Oral Language

I think that two important oral language concepts for English language learners are listening and speaking. It is important for ELL students to feel comfortable with oral language before they begin to develop their written language skills.

Listening is key to learning to speak. Some ELL students will experience a silent period. This is perfectly okay. They are trying to adapt to their new environment and will speak when they are ready.

When mastering their speaking skills, there are two aspects of language to look at: BICS and CALP. BICS is the day to day language skills that one needs to interact with people. It's more of a social language. CALP is more of the academic language that is used in the classroom.

I found the following two websites both useful and interesting.

http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/elemlit/orallanguage.shtml

http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/bics_calp.php

The first website talks about oral language development strategies to use with ELL students.

The second website talks about BICS and CALP. It explains what they are and the differences between the two.

Link's

The Center Library

Edu Place

Oral Language

The article that I choose is a wonderful resource that outlines oral language development in second language acquisition. It began with a quote, "Conversation is the laboratory and workshop of the student." The article then goes on to explains and discuss how oral language in connected with literacy and academic development. Then it provides suggestions for promoting and assessing oral language development in ELL’s. Some of the other topics this article covers are what are the relationships among listening, reading, speaking, and writing? How does language form, communicative function, and social context combine to affect a students’ oral language performance in the classroom? Also what strategies will assist students in developing oral language proficiency and mastery?

From reading the article I learned that listening, speaking, reading, and writing occur naturally together at school in all grade levels. When students are either writing stories, or reading them they are reading what they write. Then they might ask others to read and comment on their writing, and then they get oral feedback or written feedback from their teacher. In all these situations, the written text has been the focus of oral discussion and interpretation, this showed me how oral and written language are naturally interwoven. As a teacher I plan to enrich my students by giving them opportunities to use oral and written language for meaningful learning purposes.The article then showed me how natural oral language functions can be connected to your classroom routines, through integrating oral language with reading and writing activities. I also liked how this article showed the importance of integrating drama, poetry, and songs into the school curriculum. The site explains “by creating a secure climate where all students want to share, and by providing opportunities for students to process and present academic material in small groups and in front of the class, you will assist English learners with oral language development.” I agree that I hope that is everyone’s goal as a future teacher In conclusion here is my resource: http://www.ablongman.com/html/productinfo/peregoy5e/0205593240_ch4.pdf

Meaningful Oral Language Concepts

Foundations for Learning to Read

Oral language is the basic foundation for which reading and writing take place. Students are aware of the language that is spoken around them and how it is used. First comes the 'working knowledge' of the structure of language, which build upon and use to develop their spoken words (oral language). By learning how to pronounce words, it helps students develop phonemic awareness which benefits their ability to learn to read and write.



The Needs of English Language Learners

BICS and CALP are the two types or language proficiency that is required of students. We know that BICS (social language) must be mastered before moving on to CALP (academic language). The most basic oral communication can be achieved in about two years, but can take anywhere from five to seven years to accomplish. Once a student become proficient in CALP, they are expected to have cultural and linguistic knowledge, and reach levels beyond their proficiency levels.
A way to encourage the use of oral language in the classroom is to incorporate partner work and group work. Reading to and with the students as well as listening them reading are great ways to involve oral language in the classroom more. Research shows that the majority of talk in the classroom is done by the teacher, and it will be my goal to shift the communication and oral language from me to the students.
Check out this site, it is very helpful and full of valuable information.

Meaningful Oral Language Concepts

This article talks about how oral language is the basis for all other subjects, but that we must realize that it is not alone. One of the most important aspects is for students to develop a social language so they can communicate with others around them. This must come first before students can gain academic language. The article also talks about allowing students to go through silent periods if necessary. They state that students may be using language and then may begin to go through a silent period, but that this is normal because students are adjusting to the language. Our textbook says that students go through eight stages of language development from instrumental language where students use "I want" language to divertive language that uses puns and jokes. These stages can be used in the classroom along with the activities you are using. ELL students must use their language before they will be able to go on to other subjects so it is the most important aspect that ELL students must master.

For more information refer to Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL by Peregoy and Boyle or the following website: http://www.bankstreet.edu/literacyguide/elllit.html.

Oral language

My article included a lot of different concepts for aquiring oral language. The ones that I foind to be most important was BICS and CALP. A lot of people think that language is just language and there is not specific kind of oral language. In oral language there is two kinds of communication, academic (CALP) and social (BICS). Teachers can help improve both kinds of communication by encouraging cooperative learning because it is easier for an ELL student to aquire language through conversation.

There are also different phases in L2 aquisition.

Phase 1 is observation and imitation where the student goes through a silent period where they observe and try to make sense of their surrounding. Also in phase 1 is when the student may imitate other students and use gestures to try and be understood. Sometimes this is misinterpreted by teachers and students as aggression.

Phase 2 is the single word and phrase use. The student will use phrases or words that constitute survival in the classroom setting such as "me too"- "my turn" - "stop it". The student may also hear a phrase over and over and understand when it is used and use it out of context such as "I like it" The student may say "I like it school" - "I like it toys"

Phase 3 is the initial understanding of grammatical rules. The student may leave out past tense and plurals to words. This does not indicate misunderstanding but instead comfort in the language. Rules of phonics may also be mixed up because of the way the L1 is. "Where is my pencil? I put him here" - "The line is big"

I think it is very important to understand these concepts of oral language. With this understanding, teachers will be very successful in helping their ELL students.


http://earthrenewal.org/secondlang.htm

AMAZING WEBSITE!

http://www.bankstreet.edu/literacyguide/main.html

2 Meaningful Concepts in Oral Language

My article talks about when an ELL is acquiring a language they go throught a silent period of listening to the language around them. It is important to for a student to acquire the language by using it orally and listening. By participating in literacy-based conversations, the teacher is helping the student practice their oral skills while making meaning from the text to their lives. Incorporating listening in the school day is another concept for teaching. Having poems, or read alouds in the class help build the language for the ELL. Adapting teacher talk by talking more slowly and making the language more accessible is another way to help ELLS.

If you would like more information on these concepts follow the link to the article

http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/elemlit/orallanguage.shtml

Teaching Strategies links

PowerPoint link

http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0Abl5uxV1N4AAZGY5amY1M2dfMmNyYjI5NWc0&hl=en

Article Link

http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/ell/wallace.htm.

Great Work on This Blog!!!

Congrats, Everyone!!! This blog is coming along fine. You've been posting on topic and commenting on each other's posts. Here are two suggestions at this point in the development of the blog: (1) Embed some of your cool widgets in the sidebar so that they are permanently viewable. Embedding them in a post is fine but, as we're all aware, they move south quickly, become history and are archived within weeks. The blog administrator may have to do this so collaborate and communicate with her on which widgets to post in the sidebar (don't post more than 5!!!). Use this blog to communicate, if you'd like. (2) Be sure to embed a technology noted in the Extra-Credit Assignment document...which does not include widgets!!!!...and be sure that it has been created by you and is on one of the topics in the remaining E-C Assignment posts noted in the E-C Assignment document...Well done work, once again...Keep on developing this blog and commenting on each other's work...Dr. S

Corresponding Websites

I found my information on these following helpful websites:


http://www.duvalschools.org/teachers/ESOLstrategies.asp

http://citrusgrovee.dadeschools.net/downloads/ESOL%20Strategies.pdf

ESOL Teaching Strategies

Cooperative learning strategies go hand in hand with ESOL teaching strategies. I think that allowing students, especially ESOL students to work cooperatively together is very beneficial to their development in several areas. It will strengthen their communication skills, help with social interaction, allow them to learn from their peers, and contribute information and resources.

I also think that using visuals are incredibly important and valuable to ESOL students and lessons being taught to ESOL students. It is a great idea to label everything in the classroom. At the younger grades, I would label everything with a picture, the English word and the word of the other languages that are spoken in the classroom. It might be more work for the teacher, but it is absolutely worth it! Other helpful visual and auditory aids include graphs, charts, using videos, timelines, songs, chants, having music in the classroom for different reasons, and much more.

Kindergarten Prep. Quiz

Two Effective ESOL Strategies

A strategy that I have become very familiar with this semester that I believe works very well with ELL students is the Jigsaw lesson. The Jigsaw is similar to collaborative grouping whereas students are placed in heterogeneous groups and they are meant to work together to learn the information. With a Jigsaw lesson students are broken down into from their home group into expert groups by numbers. Each student is given a section of a book or a certain topic that they will become an expert on. The students are expected to learn about the topic they are given thoroughly so they can in turn teach the other members of their home group. The most important aspect of the Jigsaw lesson is to make students realize they are to be "experts" on their sections. It is a fun lesson to do with students that in Elementary levels because they get very excited that they will be the teacher for the lesson. After students have become experts and have then taught the other members of their home groups about their sections it is important to review the lesson with students so all details are presented. It is also recommended to use some type of assessment at the end of the lesson so students understand that a Jigsaw lesson may be fun, but that they must be learning as well because they will be held accountable for the information. For more information on this strategy please visit The Jigsaw Classroom.


Another wonderful strategy for ELL students is one called Dictogloss which is where students work in groups to recreate a text that has been read aloud to the class. The purpose of the lesson is to introduce finding key words in literature, to focus on finding meaning when listening to text and to develop proof reading and editing strategies. To implement the strategy pick a grade appropriate book that is short. Divide students into groups, read the story to students, have students pick out key words from the story while you are reading. This may require reading the story more than once. Then have students use the key words in their cooperative groups to recreate the text. Groups must proof read and edit their text before presenting it to the class. This strategy is great for ELL students because it places them in a social interaction with others students while using not only social language, but academic language as well. Students are encouraged to talk about the story, brainstorm ideas together, create their own story, and then share with their classmates. A great way to end the lesson is to display students stories on the classroom bulletin board or in your classroom library so all students can read all of the stories. For more information on this strategy visit Teaching Strategies.

ELL Strategies:

Teaching Tips: This website has over 52 ideas and strategies for both ESL students and mainstream educators. It provides a great wealth of information for teachers such as Bloom’s Taxonomy questions to ask for all levels, a teaching tips section that goes over some of the challenges ELL have in content areas and there is a section of elementary websites for ELL’s. http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/ For educational strategies the first teaching strategy that I use in the class that I am interning is called question, cue, and organize. This strategy helps students retrieve what they know about a topic by using questions that elicit inferences, cues, or hints about what is to come. By using these types of questions it helps provide feedback on how students are progressing and learning. Another teaching strategy I like to use in the classroom is cooperative learning, for me nothing is better than when students work in groups and help their peers learn. This type of learning is great to use in centers and it is nice to group the students with a high, medium, and low child and watch how the students all adapt to help each other. Some other strategies that have been helpful for me are the Kagan strategies. I know at Treeline Elementary where I am interning at require their teachers to use these and I have found them to be very helpful. Here are some of the Kagan strategies I have tried and enjoyed. “Match Mine” Partners are on opposite aides of a barrier. The Sender arranges gamepieces on a game board and attempts to direct the receiver to match the arrangement. “Rally Robin” In pairs, students alternates generating oral response. And “Mix Pair Share” The class mixes until the teacher calls pair then students find a new partner to discuss the teacher question. Here is their website also http://www.kaganonline.com/Training/index.html also here is the one example of an educational widget, that I found. It can be used for language arts and vocabulary for middle school. Here is there website http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/word and this site provides a new a unique word of the day from thefreedictionary.com. It also provides a word box so you know how to pronounce it. Along with definition, synonymous, and usage.

Widget

Here is activities widget that you could use with your students. I chose 3rd grade social studies, but they have them for all levels and grades.

Education.com activities

Education.com activities

ESOL strategies!

To me, the most important ESOL strategies is using visuals, cooperative learning and manipulatives

Examples of visuals such as hand gestures, and showing visuals while speaking orally are effective for students because they are able to connect the word or phrase tangibly with what it is. Another form of visuals that are good for ELL students are graphic organizers, flow charts, and story maps. These activities allow the students to connect to the material easier and aquire the information easier. Power Point presentations are also a good idea.

Cooperative learning is another important strategy. Coming to a new country, or not being able to understand or communicate language well must be very hard. Cooperative learning will first give the students a sense of belonging. It helps with students achievement, and gets students used to working together for future careers. Students are able to help each other and ELL students are able to see how the other students are doing the assignment.

Manipulatives are the most effective strategy in my opinion. Not only are they engaging, they allow the students to make a kinestetic connction to the lesson and deepens their understanding of the content. The manipulatives become concrete objects for students to think about and think with. Manipulatives can be altered to fit all subjects at all grade levels, even math.

This is a very useful website that I found:
http://www.netc.org/focus/challenges/ell.php

Useful Widget

It includes new stories related to teacher policies.

Education Widgets

Here is a wonderful widget that you could use for parents or students to inform them about the problem of bullying in schools. It is a wonderful tool that I found at www.education.com.


Another wonderful one that I am trying to get on here as well is one called Gradebook Buddy. It's like an EZ-Grader which helps you grade assignments by picking the number of problems and it will tell you the percentage based on the number wrong. This widget is one that you can keep on the desktop of your computer so it is always on hand.






This widget is one that I thought would be great for ELL students. It is a way to assess what their English level is. It not only incorporate reading sentences and picking the correct answer, but it also involves them listening to someone speaking a sentence and picking the sentence that was spoken. Try it and see what your English level is! :)

Article 2: Two Effective ESOL Teaching Strategies

C:\Documents and Settings\Samantha\My Documents\TSL-ppt.html

My articles discussed the SIOP Model which is sheltered instruction observation protocol. It describes strategies as a checklist for teaching ELLS. It is research-based and focuses on linkin language and content for the student. One strategy is to link the new concepts to the student's background knowledge. This can be accomplished by implementing literature logs or journals. Ask questions pre and after reading. Haves students respond to prompts that allows them to connect to characters in the story.
Another strategy is to emphasize key vocabulary. Allow multiple exposures to a new word. Have the student write the definition and let them explore visuals and create connections with the word. The main idea of this article was to allow the ELLs create meaning with the concepts and vocabulary and accessing prior knowledge are two strategies for the teacher to do this.

For more information click on my powerpoint link above or visit the article at this link:
http://http//www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/ell/wallace.htm

If the link at the top does not open, just copy it into a URL in a new tab

Two effective ESOL strategies for K-12 teachers

ESOL strategies are good teaching practices to use for all students. There are so many effective ESOL strategies that it's hard to pick two!

I personally really like the ECHO reading strategy. This is a strategy that I often implement in my internship classroom. ECHO reading is when the teacher reads a sentence while the students follow along with their fingers. After the teacher reads, the students read the same sentence while still following with their fingers. This is an effective method for ESOL students because they are hearing the words while seeing them and saying them (after hearing them) while seeing them. It reinforces what they are learning. The students really seem to enjoy this strategy. After we ECHO read, we often "popcorn read" for extra practice.

I also think that cooperative learning is an effective strategy to use with ESOL students. More specifically, I think that the jigsaw method is a great one to implement in the classroom. In this method, the students are split into groups. Each member of the group is responsible for becoming an "expert" in one set of material. After they become an "expert", they teach that information to the rest of their group. This allows the students to learn from each other. In addition to learning from each other, they really get excited about being able to teach each other. I think that the jigsaw strategy is an excellent way to engage students in information that might be long and boring if it was all presented at once by only the teacher.

For more information on the jigsaw method, visit the following website:
http://www.jigsaw.org/

The website is wonderful. It gives background information on the method, tips for implementation, and 10 easy steps to conduct a jigsaw lesson.

Second Language Acquisition

I found a great website that everyone can use as a future reference. It contains primary and secondary language acquisition terms in glossary form. It has every term we have learned and practiced from Block I through Block IV, and more. Another helpful aspect of this site is the references to BICS and CALP along with specific areas that Krashen (and others) theory addresses. Not only does this site define and clarify different terms, it also provides links to important information such as the SOLOM assessment and LEP characteristics. Everyone should check it out, and use it as a reference.

http://earthrenewal.org/secondlang.htm

2nd Langauge Acquisition

Language acquisition is the process of learning a language that is either a native language or a second language. When studying a new language most individuals copy what they hear and through there natural aptitude and then they adapt those sounds and imitate them. According to Chomsky, children learn sounds and vocabulary through imitation and grammar is not taught explicitly. “According to this view, children are able to learn the superficial grammar of a particular language because all intelligible languages are founded on a deep structure of grammatical rules that are universal and that correspond to an innate capacity of the human brain. Stages in the acquisition of a native language can be measured by the increasing complexity and originality of a child's utterances.” (Carroll p. 1) This theory then explains that children may over-generalize grammar structures but they soon will grow and see the complex grammar rules and adapt from previous exposure. Followers of Chomsky theory of language acquisition believe that the knowledge of language comes from a core. In this core are features, parameters, and settings. Followers of Chomsky see language as an instinct that is driven by specifically human evolutionary adaptations. Those to reject Chomsky views are often psychologists and linguists. They’re approach to language is different and of often viewed as a window on the operation of the human mind. The patterns of language emerge not from a unique instinct but from the operation of general processes of evolution and cognition. For researchers who accept this emergent’s approach, the goal of language acquisition studies is to understand how regularities in linguistic form emerge from the operation of low-level physical, neural, and social processes. After learning about both of these theories I would say that I agree with parts of them. I feel that both have valid points but they need to be compared to each other to see the balances of them. The website that I did my research on was very helpful, they started off with a neat pun that I wanted to share: I could say 'Learning a language is child's play'. But perhaps it is more accurate to say 'Creating a language is child's play'. Here is the website that I found my materials from, http://www.timothyjpmason.com/WebPages/LangTeach/Licence/CM/OldLectures/L1_Introduction.htm

Second language aquisition.

Approaches to teaching language: According to my article, popular language teaching methods today include grammar-translation, audio-lingualism, cognitive-code, the direct method, the natural approach, total physical response, and Suggestopedia.
Requirements for optimal input -- comprehensible -- interesting/relevant -- not grammatically sequenced -- quantity -- low filter level -- provides tools for conversational management
Learning restricted to: -- Rules that are easily learned and applied, and not acquired yet -- Monitor users -- Situations when the learner has adequate time and a focus on form
I was very interested in these methods because I do not know very much about them. I read about them and learned the following:
grammar-translaton: explains grammatical rules, with some example sentences. A bilingual vocabulary list, a reading section exemplifying the grammatical rule and incorporating the vocabulary, and exercises to practice using the grammar and vocabulary. Most of these classes are taught in the student's first language. The grammar-translation method provides little opportunity for acquisition and relies too heavily on learning.
I think this method is good because they build up the student's first language, but it needs to have more opportunity for aquisition along with learning.
audio-lungualism: A lesson involving audio-lingual begins with a dialogue containing the grammar and vocabulary that will be focused on in the lesson. The students repeat and memorize the material. Next, they have pattern drills, in which the grammatical structure introduced in the dialogue is reinforced, with these drills focusing on simple repetition, substitution, transformation, and translation. While the audio-lingual method provides opportunity for some acquisition to occur, it cannot measure up to newer methods which provide much more comprehensible input in a low-filter environment.
I am not very fond of drill and repeat methods. That is a lower order thinking skill and I think students can do much more with the material.
Cognative Code: focuses on developing all four skills of language: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Because this method focuses on comprehensible input than grammar-translation does, it should produce more acquisition, but other newer methods provide even more and have better results. Learning is overemphasized with this method.
I think it is good that this method includes all four language skills.
The Direct Method: The teacher uses examples of language in order to teach grammar; students are to try to guess the rules of the language by the examples provided. Teachers interact with the students a lot, asking them questions about different topics and trying to use the grammatical structure of the day in the conversation. errors are corrected. This method provides more comprehensible input than the methods discussed so far, but it still focuses too much on grammar.
This method is good because of the direct instruction and the fact that the material learned is learned in sentences.
The Natural Approach: In the Natural Approach the teacher speaks only the target language and class time is committed to providing input for acquisition. Students may use either the language being taught or their first language. Errors in speech are not corrected, however homework may include grammar exercises that will be corrected. Goals for the class emphasize the students being able use the language "to talk about ideas, perform tasks, and solve problems." This approach aims to fulfill the requirements for learning and acquisition, and does a great job in doing it. Its main weakness is that all classroom teaching is to some degree limited in its ability to be interesting and relevant to all students
I do not like that the errors in speech are not corrected. I know that the homework is, but that, to me is not as effective as the speech being corrected. There is a very good useage of BICS in this method.
Total Physical Response: Total Physical Response involves the students listening and responding to commands given by the teacher such as "sit down" and "walk," with the complexity of the commands growing over time as the class acquires more language. Student speech is delayed, and once students indicate a willingness to talk they initially give commands to other students. This method is predicted to result in substantial language acquisition. Its content may not be always interesting and relevant for the students, but should produce better results than the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods.
I like how this method ties together the speech with it's action. I think that is very effective because it works all three of the learning styles and it is very important in order to reach the most students.If the material was more realevant to the students, I can see this being a very effective method.
Suggestopedia: Suggestopedia classes are small and intensive, and focus on providing a very low-stress, attractive environment in which acquisition can occur. Some of the students' first language is used at the beginning, but most in the target language. The role of the teacher is very important in creating the right atmosphere and in acting out the dialogues that form the core of the content. Suggestopedia seems to provide close to optimal input while not giving too much emphasis to grammar.
I like this method because it sounds like a very low anxiety environment. This method also includes meditation and soft music so it sounds very comforting for students. This focuses on L2 aquisition and that is very important.


I think what it comes down to is which method would be better for the student in the real world. I think it is between Suggestopedia and Total physical response. I was not very impressed with the other methods. However, I am very happy I got to learn about different methods that I have not heard about yet!
Link to my article: http://www.languageimpact.com/articles/rw/krashenbk.htm

Two important L2 Acquisition Theories

Second language acquisition is something that both teachers and students are having to deal with on a more regular basis than ever before. It is important for teachers to understand how the students are learning and what should be expected of them.

One important second language acquisition theory is formed by Krashen, in following the innatist tradition. Stephen Krashen developed a series of five hypotheses about second language acquisition. His hypotheses are as follows:
1. The Acquisition- Learning Hypothesis -> Acquisition is a natural language development process that occurs when the language is used in meaningful interations. Learning refers to the formal study of language forms, such as what is learned in the classroom.
2. The Monitor Hypothesis -> According to Krashen, the formal study of language leads to an internal grammar monior.
3. The Natural Order Hypothesis -> Accoriding to this hypothesis, language is acquired rather than learned in a predictable sequence.
4. The Input Hypothesis -> Language needs to be both comprehensible and understandable. It should be just a bit above the learner's current level of language development. This is refered to as i + 1.
5. The Affective Filter Hypothesis -> This hypothesis suggests that students should be able to learn language in a low-anxiety environment. It suggests to allow students a silent period. Teachers should not force langugage production, just let it happen!


A second important second language acquisition theory is from the interactionist perspective. With this perspective, an importance is placed on social interaction. Learners negotiate the meaning of words through meaningful conversations. Natural conversations between native and non-native speakers is crucial to this language acquisition process. A great way for this to happen in classrooms is to plan for group work. Not only will all learners be learning content information, ELL students can work on their language skills with the help of their peers.

While researching, I found the following websites to be helpful. The first website is a list of terms and abbreviations with their usages. The second website is a list of theories with their descriptions.

http://earthrenewal.org/secondlang.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language_acquisition#Individual_variation

Article 1: Two Important Language Acquisition Theories and Concepts

Upon an ESOL student entering school, there is an element of culture shock. My article explains that there is time where the student needs to take in all around them and get accustomed to the culture.The article talks about Jim Cummin's theories that will help teachers visualize aspect of the language learning process. Two important theories teachers must be aware of is Basic Interpersonal Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). BICS is the social language that takes 2-3 years for a child to acquire. Teachers should provide many oral interactions and a context-embedded environment. CALP refers to developing the academic language in a context-reduced setting. This can take over 5 years to develop. Teachers need to provide multiple opportunities for ELLS to learn and provide many visuals and let them personalize the content being taught.

For more information here is the link to the article
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2215543/KEY-CONCEPTS-IN-THE-THEORY-OF-SECOND-LANGAUGE-ACQUISITION