2005)

EL Strategies that Work in the Mainstream Class

o   Questioning about past learning

o   Modeling and making explicit connections among content areas

o   Using visuals-pictures, videos, realia

o   Role playing to reinforce concepts

o   Hands-on activities and experiential learning to make texts more relatable

o   Use graphic organizers-KWL, T Charts, Venn diagrams, paragraph outlines

o   Collaborative group tasks