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Meeting English Language Learner Needs at Winthrop University

Meeting English Language Learner Needs at Winthrop University . English Language Learner Summer Institute 2008 May 12-13 Elke Schneider, Ph.D. The Challenge: .

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Meeting English Language Learner Needs at Winthrop University

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  1. Meeting English Language Learner Needs at Winthrop University English Language Learner Summer Institute 2008 May 12-13 Elke Schneider, Ph.D.

  2. The Challenge: • “ As a society, we expect teachers to education whoever shows up at the schoolhouse, to provide their students the language and literacy skills to survive in school and later on in jobs, to teach them all of the school subjects that they will need to know about as adults, and to prepare them in other ways for higher education and for the workplace.” (Fillmore & Snow, 2002, p. 42)

  3. OUTLINE • Why is a focus on English Language Learners (ELLs) in our pre-and inservice teacher programs necessary? • Research on characteristics of effective Faculty training • Components of Winthrop’s ELL grant: The Teaching Teachers WELL Grant • Focus points for this institute

  4. Why focus on English Language Learners? • South Carolina has second-highest increase in English Language Learners (ELLs) in the nation (128%) • Increase will continue and not go away. • 10% of entire student population K-12 are ELLs • Legislation places main responsibility on the regular classroom teacher to accommodate ELLs.

  5. South Carolina LEP growth

  6. Why focus on English Language Learners? • ELLs missed more than 2 years of schooling (Ruiz de Velasco & Fix, 2002): • In High school, 20% • In Middle School, 12% • More than 33% of all 15-17-year-old Latino students are enrolled below grade level (Jamieson, Curry, Martinez, 2001) • Only 50% of immigrant and migrant children complete high school (Ruiz de Velasco et al., 2000)

  7. Why focus on English Language Learners? • Significant shortage of TESOL certified teachers in SC • ELLs in middle and high school are 3-4 years behind their peers in academic skills • South Carolina offers only a TESOL add-on certification (5 courses +6 credit hours of a foreign language + Praxis II)

  8. Research: Characteristics of best faculty support practices • Collaborative and individualized support for faculty from experts • Collaborative work at faculty and administrative level • Transformation at 3 levels: • Personal • Individual courses • Program structure

  9. Research: Characteristics of best faculty support practices • Progressing from small to more complex changes during summer workshops and through individual meetings (syllabi, field experiences, internships) • Provide faculty with specifics on • ELLs learning needs • linguistic challenges of learning materials that are native-speaker based • Resources for syllabi and instruction (web-based, ELL library, language objectives) • Models of best practices (speakers, videos, observations in the field)

  10. Research: Characteristics of best faculty support practices • Provide time for faculty to learn from initial changes and receive support for further improvement • Integrate mechanisms to sustain the infusion of ELL-sensitive components • Web-based resources • Seminars with honorarium • Resource library

  11. Winthrop: The TTWELL GRANT • Over the course of 3 years (2008-2010): • 3 faculty development workshops (2 days each) • Individualized support for faculty to infuse ELL-sensitive components into all courses over 2 summers and 2 years. • 2 cohorts (N 25-30) take 5 courses towards TESOL certification • 3 groups (N 25-30) take 1 course on basics to work with English Language Learners (ELLs)

  12. Components of the Summer Institute 2008 • Voices from the field: What are the challenges? • teachers, pre-service teachers, students who are non-native speakers • Background information for faculty • Legal and political background • Basics of Language Acquisition • Characteristics of ELLs in our schools • TESOL standards • four hours of syllabus preparation time in themed groups

  13. Basic topics to consider • Involvement in after-school programs that serve ELLs in early field visits • What language tasks and challenges are hiding in the materials used to teaching ELLs? • Infuse language objectives into Lesson plan format parallel to content objectives • Explicit vocabulary instruction • Work material adaptations • Potentially culture-sensitive issues • Highlight Conceptual Framework components that address ELL-sensitive issues

  14. References • Aleamoni, L. (1997). Issues in linking instructional improvement research to faculty development in higher education. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11, 31-37. • Brisk, M (). INSERT BOOK • Costa, J., McPhail, G., Smith, J., & Brisk, M. (2005). Faculty first: The challenge of infusing the teacher education curriculum with scholarship on English language learners. Journal of Teacher Education, 56, 104-118.

  15. References • Echevarria, J., Short, D., Vogt, M. (2008). Implementing the SIOP model through effective professional development and coaching. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. • Fillmore, L, & Snow, C. (2002). What teachers need to know about language. In C. Adger, C. Snow, & Christian, D. (Eds.), What teachers need to know about language (pp. 7-54). McHenry, IL: Center for Applied Linguistics. • Schleppegrell, M. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

  16. QUIZ QUESTIONS • Indicate if the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to recent research: • (1) __ Parents of English language learners should foster the use of the mother tongue at home. • (2) __ ELLs can be expected to perform at native-language level in academics after 1-3 years. • (3) __ What ELLs can say orally, they can also be expected to write.

  17. QUIZ QUESTIONS • (4) __ Playground language in the new language is established after 1-3 years. • (5) __ The more time students spend immersed in the new language, the faster they succeed academically. • (6) __ ELLs absorb proper social interaction skills through exposure. • (7) __ The more developed the child’s first language, the easier it is to learn the new language.

  18. QUIZ QUESTIONS • (8) __ The less the child is exposed to the first language in context of academics the better the results in the new language. • (9) __ Adolescent ELLs learn the new language faster because their cognitive skills are more developed that those of younger students. • (10) __ Newcomers should be placed in lower grade levels to ease the adaptation to the new language and culture.

  19. QUIZ QUESTIONS • 1) T, • 2) F, takes at least 5-7 years • 3) F, oral and written language are learned differently • 4) T • 5) F, explicit language instruction in context is necessary for success in timely fashion • 6) F, those must be taught to assure proper use • 7) T, transfer from L1 to L2 occurs • 8) F, would deprive child of accessing L1 knowledge • 9) F, success depends on L1 background and socio-emotional components leading to immigration • 10) F, law requires age-appropriate placement

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