Instructional Strategies for ELL Classrooms - Report Example

Instructional Strategies for ELL rooms Introduction: with English as their second language represent a growing population in the United States. The number of ethnically diverse students in American classrooms has increased significantly over the years. It has hence become extremely critical for teachers and educators to devise appropriate strategies to enable better learning for all students. The teachers today are required to enhance their knowledge and skills regarding the various methods suitable and appropriate for a diverse classroom. This paper discusses the various strategies and tools that can be used by teachers in an ESL classroom and facilitate better learning outcomes for the students. These include strategies to enable comprehensible input, the significance of ongoing, specific and immediate feedback, various grouping and structuring techniques, and the significance of building background, vocabulary development and student engagement as well as ways to achieve the same. Comprehensible input: In order to facilitate faster and effective learning it is of crucial significance for the teachers to ensure that the inputs given by way of courses are comprehensible and easily understood by the students. Comprehensible input is hence one of the key tools to enable successful learning among the students. The term comprehensible input refers to the inputs which help the students to understand "the sense or substance of what teachers present, although they may not necessarily understand every word" (Price and Nelson, 2010: 36). Various strategies can be used and implemented by the teachers in classrooms to facilitate easier understanding of the content. These include using visuals, slower rate of speech (Schumm, 2006); simplifying the vocabulary used, teaching key words prior to commencing the lesson, repeating and rehearsing the new words, use key visual cues to explain the words (Coelho and Rivers, 2004) etc. According to Nation (2001 qtd. in Xu, 2010) another key strategy that can be used by teachers to provide comprehensible input is "glossing". Glossing refers to a method by which new words are explained by way of definitions or synonyms. This strategy helps the students in reading the original text with ease and in accurately understanding the concept without interruption. Figure 1: Example of glossing Source: Xu, S. H., (2010: 128) Another key strategy to enable teachers to provide comprehensible input includes combining language use with non-verbal communication. This includes describing the content through means other than verbal communication, such as by using hand gestures and pantomime. This strategy is mostly helpful in explaining meanings such as speed, motion, distance, shape etc. (Gordon, 2007). The author further states that "comprehensible input has its own grammar. Sentences used by language teachers are short as possible and syntactically simple" (Gordon, 2007: 80) Ongoing, specific, and immediate feedback: Providing prompt feedback to the English language learners is one of the most effective means of encouraging faster learning among the students. Research has proved that receiving rapid, prompt / immediate feedback from the teachers - either verbal or written has resulted in better results. Furthermore it has also been established through studies that providing verbal feedback such as through one-on-one conversation with the students discussing their performance helps the students immensely in understanding their status as learners and improving their learning curve significantly (Ferlazzo and Sypnieski, 2012). Providing timely and prompt response is one of the fundamental factors of facilitating effective learning among the students. This process is also referred to as comprehensible output whereby the teachers provide the students with accurate assessments of their progress. Feedback or corrections both verbal as well as non-verbal in order to be effective must be immediate and non-judgmental in nature (Haynes, 2007). Immediate and on-going feedback also offers the teachers an opportunity to track the progress of the students and assert whether they are able to understand and keep pace with the teachers teaching strategies (Solaon-Fores, 2010) and accordingly make changes in order to suit the students’ preferences, thus facilitating faster and effective learning. Grouping structures and techniques: Grouping is recognized as one of the most effective tools to enhance teaching outcomes to English learners. This technique is known to benefit individual learners and affords them the opportunity for peer interpretation and exchange valuable information with other students and gain critical knowledge and insight in the process. According to Freiberg and Driscoll (1992:32) the term grouping is defined as a generic term which is "a way of organizing students for teaching and learning". Grouping structures and techniques applied by teachers in an ELL classroom helps them to enable and implement co-operative learning strategies. According to Echevarria et al (2004) grouping is an important structure for ELL students and various grouping structures such as "individual work, partners, triad, small groups of four or five, co-operative learning groups, and whole-group" are known to be highly effective in classrooms (qtd. in Powell, 2008: 110). Building background and vocabulary development: The teachers of an ELL class must focus on lessons centered on developing and building vocabulary of the students through various innovative strategies. Vocabulary development entails strategies which enable the students to learn and use different words and phrases to express themselves. Academic vocabulary development helps the students in expressing their knowledge by both linguistic as well as non-linguistic representations (Ferlazzo and Sypnieski, 2012). Background knowledge is described by researchers as information which an individual already has regarding a given topic. Various studies have confirmed the strong relationship between background knowledge and achievement (Nagy, Anderson & Herman, 1987; Dochy, Sergers, & Buehl, 1999; Alexander, Kulikowich, & Schulze, 1994). Studies state that interpreting information becomes easier if the learner has prior knowledge regarding the subject. According to Manning (2002: 89) "Visualizing is necessary for comprehending any text." Prior knowledge helps the learners in visualizing and hence comprehending the information being imparted to them. Visualization further helps the students in decoding, interpreting, and analyzing the message effectively (Lee, 2007). Student engagement: Student engagement in classrooms is of absolute significance for the teachers in order to achieve better learning outcomes. This in turn can be achieved by constant interaction and by building positive relationships with the students, since it motivates the students and enhances their learning process. Students, particularly those in an ESL classroom belong to diverse cultural backgrounds and face challenges on a day-to-day basis with regard to learning a new language and interacting with others. Research suggests that student engagement fosters better learning outcomes and facilitates faster and effective learning among the students (Ferlazzo and Sypnieski, 2012). In conclusion the various strategies discussed can prove to be highly effective for enabling positive learning outcomes for the students belonging to culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and help the teachers to achieve better results. References Alexander, P.A., Kulikowich, J.M., & Schulze, S.K. (1994). The influence of topic knowledge, domain knowledge, and interest on the comprehension of scientific exposition. Learning and Individual Differences, 6, pp. 379-397 Coelho, E., Rivers, D., (2004). Adding English: A guide to teaching in multilingual classrooms. Pippin Publishing Corporation, pp. 183-185 Dochy, F., Segers, M., & Buehl, M. (1999). The relation between assessment practices and outcomes of studies: The case of research on prior knowledge. Review of Educational Research, 69 (2), pp. 145-186. Echevarria et al., (2004) qtd. in Powell, J. M., (2008). English language learner program and services: A case study of Nebraska Middle Schools. ProQuest Publication. Ferlazzo, L., Sypnieski, K. H., (2012). The ESL/ELL teachers survival guide: Ready-to-use strategies, tools, and activities for teaching English language learners of all levels. John Wiley & Sons Publication. Freiberg, H. J. & Driscoll, A. (1992). Universal Teaching Strategies. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon Publishers. Gordon, T., (2007). Teachign young children a second language. Greenwood Publishing, pp. 79-81 Haynes, J., (2007). Getting started with English language learners: How educators can meet the challenge. ASCD Publication, pp. 5-7 Manning (2002) qtd. in Lee, P., (2007). Middle school ELL and LD teachers perceptions of the importance of reading methods. ProQuest Publication, pp. 28-29 Nagy, W. E., Anderson, R. C., & Herman, P. A. (1987). Learning word meanings from context during normal reading. American educational Research Journal, 24, pp. 237-270. Nation (2001) qtd. in Xu, S. H., (2010). Teaching English language learners: Literacy strategies and resources for K6. Guilford Press, pp. 127-128 Price, K. M., Nelson, K. L., (2010). Planning effective instruction: Diversity responsive methods and management. Cengage Learning Publication Schumm, J. S., (2006). Reading assessment and instruction for all learners. Guilford Press Publication, pp. 522-523 Solano-Flores, G., (2010). Cultural validity in assessment: Addressing linguistic and cultural diversity. Taylor & Francis Publication, pp. 139-140 Read More