http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 Most Recent Submissions from Judie_Haynes on ASCD EDge Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:46:03 GMT Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:46:03 GMT website@ascd.org (ascdAdmin) website@ascd.org (ascdAdmin) KickApps Feed Builder 2013-02-01T05:46:03Z 27 http://edge.ascd.org/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=127586&includeVideo=on&includeAudio=on&includePhoto=on&includeBlog=on&sortType=recent 0 http://edge.ascd.org/_PD-for-teachers-Twitter-Chats/blog/6507545/127586.html One of the best kept secrets in professioanl development for teachers is Twitter chats for educators.  There are If you are a teacher or administrator in a school where there are English language learners, a Twitter chat designed especially for your needs is #ELLCHAT.   #ELLCHAT is held every Monday night at 9:00 PM ET.  Moderators Judie Haynes (@judiehaynes)  and Karen Nemeth (@karenNemethEdM) design topics around the concerns that are expressed by followers who post in #ELLCHAT during the week.  Last week the group discussed Sources of Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs.  On Monday, February 4th, the topic will be on the importance of collaboration for teachers of ELLs. A schedule for chat topics is posted on the #ELLCHAT Facebook page.   One of the most exciting events in the nearly 3 year history of #ELLCHAT is a blog written about the chat by Education Week's Lesli Maxwell entitled ELL Teachers Connect and Learn in Twitter Chats. For a list of Twitter chats, consult Cyberman's Educational Chats on Twitter.       One of the best kept secrets in professioanl development for teachers is Twitter chats for educators.  There are If you are a teacher or administrator in a school where there are English language learners, a Twitter chat designed especially for your needs is #ELLCHAT.   #ELLCHAT is held every Monday night at 9:00 PM ET.  Moderators Judie Haynes (@judiehaynes)  and Karen Nemeth (@karenNemethEdM) design topics around the concerns that are expressed by followers who post in #ELLCHAT during the week.  Last week the group discussed Sources of Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs.  On Monday, February 4th, the topic will be on the importance of collaboration for teachers of ELLs. A schedule for chat topics is posted on the #ELLCHAT Facebook page.   One of the most exciting events in the nearly 3 year history of #ELLCHAT is a blog written about the chat by Education Week's Lesli Maxwell entitled ELL Teachers Connect and Learn in Twitter Chats. For a list of Twitter chats, consult Cyberman's Educational Chats on Twitter.       Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:46:03 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_PD-for-teachers-Twitter-Chats/blog/6507545/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2013-02-01T05:46:03Z ASCD EDge One of the best kept secrets in professioanl development for teachers is Twitter chats for educators.  There are If you are a teacher or administrator in a school where there are English language learners, a Twitter chat designed especially for your needs is #ELLCHAT.   #ELLCHAT is held every Monday night at 9:00 PM ET.  Moderators Judie Haynes (@judiehaynes)  and Karen Nemeth (@karenNemethEdM) design topics around the concerns that are expressed by followers who post in #ELLCHAT during the week.  Last week the group discussed Sources of Professional Development for Teachers of ELLs.  On Monday, February 4th, the topic will be on the importance of collaboration for teachers of ELLs. A schedule for chat topics is posted on the #ELLCHAT Facebook page.   One of the most exciting events in the nearly 3 year history of #ELLCHAT is a blog written about the chat by Education Week's Lesli Maxwell entitled ELL Teachers Connect and Learn in Twitter Chats. For a list of Twitter chats, consult Cyberman's Educational Chats on Twitter.       nonadult false PD for teachers: Twitter Chats text blog 336 11 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 0 6507545 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Learning-Environments-for-ELLs/blog/6486137/127586.html  By Judie Haynes  The field of TESOL has seen amazing growth since I began teaching 30 years ago. There has been a huge change in regard to the content taught to and expectations for English language learners (ELLs).  Each step that we have taken has enhanced the field of TESOL.  English language learners are getting more and more attention on the state and national level. Although federal regulations require that our students make adequate yearly progress, they don’t regulate class size,  the number of grade and ability levels grouped in the same class, or the size and location of our teaching space.   I think the learning environment for English language learners is representative of how programs for them are  really regarded by school districts. Take a look around you. What unconscious message is your school districts sending?   Do English language learners get a fair share of the “pie?” Or are they usually related to the hallways and cafeterias because the parents of our students do not complain?  Are resources stretched because your school district will not hire a sufficient number of ESL teachers?    Substandard instructional space Over the years, I have heard the stories from ESL teachers about holding classes in hallways, converted closets and under stairwells. These teachers have struggled to instruct their students in noisy cafeterias and in libraries.  They often share classrooms with other teachers, crowding large numbers of students into small spaces. I recently saw a video of an exemplary ESL teacher with her students.  The class was being taught in the school cafeteria.   Let’s look at an ESL class in a suburban school district as the teacher leads her nine kindergarteners into the partitioned-off space in a shared classroom. It is difficult for the teacher to allow her young students to get excited about language and express themselves as kindergartners do because there is another class is being taught on the other side of the partition. In this class a group of 6th grade newcomers strain to hear what they teacher is saying.  They are continuously districted by the kindergarten noise and activities.             The itinerant teacher A second substandard condition that many ESL teachers face is teaching in too many locations. Teachers are often required to travel to two or more schools.  One itinerant ESL teacher that I know travels to four schools and teaches 20 students in grades K-12. She organizes her ESL program in the trunk of her car. In each building she teaches all of the students who need ESL during one or two class periods resulting in groups that combine 5th graders with 2nd graders. When she arrives at her destination this ESL teacher teaches in whatever space she can find.  Instruction does not take place in the same space everyday. Her materials are spread throughout the schools that she visits or are kept in her trunk.  Like most itinerant teachers, Pat is unable to function as a source of support and information to classroom teachers and to parents because there is not time.  She frequently ends her day back at one of her schools to conference with a parent. a classroom teacher, or the Child Study Team.   Class size The better organized you are, the better job that you do, the more you are expected to do and the less support you receive.  Imagine a job where you work hard to help students succeed and when they do, your school district is reluctant to increase support as your population grows. What’s one more student in a group of nine? So what if you have a stray 45h grader in a group of 2nd graders.  One teacher told me that she has more than 20 students of different grade and ability levels in her classroom at the same time. We are simply teaching too many students in groups that are too large.   It is the ESL teacher’s job to teach students to take risks with language.  They should provide an atmosphere of trust and privacy in order to encourage these risks. They want to expose their ELLs to literacy through many forms of print including word walls and encourage students to enjoy reading by offering them books to choose from in their classroom so they can get excited about literature. An itinerant teacher in a substandard space cannot accomplish this.  ESL teachers need to have their own instructional space with a reasonable number of students assigned to their classes. They can’t be stretched to three or more schools if we are to help our students become full participants in the school community.   Schools are in the process of adapting instruction to the Common Core State Standards.  Many teachers and administrators have expressed concern about how to help ELLs reach these norms.   ESL teachers are an important part of the answer to this question.  So are their working conditions and the learning environment for ELLs.         By Judie Haynes  The field of TESOL has seen amazing growth since I began teaching 30 years ago. There has been a huge change in regard to the content taught to and expectations for English language learners (ELLs).  Each step that we have taken has enhanced the field of TESOL.  English language learners are getting more and more attention on the state and national level. Although federal regulations require that our students make adequate yearly progress, they don’t regulate class size,  the number of grade and ability levels grouped in the same class, or the size and location of our teaching space.   I think the learning environment for English language learners is representative of how programs for them are  really regarded by school districts. Take a look around you. What unconscious message is your school districts sending?   Do English language learners get a fair share of the “pie?” Or are they usually related to the hallways and cafeterias because the parents of our students do not complain?  Are resources stretched because your school district will not hire a sufficient number of ESL teachers?    Substandard instructional space Over the years, I have heard the stories from ESL teachers about holding classes in hallways, converted closets and under stairwells. These teachers have struggled to instruct their students in noisy cafeterias and in libraries.  They often share classrooms with other teachers, crowding large numbers of students into small spaces. I recently saw a video of an exemplary ESL teacher with her students.  The class was being taught in the school cafeteria.   Let’s look at an ESL class in a suburban school district as the teacher leads her nine kindergarteners into the partitioned-off space in a shared classroom. It is difficult for the teacher to allow her young students to get excited about language and express themselves as kindergartners do because there is another class is being taught on the other side of the partition. In this class a group of 6th grade newcomers strain to hear what they teacher is saying.  They are continuously districted by the kindergarten noise and activities.             The itinerant teacher A second substandard condition that many ESL teachers face is teaching in too many locations. Teachers are often required to travel to two or more schools.  One itinerant ESL teacher that I know travels to four schools and teaches 20 students in grades K-12. She organizes her ESL program in the trunk of her car. In each building she teaches all of the students who need ESL during one or two class periods resulting in groups that combine 5th graders with 2nd graders. When she arrives at her destination this ESL teacher teaches in whatever space she can find.  Instruction does not take place in the same space everyday. Her materials are spread throughout the schools that she visits or are kept in her trunk.  Like most itinerant teachers, Pat is unable to function as a source of support and information to classroom teachers and to parents because there is not time.  She frequently ends her day back at one of her schools to conference with a parent. a classroom teacher, or the Child Study Team.   Class size The better organized you are, the better job that you do, the more you are expected to do and the less support you receive.  Imagine a job where you work hard to help students succeed and when they do, your school district is reluctant to increase support as your population grows. What’s one more student in a group of nine? So what if you have a stray 45h grader in a group of 2nd graders.  One teacher told me that she has more than 20 students of different grade and ability levels in her classroom at the same time. We are simply teaching too many students in groups that are too large.   It is the ESL teacher’s job to teach students to take risks with language.  They should provide an atmosphere of trust and privacy in order to encourage these risks. They want to expose their ELLs to literacy through many forms of print including word walls and encourage students to enjoy reading by offering them books to choose from in their classroom so they can get excited about literature. An itinerant teacher in a substandard space cannot accomplish this.  ESL teachers need to have their own instructional space with a reasonable number of students assigned to their classes. They can’t be stretched to three or more schools if we are to help our students become full participants in the school community.   Schools are in the process of adapting instruction to the Common Core State Standards.  Many teachers and administrators have expressed concern about how to help ELLs reach these norms.   ESL teachers are an important part of the answer to this question.  So are their working conditions and the learning environment for ELLs.        Mon, 10 Dec 2012 23:55:23 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Learning-Environments-for-ELLs/blog/6486137/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2012-12-10T23:55:23Z ASCD EDge  By Judie Haynes  The field of TESOL has seen amazing growth since I began teaching 30 years ago. There has been a huge change in regard to the content taught to and expectations for English language learners (ELLs).  Each step that we have taken has enhanced the field of TESOL.  English language learners are getting more and more attention on the state and national level. Although federal regulations require that our students make adequate yearly progress, they don’t regulate class size,  the number of grade and ability levels grouped in the same class, or the size and location of our teaching space.   I think the learning environment for English language learners is representative of how programs for them are  really regarded by school districts. Take a look around you. What unconscious message is your school districts sending?   Do English language learners get a fair share of the “pie?” Or are they usually related to the hallways and cafeterias because the parents of our students do not complain?  Are resources stretched because your school district will not hire a sufficient number of ESL teachers?    Substandard instructional space Over the years, I have heard the stories from ESL teachers about holding classes in hallways, converted closets and under stairwells. These teachers have struggled to instruct their students in noisy cafeterias and in libraries.  They often share classrooms with other teachers, crowding large numbers of students into small spaces. I recently saw a video of an exemplary ESL teacher with her students.  The class was being taught in the school cafeteria.   Let’s look at an ESL class in a suburban school district as the teacher leads her nine kindergarteners into the partitioned-off space in a shared classroom. It is difficult for the teacher to allow her young students to get excited about language and express themselves as kindergartners do because there is another class is being taught on the other side of the partition. In this class a group of 6th grade newcomers strain to hear what they teacher is saying.  They are continuously districted by the kindergarten noise and activities.             The itinerant teacher A second substandard condition that many ESL teachers face is teaching in too many locations. Teachers are often required to travel to two or more schools.  One itinerant ESL teacher that I know travels to four schools and teaches 20 students in grades K-12. She organizes her ESL program in the trunk of her car. In each building she teaches all of the students who need ESL during one or two class periods resulting in groups that combine 5th graders with 2nd graders. When she arrives at her destination this ESL teacher teaches in whatever space she can find.  Instruction does not take place in the same space everyday. Her materials are spread throughout the schools that she visits or are kept in her trunk.  Like most itinerant teachers, Pat is unable to function as a source of support and information to classroom teachers and to parents because there is not time.  She frequently ends her day back at one of her schools to conference with a parent. a classroom teacher, or the Child Study Team.   Class size The better organized you are, the better job that you do, the more you are expected to do and the less support you receive.  Imagine a job where you work hard to help students succeed and when they do, your school district is reluctant to increase support as your population grows. What’s one more student in a group of nine? So what if you have a stray 45h grader in a group of 2nd graders.  One teacher told me that she has more than 20 students of different grade and ability levels in her classroom at the same time. We are simply teaching too many students in groups that are too large.   It is the ESL teacher’s job to teach students to take risks with language.  They should provide an atmosphere of trust and privacy in order to encourage these risks. They want to expose their ELLs to literacy through many forms of print including word walls and encourage students to enjoy reading by offering them books to choose from in their classroom so they can get excited about literature. An itinerant teacher in a substandard space cannot accomplish this.  ESL teachers need to have their own instructional space with a reasonable number of students assigned to their classes. They can’t be stretched to three or more schools if we are to help our students become full participants in the school community.   Schools are in the process of adapting instruction to the Common Core State Standards.  Many teachers and administrators have expressed concern about how to help ELLs reach these norms.   ESL teachers are an important part of the answer to this question.  So are their working conditions and the learning environment for ELLs.        nonadult false Learning Environments for ELLs text blog 651 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 6486137 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_December-Holidays-and-English-Language-Learners/blog/6478197/127586.html By Judie Haynes Hyungsoo, a 2nd grade student from Korea, sat across from me at the table in my ESL class with a pained look on his face. “Santa didn’t come to my house!” he complained. “I didn’t get any presents.” I knew the source of his disappointment. Many young public school students in the United States spend a good part of December discussing Santa, elves, and presents. They listen to stories about Santa, make presents for their parents, and exchange grab bag gifts with their classmates. Hyungsoo’s family is Christian, and for them, Christmas is strictly a religious holiday.  His parents did not realize that most of his  classmates would be receiving gifts from Santa and they were not aware of how left out he would feel.             Unfortunately, most elementary schools give little thought to the children who are looking in from the outside during December. Another of my students, Marina, is Russian and her family is Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah in December. Karim is Muslim and his family celebrates Ramadan in September. Rei’s family is Shinto and they celebrate Oshogatsu (A  New Year holiday in Japan.) Hui is Taiwanese and his family is Buddhist. They celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May.  Priya, who is from India, told the ESL class, “I am Hindu and I don’t celebrate Christmas. Santa doesn’t come to my house.” Priya’s family celebrated Diwali in September.            Except for the recognition of Hanukkah, none of these holidays is part of our school curriculum. The majority of the students in my school are Christian, but this ESL class of six students represents all of the major religions in the school population.            As I looked at  this group of ELLs, I realized that all of these students are on the fringes of school life during December. Although no religious symbols displayed in the hallways, our bulletin boards abound with fir trees, reindeer, and especially Santa. In our front lobby there is a menorah and a “holiday tree” decorated with student-made ornaments. There is also a Kinara, a candleholder with seven candles that is a symbol of Kwanzaa. This is an effort to give equal time to other celebrations. Many students, however, observe holidays that are never represented in the front lobby.          We all have to work to make our schools more inclusive. Our job is to protect the religious rights of all our students. I think the onus should be taken off of December. Let’s solve the December dilemma by learning about Diwali and Ramadan in September, Rosh Hashanah in October, and Christmas in December. Let’s explore the secular holidays such as Chu suk, the Chinese Moon Festival, and Holi. We should not overemphasis one particular holiday, and the students in my 2nd grade ESL class should not feel they are on the outside looking in.  By Judie Haynes Hyungsoo, a 2nd grade student from Korea, sat across from me at the table in my ESL class with a pained look on his face. “Santa didn’t come to my house!” he complained. “I didn’t get any presents.” I knew the source of his disappointment. Many young public school students in the United States spend a good part of December discussing Santa, elves, and presents. They listen to stories about Santa, make presents for their parents, and exchange grab bag gifts with their classmates. Hyungsoo’s family is Christian, and for them, Christmas is strictly a religious holiday.  His parents did not realize that most of his  classmates would be receiving gifts from Santa and they were not aware of how left out he would feel.             Unfortunately, most elementary schools give little thought to the children who are looking in from the outside during December. Another of my students, Marina, is Russian and her family is Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah in December. Karim is Muslim and his family celebrates Ramadan in September. Rei’s family is Shinto and they celebrate Oshogatsu (A  New Year holiday in Japan.) Hui is Taiwanese and his family is Buddhist. They celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May.  Priya, who is from India, told the ESL class, “I am Hindu and I don’t celebrate Christmas. Santa doesn’t come to my house.” Priya’s family celebrated Diwali in September.            Except for the recognition of Hanukkah, none of these holidays is part of our school curriculum. The majority of the students in my school are Christian, but this ESL class of six students represents all of the major religions in the school population.            As I looked at  this group of ELLs, I realized that all of these students are on the fringes of school life during December. Although no religious symbols displayed in the hallways, our bulletin boards abound with fir trees, reindeer, and especially Santa. In our front lobby there is a menorah and a “holiday tree” decorated with student-made ornaments. There is also a Kinara, a candleholder with seven candles that is a symbol of Kwanzaa. This is an effort to give equal time to other celebrations. Many students, however, observe holidays that are never represented in the front lobby.          We all have to work to make our schools more inclusive. Our job is to protect the religious rights of all our students. I think the onus should be taken off of December. Let’s solve the December dilemma by learning about Diwali and Ramadan in September, Rosh Hashanah in October, and Christmas in December. Let’s explore the secular holidays such as Chu suk, the Chinese Moon Festival, and Holi. We should not overemphasis one particular holiday, and the students in my 2nd grade ESL class should not feel they are on the outside looking in.  Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:02:58 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_December-Holidays-and-English-Language-Learners/blog/6478197/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2012-11-27T00:02:58Z ASCD EDge By Judie Haynes Hyungsoo, a 2nd grade student from Korea, sat across from me at the table in my ESL class with a pained look on his face. “Santa didn’t come to my house!” he complained. “I didn’t get any presents.” I knew the source of his disappointment. Many young public school students in the United States spend a good part of December discussing Santa, elves, and presents. They listen to stories about Santa, make presents for their parents, and exchange grab bag gifts with their classmates. Hyungsoo’s family is Christian, and for them, Christmas is strictly a religious holiday.  His parents did not realize that most of his  classmates would be receiving gifts from Santa and they were not aware of how left out he would feel.             Unfortunately, most elementary schools give little thought to the children who are looking in from the outside during December. Another of my students, Marina, is Russian and her family is Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah in December. Karim is Muslim and his family celebrates Ramadan in September. Rei’s family is Shinto and they celebrate Oshogatsu (A  New Year holiday in Japan.) Hui is Taiwanese and his family is Buddhist. They celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May.  Priya, who is from India, told the ESL class, “I am Hindu and I don’t celebrate Christmas. Santa doesn’t come to my house.” Priya’s family celebrated Diwali in September.            Except for the recognition of Hanukkah, none of these holidays is part of our school curriculum. The majority of the students in my school are Christian, but this ESL class of six students represents all of the major religions in the school population.            As I looked at  this group of ELLs, I realized that all of these students are on the fringes of school life during December. Although no religious symbols displayed in the hallways, our bulletin boards abound with fir trees, reindeer, and especially Santa. In our front lobby there is a menorah and a “holiday tree” decorated with student-made ornaments. There is also a Kinara, a candleholder with seven candles that is a symbol of Kwanzaa. This is an effort to give equal time to other celebrations. Many students, however, observe holidays that are never represented in the front lobby.          We all have to work to make our schools more inclusive. Our job is to protect the religious rights of all our students. I think the onus should be taken off of December. Let’s solve the December dilemma by learning about Diwali and Ramadan in September, Rosh Hashanah in October, and Christmas in December. Let’s explore the secular holidays such as Chu suk, the Chinese Moon Festival, and Holi. We should not overemphasis one particular holiday, and the students in my 2nd grade ESL class should not feel they are on the outside looking in.  nonadult false December Holidays and English Language Learners text blog 668 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 6478197 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Culture-Shock-and-Beginning-ELLs/blog/6467407/127586.html No discussion of English language learners’ first year of school would be complete without talking about culture shock. As educators, the more we do to help English language learners (ELLs) cope with the challenges that they face, including the anxiety that they might feel as they enter a new learning environment, the more positive their experience will be. While anxiety can manifest itself in a myriad of ways, it leads to insecurity and a barrier to learning. Many ELLs experience these behaviors and dispositions. The more posi­tive the experience, the more open ELLs are to learn.   Moving to a new school can be difficult for any student but for those who have to learn a new culture and language, the change can be traumatizing. If beginning ELLs are coming from a different country for the first time, they will experience the trauma of a new culture, often referred as culture shock. Culture shock can dramatically affect a student’s first year in a U.S. school.   Let’s look at Aditya, who is a new fifth-grade student that recently arrived from India. Aditya is very frustrated about his inability to communicate and lashes out when he doesn’t understand what is being said. He is aggressive toward his classmates on the school playground. One day, the only other Hindi-speaking student in his school was absent and he couldn’t speak to his classmates at all. He became very upset and ran from the classroom and left the school. Aditya’s orientation to school in the United States was especially hard. The school principal placed him in a classroom where there were no other speakers of Hindi. Aditya’s parents felt he would learn English much more quickly if he was not able to speak Hindi in school. As a result, he did not have any native language support. What might have happened if Aditya had been placed in a classroom where there were more Hindi-speaking students? We might surmise that his culture shock would not have been so severe.    Teachers, administrators, and other school personnel must realize that not all beginning ELs will suffer from culture shock in the same way. The spectrum varies from withdrawn and passive to aggressive. The greater the difference between the new culture and the students’ primary culture, the greater the shock. For example, a student moving from Mexico to Arizona, where there are many Spanish speakers, may not experience culture shock in the same way as a student moving from Sudan to Minnesota. In addition, parents of ELLs may be unable to help them because they are also suffering from culture shock.    In educational settings, researchers and practitioners recognize four of stages of culture shock the honeymoon or euphoric stage; rejection or culture shock stage; integration stage; assimilation or adaption stage. As educators, we need to be aware of these stages and how they can influence the behavior of newly arrived ELLs.   Debbie Zacarian and I originally published this blog onLarry Ferlazzos's blog and is excerpted from our new book The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners.  Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D. and Judie Haynes are the authors of The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners (2012) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.  Dr. Zacarian is the director of the Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement at the Collaborative for Educational Services and consults with state agencies and school districts nation-wide. Judie Haynes, a former ESL teacher with 28 years experience and owner of the website everythingESL.net, provides consulting on teaching ELs throughout the US and Canada.    No discussion of English language learners’ first year of school would be complete without talking about culture shock. As educators, the more we do to help English language learners (ELLs) cope with the challenges that they face, including the anxiety that they might feel as they enter a new learning environment, the more positive their experience will be. While anxiety can manifest itself in a myriad of ways, it leads to insecurity and a barrier to learning. Many ELLs experience these behaviors and dispositions. The more posi­tive the experience, the more open ELLs are to learn.   Moving to a new school can be difficult for any student but for those who have to learn a new culture and language, the change can be traumatizing. If beginning ELLs are coming from a different country for the first time, they will experience the trauma of a new culture, often referred as culture shock. Culture shock can dramatically affect a student’s first year in a U.S. school.   Let’s look at Aditya, who is a new fifth-grade student that recently arrived from India. Aditya is very frustrated about his inability to communicate and lashes out when he doesn’t understand what is being said. He is aggressive toward his classmates on the school playground. One day, the only other Hindi-speaking student in his school was absent and he couldn’t speak to his classmates at all. He became very upset and ran from the classroom and left the school. Aditya’s orientation to school in the United States was especially hard. The school principal placed him in a classroom where there were no other speakers of Hindi. Aditya’s parents felt he would learn English much more quickly if he was not able to speak Hindi in school. As a result, he did not have any native language support. What might have happened if Aditya had been placed in a classroom where there were more Hindi-speaking students? We might surmise that his culture shock would not have been so severe.    Teachers, administrators, and other school personnel must realize that not all beginning ELs will suffer from culture shock in the same way. The spectrum varies from withdrawn and passive to aggressive. The greater the difference between the new culture and the students’ primary culture, the greater the shock. For example, a student moving from Mexico to Arizona, where there are many Spanish speakers, may not experience culture shock in the same way as a student moving from Sudan to Minnesota. In addition, parents of ELLs may be unable to help them because they are also suffering from culture shock.    In educational settings, researchers and practitioners recognize four of stages of culture shock the honeymoon or euphoric stage; rejection or culture shock stage; integration stage; assimilation or adaption stage. As educators, we need to be aware of these stages and how they can influence the behavior of newly arrived ELLs.   Debbie Zacarian and I originally published this blog onLarry Ferlazzos's blog and is excerpted from our new book The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners.  Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D. and Judie Haynes are the authors of The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners (2012) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.  Dr. Zacarian is the director of the Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement at the Collaborative for Educational Services and consults with state agencies and school districts nation-wide. Judie Haynes, a former ESL teacher with 28 years experience and owner of the website everythingESL.net, provides consulting on teaching ELs throughout the US and Canada.    Sat, 17 Nov 2012 05:50:31 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Culture-Shock-and-Beginning-ELLs/blog/6467407/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2012-11-17T05:50:31Z ASCD EDge No discussion of English language learners’ first year of school would be complete without talking about culture shock. As educators, the more we do to help English language learners (ELLs) cope with the challenges that they face, including the anxiety that they might feel as they enter a new learning environment, the more positive their experience will be. While anxiety can manifest itself in a myriad of ways, it leads to insecurity and a barrier to learning. Many ELLs experience these behaviors and dispositions. The more posi­tive the experience, the more open ELLs are to learn.   Moving to a new school can be difficult for any student but for those who have to learn a new culture and language, the change can be traumatizing. If beginning ELLs are coming from a different country for the first time, they will experience the trauma of a new culture, often referred as culture shock. Culture shock can dramatically affect a student’s first year in a U.S. school.   Let’s look at Aditya, who is a new fifth-grade student that recently arrived from India. Aditya is very frustrated about his inability to communicate and lashes out when he doesn’t understand what is being said. He is aggressive toward his classmates on the school playground. One day, the only other Hindi-speaking student in his school was absent and he couldn’t speak to his classmates at all. He became very upset and ran from the classroom and left the school. Aditya’s orientation to school in the United States was especially hard. The school principal placed him in a classroom where there were no other speakers of Hindi. Aditya’s parents felt he would learn English much more quickly if he was not able to speak Hindi in school. As a result, he did not have any native language support. What might have happened if Aditya had been placed in a classroom where there were more Hindi-speaking students? We might surmise that his culture shock would not have been so severe.    Teachers, administrators, and other school personnel must realize that not all beginning ELs will suffer from culture shock in the same way. The spectrum varies from withdrawn and passive to aggressive. The greater the difference between the new culture and the students’ primary culture, the greater the shock. For example, a student moving from Mexico to Arizona, where there are many Spanish speakers, may not experience culture shock in the same way as a student moving from Sudan to Minnesota. In addition, parents of ELLs may be unable to help them because they are also suffering from culture shock.    In educational settings, researchers and practitioners recognize four of stages of culture shock the honeymoon or euphoric stage; rejection or culture shock stage; integration stage; assimilation or adaption stage. As educators, we need to be aware of these stages and how they can influence the behavior of newly arrived ELLs.   Debbie Zacarian and I originally published this blog onLarry Ferlazzos's blog and is excerpted from our new book The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners.  Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D. and Judie Haynes are the authors of The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners (2012) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.  Dr. Zacarian is the director of the Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement at the Collaborative for Educational Services and consults with state agencies and school districts nation-wide. Judie Haynes, a former ESL teacher with 28 years experience and owner of the website everythingESL.net, provides consulting on teaching ELs throughout the US and Canada.    nonadult false Culture Shock and Beginning ELLs text blog 1076 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 6467407 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Top-12-Websites-for-Beginning-ELLs/blog/6398999/127586.html Top 12 Websites to Scaffold Instruction for Beginning ELLs by Judie Haynes When teaching beginning level English language learners, it is essential to provide scaffolding so that students can access content area information. Scaffolding new information in English is a valuable strategy when teaching in the content areas but it is not enough for students who speak very limited English.  Beginning ELLs will have a better chance of benefiting from scaffolds if they have been introduced to key vocabulary and concepts in their native language first. There are an increasing amount of materials online in a variety of languages. Here are some of the Websites that provide information in other languages. Childtopia provides content area activities for beginning ELs in English and 5 other languages. Grades K-8/ CNN en Español  or CNN in Arabic When studying current events, beginning ELs can follow the events in either Spanish or Arabic on CNN.  Grades 7-12 Cuentos y Más is on the Arlington, VA Public Library website.  Storyteller Mariela Aguilar and some special guests perform bilingual stories and more for children in Grades pre-K-3. Education Place is a website that provides graphic organizers for students in English and Spanish.  Grades K-12 Google supports more than 104 languages or dialects and offers a personalized version of his engine for more than 115 countries. Have students from Korea, for example, go to Google Korea and search for information in Korean.  Grades 5-12. Google Cultural Institute is an outstanding resource for students of world cultures.  The narration is in English but there are translations of the speech into a great number of languages under each image.  Grades 5-12. Google Translate provides translation from English to over 60 other languages.  Users of this site must be aware that the translations are sometimes unreliable.  However, native speakers of the language will be able to get the gist of what is being said.  Grades 5-12. New York Science Teacher New York Science Teacher provides list of key vocabulary words in different science discipline in 7 languages.  Grades 7-12. Pumerosa is a website that provides practice for students who are beginning English learners.   Instructions can be read in many different languages.  Grades 7-12. Simple English Wiktionary is an online dictionary. It provides definitions for ELs in  simple language.  It also provides a definition of vocabulary in English in a variety of languages.  Grades 5-12. Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia is available in a large variety of languages and provides native language access to information for ELs.  Teachers may want to check articles for accuracy of content information. Grades 5-12. Windows to the Universe Windows to the Universe is a website that provides information about science topics in three levels of English as well as in Spanish. Grades 5-12. The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners by Debbie Zacarian & Judie Haynes  Corwin, 2012.  Top 12 Websites to Scaffold Instruction for Beginning ELLs by Judie Haynes When teaching beginning level English language learners, it is essential to provide scaffolding so that students can access content area information. Scaffolding new information in English is a valuable strategy when teaching in the content areas but it is not enough for students who speak very limited English.  Beginning ELLs will have a better chance of benefiting from scaffolds if they have been introduced to key vocabulary and concepts in their native language first. There are an increasing amount of materials online in a variety of languages. Here are some of the Websites that provide information in other languages. Childtopia provides content area activities for beginning ELs in English and 5 other languages. Grades K-8/ CNN en Español  or CNN in Arabic When studying current events, beginning ELs can follow the events in either Spanish or Arabic on CNN.  Grades 7-12 Cuentos y Más is on the Arlington, VA Public Library website.  Storyteller Mariela Aguilar and some special guests perform bilingual stories and more for children in Grades pre-K-3. Education Place is a website that provides graphic organizers for students in English and Spanish.  Grades K-12 Google supports more than 104 languages or dialects and offers a personalized version of his engine for more than 115 countries. Have students from Korea, for example, go to Google Korea and search for information in Korean.  Grades 5-12. Google Cultural Institute is an outstanding resource for students of world cultures.  The narration is in English but there are translations of the speech into a great number of languages under each image.  Grades 5-12. Google Translate provides translation from English to over 60 other languages.  Users of this site must be aware that the translations are sometimes unreliable.  However, native speakers of the language will be able to get the gist of what is being said.  Grades 5-12. New York Science Teacher New York Science Teacher provides list of key vocabulary words in different science discipline in 7 languages.  Grades 7-12. Pumerosa is a website that provides practice for students who are beginning English learners.   Instructions can be read in many different languages.  Grades 7-12. Simple English Wiktionary is an online dictionary. It provides definitions for ELs in  simple language.  It also provides a definition of vocabulary in English in a variety of languages.  Grades 5-12. Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia is available in a large variety of languages and provides native language access to information for ELs.  Teachers may want to check articles for accuracy of content information. Grades 5-12. Windows to the Universe Windows to the Universe is a website that provides information about science topics in three levels of English as well as in Spanish. Grades 5-12. The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners by Debbie Zacarian & Judie Haynes  Corwin, 2012.  Sun, 14 Oct 2012 21:45:00 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Top-12-Websites-for-Beginning-ELLs/blog/6398999/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2012-10-14T21:45:00Z ASCD EDge Top 12 Websites to Scaffold Instruction for Beginning ELLs by Judie Haynes When teaching beginning level English language learners, it is essential to provide scaffolding so that students can access content area information. Scaffolding new information in English is a valuable strategy when teaching in the content areas but it is not enough for students who speak very limited English.  Beginning ELLs will have a better chance of benefiting from scaffolds if they have been introduced to key vocabulary and concepts in their native language first. There are an increasing amount of materials online in a variety of languages. Here are some of the Websites that provide information in other languages. Childtopia provides content area activities for beginning ELs in English and 5 other languages. Grades K-8/ CNN en Español  or CNN in Arabic When studying current events, beginning ELs can follow the events in either Spanish or Arabic on CNN.  Grades 7-12 Cuentos y Más is on the Arlington, VA Public Library website.  Storyteller Mariela Aguilar and some special guests perform bilingual stories and more for children in Grades pre-K-3. Education Place is a website that provides graphic organizers for students in English and Spanish.  Grades K-12 Google supports more than 104 languages or dialects and offers a personalized version of his engine for more than 115 countries. Have students from Korea, for example, go to Google Korea and search for information in Korean.  Grades 5-12. Google Cultural Institute is an outstanding resource for students of world cultures.  The narration is in English but there are translations of the speech into a great number of languages under each image.  Grades 5-12. Google Translate provides translation from English to over 60 other languages.  Users of this site must be aware that the translations are sometimes unreliable.  However, native speakers of the language will be able to get the gist of what is being said.  Grades 5-12. New York Science Teacher New York Science Teacher provides list of key vocabulary words in different science discipline in 7 languages.  Grades 7-12. Pumerosa is a website that provides practice for students who are beginning English learners.   Instructions can be read in many different languages.  Grades 7-12. Simple English Wiktionary is an online dictionary. It provides definitions for ELs in  simple language.  It also provides a definition of vocabulary in English in a variety of languages.  Grades 5-12. Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia is available in a large variety of languages and provides native language access to information for ELs.  Teachers may want to check articles for accuracy of content information. Grades 5-12. Windows to the Universe Windows to the Universe is a website that provides information about science topics in three levels of English as well as in Spanish. Grades 5-12. The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners by Debbie Zacarian & Judie Haynes  Corwin, 2012.  nonadult false Top 12 Websites for Beginning ELLs text blog 802 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 6398999 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_5-Key-Strategies-for-Teaching-Beginning-ELLs/blog/6394145/127586.html By Judie Haynes Here are five key strategies for teaching beginning English language learners: 1. Provide information that the beginning ELL can understand. Language is not “soaked up.”  A beginning level English learner must understand the message that is conveyed. In schools where there are no bilingual programs, ELLs are assigned to a general education classroom and spend most of their day in this environment. It is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If possible bilingual aides should be employed to help translate key concepts and vocabulary.  Materials should be available in native language. Teachers need to speak more slowly,  use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to English language learners. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and concepts for beginners include graphs, maps, photographs, drawings,  charts, and videos. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.   Content area information can be used to teach language. However, educators need differentiate the language used for instruction.  All teachers need to become language teachers. Let’s look at  Mr. Hurley’s 6th grade science class where students are studying volcanoes. Mr. Hurley uses graphic organizers on  Webspiration.  to help students organize information.   He provides websites from Thinkfinity to provide simple drawings for his beginners. The English language learners in his class can study diagrams of the parts of the volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes through online resources. The ELL beginners can read  information on three different types of volcanoes online at Windows to the Universe.  Mr. Hurley has set the site at the “beginner level” in English and his Spanish speaking students read the material on the website in native language first.  Some of his Chinese and Indian students are reading material in native language on Wikipedia.  As they read, they label the different types of volcanoes. They watch the eruption of a volcano on Teacher Tube.  Mr. Hurley’s beginning ELs are responsible for 6 concrete vocabulary words.   2. Link new information to prior knowledge. Teachers need to consider what schema English language learners bring to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom.  Mr. Hurley asks bilingual aides to write messages to the parent of beginners so that students can talk to them about volcanoes in their country and stories about people they know that might have had experience with a volcano.  Same language buddies explain the assignment to beginners.  3. Modify vocabulary instruction for ELs. English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Content area teachers need to go beyond the concrete nouns that are needed for the lesson. Functiion words, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions also need to be taught.  Beginners should also have multiple opportunities to practice the pronunciation and learn the meaning of new words.  Beginning ELs need much more exposure to new words and phrases than do English fluent peers. Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.  Beginners need to learn concrete nouns and simple verbs first.   4. Use cooperative learning strategies. Lecture style teaching excludes beginning ELLs from the learning in a content area classroom. We don’t want to relegate English language learners to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to beginning ELLs who have an authentic reason to learn key concepts and use academic vocabulary. Beginning ELLs should be grouped with same language peers when possible.   Jobs in a cooperative learning group can be modified for  them.  Beginning ELLs can gather supplies,  draw pictures,  and look for illustrations online.  In Mr. Hurley’s class cooperative groups concluded the unit on Volcanoes by designing a poster using Glogster. 5. Modify testing and homework for ELs. Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for Beginning ELLs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings, physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test. Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study. Remember that the ELLs in your class may not be able to take notes.   From Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes,  (2012)  The Essential Guide to Educating Beginning English Learners    By Judie Haynes Here are five key strategies for teaching beginning English language learners: 1. Provide information that the beginning ELL can understand. Language is not “soaked up.”  A beginning level English learner must understand the message that is conveyed. In schools where there are no bilingual programs, ELLs are assigned to a general education classroom and spend most of their day in this environment. It is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If possible bilingual aides should be employed to help translate key concepts and vocabulary.  Materials should be available in native language. Teachers need to speak more slowly,  use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to English language learners. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and concepts for beginners include graphs, maps, photographs, drawings,  charts, and videos. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.   Content area information can be used to teach language. However, educators need differentiate the language used for instruction.  All teachers need to become language teachers. Let’s look at  Mr. Hurley’s 6th grade science class where students are studying volcanoes. Mr. Hurley uses graphic organizers on  Webspiration.  to help students organize information.   He provides websites from Thinkfinity to provide simple drawings for his beginners. The English language learners in his class can study diagrams of the parts of the volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes through online resources. The ELL beginners can read  information on three different types of volcanoes online at Windows to the Universe.  Mr. Hurley has set the site at the “beginner level” in English and his Spanish speaking students read the material on the website in native language first.  Some of his Chinese and Indian students are reading material in native language on Wikipedia.  As they read, they label the different types of volcanoes. They watch the eruption of a volcano on Teacher Tube.  Mr. Hurley’s beginning ELs are responsible for 6 concrete vocabulary words.   2. Link new information to prior knowledge. Teachers need to consider what schema English language learners bring to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom.  Mr. Hurley asks bilingual aides to write messages to the parent of beginners so that students can talk to them about volcanoes in their country and stories about people they know that might have had experience with a volcano.  Same language buddies explain the assignment to beginners.  3. Modify vocabulary instruction for ELs. English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Content area teachers need to go beyond the concrete nouns that are needed for the lesson. Functiion words, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions also need to be taught.  Beginners should also have multiple opportunities to practice the pronunciation and learn the meaning of new words.  Beginning ELs need much more exposure to new words and phrases than do English fluent peers. Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.  Beginners need to learn concrete nouns and simple verbs first.   4. Use cooperative learning strategies. Lecture style teaching excludes beginning ELLs from the learning in a content area classroom. We don’t want to relegate English language learners to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to beginning ELLs who have an authentic reason to learn key concepts and use academic vocabulary. Beginning ELLs should be grouped with same language peers when possible.   Jobs in a cooperative learning group can be modified for  them.  Beginning ELLs can gather supplies,  draw pictures,  and look for illustrations online.  In Mr. Hurley’s class cooperative groups concluded the unit on Volcanoes by designing a poster using Glogster. 5. Modify testing and homework for ELs. Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for Beginning ELLs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings, physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test. Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study. Remember that the ELLs in your class may not be able to take notes.   From Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes,  (2012)  The Essential Guide to Educating Beginning English Learners    Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:38:57 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_5-Key-Strategies-for-Teaching-Beginning-ELLs/blog/6394145/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2012-10-12T05:38:57Z ASCD EDge By Judie Haynes Here are five key strategies for teaching beginning English language learners: 1. Provide information that the beginning ELL can understand. Language is not “soaked up.”  A beginning level English learner must understand the message that is conveyed. In schools where there are no bilingual programs, ELLs are assigned to a general education classroom and spend most of their day in this environment. It is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If possible bilingual aides should be employed to help translate key concepts and vocabulary.  Materials should be available in native language. Teachers need to speak more slowly,  use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to English language learners. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and concepts for beginners include graphs, maps, photographs, drawings,  charts, and videos. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.   Content area information can be used to teach language. However, educators need differentiate the language used for instruction.  All teachers need to become language teachers. Let’s look at  Mr. Hurley’s 6th grade science class where students are studying volcanoes. Mr. Hurley uses graphic organizers on  Webspiration.  to help students organize information.   He provides websites from Thinkfinity to provide simple drawings for his beginners. The English language learners in his class can study diagrams of the parts of the volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes through online resources. The ELL beginners can read  information on three different types of volcanoes online at Windows to the Universe.  Mr. Hurley has set the site at the “beginner level” in English and his Spanish speaking students read the material on the website in native language first.  Some of his Chinese and Indian students are reading material in native language on Wikipedia.  As they read, they label the different types of volcanoes. They watch the eruption of a volcano on Teacher Tube.  Mr. Hurley’s beginning ELs are responsible for 6 concrete vocabulary words.   2. Link new information to prior knowledge. Teachers need to consider what schema English language learners bring to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom.  Mr. Hurley asks bilingual aides to write messages to the parent of beginners so that students can talk to them about volcanoes in their country and stories about people they know that might have had experience with a volcano.  Same language buddies explain the assignment to beginners.  3. Modify vocabulary instruction for ELs. English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Content area teachers need to go beyond the concrete nouns that are needed for the lesson. Functiion words, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions also need to be taught.  Beginners should also have multiple opportunities to practice the pronunciation and learn the meaning of new words.  Beginning ELs need much more exposure to new words and phrases than do English fluent peers. Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.  Beginners need to learn concrete nouns and simple verbs first.   4. Use cooperative learning strategies. Lecture style teaching excludes beginning ELLs from the learning in a content area classroom. We don’t want to relegate English language learners to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to beginning ELLs who have an authentic reason to learn key concepts and use academic vocabulary. Beginning ELLs should be grouped with same language peers when possible.   Jobs in a cooperative learning group can be modified for  them.  Beginning ELLs can gather supplies,  draw pictures,  and look for illustrations online.  In Mr. Hurley’s class cooperative groups concluded the unit on Volcanoes by designing a poster using Glogster. 5. Modify testing and homework for ELs. Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for Beginning ELLs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings, physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test. Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study. Remember that the ELLs in your class may not be able to take notes.   From Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes,  (2012)  The Essential Guide to Educating Beginning English Learners    nonadult false 5 Key Strategies for Teaching Beginning ELLs text blog 1655 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 6394145 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Holding-Conferences-with-Parents-of-ELLs/blog/6384467/127586.html The increasing population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in our schools poses a challenge for classroom teachers who need to communicate with their families. Parents of English language learners may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and do not know what is expected of them during a parent-teacher conference. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with parents who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices.           Conferences with parents of English language learners (ELLs) require preparation on order to have a productive meeting. Here are six  ideas that will help teachers of ELLs. 1) Determine whether a translator is needed. Many parents do not speak English well enough to understand what you are saying so it is important to the success of a conference to contact a translator for parents who need one.  If your school does not provide translators, ask parents to bring a bilingual family member. Siblings, or worse yet, the child herself, should never be used to translate for the parents. When a translator is needed, the meeting time should be lengthened to ensure that there is enough time for the teacher to provide information and answer questions. 2) Assemble samples of the student’s work to share with parents.  Have a solid understanding of the student’s current English proficiency level and prepare to provide samples of this during the meeting. Try to schedule the conferences so that both parents can attend. In some cultures, the father must be included since no important decisions are made without his agreement. 3) Convey a receptive attitude. Walk to the door of your classroom to greet parents as they come into your room just as you would greet guests in your home.   4) Consider the physical set-up of your conference space. A face-to face setting may be too confrontational for parents of some cultures. Arrange chairs so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the parents.   Place the parent between yourself and the translator.  Don't  misinterpret parents’ meaning if they don’t make eye contact.  In the U.S we feel that someone who doesn’t look us in the eye is untrustworthy. People from some cultures consider making eye contact confrontational. Sitting at a 45-degree angle to the parent helps minimize the amount of eye contact.   5) During the conference you should speak in short uncomplicated sentences and stop so that the translator can translate for parents every few sentences.  If you do not stop speaking every few sentences, your whole message will not be conveyed.  Do not use educational jargon. Avoid speaking directly to the translator. Include the parent in the conversation. When you ask the parent questions, give the translator time to talk to the parents. 6)  An important area for misunderstandings is in the attitude of different cultures toward time.  The U.S, Canada and northern European countries see time as being highly structured, logical, exact, and sequential.  We are monochronic. People from South and Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa like to keep their time unstructured.  They are polychromic. To a monochron, time is exact and being late is both rude and disrespectful. To a polychron, the time set for a meeting is just an approximation.  If parents arrive at a meeting 45 minutes after the appointed time, it is because arriving up to 45 minutes after the designated time is not considered late.            When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, those children are more likely to make good grade and test higher on standardized tests. They will attend school more regularly, be less likely to drop out.  This is a worthy goal that teachers can strive for when they have effective conferences with the parents of English language learners.   The increasing population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in our schools poses a challenge for classroom teachers who need to communicate with their families. Parents of English language learners may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and do not know what is expected of them during a parent-teacher conference. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with parents who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices.           Conferences with parents of English language learners (ELLs) require preparation on order to have a productive meeting. Here are six  ideas that will help teachers of ELLs. 1) Determine whether a translator is needed. Many parents do not speak English well enough to understand what you are saying so it is important to the success of a conference to contact a translator for parents who need one.  If your school does not provide translators, ask parents to bring a bilingual family member. Siblings, or worse yet, the child herself, should never be used to translate for the parents. When a translator is needed, the meeting time should be lengthened to ensure that there is enough time for the teacher to provide information and answer questions. 2) Assemble samples of the student’s work to share with parents.  Have a solid understanding of the student’s current English proficiency level and prepare to provide samples of this during the meeting. Try to schedule the conferences so that both parents can attend. In some cultures, the father must be included since no important decisions are made without his agreement. 3) Convey a receptive attitude. Walk to the door of your classroom to greet parents as they come into your room just as you would greet guests in your home.   4) Consider the physical set-up of your conference space. A face-to face setting may be too confrontational for parents of some cultures. Arrange chairs so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the parents.   Place the parent between yourself and the translator.  Don't  misinterpret parents’ meaning if they don’t make eye contact.  In the U.S we feel that someone who doesn’t look us in the eye is untrustworthy. People from some cultures consider making eye contact confrontational. Sitting at a 45-degree angle to the parent helps minimize the amount of eye contact.   5) During the conference you should speak in short uncomplicated sentences and stop so that the translator can translate for parents every few sentences.  If you do not stop speaking every few sentences, your whole message will not be conveyed.  Do not use educational jargon. Avoid speaking directly to the translator. Include the parent in the conversation. When you ask the parent questions, give the translator time to talk to the parents. 6)  An important area for misunderstandings is in the attitude of different cultures toward time.  The U.S, Canada and northern European countries see time as being highly structured, logical, exact, and sequential.  We are monochronic. People from South and Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa like to keep their time unstructured.  They are polychromic. To a monochron, time is exact and being late is both rude and disrespectful. To a polychron, the time set for a meeting is just an approximation.  If parents arrive at a meeting 45 minutes after the appointed time, it is because arriving up to 45 minutes after the designated time is not considered late.            When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, those children are more likely to make good grade and test higher on standardized tests. They will attend school more regularly, be less likely to drop out.  This is a worthy goal that teachers can strive for when they have effective conferences with the parents of English language learners.   Sat, 06 Oct 2012 06:20:08 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Holding-Conferences-with-Parents-of-ELLs/blog/6384467/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2012-10-06T06:20:08Z ASCD EDge The increasing population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in our schools poses a challenge for classroom teachers who need to communicate with their families. Parents of English language learners may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and do not know what is expected of them during a parent-teacher conference. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with parents who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices.           Conferences with parents of English language learners (ELLs) require preparation on order to have a productive meeting. Here are six  ideas that will help teachers of ELLs. 1) Determine whether a translator is needed. Many parents do not speak English well enough to understand what you are saying so it is important to the success of a conference to contact a translator for parents who need one.  If your school does not provide translators, ask parents to bring a bilingual family member. Siblings, or worse yet, the child herself, should never be used to translate for the parents. When a translator is needed, the meeting time should be lengthened to ensure that there is enough time for the teacher to provide information and answer questions. 2) Assemble samples of the student’s work to share with parents.  Have a solid understanding of the student’s current English proficiency level and prepare to provide samples of this during the meeting. Try to schedule the conferences so that both parents can attend. In some cultures, the father must be included since no important decisions are made without his agreement. 3) Convey a receptive attitude. Walk to the door of your classroom to greet parents as they come into your room just as you would greet guests in your home.   4) Consider the physical set-up of your conference space. A face-to face setting may be too confrontational for parents of some cultures. Arrange chairs so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the parents.   Place the parent between yourself and the translator.  Don't  misinterpret parents’ meaning if they don’t make eye contact.  In the U.S we feel that someone who doesn’t look us in the eye is untrustworthy. People from some cultures consider making eye contact confrontational. Sitting at a 45-degree angle to the parent helps minimize the amount of eye contact.   5) During the conference you should speak in short uncomplicated sentences and stop so that the translator can translate for parents every few sentences.  If you do not stop speaking every few sentences, your whole message will not be conveyed.  Do not use educational jargon. Avoid speaking directly to the translator. Include the parent in the conversation. When you ask the parent questions, give the translator time to talk to the parents. 6)  An important area for misunderstandings is in the attitude of different cultures toward time.  The U.S, Canada and northern European countries see time as being highly structured, logical, exact, and sequential.  We are monochronic. People from South and Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa like to keep their time unstructured.  They are polychromic. To a monochron, time is exact and being late is both rude and disrespectful. To a polychron, the time set for a meeting is just an approximation.  If parents arrive at a meeting 45 minutes after the appointed time, it is because arriving up to 45 minutes after the designated time is not considered late.            When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, those children are more likely to make good grade and test higher on standardized tests. They will attend school more regularly, be less likely to drop out.  This is a worthy goal that teachers can strive for when they have effective conferences with the parents of English language learners.   nonadult false Holding Conferences with Parents of ELLs text blog 3267 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 6384467 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Seven-Strategies-for-Differentiating-Instruction-for-English-Learners/blog/5455189/127586.html Here are seven key strategies that my co-author Debbie Zacarian and I believe should be used by classroom and subject area teachers to differentiate content area information for beginning level English learners (ELs).   1. Provide information that the beginning EL can understand. Language is not “soaked up.”  A beginning level English learner must understand the message that is conveyed. In schools where there are no bilingual programs, ELs are assigned to a general education classroom and spend most of their day in this environment. It is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If possible bilingual aides should be employed to help translate key concepts and vocabulary.  Materials should be available in native language. Teachers need to speak more slowly,  use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to English learners. Content area information can be used to teach language. However, educators need differentiate the language used for instruction.  All teachers need to become language teachers. Let’s look at  Mr. Hurley’s 6th grade science class where students are studying volcanoes.  The English learners in his class can study diagrams of the parts of the volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes through online resources. The EL beginners can read  information on three different types of volcanoes online at Windows to the Universe.  Mr. Hurley has set the site at the “beginner level” in English and his Spanish speaking students read the material on the website in native language first.  Some of his Chinese and Indian students are reading material in native language on Wikipedia.  As they read, they label the different types of volcanoes. They watch the eruption of a volcano on Teacher Tube.  Mr. Hurley’s beginning ELs are responsible for 6 concrete vocabulary words.     2.Make lessons visual. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and concepts for beginners include graphs, maps, photographs, drawings,  charts, and videos. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.  Mr. Hurley uses graphic organizers on  Webspiration.  to help students organize information.   He provides websites from Thinkfinity to provide simple drawings for his beginners.   3. Link new information to prior knowledge. Teachers need to consider what schema English learners bring to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom.  Mr. Hurley asks bilingual aides to write messages to the parent of beginners so that students can talk to them about volcanoes in their country and stories about people they know that might have had experience with a volcano.  Same language buddies explain the assignment to beginners.   4. Determine key concepts for the unit and define language and content objectives for each lesson. Teachers write the key concept for a unit of study in very simple English or in the native languages of their beginning ELs.  During the lesson, teachers need to tie this new learning to the key concept. Additionally, teachers should begin each lesson by writing a content objective in very simple language on the board. At the end of the lesson, students should be asked if the objective was met. This activity should be translated for beginners by same language buddies or classroom aides..  Language objectives for ELs that are suitable for their level of English language acquisition also need to be set.   Mr. Hurley’s language objective for a lesson in the volcanoes unit is for his beginners is to learn the names of the different types of volcanoes and label a diagram of  each type.  If all content area teachers  set objectives that they share with students and have them translated for beginning level ELs, they will include their beginners in the content lesson as their vocabulary and listening comprehension start to build. 5. Modify vocabulary instruction for ELs.   English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Content area teachers need to go beyond the concrete nouns that are needed for the lesson. Functiion words, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions also need to be taught.  Beginners should also have multiple opportunities to practice the pronunciation and learn the meaning of new words.  Beginning ELs need much more exposure to new words and phrases than do English fluent peers. Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.  Beginners need to learn concrete nouns and simple verbs first.    6. Use cooperative learning strategies.    Lecture style teaching excludes beginning ELs from the learning in a content area classroom .We don’t want to relegate ELs to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to beginning ELs who have an authentic reason to learn key concepts and use academic vocabulary. Beginning Els should be grouped with same language peers when possible.   Jobs in a cooperative learning group can be modified for  them.  Beginning ELs can gather supplies,  draw pictures,  and look for illustrations online.  In Mr. Hurley’s class cooperative groups concluded the unit on Volcanoes by designing a poster using Glogster. 7. Modify testing and homework for ELs. Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for ELs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings, physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test. Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study. Remember that the ELs in your class may not be able to take notes.   From Haynes J & Zacarian, D. Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas, (ASCD, 2010)    Here are seven key strategies that my co-author Debbie Zacarian and I believe should be used by classroom and subject area teachers to differentiate content area information for beginning level English learners (ELs).   1. Provide information that the beginning EL can understand. Language is not “soaked up.”  A beginning level English learner must understand the message that is conveyed. In schools where there are no bilingual programs, ELs are assigned to a general education classroom and spend most of their day in this environment. It is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If possible bilingual aides should be employed to help translate key concepts and vocabulary.  Materials should be available in native language. Teachers need to speak more slowly,  use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to English learners. Content area information can be used to teach language. However, educators need differentiate the language used for instruction.  All teachers need to become language teachers. Let’s look at  Mr. Hurley’s 6th grade science class where students are studying volcanoes.  The English learners in his class can study diagrams of the parts of the volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes through online resources. The EL beginners can read  information on three different types of volcanoes online at Windows to the Universe.  Mr. Hurley has set the site at the “beginner level” in English and his Spanish speaking students read the material on the website in native language first.  Some of his Chinese and Indian students are reading material in native language on Wikipedia.  As they read, they label the different types of volcanoes. They watch the eruption of a volcano on Teacher Tube.  Mr. Hurley’s beginning ELs are responsible for 6 concrete vocabulary words.     2.Make lessons visual. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and concepts for beginners include graphs, maps, photographs, drawings,  charts, and videos. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.  Mr. Hurley uses graphic organizers on  Webspiration.  to help students organize information.   He provides websites from Thinkfinity to provide simple drawings for his beginners.   3. Link new information to prior knowledge. Teachers need to consider what schema English learners bring to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom.  Mr. Hurley asks bilingual aides to write messages to the parent of beginners so that students can talk to them about volcanoes in their country and stories about people they know that might have had experience with a volcano.  Same language buddies explain the assignment to beginners.   4. Determine key concepts for the unit and define language and content objectives for each lesson. Teachers write the key concept for a unit of study in very simple English or in the native languages of their beginning ELs.  During the lesson, teachers need to tie this new learning to the key concept. Additionally, teachers should begin each lesson by writing a content objective in very simple language on the board. At the end of the lesson, students should be asked if the objective was met. This activity should be translated for beginners by same language buddies or classroom aides..  Language objectives for ELs that are suitable for their level of English language acquisition also need to be set.   Mr. Hurley’s language objective for a lesson in the volcanoes unit is for his beginners is to learn the names of the different types of volcanoes and label a diagram of  each type.  If all content area teachers  set objectives that they share with students and have them translated for beginning level ELs, they will include their beginners in the content lesson as their vocabulary and listening comprehension start to build. 5. Modify vocabulary instruction for ELs.   English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Content area teachers need to go beyond the concrete nouns that are needed for the lesson. Functiion words, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions also need to be taught.  Beginners should also have multiple opportunities to practice the pronunciation and learn the meaning of new words.  Beginning ELs need much more exposure to new words and phrases than do English fluent peers. Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.  Beginners need to learn concrete nouns and simple verbs first.    6. Use cooperative learning strategies.    Lecture style teaching excludes beginning ELs from the learning in a content area classroom .We don’t want to relegate ELs to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to beginning ELs who have an authentic reason to learn key concepts and use academic vocabulary. Beginning Els should be grouped with same language peers when possible.   Jobs in a cooperative learning group can be modified for  them.  Beginning ELs can gather supplies,  draw pictures,  and look for illustrations online.  In Mr. Hurley’s class cooperative groups concluded the unit on Volcanoes by designing a poster using Glogster. 7. Modify testing and homework for ELs. Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for ELs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings, physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test. Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study. Remember that the ELs in your class may not be able to take notes.   From Haynes J & Zacarian, D. Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas, (ASCD, 2010)    Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:13:47 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Seven-Strategies-for-Differentiating-Instruction-for-English-Learners/blog/5455189/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-11-10T02:13:47Z ASCD EDge Here are seven key strategies that my co-author Debbie Zacarian and I believe should be used by classroom and subject area teachers to differentiate content area information for beginning level English learners (ELs).   1. Provide information that the beginning EL can understand. Language is not “soaked up.”  A beginning level English learner must understand the message that is conveyed. In schools where there are no bilingual programs, ELs are assigned to a general education classroom and spend most of their day in this environment. It is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If possible bilingual aides should be employed to help translate key concepts and vocabulary.  Materials should be available in native language. Teachers need to speak more slowly,  use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to English learners. Content area information can be used to teach language. However, educators need differentiate the language used for instruction.  All teachers need to become language teachers. Let’s look at  Mr. Hurley’s 6th grade science class where students are studying volcanoes.  The English learners in his class can study diagrams of the parts of the volcanoes and the different types of volcanoes through online resources. The EL beginners can read  information on three different types of volcanoes online at Windows to the Universe.  Mr. Hurley has set the site at the “beginner level” in English and his Spanish speaking students read the material on the website in native language first.  Some of his Chinese and Indian students are reading material in native language on Wikipedia.  As they read, they label the different types of volcanoes. They watch the eruption of a volcano on Teacher Tube.  Mr. Hurley’s beginning ELs are responsible for 6 concrete vocabulary words.     2.Make lessons visual. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and concepts for beginners include graphs, maps, photographs, drawings,  charts, and videos. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.  Mr. Hurley uses graphic organizers on  Webspiration.  to help students organize information.   He provides websites from Thinkfinity to provide simple drawings for his beginners.   3. Link new information to prior knowledge. Teachers need to consider what schema English learners bring to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom.  Mr. Hurley asks bilingual aides to write messages to the parent of beginners so that students can talk to them about volcanoes in their country and stories about people they know that might have had experience with a volcano.  Same language buddies explain the assignment to beginners.   4. Determine key concepts for the unit and define language and content objectives for each lesson. Teachers write the key concept for a unit of study in very simple English or in the native languages of their beginning ELs.  During the lesson, teachers need to tie this new learning to the key concept. Additionally, teachers should begin each lesson by writing a content objective in very simple language on the board. At the end of the lesson, students should be asked if the objective was met. This activity should be translated for beginners by same language buddies or classroom aides..  Language objectives for ELs that are suitable for their level of English language acquisition also need to be set.   Mr. Hurley’s language objective for a lesson in the volcanoes unit is for his beginners is to learn the names of the different types of volcanoes and label a diagram of  each type.  If all content area teachers  set objectives that they share with students and have them translated for beginning level ELs, they will include their beginners in the content lesson as their vocabulary and listening comprehension start to build. 5. Modify vocabulary instruction for ELs.   English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Content area teachers need to go beyond the concrete nouns that are needed for the lesson. Functiion words, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions also need to be taught.  Beginners should also have multiple opportunities to practice the pronunciation and learn the meaning of new words.  Beginning ELs need much more exposure to new words and phrases than do English fluent peers. Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.  Beginners need to learn concrete nouns and simple verbs first.    6. Use cooperative learning strategies.    Lecture style teaching excludes beginning ELs from the learning in a content area classroom .We don’t want to relegate ELs to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to beginning ELs who have an authentic reason to learn key concepts and use academic vocabulary. Beginning Els should be grouped with same language peers when possible.   Jobs in a cooperative learning group can be modified for  them.  Beginning ELs can gather supplies,  draw pictures,  and look for illustrations online.  In Mr. Hurley’s class cooperative groups concluded the unit on Volcanoes by designing a poster using Glogster. 7. Modify testing and homework for ELs. Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for ELs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings, physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test. Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study. Remember that the ELs in your class may not be able to take notes.   From Haynes J & Zacarian, D. Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas, (ASCD, 2010)    nonadult false Seven Strategies for Differentiating Instruction for English Learners text blog 5130 12 4.83333 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 1 5455189 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Establishing-a-Bully-free-Environment-for-ELLs/blog/5344160/127586.html Information abounds in the press about incidents of bullying and 22 states have passed anti-bulying legislation this year. Only Montana, Michigan and South Dakota have no anti-bullying legislation. English language learners are often the targets of bullying and these new laws will affect their lives in a positive way.  States have clearly defined what bullying is and what the repercussions will be.  (In New Jersey, incidents of bullying must be reported to the state.)   There are many types of bullying. Physical bullying is comprised of actions such as hitting, pushing and punching; verbal bullying includes name-calling and teasing; and emotional bullying consists of behaviors such as excluding someone from an activity. English language learners (ELLs) are  often the victims of verbal and emotional bullying. Their parents were not likely to report bullying to the school unless the child is physically hurt.  In my experience ELL parents do  not appear to recognize the emotional damage that bullying can cause in children. They often expressed that verbal and emotional bullying is a normal part of growing up. Furthermore, ELLs who were victims of bullies were usually reluctant to draw attention to themselves and  embarrassed to talk about their problems with bullies.  It is evident that information about bullying must include parents of ELLs.  At the heart of many anti-bullying programs are various strategies that students employ to deal with bullies. Because ELLs are often unable to understand school anti-bullying policies, school districts need to make sure that the ELLs  in their schools are included in the anti-bullying programs and that important materials are translated for both students and parents.  School administrators may find that ELLs need extra practice with some of the strategies.  Anti-bullying should become a part of  a school 's ESL curriculum.  Even though ELLs do not often assert themselves while an actual bullying incident is happening, they will usually bring the problem to the ESL class. There, the ESL teacher can teach assertive language and behaviors that ELLs can use with bullies. As the students gain more confidence through practice, they are more willing to stand up to a bully. Building community and encouraging classmates to be of assistance to each other goes a long way in helping ELLs avoid problems with bullies. There are many long-lasting effects of bullying for the victim. Children who are bullied have low self-esteem and tend to be anxious and insecure and are often lonely and depressed. it is important for ESL teachers to work with classroom teachers to ensure that ELLs have a bully-free environment in school. This blog is based on a chapter in Authenticity in the Language Classroom and Beyond entitled Sticks and Stones: Preventing Bullying in the Elementary School by Joann Frechette and Judie Haynes (TESOL, 2010)  Information abounds in the press about incidents of bullying and 22 states have passed anti-bulying legislation this year. Only Montana, Michigan and South Dakota have no anti-bullying legislation. English language learners are often the targets of bullying and these new laws will affect their lives in a positive way.  States have clearly defined what bullying is and what the repercussions will be.  (In New Jersey, incidents of bullying must be reported to the state.)   There are many types of bullying. Physical bullying is comprised of actions such as hitting, pushing and punching; verbal bullying includes name-calling and teasing; and emotional bullying consists of behaviors such as excluding someone from an activity. English language learners (ELLs) are  often the victims of verbal and emotional bullying. Their parents were not likely to report bullying to the school unless the child is physically hurt.  In my experience ELL parents do  not appear to recognize the emotional damage that bullying can cause in children. They often expressed that verbal and emotional bullying is a normal part of growing up. Furthermore, ELLs who were victims of bullies were usually reluctant to draw attention to themselves and  embarrassed to talk about their problems with bullies.  It is evident that information about bullying must include parents of ELLs.  At the heart of many anti-bullying programs are various strategies that students employ to deal with bullies. Because ELLs are often unable to understand school anti-bullying policies, school districts need to make sure that the ELLs  in their schools are included in the anti-bullying programs and that important materials are translated for both students and parents.  School administrators may find that ELLs need extra practice with some of the strategies.  Anti-bullying should become a part of  a school 's ESL curriculum.  Even though ELLs do not often assert themselves while an actual bullying incident is happening, they will usually bring the problem to the ESL class. There, the ESL teacher can teach assertive language and behaviors that ELLs can use with bullies. As the students gain more confidence through practice, they are more willing to stand up to a bully. Building community and encouraging classmates to be of assistance to each other goes a long way in helping ELLs avoid problems with bullies. There are many long-lasting effects of bullying for the victim. Children who are bullied have low self-esteem and tend to be anxious and insecure and are often lonely and depressed. it is important for ESL teachers to work with classroom teachers to ensure that ELLs have a bully-free environment in school. This blog is based on a chapter in Authenticity in the Language Classroom and Beyond entitled Sticks and Stones: Preventing Bullying in the Elementary School by Joann Frechette and Judie Haynes (TESOL, 2010)  Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:16:58 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Establishing-a-Bully-free-Environment-for-ELLs/blog/5344160/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-10-19T22:16:58Z ASCD EDge Information abounds in the press about incidents of bullying and 22 states have passed anti-bulying legislation this year. Only Montana, Michigan and South Dakota have no anti-bullying legislation. English language learners are often the targets of bullying and these new laws will affect their lives in a positive way.  States have clearly defined what bullying is and what the repercussions will be.  (In New Jersey, incidents of bullying must be reported to the state.)   There are many types of bullying. Physical bullying is comprised of actions such as hitting, pushing and punching; verbal bullying includes name-calling and teasing; and emotional bullying consists of behaviors such as excluding someone from an activity. English language learners (ELLs) are  often the victims of verbal and emotional bullying. Their parents were not likely to report bullying to the school unless the child is physically hurt.  In my experience ELL parents do  not appear to recognize the emotional damage that bullying can cause in children. They often expressed that verbal and emotional bullying is a normal part of growing up. Furthermore, ELLs who were victims of bullies were usually reluctant to draw attention to themselves and  embarrassed to talk about their problems with bullies.  It is evident that information about bullying must include parents of ELLs.  At the heart of many anti-bullying programs are various strategies that students employ to deal with bullies. Because ELLs are often unable to understand school anti-bullying policies, school districts need to make sure that the ELLs  in their schools are included in the anti-bullying programs and that important materials are translated for both students and parents.  School administrators may find that ELLs need extra practice with some of the strategies.  Anti-bullying should become a part of  a school 's ESL curriculum.  Even though ELLs do not often assert themselves while an actual bullying incident is happening, they will usually bring the problem to the ESL class. There, the ESL teacher can teach assertive language and behaviors that ELLs can use with bullies. As the students gain more confidence through practice, they are more willing to stand up to a bully. Building community and encouraging classmates to be of assistance to each other goes a long way in helping ELLs avoid problems with bullies. There are many long-lasting effects of bullying for the victim. Children who are bullied have low self-esteem and tend to be anxious and insecure and are often lonely and depressed. it is important for ESL teachers to work with classroom teachers to ensure that ELLs have a bully-free environment in school. This blog is based on a chapter in Authenticity in the Language Classroom and Beyond entitled Sticks and Stones: Preventing Bullying in the Elementary School by Joann Frechette and Judie Haynes (TESOL, 2010)  nonadult false Establishing a Bully-free Environment for ELLs text blog 1153 20 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 0 5344160 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_What-Language-Should-ELLs-Speak-at-Home/blog/5314760/127586.html School administrators and classroom teachers should encourage parents to speak their native language at home. It is much more beneficial for children to hear fluent native language with a rich vocabulary than it is to hear imperfect, halting English. When students learn academic concepts in their primary language, this will help them acquire English. Let's look at the case of one ELL, Isobel, and her family as they try to integrate English into their home life. Isobel's family is from Costa Rica. Her parents speak some English and are literate in Spanish. When Isabel's teacher told them that they should speak English at home, her parents became distressed. They tried to speak English with her at the dinner table, but their conversations were stilted. Isobel's parents no longer felt comfortable asking her about her school, classes, and homework in Spanish. They stopped discussing books and the television news with her. Although the family reverted to their native language at the dinner table after a week of hesitant English, Isobel felt ashamed of her native language. She wished her parents spoke English. What Isobel's teacher and parents did not know was that by reading and discussing stories with her and by encouraging Isobel to share her school experiences in Spanish, they were giving her experiences in their native language. Informal conversations like these are critical for Isobel because they will help her establish values and discuss ideas that she is not ready to learn in English. Eventually, what she learns in Spanish will help promote her English proficiency. The concepts and skills that students learn in one language will transfer to the second language when the learner is ready. Students who are literate in their native language have many skills to draw on when they learn academic English, even when the writing system is different. It is much easier to teach a concept if the student already has some background with it in native language. Once students grasp the underlying literacy skills of one language, they can use these same skills to learn another language. For example, 10th graders who are literate in Spanish will understand the underlying process of reading in English. Older students will be able to transfer skills such as scanning, selecting important information, predicting what comes next, and visualizing to enhance comprehension. Younger children who are literate in one language will know that printed words carry meaning, that words can be combined into sentences and paragraphs, and that certain letters stand for certain sounds.  School administrators and classroom teachers should encourage parents to speak their native language at home. It is much more beneficial for children to hear fluent native language with a rich vocabulary than it is to hear imperfect, halting English. When students learn academic concepts in their primary language, this will help them acquire English. Let's look at the case of one ELL, Isobel, and her family as they try to integrate English into their home life. Isobel's family is from Costa Rica. Her parents speak some English and are literate in Spanish. When Isabel's teacher told them that they should speak English at home, her parents became distressed. They tried to speak English with her at the dinner table, but their conversations were stilted. Isobel's parents no longer felt comfortable asking her about her school, classes, and homework in Spanish. They stopped discussing books and the television news with her. Although the family reverted to their native language at the dinner table after a week of hesitant English, Isobel felt ashamed of her native language. She wished her parents spoke English. What Isobel's teacher and parents did not know was that by reading and discussing stories with her and by encouraging Isobel to share her school experiences in Spanish, they were giving her experiences in their native language. Informal conversations like these are critical for Isobel because they will help her establish values and discuss ideas that she is not ready to learn in English. Eventually, what she learns in Spanish will help promote her English proficiency. The concepts and skills that students learn in one language will transfer to the second language when the learner is ready. Students who are literate in their native language have many skills to draw on when they learn academic English, even when the writing system is different. It is much easier to teach a concept if the student already has some background with it in native language. Once students grasp the underlying literacy skills of one language, they can use these same skills to learn another language. For example, 10th graders who are literate in Spanish will understand the underlying process of reading in English. Older students will be able to transfer skills such as scanning, selecting important information, predicting what comes next, and visualizing to enhance comprehension. Younger children who are literate in one language will know that printed words carry meaning, that words can be combined into sentences and paragraphs, and that certain letters stand for certain sounds.  Mon, 17 Oct 2011 06:32:51 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_What-Language-Should-ELLs-Speak-at-Home/blog/5314760/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-10-17T06:32:51Z ASCD EDge School administrators and classroom teachers should encourage parents to speak their native language at home. It is much more beneficial for children to hear fluent native language with a rich vocabulary than it is to hear imperfect, halting English. When students learn academic concepts in their primary language, this will help them acquire English. Let's look at the case of one ELL, Isobel, and her family as they try to integrate English into their home life. Isobel's family is from Costa Rica. Her parents speak some English and are literate in Spanish. When Isabel's teacher told them that they should speak English at home, her parents became distressed. They tried to speak English with her at the dinner table, but their conversations were stilted. Isobel's parents no longer felt comfortable asking her about her school, classes, and homework in Spanish. They stopped discussing books and the television news with her. Although the family reverted to their native language at the dinner table after a week of hesitant English, Isobel felt ashamed of her native language. She wished her parents spoke English. What Isobel's teacher and parents did not know was that by reading and discussing stories with her and by encouraging Isobel to share her school experiences in Spanish, they were giving her experiences in their native language. Informal conversations like these are critical for Isobel because they will help her establish values and discuss ideas that she is not ready to learn in English. Eventually, what she learns in Spanish will help promote her English proficiency. The concepts and skills that students learn in one language will transfer to the second language when the learner is ready. Students who are literate in their native language have many skills to draw on when they learn academic English, even when the writing system is different. It is much easier to teach a concept if the student already has some background with it in native language. Once students grasp the underlying literacy skills of one language, they can use these same skills to learn another language. For example, 10th graders who are literate in Spanish will understand the underlying process of reading in English. Older students will be able to transfer skills such as scanning, selecting important information, predicting what comes next, and visualizing to enhance comprehension. Younger children who are literate in one language will know that printed words carry meaning, that words can be combined into sentences and paragraphs, and that certain letters stand for certain sounds.  nonadult false What Language Should ELLs Speak at Home? text blog 2889 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 4 0 5314760 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Who-are-the-ELLs-in-Your-Classrooms/blog/3436035/127586.html I’d like to introduce Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who co-authored Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas with me. Debbie is the practitioner- research half of our team having worked in secondary education, educational administration and policy and the higher education level.  We wanted to share information with you that impacts the lives of the ELLs in the United States. We are working on a new project together and would appreciate your feedback. English language learners represent a significant and growing population.  Between 1992 and 2009, the number grew from 1.2 to 5.1 million and represented at least ten percent of the nation’s total population (NCES, 2004; García, Jensen, Scribner, 2009). Many estimate that the actual number is much higher than what has been reported (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro, 2005).  This unprecedented growth of ELLs in our schools is occurring while the nations total population remains relatively unchanged. Classrooms that had once been predominantly populated with monolingual English native-speakers are now filled with a continuously growing population of English language learners. In literacy-oriented homes parents understand the value of literacy and school practices.  That is, they can contribute to their child's education, as they are fundamentally aware of what schooling is about. Children from literacy-oriented families are a product of a technological and schooling society (Pransky, 2009). Today about 66 % of the ELLs in U.S. schools come from non-literacy- oriented homes (Zacarian, 2011).  Half of them were born in the United States. Parents in non-literacy oriented homes are not as formally educated as are those from literacy-orientated families. This is not to say that parents do not care about their children as much as literacy-oriented parents or want them to do well in school. But there is a distinct cultural difference between the two groups and it has deep meaning in terms of what must be considered to create an optimal learning environment for all learners. Whether the ELLs in your school are from the United States, Korea or Nigeria, what must be considered first is their literacy orientation. We must look at the overall progress of ELLs in U.S. schools; which is very poor. Most are performing half as well as their native English-speaking peers and a significant number drop out of school. Non-literacy oriented ELLs who are entering U.S. schools come from a variety of backgrounds. First, the majority is living in poverty.  They may come from countries where their education was interrupted by war or natural disasters. They may have attended school regularly but the quality of education in their home countries was distinct from that of US schools and often did not represent the same amount, consistency, and quality of instructional materials and programming. Some ELLs from non-literacy oriented homes move from one place to another in the U.S. continuously.  Others often travel back and forth from their native countries to the U.S. For non-literacy-oriented ELLs to have sustained investment in school (Norton-Pierce), teachers have to be powerfully dedicated to understanding the backgrounds  of ELLS from non-literacy backgrounds who are just entering our schools. What schools really need to focus on is providing English language development and helping non-literacy oriented students to obtain the literacy skills that they need to learn along side their peers. We believe that it is paramount for educators to be pro-active in addressing the needs of ELLs from when they first enter school whether this is in kindergarten or high school. The absence comprehensive and specialized programs for ELLs from non-literacy oriented contributes heavily to the failures that are occurring. If we begin to focus on this area, only then can we hope to close the achievement gap that exists in the U.S.                                      References Caps, R., Rix, M., Murray, J., Ost, J., Passel, J., & Herantoro, S. (2005).  The new demography of America’s schools:  Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.  Washington, D.C.:  Urban Institute. García, E., Jesen, B.T. & Scribner, K.P.  (April 2002(.  The demographic imperative.  Educational Leadership, 66(7) 8-13. National Center for Education Statistics.  (2004).  English Language Learners in US Public Schools:  1994-2000.  Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004035 Norton Pierce, B.  (1995)  Social identity, investment, and language learning.  TESOL Quarterly, 29, 1, 9-31.     Pransky, K (2008) The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6: Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming Schools for English Learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.   [image][image][image] I’d like to introduce Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who co-authored Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas with me. Debbie is the practitioner- research half of our team having worked in secondary education, educational administration and policy and the higher education level.  We wanted to share information with you that impacts the lives of the ELLs in the United States. We are working on a new project together and would appreciate your feedback. English language learners represent a significant and growing population.  Between 1992 and 2009, the number grew from 1.2 to 5.1 million and represented at least ten percent of the nation’s total population (NCES, 2004; García, Jensen, Scribner, 2009). Many estimate that the actual number is much higher than what has been reported (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro, 2005).  This unprecedented growth of ELLs in our schools is occurring while the nations total population remains relatively unchanged. Classrooms that had once been predominantly populated with monolingual English native-speakers are now filled with a continuously growing population of English language learners. In literacy-oriented homes parents understand the value of literacy and school practices.  That is, they can contribute to their child's education, as they are fundamentally aware of what schooling is about. Children from literacy-oriented families are a product of a technological and schooling society (Pransky, 2009). Today about 66 % of the ELLs in U.S. schools come from non-literacy- oriented homes (Zacarian, 2011).  Half of them were born in the United States. Parents in non-literacy oriented homes are not as formally educated as are those from literacy-orientated families. This is not to say that parents do not care about their children as much as literacy-oriented parents or want them to do well in school. But there is a distinct cultural difference between the two groups and it has deep meaning in terms of what must be considered to create an optimal learning environment for all learners. Whether the ELLs in your school are from the United States, Korea or Nigeria, what must be considered first is their literacy orientation. We must look at the overall progress of ELLs in U.S. schools; which is very poor. Most are performing half as well as their native English-speaking peers and a significant number drop out of school. Non-literacy oriented ELLs who are entering U.S. schools come from a variety of backgrounds. First, the majority is living in poverty.  They may come from countries where their education was interrupted by war or natural disasters. They may have attended school regularly but the quality of education in their home countries was distinct from that of US schools and often did not represent the same amount, consistency, and quality of instructional materials and programming. Some ELLs from non-literacy oriented homes move from one place to another in the U.S. continuously.  Others often travel back and forth from their native countries to the U.S. For non-literacy-oriented ELLs to have sustained investment in school (Norton-Pierce), teachers have to be powerfully dedicated to understanding the backgrounds  of ELLS from non-literacy backgrounds who are just entering our schools. What schools really need to focus on is providing English language development and helping non-literacy oriented students to obtain the literacy skills that they need to learn along side their peers. We believe that it is paramount for educators to be pro-active in addressing the needs of ELLs from when they first enter school whether this is in kindergarten or high school. The absence comprehensive and specialized programs for ELLs from non-literacy oriented contributes heavily to the failures that are occurring. If we begin to focus on this area, only then can we hope to close the achievement gap that exists in the U.S.                                      References Caps, R., Rix, M., Murray, J., Ost, J., Passel, J., & Herantoro, S. (2005).  The new demography of America’s schools:  Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.  Washington, D.C.:  Urban Institute. García, E., Jesen, B.T. & Scribner, K.P.  (April 2002(.  The demographic imperative.  Educational Leadership, 66(7) 8-13. National Center for Education Statistics.  (2004).  English Language Learners in US Public Schools:  1994-2000.  Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004035 Norton Pierce, B.  (1995)  Social identity, investment, and language learning.  TESOL Quarterly, 29, 1, 9-31.     Pransky, K (2008) The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6: Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming Schools for English Learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.   [image][image][image] Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:09:07 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Who-are-the-ELLs-in-Your-Classrooms/blog/3436035/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-04-04T17:28:40Z ASCD EDge I’d like to introduce Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who co-authored Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas with me. Debbie is the practitioner- research half of our team having worked in secondary education, educational administration and policy and the higher education level.  We wanted to share information with you that impacts the lives of the ELLs in the United States. We are working on a new project together and would appreciate your feedback. English language learners represent a significant and growing population.  Between 1992 and 2009, the number grew from 1.2 to 5.1 million and represented at least ten percent of the nation’s total population (NCES, 2004; García, Jensen, Scribner, 2009). Many estimate that the actual number is much higher than what has been reported (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro, 2005).  This unprecedented growth of ELLs in our schools is occurring while the nations total population remains relatively unchanged. Classrooms that had once been predominantly populated with monolingual English native-speakers are now filled with a continuously growing population of English language learners. In literacy-oriented homes parents understand the value of literacy and school practices.  That is, they can contribute to their child's education, as they are fundamentally aware of what schooling is about. Children from literacy-oriented families are a product of a technological and schooling society (Pransky, 2009). Today about 66 % of the ELLs in U.S. schools come from non-literacy- oriented homes (Zacarian, 2011).  Half of them were born in the United States. Parents in non-literacy oriented homes are not as formally educated as are those from literacy-orientated families. This is not to say that parents do not care about their children as much as literacy-oriented parents or want them to do well in school. But there is a distinct cultural difference between the two groups and it has deep meaning in terms of what must be considered to create an optimal learning environment for all learners. Whether the ELLs in your school are from the United States, Korea or Nigeria, what must be considered first is their literacy orientation. We must look at the overall progress of ELLs in U.S. schools; which is very poor. Most are performing half as well as their native English-speaking peers and a significant number drop out of school. Non-literacy oriented ELLs who are entering U.S. schools come from a variety of backgrounds. First, the majority is living in poverty.  They may come from countries where their education was interrupted by war or natural disasters. They may have attended school regularly but the quality of education in their home countries was distinct from that of US schools and often did not represent the same amount, consistency, and quality of instructional materials and programming. Some ELLs from non-literacy oriented homes move from one place to another in the U.S. continuously.  Others often travel back and forth from their native countries to the U.S. For non-literacy-oriented ELLs to have sustained investment in school (Norton-Pierce), teachers have to be powerfully dedicated to understanding the backgrounds  of ELLS from non-literacy backgrounds who are just entering our schools. What schools really need to focus on is providing English language development and helping non-literacy oriented students to obtain the literacy skills that they need to learn along side their peers. We believe that it is paramount for educators to be pro-active in addressing the needs of ELLs from when they first enter school whether this is in kindergarten or high school. The absence comprehensive and specialized programs for ELLs from non-literacy oriented contributes heavily to the failures that are occurring. If we begin to focus on this area, only then can we hope to close the achievement gap that exists in the U.S.                                      References Caps, R., Rix, M., Murray, J., Ost, J., Passel, J., & Herantoro, S. (2005).  The new demography of America’s schools:  Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.  Washington, D.C.:  Urban Institute. García, E., Jesen, B.T. & Scribner, K.P.  (April 2002(.  The demographic imperative.  Educational Leadership, 66(7) 8-13. National Center for Education Statistics.  (2004).  English Language Learners in US Public Schools:  1994-2000.  Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004035 Norton Pierce, B.  (1995)  Social identity, investment, and language learning.  TESOL Quarterly, 29, 1, 9-31.     Pransky, K (2008) The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6: Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming Schools for English Learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.   [image][image][image] nonadult false Who are the ELLs in Your Classrooms? text blog 1589 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 3436035 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Who-are-the-ELLs-in-Your-Classrooms/blog/3436023/127586.html I’d like to introduce Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who co-authored Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas with me. Debbie is the practitioner- research half of our team having worked in secondary education, educational administration and policy and the higher education level.  We wanted to share information with you that impacts the lives of the ELLs in the United States. We are working on a new project together and would appreciate your feedback. English language learners represent a significant and growing population.  Between 1992 and 2009, the number grew from 1.2 to 5.1 million and represented at least ten percent of the nation’s total population (NCES, 2004; García, Jensen, Scribner, 2009). Many estimate that the actual number is much higher than what has been reported (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro, 2005).  This unprecedented growth of ELLs in our schools is occurring while the nations total population remains relatively unchanged. Classrooms that had once been predominantly populated with monolingual English native-speakers are now filled with a continuously growing population of English language learners. In literacy-oriented homes parents understand the value of literacy and school practices.  That is, they can contribute to their child's education, as they are fundamentally aware of what schooling is about. Children from literacy-oriented families are a product of a technological and schooling society (Pransky, 2009). Today about 66 % of the ELLs in U.S. schools come from non-literacy- oriented homes (Zacarian, 2011).  Half of them were born in the United States. Parents in non-literacy oriented homes are not as formally educated as are those from literacy-orientated families. This is not to say that parents do not care about their children as much as literacy-oriented parents or want them to do well in school. But there is a distinct cultural difference between the two groups and it has deep meaning in terms of what must be considered to create an optimal learning environment for all learners.   Whether the ELLs in your school are from the United States, Korea or Nigeria, what must be considered first is their literacy orientation. We must look at the overall progress of ELLs in U.S. schools; which is very poor. Most are performing half as well as their native English-speaking peers and a significant number drop out of school.   Non-literacy oriented ELLs who are entering U.S. schools come from a variety of backgrounds. First, the majority is living in poverty.  They may come from countries where their education was interrupted by war or natural disasters. They may have attended school regularly but the quality of education in their home countries was distinct from that of US schools and often did not represent the same amount, consistency, and quality of instructional materials and programming. Some ELLs from non-literacy oriented homes move from one place to another in the U.S. continuously.  Others often travel back and forth from their native countries to the U.S.   For non-literacy-oriented ELLs to have sustained investment in school (Norton-Pierce), teachers have to be powerfully dedicated to understanding the backgrounds  of ELLS from non-literacy backgrounds who are just entering our schools. What schools really need to focus on is providing English language development and helping non-literacy oriented students to obtain the literacy skills that they need to learn along side their peers.   We believe that it is paramount for educators to be pro-active in addressing the needs of ELLs from when they first enter school whether this is in kindergarten or high school. The absence comprehensive and specialized programs for ELLs from non-literacy oriented contributes heavily to the failures that are occurring. If we begin to focus on this area, only then can we hope to close the achievement gap that exists in the U.S.                                      References Caps, R., Rix, M., Murray, J., Ost, J., Passel, J., & Herantoro, S. (2005).  The new demography of America’s schools:  Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.  Washington, D.C.:  Urban Institute. García, E., Jesen, B.T. & Scribner, K.P.  (April 2002(.  The demographic imperative.  Educational Leadership, 66(7) 8-13. National Center for Education Statistics.  (2004).  English Language Learners in US Public Schools:  1994-2000.  Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004035 Norton Pierce, B.  (1995)  Social identity, investment, and language learning.  TESOL Quarterly, 29, 1, 9-31.     Pransky, K (2008) The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6: Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming Schools for English Learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.             I’d like to introduce Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who co-authored Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas with me. Debbie is the practitioner- research half of our team having worked in secondary education, educational administration and policy and the higher education level.  We wanted to share information with you that impacts the lives of the ELLs in the United States. We are working on a new project together and would appreciate your feedback. English language learners represent a significant and growing population.  Between 1992 and 2009, the number grew from 1.2 to 5.1 million and represented at least ten percent of the nation’s total population (NCES, 2004; García, Jensen, Scribner, 2009). Many estimate that the actual number is much higher than what has been reported (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro, 2005).  This unprecedented growth of ELLs in our schools is occurring while the nations total population remains relatively unchanged. Classrooms that had once been predominantly populated with monolingual English native-speakers are now filled with a continuously growing population of English language learners. In literacy-oriented homes parents understand the value of literacy and school practices.  That is, they can contribute to their child's education, as they are fundamentally aware of what schooling is about. Children from literacy-oriented families are a product of a technological and schooling society (Pransky, 2009). Today about 66 % of the ELLs in U.S. schools come from non-literacy- oriented homes (Zacarian, 2011).  Half of them were born in the United States. Parents in non-literacy oriented homes are not as formally educated as are those from literacy-orientated families. This is not to say that parents do not care about their children as much as literacy-oriented parents or want them to do well in school. But there is a distinct cultural difference between the two groups and it has deep meaning in terms of what must be considered to create an optimal learning environment for all learners.   Whether the ELLs in your school are from the United States, Korea or Nigeria, what must be considered first is their literacy orientation. We must look at the overall progress of ELLs in U.S. schools; which is very poor. Most are performing half as well as their native English-speaking peers and a significant number drop out of school.   Non-literacy oriented ELLs who are entering U.S. schools come from a variety of backgrounds. First, the majority is living in poverty.  They may come from countries where their education was interrupted by war or natural disasters. They may have attended school regularly but the quality of education in their home countries was distinct from that of US schools and often did not represent the same amount, consistency, and quality of instructional materials and programming. Some ELLs from non-literacy oriented homes move from one place to another in the U.S. continuously.  Others often travel back and forth from their native countries to the U.S.   For non-literacy-oriented ELLs to have sustained investment in school (Norton-Pierce), teachers have to be powerfully dedicated to understanding the backgrounds  of ELLS from non-literacy backgrounds who are just entering our schools. What schools really need to focus on is providing English language development and helping non-literacy oriented students to obtain the literacy skills that they need to learn along side their peers.   We believe that it is paramount for educators to be pro-active in addressing the needs of ELLs from when they first enter school whether this is in kindergarten or high school. The absence comprehensive and specialized programs for ELLs from non-literacy oriented contributes heavily to the failures that are occurring. If we begin to focus on this area, only then can we hope to close the achievement gap that exists in the U.S.                                      References Caps, R., Rix, M., Murray, J., Ost, J., Passel, J., & Herantoro, S. (2005).  The new demography of America’s schools:  Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.  Washington, D.C.:  Urban Institute. García, E., Jesen, B.T. & Scribner, K.P.  (April 2002(.  The demographic imperative.  Educational Leadership, 66(7) 8-13. National Center for Education Statistics.  (2004).  English Language Learners in US Public Schools:  1994-2000.  Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004035 Norton Pierce, B.  (1995)  Social identity, investment, and language learning.  TESOL Quarterly, 29, 1, 9-31.     Pransky, K (2008) The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6: Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming Schools for English Learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.             Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:21:24 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Who-are-the-ELLs-in-Your-Classrooms/blog/3436023/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-04-04T17:21:24Z ASCD EDge I’d like to introduce Dr. Debbie Zacarian, who co-authored Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas with me. Debbie is the practitioner- research half of our team having worked in secondary education, educational administration and policy and the higher education level.  We wanted to share information with you that impacts the lives of the ELLs in the United States. We are working on a new project together and would appreciate your feedback. English language learners represent a significant and growing population.  Between 1992 and 2009, the number grew from 1.2 to 5.1 million and represented at least ten percent of the nation’s total population (NCES, 2004; García, Jensen, Scribner, 2009). Many estimate that the actual number is much higher than what has been reported (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel, & Herwantoro, 2005).  This unprecedented growth of ELLs in our schools is occurring while the nations total population remains relatively unchanged. Classrooms that had once been predominantly populated with monolingual English native-speakers are now filled with a continuously growing population of English language learners. In literacy-oriented homes parents understand the value of literacy and school practices.  That is, they can contribute to their child's education, as they are fundamentally aware of what schooling is about. Children from literacy-oriented families are a product of a technological and schooling society (Pransky, 2009). Today about 66 % of the ELLs in U.S. schools come from non-literacy- oriented homes (Zacarian, 2011).  Half of them were born in the United States. Parents in non-literacy oriented homes are not as formally educated as are those from literacy-orientated families. This is not to say that parents do not care about their children as much as literacy-oriented parents or want them to do well in school. But there is a distinct cultural difference between the two groups and it has deep meaning in terms of what must be considered to create an optimal learning environment for all learners.   Whether the ELLs in your school are from the United States, Korea or Nigeria, what must be considered first is their literacy orientation. We must look at the overall progress of ELLs in U.S. schools; which is very poor. Most are performing half as well as their native English-speaking peers and a significant number drop out of school.   Non-literacy oriented ELLs who are entering U.S. schools come from a variety of backgrounds. First, the majority is living in poverty.  They may come from countries where their education was interrupted by war or natural disasters. They may have attended school regularly but the quality of education in their home countries was distinct from that of US schools and often did not represent the same amount, consistency, and quality of instructional materials and programming. Some ELLs from non-literacy oriented homes move from one place to another in the U.S. continuously.  Others often travel back and forth from their native countries to the U.S.   For non-literacy-oriented ELLs to have sustained investment in school (Norton-Pierce), teachers have to be powerfully dedicated to understanding the backgrounds  of ELLS from non-literacy backgrounds who are just entering our schools. What schools really need to focus on is providing English language development and helping non-literacy oriented students to obtain the literacy skills that they need to learn along side their peers.   We believe that it is paramount for educators to be pro-active in addressing the needs of ELLs from when they first enter school whether this is in kindergarten or high school. The absence comprehensive and specialized programs for ELLs from non-literacy oriented contributes heavily to the failures that are occurring. If we begin to focus on this area, only then can we hope to close the achievement gap that exists in the U.S.                                      References Caps, R., Rix, M., Murray, J., Ost, J., Passel, J., & Herantoro, S. (2005).  The new demography of America’s schools:  Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.  Washington, D.C.:  Urban Institute. García, E., Jesen, B.T. & Scribner, K.P.  (April 2002(.  The demographic imperative.  Educational Leadership, 66(7) 8-13. National Center for Education Statistics.  (2004).  English Language Learners in US Public Schools:  1994-2000.  Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004035 Norton Pierce, B.  (1995)  Social identity, investment, and language learning.  TESOL Quarterly, 29, 1, 9-31.     Pransky, K (2008) The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6: Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming Schools for English Learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.             nonadult false Who are the ELLs in Your Classrooms? text blog 469 0 0.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 0 3436023 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_DSCN1206JPG/photo/13483934/127586.html Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:16:14 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_DSCN1206JPG/photo/13483934/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-04-04T01:16:14Z Blogs ASCD EDge blogs nonadult false DSCN1206.JPG photo blogs 490 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 Blogs 0 13483934 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_How-to-welcome-ELLs-into-your-school/blog/3418740/127586.html Do you want to provide a welcoming environment for new English language learners in your school. Do you want your English native speakers to accept and help the new learners of English in the lunchroom, on the playground, on the bus, in their neighborhoods? Here are some ideas to make your students sensitive to the challenges the newcomers face. Cooperative group work Have students divide into small groups and ask them to discuss the following topics. * Who has moved and changed schools? Where did you move from? How did you feel the first few days? What was different in your new neighborhood? How did you handle being without your friends? How did you make new friends? What did people do that make you feel welcome in your new school. What did you wish some would have done? What should the teacher do? * Who came here from another country? What country? When did you come? Could you speak English? How did you feel? How did you make friends? What helped you learn English. * How many of you speak another language? Can you teach us to say hello? Count to five? Why is it good to know another language? * How many of you have traveled to a country where English is not the main language? How did you feel when you couldn't communicate? Would you like to learn another language? How long do you think it takes to learn a new language? Have each group of students present a short summary of what their group discussed and what conclusions they reached? Roll Reversal Have students discuss the following: Imagine that your parents have to move to Korea. You will be attending a Korean school. * Would you want to go? What would you want to take with you? Who are the people you would miss? * Do you think you would have trouble learning Korean? * Who would you talk to if you were the only one in your class who speaks English? * How would you make friends with kids who didn't speak English? * How would you feel if the other students laughed at you if you made mistakes when you tried to speak Japanese? How would you feel if you couldn't do any of the work?                                           [image][image][image] Do you want to provide a welcoming environment for new English language learners in your school. Do you want your English native speakers to accept and help the new learners of English in the lunchroom, on the playground, on the bus, in their neighborhoods? Here are some ideas to make your students sensitive to the challenges the newcomers face. Cooperative group work Have students divide into small groups and ask them to discuss the following topics. * Who has moved and changed schools? Where did you move from? How did you feel the first few days? What was different in your new neighborhood? How did you handle being without your friends? How did you make new friends? What did people do that make you feel welcome in your new school. What did you wish some would have done? What should the teacher do? * Who came here from another country? What country? When did you come? Could you speak English? How did you feel? How did you make friends? What helped you learn English. * How many of you speak another language? Can you teach us to say hello? Count to five? Why is it good to know another language? * How many of you have traveled to a country where English is not the main language? How did you feel when you couldn't communicate? Would you like to learn another language? How long do you think it takes to learn a new language? Have each group of students present a short summary of what their group discussed and what conclusions they reached? Roll Reversal Have students discuss the following: Imagine that your parents have to move to Korea. You will be attending a Korean school. * Would you want to go? What would you want to take with you? Who are the people you would miss? * Do you think you would have trouble learning Korean? * Who would you talk to if you were the only one in your class who speaks English? * How would you make friends with kids who didn't speak English? * How would you feel if the other students laughed at you if you made mistakes when you tried to speak Japanese? How would you feel if you couldn't do any of the work?                                           [image][image][image] Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:56:57 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_How-to-welcome-ELLs-into-your-school/blog/3418740/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2011-03-29T03:56:57Z ASCD EDge Do you want to provide a welcoming environment for new English language learners in your school. Do you want your English native speakers to accept and help the new learners of English in the lunchroom, on the playground, on the bus, in their neighborhoods? Here are some ideas to make your students sensitive to the challenges the newcomers face. Cooperative group work Have students divide into small groups and ask them to discuss the following topics. * Who has moved and changed schools? Where did you move from? How did you feel the first few days? What was different in your new neighborhood? How did you handle being without your friends? How did you make new friends? What did people do that make you feel welcome in your new school. What did you wish some would have done? What should the teacher do? * Who came here from another country? What country? When did you come? Could you speak English? How did you feel? How did you make friends? What helped you learn English. * How many of you speak another language? Can you teach us to say hello? Count to five? Why is it good to know another language? * How many of you have traveled to a country where English is not the main language? How did you feel when you couldn't communicate? Would you like to learn another language? How long do you think it takes to learn a new language? Have each group of students present a short summary of what their group discussed and what conclusions they reached? Roll Reversal Have students discuss the following: Imagine that your parents have to move to Korea. You will be attending a Korean school. * Would you want to go? What would you want to take with you? Who are the people you would miss? * Do you think you would have trouble learning Korean? * Who would you talk to if you were the only one in your class who speaks English? * How would you make friends with kids who didn't speak English? * How would you feel if the other students laughed at you if you made mistakes when you tried to speak Japanese? How would you feel if you couldn't do any of the work?                                           [image][image][image] nonadult false How to welcome ELLs into your school text blog 849 11 4.81818 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 1 3418740 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_December-Holidays-and-English-Language-Learners/blog/3106697/127586.html           Hyungsoo, a 2nd grade student from Korea, sat across from me at the table in my ESL class with a pained look on his face. “Santa didn’t come to my house!” he complained.  “I didn’t get any presents.” I knew the source of his disappointment. Many young public school students in the United States spend a good part of December discussing Santa, elves, and presents. They listen to stories about Santa, make presents for their parents, and exchange grab bag gifts with their classmates. Hyungsoo’s family is Christian, and for them, Christmas is strictly a religious holiday. Hyungsoo’s parents did not realize that most of his classmates would be receiving gifts from Santa, and they were not aware of how left out he would feel. Unfortunately, most elementary schools give little thought to the children who are looking in from the outside during December.           Herein lies a dilemma that public schools in the United States face. Every December the elementary school becomes a battleground. A war is waged over what should be taught, what symbols can be displayed in the school hallways, and what music is sung at the December concert. Emotions run high. Christian parents do not want the mention of Christmas to be banned in schools, and parents from other religious backgrounds don’t want their children to be inundated with Christmas festivities. Teachers and administrators walk a tightrope in between. We are so worried about offending someone that public elementary schools are not teaching about any religion at all.           In the United States the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution calls for the separation of Church and State.  Government agencies and employees, including public school teachers, are not allowed to promote one religion over another. Schools must approach religious holidays from an academic viewpoint, not a spiritual one, which means that we can teach about diverse religions in school, but we may not celebrate religious holidays. That seems clear enough, but the interpretation of the First Amendment is complicated by the fact the courts have deemed, and many religious leaders agree, that some of the Christmas holiday symbols have become part of the secular celebration of Christmas. As you walk along the hallways of many public elementary schools in December, you will see a plethora of Santas and Christmas trees on bulletin boards.           Are Christmas trees and Santa truly secular symbols?  It depends on whom you ask.  Although these symbols might be considered secular, many students in our schools today are left out of celebrations duirng the whole month of December. Let's look at some of the students in the U.S. typical school who do not celebrate a holiday in Decembr.   Karim is Muslim and his family celebrates Ramadan in September. Rei is Japanese and his family is Shinto. Rei celebrates Oshogatsu on January 1st.  Priya isHindu and her family celebrates Diwali in September. Hui is Taiwanese and his family is Buddhist. They celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May.           We all have to work to make our schools more inclusive. Our job is to protect the religious rights of all our students. I think the onus should be taken off of December. Let’s solve the December dilemma by learning about Diwali and Ramadan in September, Rosh Hashanah in October, and Christmas in December. Let’s explore the secular holidays such as Chu suk, the Chinese Moon Festival, and Holi. We should not overemphasis one particular holiday, and all students in schools across the U.S. will feel included .   Imber, M. (December, 2003), The Santa Dilemma, American School Board Journal, Vol. 190, No. 12. Anti-Defamation League, (2004) The December Dilemma, http://www.adl.org/issue_education/december_dilemma_2004/ Lombardi, K. (2006) Decorate Schools for Holidays – but with What? New York Times, December 17, 2006.  www.nytimes.com/learning/students/pop/articles/17wecol_LN.ht                                                                     Hyungsoo, a 2nd grade student from Korea, sat across from me at the table in my ESL class with a pained look on his face. “Santa didn’t come to my house!” he complained.  “I didn’t get any presents.” I knew the source of his disappointment. Many young public school students in the United States spend a good part of December discussing Santa, elves, and presents. They listen to stories about Santa, make presents for their parents, and exchange grab bag gifts with their classmates. Hyungsoo’s family is Christian, and for them, Christmas is strictly a religious holiday. Hyungsoo’s parents did not realize that most of his classmates would be receiving gifts from Santa, and they were not aware of how left out he would feel. Unfortunately, most elementary schools give little thought to the children who are looking in from the outside during December.           Herein lies a dilemma that public schools in the United States face. Every December the elementary school becomes a battleground. A war is waged over what should be taught, what symbols can be displayed in the school hallways, and what music is sung at the December concert. Emotions run high. Christian parents do not want the mention of Christmas to be banned in schools, and parents from other religious backgrounds don’t want their children to be inundated with Christmas festivities. Teachers and administrators walk a tightrope in between. We are so worried about offending someone that public elementary schools are not teaching about any religion at all.           In the United States the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution calls for the separation of Church and State.  Government agencies and employees, including public school teachers, are not allowed to promote one religion over another. Schools must approach religious holidays from an academic viewpoint, not a spiritual one, which means that we can teach about diverse religions in school, but we may not celebrate religious holidays. That seems clear enough, but the interpretation of the First Amendment is complicated by the fact the courts have deemed, and many religious leaders agree, that some of the Christmas holiday symbols have become part of the secular celebration of Christmas. As you walk along the hallways of many public elementary schools in December, you will see a plethora of Santas and Christmas trees on bulletin boards.           Are Christmas trees and Santa truly secular symbols?  It depends on whom you ask.  Although these symbols might be considered secular, many students in our schools today are left out of celebrations duirng the whole month of December. Let's look at some of the students in the U.S. typical school who do not celebrate a holiday in Decembr.   Karim is Muslim and his family celebrates Ramadan in September. Rei is Japanese and his family is Shinto. Rei celebrates Oshogatsu on January 1st.  Priya isHindu and her family celebrates Diwali in September. Hui is Taiwanese and his family is Buddhist. They celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May.           We all have to work to make our schools more inclusive. Our job is to protect the religious rights of all our students. I think the onus should be taken off of December. Let’s solve the December dilemma by learning about Diwali and Ramadan in September, Rosh Hashanah in October, and Christmas in December. Let’s explore the secular holidays such as Chu suk, the Chinese Moon Festival, and Holi. We should not overemphasis one particular holiday, and all students in schools across the U.S. will feel included .   Imber, M. (December, 2003), The Santa Dilemma, American School Board Journal, Vol. 190, No. 12. Anti-Defamation League, (2004) The December Dilemma, http://www.adl.org/issue_education/december_dilemma_2004/ Lombardi, K. (2006) Decorate Schools for Holidays – but with What? New York Times, December 17, 2006.  www.nytimes.com/learning/students/pop/articles/17wecol_LN.ht                                                           Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:42:18 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_December-Holidays-and-English-Language-Learners/blog/3106697/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-12-15T17:42:18Z ASCD EDge           Hyungsoo, a 2nd grade student from Korea, sat across from me at the table in my ESL class with a pained look on his face. “Santa didn’t come to my house!” he complained.  “I didn’t get any presents.” I knew the source of his disappointment. Many young public school students in the United States spend a good part of December discussing Santa, elves, and presents. They listen to stories about Santa, make presents for their parents, and exchange grab bag gifts with their classmates. Hyungsoo’s family is Christian, and for them, Christmas is strictly a religious holiday. Hyungsoo’s parents did not realize that most of his classmates would be receiving gifts from Santa, and they were not aware of how left out he would feel. Unfortunately, most elementary schools give little thought to the children who are looking in from the outside during December.           Herein lies a dilemma that public schools in the United States face. Every December the elementary school becomes a battleground. A war is waged over what should be taught, what symbols can be displayed in the school hallways, and what music is sung at the December concert. Emotions run high. Christian parents do not want the mention of Christmas to be banned in schools, and parents from other religious backgrounds don’t want their children to be inundated with Christmas festivities. Teachers and administrators walk a tightrope in between. We are so worried about offending someone that public elementary schools are not teaching about any religion at all.           In the United States the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution calls for the separation of Church and State.  Government agencies and employees, including public school teachers, are not allowed to promote one religion over another. Schools must approach religious holidays from an academic viewpoint, not a spiritual one, which means that we can teach about diverse religions in school, but we may not celebrate religious holidays. That seems clear enough, but the interpretation of the First Amendment is complicated by the fact the courts have deemed, and many religious leaders agree, that some of the Christmas holiday symbols have become part of the secular celebration of Christmas. As you walk along the hallways of many public elementary schools in December, you will see a plethora of Santas and Christmas trees on bulletin boards.           Are Christmas trees and Santa truly secular symbols?  It depends on whom you ask.  Although these symbols might be considered secular, many students in our schools today are left out of celebrations duirng the whole month of December. Let's look at some of the students in the U.S. typical school who do not celebrate a holiday in Decembr.   Karim is Muslim and his family celebrates Ramadan in September. Rei is Japanese and his family is Shinto. Rei celebrates Oshogatsu on January 1st.  Priya isHindu and her family celebrates Diwali in September. Hui is Taiwanese and his family is Buddhist. They celebrate Buddha’s birthday in May.           We all have to work to make our schools more inclusive. Our job is to protect the religious rights of all our students. I think the onus should be taken off of December. Let’s solve the December dilemma by learning about Diwali and Ramadan in September, Rosh Hashanah in October, and Christmas in December. Let’s explore the secular holidays such as Chu suk, the Chinese Moon Festival, and Holi. We should not overemphasis one particular holiday, and all students in schools across the U.S. will feel included .   Imber, M. (December, 2003), The Santa Dilemma, American School Board Journal, Vol. 190, No. 12. Anti-Defamation League, (2004) The December Dilemma, http://www.adl.org/issue_education/december_dilemma_2004/ Lombardi, K. (2006) Decorate Schools for Holidays – but with What? New York Times, December 17, 2006.  www.nytimes.com/learning/students/pop/articles/17wecol_LN.ht                                                           nonadult false December Holidays and English Language Learners text blog 1223 11 4.90909 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 1 3106697 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Seven-Teaching-Strategies-for-Classroom-Teachers-of-ELLs/blog/3036313/127586.html In Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (ASCD, 2010), Debbie Zacarian and I listed seven teaching strategies for mainstream teachers of ELLs.  These seven strategies are designed to help teachers meet the needs of all the students in their classes and to help make the mainstream classroom more inclusive for ELLs. 1.    Provide comprehensible input  for ELLs. Language is not “soaked up.” The learner must understand the message that is conveyed. Comprehensible input is a hypothesis first proposed by Stephen Krashen. (Krashen, 1981) He purports that ELLs acquire language by hearing and understanding messages that are slightly above their current English language level. When newcomers are assigned to a mainstream classroom and spend most of their day in this environment it is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If that teacher provides information by lecturing in the front of a classroom, the English language learner will not be receiving this input.  Teachers need to speak more slowly, use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to ELLs. 2.    Make lessons visual.  Use visual representations of new vocabulary and find graphs, maps,  photographs, drawings and charts to introduce new vocabulary and concepts.  Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.  Create semantic and story maps, graphic organizers to teach students how to organize information. 3.    Link new information to prior knowledge.  Teachers need to consider what schema ELL students brings to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  Teachers also need to know what their students do not know.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom. 4.    Determine key concepts for the unit and define language and content objects for each lesson.  Teachers write the key concept for a unit of study in student-friendly language and post it in the room. New learning should be tied to this concept.  Additionally, teachers should begin each lesson by writing a content objective on the board.  At the end of the lesson, students should be asked if the objective was met.  Classroom teachers also need to set language objectives for the ELLs in their class.  A language objective might be to learn new vocabulary, find the nouns in a lesson, or apply a grammar rule. 5.    Modify vocabulary instruction for ELLs.  English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Teachers should also provide practice in pronouncing new words. ELLs need much more exposure to new terms, words, idioms, and phrases than do English fluent peers.  Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.   Content area teachers should teach new vocabulary words that occur in the text as well as those related to the subject matter.  Word walls should be used at all grade levels. If you want to learn more about vocabulary instruction, go to Teaching Vocabulary to ELLs. 6.    Use cooperative learning strategies.  Lecture style teaching excludes ELLs from the learning in a classroom We don’t want to   relegate ELLs  to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to ELLs who have an authentic reason to use academic vocabulary and real reasons to discuss key concepts. ELLs benefit from cooperative learning structures.  Give students a job in a group.  Monitor that they are participating. 7.    Modify testing and homework for ELLs.   Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for ELLs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings,  physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test.  Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study.  Remember that the ELLs in your class may not be able to take notes.                               [image][image][image]                 In Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (ASCD, 2010), Debbie Zacarian and I listed seven teaching strategies for mainstream teachers of ELLs.  These seven strategies are designed to help teachers meet the needs of all the students in their classes and to help make the mainstream classroom more inclusive for ELLs. 1.    Provide comprehensible input  for ELLs. Language is not “soaked up.” The learner must understand the message that is conveyed. Comprehensible input is a hypothesis first proposed by Stephen Krashen. (Krashen, 1981) He purports that ELLs acquire language by hearing and understanding messages that are slightly above their current English language level. When newcomers are assigned to a mainstream classroom and spend most of their day in this environment it is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If that teacher provides information by lecturing in the front of a classroom, the English language learner will not be receiving this input.  Teachers need to speak more slowly, use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to ELLs. 2.    Make lessons visual.  Use visual representations of new vocabulary and find graphs, maps,  photographs, drawings and charts to introduce new vocabulary and concepts.  Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.  Create semantic and story maps, graphic organizers to teach students how to organize information. 3.    Link new information to prior knowledge.  Teachers need to consider what schema ELL students brings to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  Teachers also need to know what their students do not know.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom. 4.    Determine key concepts for the unit and define language and content objects for each lesson.  Teachers write the key concept for a unit of study in student-friendly language and post it in the room. New learning should be tied to this concept.  Additionally, teachers should begin each lesson by writing a content objective on the board.  At the end of the lesson, students should be asked if the objective was met.  Classroom teachers also need to set language objectives for the ELLs in their class.  A language objective might be to learn new vocabulary, find the nouns in a lesson, or apply a grammar rule. 5.    Modify vocabulary instruction for ELLs.  English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Teachers should also provide practice in pronouncing new words. ELLs need much more exposure to new terms, words, idioms, and phrases than do English fluent peers.  Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.   Content area teachers should teach new vocabulary words that occur in the text as well as those related to the subject matter.  Word walls should be used at all grade levels. If you want to learn more about vocabulary instruction, go to Teaching Vocabulary to ELLs. 6.    Use cooperative learning strategies.  Lecture style teaching excludes ELLs from the learning in a classroom We don’t want to   relegate ELLs  to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to ELLs who have an authentic reason to use academic vocabulary and real reasons to discuss key concepts. ELLs benefit from cooperative learning structures.  Give students a job in a group.  Monitor that they are participating. 7.    Modify testing and homework for ELLs.   Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for ELLs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings,  physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test.  Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study.  Remember that the ELLs in your class may not be able to take notes.                               [image][image][image]                 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:49:50 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Seven-Teaching-Strategies-for-Classroom-Teachers-of-ELLs/blog/3036313/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-11-29T07:13:36Z ASCD EDge In Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (ASCD, 2010), Debbie Zacarian and I listed seven teaching strategies for mainstream teachers of ELLs.  These seven strategies are designed to help teachers meet the needs of all the students in their classes and to help make the mainstream classroom more inclusive for ELLs. 1.    Provide comprehensible input  for ELLs. Language is not “soaked up.” The learner must understand the message that is conveyed. Comprehensible input is a hypothesis first proposed by Stephen Krashen. (Krashen, 1981) He purports that ELLs acquire language by hearing and understanding messages that are slightly above their current English language level. When newcomers are assigned to a mainstream classroom and spend most of their day in this environment it is especially critical for them to receive comprehensible input from their teachers and classmates. If that teacher provides information by lecturing in the front of a classroom, the English language learner will not be receiving this input.  Teachers need to speak more slowly, use gestures and body language to get across the meaning to ELLs. 2.    Make lessons visual.  Use visual representations of new vocabulary and find graphs, maps,  photographs, drawings and charts to introduce new vocabulary and concepts.  Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.  Create semantic and story maps, graphic organizers to teach students how to organize information. 3.    Link new information to prior knowledge.  Teachers need to consider what schema ELL students brings to the classroom and to link instruction to the students’ personal, cultural, and world experiences.  Teachers also need to know what their students do not know.  They must understand how culture impacts learning in their classroom. 4.    Determine key concepts for the unit and define language and content objects for each lesson.  Teachers write the key concept for a unit of study in student-friendly language and post it in the room. New learning should be tied to this concept.  Additionally, teachers should begin each lesson by writing a content objective on the board.  At the end of the lesson, students should be asked if the objective was met.  Classroom teachers also need to set language objectives for the ELLs in their class.  A language objective might be to learn new vocabulary, find the nouns in a lesson, or apply a grammar rule. 5.    Modify vocabulary instruction for ELLs.  English language learners require direct instruction of new vocabulary.  Teachers should also provide practice in pronouncing new words. ELLs need much more exposure to new terms, words, idioms, and phrases than do English fluent peers.  Teachers need to tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use visual to reinforce meaning.   Content area teachers should teach new vocabulary words that occur in the text as well as those related to the subject matter.  Word walls should be used at all grade levels. If you want to learn more about vocabulary instruction, go to Teaching Vocabulary to ELLs. 6.    Use cooperative learning strategies.  Lecture style teaching excludes ELLs from the learning in a classroom We don’t want to   relegate ELLs  to the fringes of the classroom doing a separate lesson with a classroom aide or ESL teacher. Working in small groups is especially beneficial to ELLs who have an authentic reason to use academic vocabulary and real reasons to discuss key concepts. ELLs benefit from cooperative learning structures.  Give students a job in a group.  Monitor that they are participating. 7.    Modify testing and homework for ELLs.   Content area homework and assessments needs to be differentiated for ELLs. Teachers should allow alternative types of assessment: oral, drawings,  physical response (e.g., act-it-out), and manipulatives as well as modification to the test.  Homework and assessment should be directly linked to classroom instruction and students should be provided with study guides so that they know what to study.  Remember that the ELLs in your class may not be able to take notes.                               [image][image][image]                 nonadult false Seven Teaching Strategies for Classroom Teachers of ELLs text blog 3652 11 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 0 3036313 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Holding-Conferences-with-Parents-of-English-Language-Learners/blog/2320180/127586.html           The increasing population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in our schools poses a challenge for classroom teachers who need to communicate with their families. Parents of English language learners may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and do not know what is expected of them during a parent-teacher conference. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with parents who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices. The goal of this blog is to help you hold productive parent-teacher conferences.           Conferences with parents of English language learners (ELLs) require preparation. First, you need to determine whether a translator is needed. Many parents do not speak English well enough to understand what you are saying so it is important to the success of a conference to contact a translator for parents who need one.  If your school does not provide translators, ask parents to bring a bilingual family member. Siblings, or worse yet, the child herself, should never be used to translate for the parents. When a translator is needed, the meeting time should be lengthened to ensure that there is enough time for the teacher to provide information and answer questions. Assemble samples of the student’s work to share with parents.  Have a solid understanding of the student’s current English proficiency level and prepare to provide samples of this during the meeting. Try to schedule the conferences so that both parents can attend. In some cultures, the father must be included since no important decisions are made without his agreement.           You want body language to reflect a receptive attitude. Walk to the door of your classroom to greet parents as they come into your room just as you would greet guests in your home.  Do not greet them from across the room behind your desk.  Don't make assumptions about the parents’ name. The U.S. custom of birth name, then family name is not universal. Learn how names are used in the cultures of your school. Children may not have the same name as their mother even though the mother and father are married.  Korean and Chinese women do not take their husband’s name but retain their own family name. Children from Spanish-speaking families may have a given name followed by two surnames.  The first surname is the father’s family name, and the second one is the mother’s family name.  Some parents will hyphenate the double name. Others will Americanize their names so you need to ask what name they want to be called.            There are diverse cultural norms about whom it is appropriate to touch in different cultures. Although many people have adopted the Western manner of shaking hands, in some cultures this manner of greeting is not appropriate. Asian women, for example, do not generally shake hands. A male teacher would not touch or shake hands with a Muslim woman. People from Thailand and India greet each other by clasping their hands together. When in doubt, wait and see if the parent offers his/her hand first.          Consider the physical set-up of your conference space. A face-to face setting may be too confrontational for parents of some cultures. Arrange chairs so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the parents.   Place the parent between yourself and the translator.            During the conference you should speak in short uncomplicated sentences and stop so that the translator can translate for parents every few sentences.  If you do not stop speaking every few sentences, your whole message will not be conveyed.  Do not use educational jargon. Avoid speaking directly to the translator. Include the parent in the conversation. When you ask the parent questions, give the translator time to talk to the parents.           It is imperative for you not to misinterpret parents’ meaning if they don’t make eye contact.  In the U.S we feel that someone who doesn’t look us in the eye is untrustworthy. People from some cultures consider making eye contact confrontational. Sitting at a 45-degree angle to the parent helps minimize the amount of eye contact.           An important area for misunderstandings is in the attitude of different cultures toward time.  The U.S, Canada and northern European countries see time as being highly structured, logical, exact, and sequential.  We are monochronic. People from South and Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa like to keep their time unstructured.  They are polychromic. To a monochron, time is exact and being late is both rude and disrespectful. To a polychron, the time set for a meeting is just an approximation.  If parents arrive at a meeting 45 minutes after the appointed time, it is because arriving up to 45 minutes after the designated time is not considered late.            When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, those children are more likely to make good grade and test higher on standardized tests. They will attend school more regularly, be less likely to drop out.  This is a worthy goal that teachers can strive for when they have effective conferences with the parents of English language learners.             The increasing population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in our schools poses a challenge for classroom teachers who need to communicate with their families. Parents of English language learners may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and do not know what is expected of them during a parent-teacher conference. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with parents who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices. The goal of this blog is to help you hold productive parent-teacher conferences.           Conferences with parents of English language learners (ELLs) require preparation. First, you need to determine whether a translator is needed. Many parents do not speak English well enough to understand what you are saying so it is important to the success of a conference to contact a translator for parents who need one.  If your school does not provide translators, ask parents to bring a bilingual family member. Siblings, or worse yet, the child herself, should never be used to translate for the parents. When a translator is needed, the meeting time should be lengthened to ensure that there is enough time for the teacher to provide information and answer questions. Assemble samples of the student’s work to share with parents.  Have a solid understanding of the student’s current English proficiency level and prepare to provide samples of this during the meeting. Try to schedule the conferences so that both parents can attend. In some cultures, the father must be included since no important decisions are made without his agreement.           You want body language to reflect a receptive attitude. Walk to the door of your classroom to greet parents as they come into your room just as you would greet guests in your home.  Do not greet them from across the room behind your desk.  Don't make assumptions about the parents’ name. The U.S. custom of birth name, then family name is not universal. Learn how names are used in the cultures of your school. Children may not have the same name as their mother even though the mother and father are married.  Korean and Chinese women do not take their husband’s name but retain their own family name. Children from Spanish-speaking families may have a given name followed by two surnames.  The first surname is the father’s family name, and the second one is the mother’s family name.  Some parents will hyphenate the double name. Others will Americanize their names so you need to ask what name they want to be called.            There are diverse cultural norms about whom it is appropriate to touch in different cultures. Although many people have adopted the Western manner of shaking hands, in some cultures this manner of greeting is not appropriate. Asian women, for example, do not generally shake hands. A male teacher would not touch or shake hands with a Muslim woman. People from Thailand and India greet each other by clasping their hands together. When in doubt, wait and see if the parent offers his/her hand first.          Consider the physical set-up of your conference space. A face-to face setting may be too confrontational for parents of some cultures. Arrange chairs so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the parents.   Place the parent between yourself and the translator.            During the conference you should speak in short uncomplicated sentences and stop so that the translator can translate for parents every few sentences.  If you do not stop speaking every few sentences, your whole message will not be conveyed.  Do not use educational jargon. Avoid speaking directly to the translator. Include the parent in the conversation. When you ask the parent questions, give the translator time to talk to the parents.           It is imperative for you not to misinterpret parents’ meaning if they don’t make eye contact.  In the U.S we feel that someone who doesn’t look us in the eye is untrustworthy. People from some cultures consider making eye contact confrontational. Sitting at a 45-degree angle to the parent helps minimize the amount of eye contact.           An important area for misunderstandings is in the attitude of different cultures toward time.  The U.S, Canada and northern European countries see time as being highly structured, logical, exact, and sequential.  We are monochronic. People from South and Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa like to keep their time unstructured.  They are polychromic. To a monochron, time is exact and being late is both rude and disrespectful. To a polychron, the time set for a meeting is just an approximation.  If parents arrive at a meeting 45 minutes after the appointed time, it is because arriving up to 45 minutes after the designated time is not considered late.            When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, those children are more likely to make good grade and test higher on standardized tests. They will attend school more regularly, be less likely to drop out.  This is a worthy goal that teachers can strive for when they have effective conferences with the parents of English language learners.   Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:03:20 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Holding-Conferences-with-Parents-of-English-Language-Learners/blog/2320180/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-04-30T00:03:20Z ASCD EDge           The increasing population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in our schools poses a challenge for classroom teachers who need to communicate with their families. Parents of English language learners may not be familiar with the practice of meeting with their child’s teacher and do not know what is expected of them during a parent-teacher conference. Many classroom teachers do not know how to communicate with parents who do not speak English and who are not familiar with U.S. school practices. The goal of this blog is to help you hold productive parent-teacher conferences.           Conferences with parents of English language learners (ELLs) require preparation. First, you need to determine whether a translator is needed. Many parents do not speak English well enough to understand what you are saying so it is important to the success of a conference to contact a translator for parents who need one.  If your school does not provide translators, ask parents to bring a bilingual family member. Siblings, or worse yet, the child herself, should never be used to translate for the parents. When a translator is needed, the meeting time should be lengthened to ensure that there is enough time for the teacher to provide information and answer questions. Assemble samples of the student’s work to share with parents.  Have a solid understanding of the student’s current English proficiency level and prepare to provide samples of this during the meeting. Try to schedule the conferences so that both parents can attend. In some cultures, the father must be included since no important decisions are made without his agreement.           You want body language to reflect a receptive attitude. Walk to the door of your classroom to greet parents as they come into your room just as you would greet guests in your home.  Do not greet them from across the room behind your desk.  Don't make assumptions about the parents’ name. The U.S. custom of birth name, then family name is not universal. Learn how names are used in the cultures of your school. Children may not have the same name as their mother even though the mother and father are married.  Korean and Chinese women do not take their husband’s name but retain their own family name. Children from Spanish-speaking families may have a given name followed by two surnames.  The first surname is the father’s family name, and the second one is the mother’s family name.  Some parents will hyphenate the double name. Others will Americanize their names so you need to ask what name they want to be called.            There are diverse cultural norms about whom it is appropriate to touch in different cultures. Although many people have adopted the Western manner of shaking hands, in some cultures this manner of greeting is not appropriate. Asian women, for example, do not generally shake hands. A male teacher would not touch or shake hands with a Muslim woman. People from Thailand and India greet each other by clasping their hands together. When in doubt, wait and see if the parent offers his/her hand first.          Consider the physical set-up of your conference space. A face-to face setting may be too confrontational for parents of some cultures. Arrange chairs so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the parents.   Place the parent between yourself and the translator.            During the conference you should speak in short uncomplicated sentences and stop so that the translator can translate for parents every few sentences.  If you do not stop speaking every few sentences, your whole message will not be conveyed.  Do not use educational jargon. Avoid speaking directly to the translator. Include the parent in the conversation. When you ask the parent questions, give the translator time to talk to the parents.           It is imperative for you not to misinterpret parents’ meaning if they don’t make eye contact.  In the U.S we feel that someone who doesn’t look us in the eye is untrustworthy. People from some cultures consider making eye contact confrontational. Sitting at a 45-degree angle to the parent helps minimize the amount of eye contact.           An important area for misunderstandings is in the attitude of different cultures toward time.  The U.S, Canada and northern European countries see time as being highly structured, logical, exact, and sequential.  We are monochronic. People from South and Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe and Africa like to keep their time unstructured.  They are polychromic. To a monochron, time is exact and being late is both rude and disrespectful. To a polychron, the time set for a meeting is just an approximation.  If parents arrive at a meeting 45 minutes after the appointed time, it is because arriving up to 45 minutes after the designated time is not considered late.            When parents are actively involved in the education of their children, those children are more likely to make good grade and test higher on standardized tests. They will attend school more regularly, be less likely to drop out.  This is a worthy goal that teachers can strive for when they have effective conferences with the parents of English language learners.   nonadult false Holding Conferences with Parents of English Language Learners text blog 2161 0 0.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 1 2320180 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Collaborative-Teaching-Are-Two-Teachers-Better-Than-One/blog/2309111/127586.html “The city is more crowded. We would need more signs and traffic lights,” said one student. "We would have to live in apartments,” said another. Eight students in Ms. P's 4th grade classroom were squeezed into a 4 x 4 square marked by masking tape on her classroom floor. Four of the students were English language learners. The class was brainstorming how living in the city compared with living in the country. The eight students in the first square concluded that living in a crowded city required different types of transportation and housing. They predicted that they would need more stores, signs and garbage collectors. Students were kinesthetically experiencing the concepts of crowding and privacy. They were gaining hands-on experience with the basic concepts of the unit. This was possible because the classroom teacher, Mrs. P,  and I were collaborating and had time to plan together.            In a collaborative or co-teaching setting, the ESL teacher “pushes into” the general education classroom to collaborate with the teacher. Ideally,  co-teaching involves two credentialed professionals who are partners in the instruction of the lesson. One professional is a classroom or subject area teacher and the other is a certified ESL teacher. They have equal responsibilities for planning instruction and there are a variety of ways this instruction is delivered. Together the two teachers are lowering the student-teacher ratio and providing differentiated instruction in a manner that is not possible for one teacher.            Collaborative teachers are using the same physical space. Students are not pulled out of the classroom for one of the teachers to instruct. Although small heterogeneous groups may be pulled aside for reinforcement, English language learners are not isolated from mainstream students in the back of the classroom. In elementary schools, ESL teachers may come into the classroom for one instructional period each day. I spent two hours each week co-teaching in Ms. P's 4th grade social studies class. Together we were able to lower the teacher-to-student ratio and combine our talents to provide comprehensive instruction for all of the students in her room.           Over the past few years collaborative teaching has become more popular as low incidence school districts search for ways to best serve the needs of their English language learners. What is co-teaching? Does it work? If you ask ESL teachers who have tried co-teaching, you will hear both negative and positive responses. Compare the co-teaching experience that I had with that of  Paulo, a ”push in” ESL teacher in a large city in New Jersey. Paulo teams with five different teachers each school day. He also teaches two classes of beginners in a pullout setting. Because of his workload, he is unable to plan lessons with his co-teachers. When he goes into some classrooms, the teacher turns the students over to Paul and uses the time as a prep period. In others, he is helping a few ESL students at the back of the room while the classroom teacher works with the rest of the students. Usually, he serves as a classroom aide, roving around the room to help students who do not understand the instruction. He is not necessarily scheduled into a classroom when the students need him most.  This is collaborative teaching at its worse. ESL professionals are not classroom aides. They should not be relegated to the back of the room with English language learners. What is the point of “push-in” ESL if students are kept on the fringes of the “real” instruction? Both teachers have a contribution to make. The classroom teacher contributes knowledge of the curriculum and of all the students in the class while the ESL teacher brings information about teaching strategies, second language acquisition and diverse cultures.           It is my experience that ESL teachers who are pushing into general education classrooms are generally more satisfied if they: •    have input into their schedule and whom they will be teaching with. •    co-teach specific subject and are in the classroom each time the subject is taught. •    have time to plan with the co-teacher•    enjoy equal status with the co-teacher.•    can discuss and decide their role and responsibilities in advance.         There are many obvious benefits to co-teaching for students. ESL students have both academic and social benefits. They are exposed to the mainstream content but have the support of a second teacher. They are not pulled out of the class and learn with their classmates. ESL teachers, however, cite many concerns. They do not want to lose ownership of their students be relegated to the status of an aide. They feel that collaboration is a lot of additional work especially if they are co-teaching with several different teachers. They are also concerned about ESL beginners, who they feel do not really benefit from learning in the large group setting.           I think the benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks. When teachers share the responsibility of instruction, lessons are more creative because two people are planning them. It’s nice to have another adult in the room to be able to provide a range of support to students and to share those “ah-ha” moments.  The collaboration can't help but benefit our students.     “The city is more crowded. We would need more signs and traffic lights,” said one student. "We would have to live in apartments,” said another. Eight students in Ms. P's 4th grade classroom were squeezed into a 4 x 4 square marked by masking tape on her classroom floor. Four of the students were English language learners. The class was brainstorming how living in the city compared with living in the country. The eight students in the first square concluded that living in a crowded city required different types of transportation and housing. They predicted that they would need more stores, signs and garbage collectors. Students were kinesthetically experiencing the concepts of crowding and privacy. They were gaining hands-on experience with the basic concepts of the unit. This was possible because the classroom teacher, Mrs. P,  and I were collaborating and had time to plan together.            In a collaborative or co-teaching setting, the ESL teacher “pushes into” the general education classroom to collaborate with the teacher. Ideally,  co-teaching involves two credentialed professionals who are partners in the instruction of the lesson. One professional is a classroom or subject area teacher and the other is a certified ESL teacher. They have equal responsibilities for planning instruction and there are a variety of ways this instruction is delivered. Together the two teachers are lowering the student-teacher ratio and providing differentiated instruction in a manner that is not possible for one teacher.            Collaborative teachers are using the same physical space. Students are not pulled out of the classroom for one of the teachers to instruct. Although small heterogeneous groups may be pulled aside for reinforcement, English language learners are not isolated from mainstream students in the back of the classroom. In elementary schools, ESL teachers may come into the classroom for one instructional period each day. I spent two hours each week co-teaching in Ms. P's 4th grade social studies class. Together we were able to lower the teacher-to-student ratio and combine our talents to provide comprehensive instruction for all of the students in her room.           Over the past few years collaborative teaching has become more popular as low incidence school districts search for ways to best serve the needs of their English language learners. What is co-teaching? Does it work? If you ask ESL teachers who have tried co-teaching, you will hear both negative and positive responses. Compare the co-teaching experience that I had with that of  Paulo, a ”push in” ESL teacher in a large city in New Jersey. Paulo teams with five different teachers each school day. He also teaches two classes of beginners in a pullout setting. Because of his workload, he is unable to plan lessons with his co-teachers. When he goes into some classrooms, the teacher turns the students over to Paul and uses the time as a prep period. In others, he is helping a few ESL students at the back of the room while the classroom teacher works with the rest of the students. Usually, he serves as a classroom aide, roving around the room to help students who do not understand the instruction. He is not necessarily scheduled into a classroom when the students need him most.  This is collaborative teaching at its worse. ESL professionals are not classroom aides. They should not be relegated to the back of the room with English language learners. What is the point of “push-in” ESL if students are kept on the fringes of the “real” instruction? Both teachers have a contribution to make. The classroom teacher contributes knowledge of the curriculum and of all the students in the class while the ESL teacher brings information about teaching strategies, second language acquisition and diverse cultures.           It is my experience that ESL teachers who are pushing into general education classrooms are generally more satisfied if they: •    have input into their schedule and whom they will be teaching with. •    co-teach specific subject and are in the classroom each time the subject is taught. •    have time to plan with the co-teacher•    enjoy equal status with the co-teacher.•    can discuss and decide their role and responsibilities in advance.         There are many obvious benefits to co-teaching for students. ESL students have both academic and social benefits. They are exposed to the mainstream content but have the support of a second teacher. They are not pulled out of the class and learn with their classmates. ESL teachers, however, cite many concerns. They do not want to lose ownership of their students be relegated to the status of an aide. They feel that collaboration is a lot of additional work especially if they are co-teaching with several different teachers. They are also concerned about ESL beginners, who they feel do not really benefit from learning in the large group setting.           I think the benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks. When teachers share the responsibility of instruction, lessons are more creative because two people are planning them. It’s nice to have another adult in the room to be able to provide a range of support to students and to share those “ah-ha” moments.  The collaboration can't help but benefit our students.     Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:46:00 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Collaborative-Teaching-Are-Two-Teachers-Better-Than-One/blog/2309111/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-04-22T09:46:00Z ASCD EDge “The city is more crowded. We would need more signs and traffic lights,” said one student. "We would have to live in apartments,” said another. Eight students in Ms. P's 4th grade classroom were squeezed into a 4 x 4 square marked by masking tape on her classroom floor. Four of the students were English language learners. The class was brainstorming how living in the city compared with living in the country. The eight students in the first square concluded that living in a crowded city required different types of transportation and housing. They predicted that they would need more stores, signs and garbage collectors. Students were kinesthetically experiencing the concepts of crowding and privacy. They were gaining hands-on experience with the basic concepts of the unit. This was possible because the classroom teacher, Mrs. P,  and I were collaborating and had time to plan together.            In a collaborative or co-teaching setting, the ESL teacher “pushes into” the general education classroom to collaborate with the teacher. Ideally,  co-teaching involves two credentialed professionals who are partners in the instruction of the lesson. One professional is a classroom or subject area teacher and the other is a certified ESL teacher. They have equal responsibilities for planning instruction and there are a variety of ways this instruction is delivered. Together the two teachers are lowering the student-teacher ratio and providing differentiated instruction in a manner that is not possible for one teacher.            Collaborative teachers are using the same physical space. Students are not pulled out of the classroom for one of the teachers to instruct. Although small heterogeneous groups may be pulled aside for reinforcement, English language learners are not isolated from mainstream students in the back of the classroom. In elementary schools, ESL teachers may come into the classroom for one instructional period each day. I spent two hours each week co-teaching in Ms. P's 4th grade social studies class. Together we were able to lower the teacher-to-student ratio and combine our talents to provide comprehensive instruction for all of the students in her room.           Over the past few years collaborative teaching has become more popular as low incidence school districts search for ways to best serve the needs of their English language learners. What is co-teaching? Does it work? If you ask ESL teachers who have tried co-teaching, you will hear both negative and positive responses. Compare the co-teaching experience that I had with that of  Paulo, a ”push in” ESL teacher in a large city in New Jersey. Paulo teams with five different teachers each school day. He also teaches two classes of beginners in a pullout setting. Because of his workload, he is unable to plan lessons with his co-teachers. When he goes into some classrooms, the teacher turns the students over to Paul and uses the time as a prep period. In others, he is helping a few ESL students at the back of the room while the classroom teacher works with the rest of the students. Usually, he serves as a classroom aide, roving around the room to help students who do not understand the instruction. He is not necessarily scheduled into a classroom when the students need him most.  This is collaborative teaching at its worse. ESL professionals are not classroom aides. They should not be relegated to the back of the room with English language learners. What is the point of “push-in” ESL if students are kept on the fringes of the “real” instruction? Both teachers have a contribution to make. The classroom teacher contributes knowledge of the curriculum and of all the students in the class while the ESL teacher brings information about teaching strategies, second language acquisition and diverse cultures.           It is my experience that ESL teachers who are pushing into general education classrooms are generally more satisfied if they: •    have input into their schedule and whom they will be teaching with. •    co-teach specific subject and are in the classroom each time the subject is taught. •    have time to plan with the co-teacher•    enjoy equal status with the co-teacher.•    can discuss and decide their role and responsibilities in advance.         There are many obvious benefits to co-teaching for students. ESL students have both academic and social benefits. They are exposed to the mainstream content but have the support of a second teacher. They are not pulled out of the class and learn with their classmates. ESL teachers, however, cite many concerns. They do not want to lose ownership of their students be relegated to the status of an aide. They feel that collaboration is a lot of additional work especially if they are co-teaching with several different teachers. They are also concerned about ESL beginners, who they feel do not really benefit from learning in the large group setting.           I think the benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks. When teachers share the responsibility of instruction, lessons are more creative because two people are planning them. It’s nice to have another adult in the room to be able to provide a range of support to students and to share those “ah-ha” moments.  The collaboration can't help but benefit our students.     nonadult false Collaborative Teaching: Are Two Teachers Better Than One? text blog 1869 0 0.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 1 2309111 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Using-Word-Walls-is-More-Than-Displaying-Words/blog/2275871/127586.html           ASCD author Debbie Zacarian presented on the topic of word walls at TESOL 2010 in Boston. Her presentation was based on information from her latest book (co-authored with Judie Haynes)  on Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (ASCD, 2010), Although this presentation was geared toward English Language Learners (ELLs), Zacarian’s points are valid for all learners.           This blog presents highlights of the presentation.  Reading researchers such Beck, McKeown, and Kucan. (2002). divide vocabulary into three tiers: Tier 1 includes basic 1-2 syllable words or phrases used in everyday conversation (e.g., blue, pencil, chair). Tier 2 words are synonyms for Tier 1 words and translition words that mean and, but and so.                                    Tier 3 words are low-frequency  multi syllabic words that students often learn in subject area study. (eg: quadratic equation, iambic pentameter, ecosystem) These words are not generally used outside of the classroom.             English Language Learners and students who struggle to learn are often not directly taught much needed Tier 2 words.            Vocabulary should be taught in chunks as opposed to single words. Zacarian uses the acronymn TWIPS to help teachers and students to consider vocabulary as key terms, words, idioms and phrases. (TWIPS) Word walls help visually communicate key vocabulary to help students to learn, understand and, most importantly, use.           Zacarian recommends having two "word walls" in your classroom to help students practice their words and phrases: one reserved for for Tier-1 and Tier-2 TWIPs, and another reserved for content-specific Tier-3 TWIPs.    Transition words, such as and, but and so, for example, should be included on word walls of synonyms that students can readily see and use to develop and expand their vocabulary. The words on the Tier-3 wall should change from unit to unit. Words should not be arranged on a wall in alphabetical order but in categores.  This helps students remember the words.                                                      [image][image][image]           ASCD author Debbie Zacarian presented on the topic of word walls at TESOL 2010 in Boston. Her presentation was based on information from her latest book (co-authored with Judie Haynes)  on Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (ASCD, 2010), Although this presentation was geared toward English Language Learners (ELLs), Zacarian’s points are valid for all learners.           This blog presents highlights of the presentation.  Reading researchers such Beck, McKeown, and Kucan. (2002). divide vocabulary into three tiers: Tier 1 includes basic 1-2 syllable words or phrases used in everyday conversation (e.g., blue, pencil, chair). Tier 2 words are synonyms for Tier 1 words and translition words that mean and, but and so.                                    Tier 3 words are low-frequency  multi syllabic words that students often learn in subject area study. (eg: quadratic equation, iambic pentameter, ecosystem) These words are not generally used outside of the classroom.             English Language Learners and students who struggle to learn are often not directly taught much needed Tier 2 words.            Vocabulary should be taught in chunks as opposed to single words. Zacarian uses the acronymn TWIPS to help teachers and students to consider vocabulary as key terms, words, idioms and phrases. (TWIPS) Word walls help visually communicate key vocabulary to help students to learn, understand and, most importantly, use.           Zacarian recommends having two "word walls" in your classroom to help students practice their words and phrases: one reserved for for Tier-1 and Tier-2 TWIPs, and another reserved for content-specific Tier-3 TWIPs.    Transition words, such as and, but and so, for example, should be included on word walls of synonyms that students can readily see and use to develop and expand their vocabulary. The words on the Tier-3 wall should change from unit to unit. Words should not be arranged on a wall in alphabetical order but in categores.  This helps students remember the words.                                                      [image][image][image] Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:21:25 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Using-Word-Walls-is-More-Than-Displaying-Words/blog/2275871/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-03-31T12:21:25Z ASCD EDge           ASCD author Debbie Zacarian presented on the topic of word walls at TESOL 2010 in Boston. Her presentation was based on information from her latest book (co-authored with Judie Haynes)  on Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (ASCD, 2010), Although this presentation was geared toward English Language Learners (ELLs), Zacarian’s points are valid for all learners.           This blog presents highlights of the presentation.  Reading researchers such Beck, McKeown, and Kucan. (2002). divide vocabulary into three tiers: Tier 1 includes basic 1-2 syllable words or phrases used in everyday conversation (e.g., blue, pencil, chair). Tier 2 words are synonyms for Tier 1 words and translition words that mean and, but and so.                                    Tier 3 words are low-frequency  multi syllabic words that students often learn in subject area study. (eg: quadratic equation, iambic pentameter, ecosystem) These words are not generally used outside of the classroom.             English Language Learners and students who struggle to learn are often not directly taught much needed Tier 2 words.            Vocabulary should be taught in chunks as opposed to single words. Zacarian uses the acronymn TWIPS to help teachers and students to consider vocabulary as key terms, words, idioms and phrases. (TWIPS) Word walls help visually communicate key vocabulary to help students to learn, understand and, most importantly, use.           Zacarian recommends having two "word walls" in your classroom to help students practice their words and phrases: one reserved for for Tier-1 and Tier-2 TWIPs, and another reserved for content-specific Tier-3 TWIPs.    Transition words, such as and, but and so, for example, should be included on word walls of synonyms that students can readily see and use to develop and expand their vocabulary. The words on the Tier-3 wall should change from unit to unit. Words should not be arranged on a wall in alphabetical order but in categores.  This helps students remember the words.                                                      [image][image][image] walls, word nonadult false Using Word Walls is More Than Displaying Words text blog walls,word 3068 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 3 1 2275871 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Authors-Debbie-Zacarian-and-Judie-Haynes/photo/8294323/127586.html ASCD authors Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes check out the ASCD booth at the TESOL 2010 Convention in Boston. ASCD authors Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes check out the ASCD booth at the TESOL 2010 Convention in Boston. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:46:29 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Authors-Debbie-Zacarian-and-Judie-Haynes/photo/8294323/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-03-27T20:46:29Z ASCD EDge ASCD authors Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes check out the ASCD booth at the TESOL 2010 Convention in Boston. nonadult false Authors Debbie Zacarian and Judie Haynes photo 986 0 0.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 0 8294323 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_12-Steps-to-Better-Writing-for-ELLs/blog/2192375/127586.html The biggest challenge when teaching writing to Gr. 4-12 new learners of English is that many of them develop their text in their native language and then try to translate into English. This translated writing is full of inaccurate verb tenses and unintelligible sentences. There are so many errors that editing becomes problematic for teachers. I feel strongly that it is better to help students avoid writing in English through the filter of their native language. What problems do English Language Learners face when learning to write in English? First, their vocabulary is restricted and they limit themselves to words they know how to spell. Let’s examine the work of a 5th grade newcomer, Yimin, who wrote the following text in her mainstream classroom in response to the prompt: “If you were an animal, what animal would you like to be and why?” “I like be eagle becas eagle birds king and he fly very up. They scard. When they baby, they take off they feather and they squek they claw."How do we avoid the garbled writing that Yimin produced? I am convinced that English language learners write better if they begin with non-fiction reading and writing. Graphic organizers such as story maps, T-charts, and Venn diagrams help scaffold writing and provide students with language chunks that can be used in their text. If topics are developed orally, non-fiction vocabulary expanded and charted, and correct sentence structure modeled, student writing will improve dramatically. One way to achieve this is to teach non-fiction writing during writing workshop and to modify writing process steps for beginning English language learners. The topics used during this lesson should be taken from the students’ subject area content. I advocate that you adapt the writing lesson taught to the whole class to the needs of your English Language Learners.  You may have to make some adjustments to they way you teach your class, but it is well worth it.   Prewriting: 1. You will need to spend a lot of time in this stage with new learners of English.2. As a follow-up to non-fiction reading, brainstorm and chart facts about the topic in sentence form. Have them read the facts from your chart orally. Strengthen the link between oral and written language. 3. Keep a running list of content vocabulary. Review and practice the vocabulary every day. Speak and write facts in full sentences. 4. Use graphic organizers to help students arrange ideas. ELLs will usually find it difficult to go from phrases to comprehensible sentences so complete the organizer with sentences, not phrases. Your students may not value this strategy if they have not used organizers to write in their native language so you will need to insist on it.  Writing: 5. Have students practice writing from a story map, Venn diagram or other type of graphic organizer. Provide them with an organizer that you have written together on the non-fiction topic. This gives a beginning writer the language and structure that they need. Show clearly what should be covered in the writing and how it should be organized. 6. ELLs at the beginning stages of English language learning may need a frame where they can plug in the information that they have learned. Editing: 7. Don’t expect students who are not fluent in English to self-edit. They will not usually find their own mistakes. You will have to be more hands-on with the editing of non-native speakers and conference with them on a regular basis to discuss their works–in- progress. 8. If you have your students peer-edit, they may be reluctant to share their work with native speakers. You may want to group beginners with more fluent native speakers. Give pairs a specific item to check. For example Check the ‘s’ at the end of a verb if you are talking about one other person. 9. You may need to teach a mini-lesson about the item you want edited. Revising: 10. English language learners will not remember what to revise unless changes are clearly marked on their papers. Instead of writing “Add more information here,” write more specifically Tell what eagles eat here. If students are a part of the editing process, the revisions will be more meaningful to them. 11. ELLs are much more willing to revise text if they have written in a word processing document.  I like to make suggested in a different colored font on their work.  It is a great way to communicate with students.   Pulblishing 12. This is an important step. Help students develop a sense of audience by encouraging students to share their writing with classmates and family. Display work in the classroom and hallway or make classroom books. I see my students take giant steps when non-fiction writing is introduced to beginners in writing workshop and steps are modified as shown above. Yimin wrote this piece on a forest animal in her ESL classroom. Eagle are carnivores. They live in forest. They eat small mammal, fish and snakes. They use eyes to see prey. They catch food with sharp talon. They are diurnal because they hunt in the day.                                                     The biggest challenge when teaching writing to Gr. 4-12 new learners of English is that many of them develop their text in their native language and then try to translate into English. This translated writing is full of inaccurate verb tenses and unintelligible sentences. There are so many errors that editing becomes problematic for teachers. I feel strongly that it is better to help students avoid writing in English through the filter of their native language. What problems do English Language Learners face when learning to write in English? First, their vocabulary is restricted and they limit themselves to words they know how to spell. Let’s examine the work of a 5th grade newcomer, Yimin, who wrote the following text in her mainstream classroom in response to the prompt: “If you were an animal, what animal would you like to be and why?” “I like be eagle becas eagle birds king and he fly very up. They scard. When they baby, they take off they feather and they squek they claw."How do we avoid the garbled writing that Yimin produced? I am convinced that English language learners write better if they begin with non-fiction reading and writing. Graphic organizers such as story maps, T-charts, and Venn diagrams help scaffold writing and provide students with language chunks that can be used in their text. If topics are developed orally, non-fiction vocabulary expanded and charted, and correct sentence structure modeled, student writing will improve dramatically. One way to achieve this is to teach non-fiction writing during writing workshop and to modify writing process steps for beginning English language learners. The topics used during this lesson should be taken from the students’ subject area content. I advocate that you adapt the writing lesson taught to the whole class to the needs of your English Language Learners.  You may have to make some adjustments to they way you teach your class, but it is well worth it.   Prewriting: 1. You will need to spend a lot of time in this stage with new learners of English.2. As a follow-up to non-fiction reading, brainstorm and chart facts about the topic in sentence form. Have them read the facts from your chart orally. Strengthen the link between oral and written language. 3. Keep a running list of content vocabulary. Review and practice the vocabulary every day. Speak and write facts in full sentences. 4. Use graphic organizers to help students arrange ideas. ELLs will usually find it difficult to go from phrases to comprehensible sentences so complete the organizer with sentences, not phrases. Your students may not value this strategy if they have not used organizers to write in their native language so you will need to insist on it.  Writing: 5. Have students practice writing from a story map, Venn diagram or other type of graphic organizer. Provide them with an organizer that you have written together on the non-fiction topic. This gives a beginning writer the language and structure that they need. Show clearly what should be covered in the writing and how it should be organized. 6. ELLs at the beginning stages of English language learning may need a frame where they can plug in the information that they have learned. Editing: 7. Don’t expect students who are not fluent in English to self-edit. They will not usually find their own mistakes. You will have to be more hands-on with the editing of non-native speakers and conference with them on a regular basis to discuss their works–in- progress. 8. If you have your students peer-edit, they may be reluctant to share their work with native speakers. You may want to group beginners with more fluent native speakers. Give pairs a specific item to check. For example Check the ‘s’ at the end of a verb if you are talking about one other person. 9. You may need to teach a mini-lesson about the item you want edited. Revising: 10. English language learners will not remember what to revise unless changes are clearly marked on their papers. Instead of writing “Add more information here,” write more specifically Tell what eagles eat here. If students are a part of the editing process, the revisions will be more meaningful to them. 11. ELLs are much more willing to revise text if they have written in a word processing document.  I like to make suggested in a different colored font on their work.  It is a great way to communicate with students.   Pulblishing 12. This is an important step. Help students develop a sense of audience by encouraging students to share their writing with classmates and family. Display work in the classroom and hallway or make classroom books. I see my students take giant steps when non-fiction writing is introduced to beginners in writing workshop and steps are modified as shown above. Yimin wrote this piece on a forest animal in her ESL classroom. Eagle are carnivores. They live in forest. They eat small mammal, fish and snakes. They use eyes to see prey. They catch food with sharp talon. They are diurnal because they hunt in the day.                                                     Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:19:28 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_12-Steps-to-Better-Writing-for-ELLs/blog/2192375/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-03-18T21:19:28Z ASCD EDge The biggest challenge when teaching writing to Gr. 4-12 new learners of English is that many of them develop their text in their native language and then try to translate into English. This translated writing is full of inaccurate verb tenses and unintelligible sentences. There are so many errors that editing becomes problematic for teachers. I feel strongly that it is better to help students avoid writing in English through the filter of their native language. What problems do English Language Learners face when learning to write in English? First, their vocabulary is restricted and they limit themselves to words they know how to spell. Let’s examine the work of a 5th grade newcomer, Yimin, who wrote the following text in her mainstream classroom in response to the prompt: “If you were an animal, what animal would you like to be and why?” “I like be eagle becas eagle birds king and he fly very up. They scard. When they baby, they take off they feather and they squek they claw."How do we avoid the garbled writing that Yimin produced? I am convinced that English language learners write better if they begin with non-fiction reading and writing. Graphic organizers such as story maps, T-charts, and Venn diagrams help scaffold writing and provide students with language chunks that can be used in their text. If topics are developed orally, non-fiction vocabulary expanded and charted, and correct sentence structure modeled, student writing will improve dramatically. One way to achieve this is to teach non-fiction writing during writing workshop and to modify writing process steps for beginning English language learners. The topics used during this lesson should be taken from the students’ subject area content. I advocate that you adapt the writing lesson taught to the whole class to the needs of your English Language Learners.  You may have to make some adjustments to they way you teach your class, but it is well worth it.   Prewriting: 1. You will need to spend a lot of time in this stage with new learners of English.2. As a follow-up to non-fiction reading, brainstorm and chart facts about the topic in sentence form. Have them read the facts from your chart orally. Strengthen the link between oral and written language. 3. Keep a running list of content vocabulary. Review and practice the vocabulary every day. Speak and write facts in full sentences. 4. Use graphic organizers to help students arrange ideas. ELLs will usually find it difficult to go from phrases to comprehensible sentences so complete the organizer with sentences, not phrases. Your students may not value this strategy if they have not used organizers to write in their native language so you will need to insist on it.  Writing: 5. Have students practice writing from a story map, Venn diagram or other type of graphic organizer. Provide them with an organizer that you have written together on the non-fiction topic. This gives a beginning writer the language and structure that they need. Show clearly what should be covered in the writing and how it should be organized. 6. ELLs at the beginning stages of English language learning may need a frame where they can plug in the information that they have learned. Editing: 7. Don’t expect students who are not fluent in English to self-edit. They will not usually find their own mistakes. You will have to be more hands-on with the editing of non-native speakers and conference with them on a regular basis to discuss their works–in- progress. 8. If you have your students peer-edit, they may be reluctant to share their work with native speakers. You may want to group beginners with more fluent native speakers. Give pairs a specific item to check. For example Check the ‘s’ at the end of a verb if you are talking about one other person. 9. You may need to teach a mini-lesson about the item you want edited. Revising: 10. English language learners will not remember what to revise unless changes are clearly marked on their papers. Instead of writing “Add more information here,” write more specifically Tell what eagles eat here. If students are a part of the editing process, the revisions will be more meaningful to them. 11. ELLs are much more willing to revise text if they have written in a word processing document.  I like to make suggested in a different colored font on their work.  It is a great way to communicate with students.   Pulblishing 12. This is an important step. Help students develop a sense of audience by encouraging students to share their writing with classmates and family. Display work in the classroom and hallway or make classroom books. I see my students take giant steps when non-fiction writing is introduced to beginners in writing workshop and steps are modified as shown above. Yimin wrote this piece on a forest animal in her ESL classroom. Eagle are carnivores. They live in forest. They eat small mammal, fish and snakes. They use eyes to see prey. They catch food with sharp talon. They are diurnal because they hunt in the day.                                                     nonadult false 12 Steps to Better Writing for ELLs text blog 2443 0 0.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 1 2192375 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_25-Quick-Tips-for-Teaching-ELLs/blog/1978094/127586.html Do you want to create an effective learning environment for your English language learners? Pick five ideas that you have never tried from the list below and implement them in your content area or mainstream classroom. You will be surprised to see how much the learning of ELLs improves. Before Teaching the Lesson 1. Determine the English language learning level of your ELLs. Be realistic about what you expect them to do. 2. Plan ahead. Think about how you will make the content comprehensible to your ELLs. Consider how will you link the content to the students’ previous knowledge. 3. Decide what concepts need to be pre-taught and how you can develop content area vocabulary. 4. Prepare teaching aids such as maps, charts, pictures, and flashcards before the lesson is taught. 5. Add vocabulary word banks to student activities. 6. Adapt text so that the concepts are paraphrased in easier English. Eliminate non-essential details. 7. Find non-fiction books in the library written at a lower level about the topic you are teaching. During the Lesson 8. Build on what ELLs already know. 9. Simplify vocabulary and sentence structure. Pre-teach vocabulary in context. 10. Use embedded or yes/no questions; give ELLs questions you will ask in advance so that they can prepare. 11. Introduce concrete concepts and vocabulary first. 12. Teach students to categorize their information using graphic organizers. Create semantic and story maps. 13. Demonstrate highlighting techniques so that students can highlight important information. 14. Review and repeat important concepts and vocabulary. 15. Provide concrete “real” examples and experiences. 16. Teach ELLs to find definitions for key vocabulary in the text. 17. Help ELLs become acquainted with their textbooks (table of contents, glossary, index, etc.) 18. Model your thinking processes for students using “think-alouds”. 19. Tape record part of your lesson to reinforce learning. After the lesson 20. Have classmates make copies of their notes for ELLs to use. 21. Have ELLs watch videos or listen to tapes about current lesson using close caption feature. 22. Provide follow-up activities that reinforce vocabulary and concepts. 23. Have students work in small groups or pairs so that language and concepts are reinforced. 24. Adjust homework assignment to your ELLs’ English language proficiency level. 25. Modify assessment so that your ELLs have an opportunity to show what they have learned. Posted by everythingESL at 9:54 AM [image] [image]   Do you want to create an effective learning environment for your English language learners? Pick five ideas that you have never tried from the list below and implement them in your content area or mainstream classroom. You will be surprised to see how much the learning of ELLs improves. Before Teaching the Lesson 1. Determine the English language learning level of your ELLs. Be realistic about what you expect them to do. 2. Plan ahead. Think about how you will make the content comprehensible to your ELLs. Consider how will you link the content to the students’ previous knowledge. 3. Decide what concepts need to be pre-taught and how you can develop content area vocabulary. 4. Prepare teaching aids such as maps, charts, pictures, and flashcards before the lesson is taught. 5. Add vocabulary word banks to student activities. 6. Adapt text so that the concepts are paraphrased in easier English. Eliminate non-essential details. 7. Find non-fiction books in the library written at a lower level about the topic you are teaching. During the Lesson 8. Build on what ELLs already know. 9. Simplify vocabulary and sentence structure. Pre-teach vocabulary in context. 10. Use embedded or yes/no questions; give ELLs questions you will ask in advance so that they can prepare. 11. Introduce concrete concepts and vocabulary first. 12. Teach students to categorize their information using graphic organizers. Create semantic and story maps. 13. Demonstrate highlighting techniques so that students can highlight important information. 14. Review and repeat important concepts and vocabulary. 15. Provide concrete “real” examples and experiences. 16. Teach ELLs to find definitions for key vocabulary in the text. 17. Help ELLs become acquainted with their textbooks (table of contents, glossary, index, etc.) 18. Model your thinking processes for students using “think-alouds”. 19. Tape record part of your lesson to reinforce learning. After the lesson 20. Have classmates make copies of their notes for ELLs to use. 21. Have ELLs watch videos or listen to tapes about current lesson using close caption feature. 22. Provide follow-up activities that reinforce vocabulary and concepts. 23. Have students work in small groups or pairs so that language and concepts are reinforced. 24. Adjust homework assignment to your ELLs’ English language proficiency level. 25. Modify assessment so that your ELLs have an opportunity to show what they have learned. Posted by everythingESL at 9:54 AM [image] [image]   Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:34:43 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_25-Quick-Tips-for-Teaching-ELLs/blog/1978094/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-03-10T05:34:43Z ASCD EDge Do you want to create an effective learning environment for your English language learners? Pick five ideas that you have never tried from the list below and implement them in your content area or mainstream classroom. You will be surprised to see how much the learning of ELLs improves. Before Teaching the Lesson 1. Determine the English language learning level of your ELLs. Be realistic about what you expect them to do. 2. Plan ahead. Think about how you will make the content comprehensible to your ELLs. Consider how will you link the content to the students’ previous knowledge. 3. Decide what concepts need to be pre-taught and how you can develop content area vocabulary. 4. Prepare teaching aids such as maps, charts, pictures, and flashcards before the lesson is taught. 5. Add vocabulary word banks to student activities. 6. Adapt text so that the concepts are paraphrased in easier English. Eliminate non-essential details. 7. Find non-fiction books in the library written at a lower level about the topic you are teaching. During the Lesson 8. Build on what ELLs already know. 9. Simplify vocabulary and sentence structure. Pre-teach vocabulary in context. 10. Use embedded or yes/no questions; give ELLs questions you will ask in advance so that they can prepare. 11. Introduce concrete concepts and vocabulary first. 12. Teach students to categorize their information using graphic organizers. Create semantic and story maps. 13. Demonstrate highlighting techniques so that students can highlight important information. 14. Review and repeat important concepts and vocabulary. 15. Provide concrete “real” examples and experiences. 16. Teach ELLs to find definitions for key vocabulary in the text. 17. Help ELLs become acquainted with their textbooks (table of contents, glossary, index, etc.) 18. Model your thinking processes for students using “think-alouds”. 19. Tape record part of your lesson to reinforce learning. After the lesson 20. Have classmates make copies of their notes for ELLs to use. 21. Have ELLs watch videos or listen to tapes about current lesson using close caption feature. 22. Provide follow-up activities that reinforce vocabulary and concepts. 23. Have students work in small groups or pairs so that language and concepts are reinforced. 24. Adjust homework assignment to your ELLs’ English language proficiency level. 25. Modify assessment so that your ELLs have an opportunity to show what they have learned. Posted by everythingESL at 9:54 AM [image] [image]   nonadult false 25 Quick Tips for Teaching ELLs text blog 3265 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 1 5 1978094 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_What-is-Culture-Shock/blog/1879212/127586.html New learners of English who act out in the classroom are probably suffering from culture shock. This is a term used to describe the feelings people have when they move to an unfamiliar culture. Immigrant children may become withdrawn and passive or they may be aggressive. The more different the new culture is from their own, the greater the shock. Newcomers have left behind family members, friends, teachers, and pets. They have lost their language and culture. Often they do not have the support of their parents who are in shock too. It must be emphasized that every child reacts differently to moving to a new place. New arrivals usually go through four stages of culture shock. 1.Euphoric or Honeymoon Stage During this stage newcomers are excited about their new lives. Everything is wonderful and they are having a great time learning about their environment. 2. Culture Shock Stage.The differences between the new and the native cultures becomes more apparent. Students feel overwhelmed at this stage. There is so much they do not understand about their new surroundings. They are frustrated because they can not communicate and are bombarded with unfamiliar surroundings, unreadable social signals and an unrelenting barrage of new sounds. Students suffering from culture shock may seem sleepy, irritable, disinterested or depressed. Some students may become aggressive and act out their frustrations.English language learners (ELLs) in this stage of culture shock need time and patience from their teachers. 3. Integration Stage. ELLs start to deal with the differences between the old culture and new. They learn to integrate their own beliefs with those of the new culture. Some newcomers will start to replace the old values with new ones. Others will begin to find ways to exist with both cultures. Many immigrant parents start to become alarmed at this stage. They do not want their children to lose their language and culture. 4. Acceptance Stage. ELLs are now able to enter and prosper in the mainstream culture. They accept both cultures and combine them into their lives. Some students will adopt the mainstream culture at school and follow the values of the home culture outside of school. During this stage there may be conflict between ELLs and their parents. Immigrant parents may wish to limit how much of the  mainstream culture they adopt. They fear that their children may  forget their native language and reject their culture,     New learners of English who act out in the classroom are probably suffering from culture shock. This is a term used to describe the feelings people have when they move to an unfamiliar culture. Immigrant children may become withdrawn and passive or they may be aggressive. The more different the new culture is from their own, the greater the shock. Newcomers have left behind family members, friends, teachers, and pets. They have lost their language and culture. Often they do not have the support of their parents who are in shock too. It must be emphasized that every child reacts differently to moving to a new place. New arrivals usually go through four stages of culture shock. 1.Euphoric or Honeymoon Stage During this stage newcomers are excited about their new lives. Everything is wonderful and they are having a great time learning about their environment. 2. Culture Shock Stage.The differences between the new and the native cultures becomes more apparent. Students feel overwhelmed at this stage. There is so much they do not understand about their new surroundings. They are frustrated because they can not communicate and are bombarded with unfamiliar surroundings, unreadable social signals and an unrelenting barrage of new sounds. Students suffering from culture shock may seem sleepy, irritable, disinterested or depressed. Some students may become aggressive and act out their frustrations.English language learners (ELLs) in this stage of culture shock need time and patience from their teachers. 3. Integration Stage. ELLs start to deal with the differences between the old culture and new. They learn to integrate their own beliefs with those of the new culture. Some newcomers will start to replace the old values with new ones. Others will begin to find ways to exist with both cultures. Many immigrant parents start to become alarmed at this stage. They do not want their children to lose their language and culture. 4. Acceptance Stage. ELLs are now able to enter and prosper in the mainstream culture. They accept both cultures and combine them into their lives. Some students will adopt the mainstream culture at school and follow the values of the home culture outside of school. During this stage there may be conflict between ELLs and their parents. Immigrant parents may wish to limit how much of the  mainstream culture they adopt. They fear that their children may  forget their native language and reject their culture,     Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:06:21 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_What-is-Culture-Shock/blog/1879212/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-02-21T08:06:21Z Blogs ASCD EDge New learners of English who act out in the classroom are probably suffering from culture shock. This is a term used to describe the feelings people have when they move to an unfamiliar culture. Immigrant children may become withdrawn and passive or they may be aggressive. The more different the new culture is from their own, the greater the shock. Newcomers have left behind family members, friends, teachers, and pets. They have lost their language and culture. Often they do not have the support of their parents who are in shock too. It must be emphasized that every child reacts differently to moving to a new place. New arrivals usually go through four stages of culture shock. 1.Euphoric or Honeymoon Stage During this stage newcomers are excited about their new lives. Everything is wonderful and they are having a great time learning about their environment. 2. Culture Shock Stage.The differences between the new and the native cultures becomes more apparent. Students feel overwhelmed at this stage. There is so much they do not understand about their new surroundings. They are frustrated because they can not communicate and are bombarded with unfamiliar surroundings, unreadable social signals and an unrelenting barrage of new sounds. Students suffering from culture shock may seem sleepy, irritable, disinterested or depressed. Some students may become aggressive and act out their frustrations.English language learners (ELLs) in this stage of culture shock need time and patience from their teachers. 3. Integration Stage. ELLs start to deal with the differences between the old culture and new. They learn to integrate their own beliefs with those of the new culture. Some newcomers will start to replace the old values with new ones. Others will begin to find ways to exist with both cultures. Many immigrant parents start to become alarmed at this stage. They do not want their children to lose their language and culture. 4. Acceptance Stage. ELLs are now able to enter and prosper in the mainstream culture. They accept both cultures and combine them into their lives. Some students will adopt the mainstream culture at school and follow the values of the home culture outside of school. During this stage there may be conflict between ELLs and their parents. Immigrant parents may wish to limit how much of the  mainstream culture they adopt. They fear that their children may  forget their native language and reject their culture,     blogs nonadult false What is Culture Shock? text blog blogs 1158 10 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 Blogs 0 1879212 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_How-long-does-it-take-to-learn-English/blog/1821455/127586.html How long does it take to learn English? This is the most frequently asked question by administrators, and classroom teachers. Let's look at the research. The most comprehensive work done in this field is the research conducted by Wayne Thomas & Virginia Collier . Thomas & Collier examined the language acquisition of English language learners in a longitudinal study from 1982 to 1996. They wanted to find out how long it took nonEnglish speakers to reach native-speaker levels (50th percentile) on norm-referenced tests. In addition, they looked at variables such as socioeconomic status, first language, programs used to learn English, and number of years of primary language schooling. In their study, Thomas & Collier found that the most significant variable in how long it takes to learn English is the amount of formal schooling students have received in their first language.   Here are some other conclusions from their study: Those students who were between 8-11 years old and had 2-3 years of native language education took 5-7 years to test at grade level in English. Students with little or no formal schooling who arrived before the age of eight, took 7-10 years to reach grade level norms in English language literacy. Students who were below grade level in native language literacy also took 7-10 years to reach the 50th percentile. Many of these students never reached grade level norms.  English language learners who were in ESL programs did extremely well in kindergarten through third grade. The gains these students made in English were dramatic. However, these students fell below the 50% in fourth grade on through middle and high school when the academic demands of the curriculum became more rigorous.  Students in Two-Way Bilingual Immersion and Developmental Bilingual programs reach the 50th percentile in both their native language and English by 4th or 5th grade in all subject areas.  They were able to maintain their gains.   This does not mean that all bilingual programs are more effective than all ESL or sheltered content programs. It is important to look beyond the program label. Are teachers qualified to teach English language learners? Are there sufficient materials.? What instructional methods are used? Are students exited into all English programs too quickly? Bilingual programs are not always feasible, especially in school districts where students come from multiple language backgrounds. Here are the key considerations for school districts: Give students more time to develop English language academic skills. Don't rush K-3 students through your language support programs. Provide more support services to under-schooled upper elementary and middle school students. Remember that it will take them 7-10 years to reach grade level norms. Maintenance of native language in the home should be encouraged. Development of native language literacy should be fostered. Persuade parents to send their children to after-school and Saturday instruction in first language. If your school district has the requisite number of students, push for a developmental bilingual or two-way immersion program.                                     How long does it take to learn English? This is the most frequently asked question by administrators, and classroom teachers. Let's look at the research. The most comprehensive work done in this field is the research conducted by Wayne Thomas & Virginia Collier . Thomas & Collier examined the language acquisition of English language learners in a longitudinal study from 1982 to 1996. They wanted to find out how long it took nonEnglish speakers to reach native-speaker levels (50th percentile) on norm-referenced tests. In addition, they looked at variables such as socioeconomic status, first language, programs used to learn English, and number of years of primary language schooling. In their study, Thomas & Collier found that the most significant variable in how long it takes to learn English is the amount of formal schooling students have received in their first language.   Here are some other conclusions from their study: Those students who were between 8-11 years old and had 2-3 years of native language education took 5-7 years to test at grade level in English. Students with little or no formal schooling who arrived before the age of eight, took 7-10 years to reach grade level norms in English language literacy. Students who were below grade level in native language literacy also took 7-10 years to reach the 50th percentile. Many of these students never reached grade level norms.  English language learners who were in ESL programs did extremely well in kindergarten through third grade. The gains these students made in English were dramatic. However, these students fell below the 50% in fourth grade on through middle and high school when the academic demands of the curriculum became more rigorous.  Students in Two-Way Bilingual Immersion and Developmental Bilingual programs reach the 50th percentile in both their native language and English by 4th or 5th grade in all subject areas.  They were able to maintain their gains.   This does not mean that all bilingual programs are more effective than all ESL or sheltered content programs. It is important to look beyond the program label. Are teachers qualified to teach English language learners? Are there sufficient materials.? What instructional methods are used? Are students exited into all English programs too quickly? Bilingual programs are not always feasible, especially in school districts where students come from multiple language backgrounds. Here are the key considerations for school districts: Give students more time to develop English language academic skills. Don't rush K-3 students through your language support programs. Provide more support services to under-schooled upper elementary and middle school students. Remember that it will take them 7-10 years to reach grade level norms. Maintenance of native language in the home should be encouraged. Development of native language literacy should be fostered. Persuade parents to send their children to after-school and Saturday instruction in first language. If your school district has the requisite number of students, push for a developmental bilingual or two-way immersion program.                                     Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:13:58 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_How-long-does-it-take-to-learn-English/blog/1821455/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-02-08T07:13:58Z Blogs ASCD EDge How long does it take to learn English? This is the most frequently asked question by administrators, and classroom teachers. Let's look at the research. The most comprehensive work done in this field is the research conducted by Wayne Thomas & Virginia Collier . Thomas & Collier examined the language acquisition of English language learners in a longitudinal study from 1982 to 1996. They wanted to find out how long it took nonEnglish speakers to reach native-speaker levels (50th percentile) on norm-referenced tests. In addition, they looked at variables such as socioeconomic status, first language, programs used to learn English, and number of years of primary language schooling. In their study, Thomas & Collier found that the most significant variable in how long it takes to learn English is the amount of formal schooling students have received in their first language.   Here are some other conclusions from their study: Those students who were between 8-11 years old and had 2-3 years of native language education took 5-7 years to test at grade level in English. Students with little or no formal schooling who arrived before the age of eight, took 7-10 years to reach grade level norms in English language literacy. Students who were below grade level in native language literacy also took 7-10 years to reach the 50th percentile. Many of these students never reached grade level norms.  English language learners who were in ESL programs did extremely well in kindergarten through third grade. The gains these students made in English were dramatic. However, these students fell below the 50% in fourth grade on through middle and high school when the academic demands of the curriculum became more rigorous.  Students in Two-Way Bilingual Immersion and Developmental Bilingual programs reach the 50th percentile in both their native language and English by 4th or 5th grade in all subject areas.  They were able to maintain their gains.   This does not mean that all bilingual programs are more effective than all ESL or sheltered content programs. It is important to look beyond the program label. Are teachers qualified to teach English language learners? Are there sufficient materials.? What instructional methods are used? Are students exited into all English programs too quickly? Bilingual programs are not always feasible, especially in school districts where students come from multiple language backgrounds. Here are the key considerations for school districts: Give students more time to develop English language academic skills. Don't rush K-3 students through your language support programs. Provide more support services to under-schooled upper elementary and middle school students. Remember that it will take them 7-10 years to reach grade level norms. Maintenance of native language in the home should be encouraged. Development of native language literacy should be fostered. Persuade parents to send their children to after-school and Saturday instruction in first language. If your school district has the requisite number of students, push for a developmental bilingual or two-way immersion program.                                     blogs nonadult false How long does it take to learn English? text blog blogs 2368 1 5.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 Blogs 1 1821455 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350 http://edge.ascd.org/_Getting-Started-with-English-Language-Learners/blog/1806840/127586.html Do you know how to use the diversity in your classroom to help your new learners of English develop pride in their native languages and cultures?  How can you use this rich resource to help teachers and students learn about other languages and cultures? Some simple things you can do to develop pride are: Ask bilingual parents to do cultural demonstrations in mainstream classrooms. Encourage newcomers to share their language skills by teaching their classmates to pronounce their home-language words on the labels placed around the classroom. Display pictures in your classroom from the students' home counties. Have newcomers write in a home-language diary, read books in their home language, draw pictures of people and places in their home countries, and listen to native language music (with headphones). You don't want to discourage the maintenance of home languages. Whatever your students learn in their home-languages will eventually be transferred to English. Tie Culture to Curriculum Tie the cultures of your second language learners to your curriculum whenever possible. We know that all children bring to school a wealth of experiences from their families, homes, neighborhoods and communities. Children with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds have stories and experiences that are unique. Teachers should use these experiences and the environment of their classrooms to help children begin to understand other cultures. They should build on the knowledge their students and families have of the countries they come from and the cultures they represent. The diversity in many classrooms provides a starting point for children to begin to understand and value the many distinct cultures of the world. Teachers should take advantage of this natural resource that is in their classrooms. This helps American children to respect the cultures of other people and, at the same time, it helps children from diverse backgrounds develop pride in their heritage. When students see their home cultures and languages being studied in the classroom, their culture has been validated. This helps to develop positive self- esteem in culturally and linguistically diverse children.                       Do you know how to use the diversity in your classroom to help your new learners of English develop pride in their native languages and cultures?  How can you use this rich resource to help teachers and students learn about other languages and cultures? Some simple things you can do to develop pride are: Ask bilingual parents to do cultural demonstrations in mainstream classrooms. Encourage newcomers to share their language skills by teaching their classmates to pronounce their home-language words on the labels placed around the classroom. Display pictures in your classroom from the students' home counties. Have newcomers write in a home-language diary, read books in their home language, draw pictures of people and places in their home countries, and listen to native language music (with headphones). You don't want to discourage the maintenance of home languages. Whatever your students learn in their home-languages will eventually be transferred to English. Tie Culture to Curriculum Tie the cultures of your second language learners to your curriculum whenever possible. We know that all children bring to school a wealth of experiences from their families, homes, neighborhoods and communities. Children with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds have stories and experiences that are unique. Teachers should use these experiences and the environment of their classrooms to help children begin to understand other cultures. They should build on the knowledge their students and families have of the countries they come from and the cultures they represent. The diversity in many classrooms provides a starting point for children to begin to understand and value the many distinct cultures of the world. Teachers should take advantage of this natural resource that is in their classrooms. This helps American children to respect the cultures of other people and, at the same time, it helps children from diverse backgrounds develop pride in their heritage. When students see their home cultures and languages being studied in the classroom, their culture has been validated. This helps to develop positive self- esteem in culturally and linguistically diverse children.                       Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:13:32 GMT http://edge.ascd.org/_Getting-Started-with-English-Language-Learners/blog/1806840/127586.html Judie_Haynes 2010-02-04T16:13:32Z ASCD EDge Do you know how to use the diversity in your classroom to help your new learners of English develop pride in their native languages and cultures?  How can you use this rich resource to help teachers and students learn about other languages and cultures? Some simple things you can do to develop pride are: Ask bilingual parents to do cultural demonstrations in mainstream classrooms. Encourage newcomers to share their language skills by teaching their classmates to pronounce their home-language words on the labels placed around the classroom. Display pictures in your classroom from the students' home counties. Have newcomers write in a home-language diary, read books in their home language, draw pictures of people and places in their home countries, and listen to native language music (with headphones). You don't want to discourage the maintenance of home languages. Whatever your students learn in their home-languages will eventually be transferred to English. Tie Culture to Curriculum Tie the cultures of your second language learners to your curriculum whenever possible. We know that all children bring to school a wealth of experiences from their families, homes, neighborhoods and communities. Children with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds have stories and experiences that are unique. Teachers should use these experiences and the environment of their classrooms to help children begin to understand other cultures. They should build on the knowledge their students and families have of the countries they come from and the cultures they represent. The diversity in many classrooms provides a starting point for children to begin to understand and value the many distinct cultures of the world. Teachers should take advantage of this natural resource that is in their classrooms. This helps American children to respect the cultures of other people and, at the same time, it helps children from diverse backgrounds develop pride in their heritage. When students see their home cultures and languages being studied in the classroom, their culture has been validated. This helps to develop positive self- esteem in culturally and linguistically diverse children.                       nonadult false Getting Started with English Language Learners text blog 585 0 0.0 http://edge.ascd.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19533490&as=127586 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/127586/photos/PHOTO_11299532_127586_19533490_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NJ Wyckoff 0 1 1806840 19533490 ASCD EDge Member 1350