ELL+Resources

= Robert Marzano's 6 Strategies for Teaching Academic Vocabulary for ELLs = Language Instruction guru Robert Marzano proposes the purposeful teaching of one vocabulary word per week in every content class with ELLs. While specifically helpful to ELLs it can be beneficial to all struggling students who have limited content background knowledge. (That is not to exclude the use of others but one word in which all 6 strategies would be applied). The 6 strategies are:

Step 1 (ESL): Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term (along with a nonlinguistic representation). Step 2 (ESL): Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words in their own language. Step 3 (ESL): Ask students to construct a picture, symbol or graphic representing the term or phrase. Students should create their own representation and not copy yours from Step 1. Step 4 (ESL): Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their notebook. Allow students to use their native language as much as possible. Step 5 (ESL): Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another. Pair students of the same language together. Step 6 (ESL): Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with terms. Pair students of the same language together.

A typical instructional cycle might look like this: Step 3 || Think-Pair-Share: Step 4-5 || End of week Vocabulary Game: Step 6 ||
 * __**Monday**__ || __**Tuesday**__ || __**Wednesday**__ || __**Thursday**__ || <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">__**Friday**__ ||
 * <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Introduce: Step 1 and 2 || <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Brief Recognition Game: Step 6 || <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Create Nonlinguistic:

Share good news and provide feedback to parents of Vietnamese and Spanish ESL students
Providing Feedback and Recognizing Effort serve as two major ways we can support our ELLs. Communicating successes with parents is particularly challenging. We came across one method of doing so at Chambersburg Area High School and wanted to share it with you. Each letter has positive classroom comments in English and or Vietnamese. Fill it ou t and send it mail it home to the parents or consider using it to have a "conversation" with your student.

How should ELL students be assessed?
Consider PDE's target goals for ELL students in areas of listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

Whose Student is She?
===Recently published in the Spring 2010 edition of Teaching Tolerance Magazine, "Whose Student Is She?" focuses on the implementation of Sheltered Instruction of content in grade-level classrooms such as we have been implementing this year. It includes a nice instructional checklist for teachers to consider as they design and/or implement a lesson.===

= = = = = Content Writing Strategies to Support ELLs = ===Sometimes it is great to know that our own ELL training aligns very well with what is being recommended by other groups. Here is an ASCD video supporting the use of three column vocabularydevelopment graphic organizers: word/definition/visual rep. I have seen numerous teachers of ELL students at MT incorporate this very strategy, or a similar model.=== media type="custom" key="5057521" align="right"

= Error Correction, or, "When and How Should I Correct ELL Pronunciation Errors in Class?": = Research regarding the question of whether to correct the reading/pronunciation mistakes of an emerging reader have been found to apply to ELLs in the classroom as well. It is recommended that when teachers provide feedback they should: (Rasinki, T.V. & Hoffman, J. V. (2003). Oral Reading in the school literacy curriculum. //Reading Research Quarterly, 38(4), 510-522.//
 * Ignore miscues that do no change the text's meaning
 * Show delay in making the correction, it allows the student an opportunity to self-correct
 * begin with a focus on "meaning construction"
 * practice the correct response with the student several times before moving on

Academic Vocabulary Tools
====The Academic Vocabulary Games website has vocabulary tools and lists by subject. They include lists and premade flashcards that could be of assistance for teachers in planning or in assessment of ELL students. Scroll down to find the secondary vocabulary tools.====

Quick Links to Help with Vocabulary Development
==1. Use GoogleTranslate to allow students to translate English words into Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and other languages. It will translate basic words, phrases, and larger pieces of text. While I might not use it for a novel, it is excellent for vocabulary development and addressing main ideas.== ==2. Another excellent tool for vocabulary development is Wordsift.<span class="wiki_link"> Type a word into wordsift and it provides synonyms along with pictures. Place larger pieces of text into wordsift and it allows you to see frequency of usage of words, along with synonyms, in the passage. ==

= = = How can our ELL strategies address different stages of learning? =

The chart below is adapted from the Oregon Department of Education publication //The English Language Learners’ Program Guide// (n.d.). Each of the five stages of second language acquisition is linked to appropriate and specific instructional strategies. Similar resources can be found at the [|Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory] website.

Stage I ||~ Early Production Stage II ||~ Speech Emergence Stage III ||~ Intermediate /Advanced Proficiency Stages IV & V ||
 * ~ Preproduction
 * Use of visual aids and gestures || Engage students in charades and linguistic guessing games || Conduct group discussions || Sponsor student panel discussions on the thematic topics* ||
 * Slow speech emphasizing key words || Do role-playing activities || Use skits for dramatic interaction || Have students identify a social issue and defend their position* ||
 * Do not force oral production || Present open-ended sentences || Have student fill out forms and applications* || Promote critical analysis and evaluation of pertinent issues ||
 * Write key words on the board with students copying them as they are presented || Promote open dialogues || Assign writing compositions || Assign writing tasks that involve writing, rewriting, editing, critiquing written examples* ||
 * Use pictures and manipulatives to help illustrate concepts || Conduct student interviews with the guidelines written out || Have students write descriptions of visuals and props || Encourage critical interpretation of stories, legends, and poetry* ||
 * Use multimedia language role models || Use charts, tables, graphs, and other conceptual visuals || Use music, TV, and radio with class activities || Have students design questions, directions, and activities for others to follow ||
 * Use interactive dialogue journals || Use newspaper ads and other mainstream materials to encourage language interaction* || Show filmstrips and videos with cooperative groups scripting the visuals || Encourage appropriate story telling ||
 * **Encourage learning within their first language** || Encourage partner and trio readings || Encourage solo readings with interactive comprehension checks* ||  ||

What can be done to assist vocabulary growth?
ELLs lack many of the basic words that native speakers know, so just teaching the vocabulary words that are suggested in the reading materials you are using will not be sufficient. Here are some of the many types of words that need to be explicitly taught: [|What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners? By: Suzanne Irujo(2007)]
 * words that are crucial for understanding a text;
 * words that are encountered in a wide variety of contexts;
 * frequently used words that contain word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes) that can help students analyze other unknown words;
 * words with multiple meanings, whether spelled differently (homophones such as //to//, //two//, and //too//) or spelled the same (such as a dining room //table// and a multiplication //table//);
 * figurative language and idiomatic expressions;
 * academic words that indicate relationships among other words (such as //because//, //therefore//, and //since// to indicate cause and effect).

Want to translate something quickly for a student?
Type or copy/paste your text into the top box and click translate. Clicking on the speaker above the bottom box will open a new window where the text will be spoke in several different languages.

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