Reflections on Teaching Multilingual Learners

Even though English learners are a large and growing part of the U.S. public school population, there are a number of myths and misconceptions about these students that persist. This blog series will attempt to dispel some of those myths and misconceptions. By the way, the myths are discussed in no particular order.

The first myth is:

• Content teachers aren’t language teachers (see previous blog).

The second myth is:

• English learners aren’t capable of completing rigorous, grade-level work

This myth is rooted in low expectations for English learners. In the past, many educators  thought that English learners weren’t ready for grade-level materials and activities. In some cases, English learners were relegated to working on simple assignments way below their grade level while the rest of the class learned the core curriculum. Hopefully, academic standards and accountability have eliminated these abhorrent practices. However….low expectations seem to continue.

I have a friend who is a literacy specialist at a predominately Latino elementary school with a high percentage of English learners. Recently, a fifth grade teacher told her that she’s never used the science text with her students because she didn’t think they were capable of being successful. Instead, she uses a fill-in-the-blank science workbook during science.

When teachers take standards seriously, English learners have the opportunity to interact with challenging, grade-level materials and  assignments. Through this exposure, students are able to acquire the language they need to make sense of texts.

But engaging with grade-level materials is only one piece of the story.

The real key for students to be successful academically is having teachers who deliver high quality instruction. Decades of research has concluded that effective teaching can mitigate many of the challenges English learners face, such as cultural and linguistic differences and the influence of poverty.

In practice, we see the impact of high quality teaching when English learners do well in one class while similar students do poorly in another class. The media and professional publications highlight stories of classes or schools whose English learners far exceed expectations. In our own research, my colleagues and I found that with proper supports, English learners can participate fully —and successfully — in grade-level lessons. And, the level of support matters as well.

In other words, the more consistently teachers implement features of instruction shown to be effective for English learners, the better these students perform.[1]

In a nutshell, some of the scaffolds shown to be effective include:

• Post and review content and language objectives so students know the learning targets.
• Pre-teach key vocabulary to facilitate comprehension.
• Tap into existing knowledge and build background to fill in knowledge gaps.
• Provide opportunities for students to collaborate with peers, practicing the lesson’s concepts and academic language.
• Use visuals including multimedia.
• Model what students are expected to do.
• Differentiate instruction and assignments based on language proficiency.
• Assess frequently and adjust instruction accordingly.

With these and other practices in place, English learners can participate in grade-level lessons, and make the kind of academic and linguistic growth that will prepare them for college and careers.

[1] Echevarría, J., Richards-Tutor, C., Chinn, V., & Ratleff, P. (2011). Did they get it? The role of fidelity in teaching English learners. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 54(6), 425–434.

 

 

Even though English learners are a large and growing part of the U.S. public school population, there are a number of myths and misconceptions about these students that seem to persist.  This blog series will attempt to dispel some of those myths and misconceptions.  By the way, the myths are discussed in no particular order.

The first myth is:

• Content teachers aren’t language teachers.

With high academic standards, most students are challenged by the rigorous content and skills associated with the standards.  English leaners are learning the same content as other students but they are reading, writing, listening and speaking in a language in which, by definition, are not completely proficient.  What a difficult job they have!  Further, at the same time that they are developing a level of English language that most students and teachers take for granted, e.g., how to restate an opinion, ask for permission, clarify a statement and read instructions, they also have to learn a high level of academic language.

Academic language, as you’ve undoubtedly heard, differs from everyday language because it is more grammatically dense and formal than the kind of language found in conversations at home and with peers.  It includes more sophisticated and technical vocabulary, complex sentence structures, and rhetorical forms that are used almost exclusively in academic settings.  It’s unlikely that English learners are exposed to this type of language outside of school.

In reality, all teachers are language teachers.  Every content lesson – math, science, language, arts, history – required students to use language in a particular way.  Teachers with English learners in their classrooms must think about how to integrate language into content lessons.

For every lesson, teachers should post and review both content objectives (What students will learn, based on standards) and language objectives (The language students need to be successful in this lesson).  During lesson planning effective teachers ask:

• What vocabulary do students need in order to understand the content?
• What kinds of language functions do I need to teach, e.g., compare and contrast, use of superlatives, or making predictions?

When teachers post and review objectives with students, students internalize the idea that both content and language are the focus of learning.  By way of demonstrating the power of making students aware of the lesson’s objectives, let’s look at what happened in a second grade class.  The class had been reading “How To” books and the assignment was: Think of something you can do. Write a “How To” book of your own.  One English learner surprised her teacher with the following beginning to her book:

It is evident that Angelica learned that both content and language are important.  In fact, her objectives are quite good!  She even listed the materials needed: popcorn, microwave and bowl.

Habitually posting and reviewing content and language objectives helps teachers think about the language demands of the content lesson they are planning.  And, it lets students in on what they are learning and why.  Potent stuff.

So, since language is an integral part of learning content, all teachers need to think through both the language and skill demands of every lesson.  Indeed, content teachers are language teachers.