Preparing Mainstream Teachers for EnglishLanguage Learners Is Being

“Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper It's not! No really, it's not! “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Teacher preparation programs are not preparing teachers to work with ELLs 42% of teachers have ELLs in their classroom Only 12. 5% of these have received more than 8 hours of professional development specifically related to ELLs “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Teacher preparation programs are not preparing teachers to work with ELLs Only 1/6 th of the 417 institutions surveyed by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education require any preparation re: education of ELLs “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

“Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Issues in Teaching ELLs Just being a good teacher is not enough in… • Oral Language • Reading • Writing • Content Areas • Culture “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) before CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) BICS - through opportunities to communicate with peers Idioms used in classroom management may confuse Do not have depth or breadth of native speakers “thousands of encounters with language used in meaningful contexts” CALP – not learned through “osmosis” Plan “structured opportunities for ELLs to actively engage in the process of negotiating meaning through academic language” “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Teacher should learn how L 1 and L 2 are the same and how they differ i. e. sounds, writing system, grammar, word order Running record assessments ELLs often cannot express as much as they can understand Overemphasis on pronunciation “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Teachers not used to explaining things ELLs may question Need for explicit feedback i. e. rules of word order “Does this sentence sound right? ” “This paragraph sounds awkward. ” Use resources L 1 Cognitively mature with experiences “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Specify content AND language objectives Look out for challenging vocabulary Content area specific words (JGT) Common words with content area specific meaning i. e. table (math), crust (science), seat (social studies) Use cognates (esp. w/ Romance languages) Can ask students to point out cognates when they notice them “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Classroom participation structures US values: individualism, egalitarianism Routines may be alien Work alone unless told otherwise, question teacher & text Lining up, how to greet teacher, where to eat lunch, etc. Need to learn about students Understanding acculturation patterns, students' circumstances important Who Am I? Activities, KWL, etc. insufficient Reflect on own attitudes towards LOTE “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

JGT vs. ELL Activating prior knowledge (KWL) Cooperative learning Student-centered, process-focused writing Hands-on activities Who Am I? Activities Use of L 1 Consider how L 1 impacts L 2 Broader explanatory framework Ask complex questions that require low-level language for response “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Asking ELLs Complex Questions Group work: Think of examples “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

Creating complex questions that students can answer with limited language Aim for the application and above “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper

"What distinguishes a classroom that explicitly addresses the needs of ELLs from the 'just good teaching' classroom is that 'English is very much present and accounted for. . . teachers extend practices of good teaching to incorporate techniques that teach language as well as content' (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2002, p. 117)" p. 118 “Preparing Mainstream Teachers for English-Language Learners: Is Being a Good Teacher Good Enough? ” by Ester J. de Jong & Candace A. Harper