Address educational needs of English Language Learners

Transcription

1 Address educational needs of English Language Learners School districts must provide ELL students with access to appropriate curriculum in order to prevent them from falling behind academically while they are learning English. Recommendations Provide English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education according to students educational needs. 1 Diagnose ELL students learning needs and use the data to inform placement and instruction decisions. Assess students progress and make necessary adjustments in instruction in order to improve students achievements. Provide ELL students who are eligible for special education with appropriate services and instructional accommodations. Develop a coherent, standards-based curriculum aligned with assessments in all academic subjects and provide ELL students access to instruction based on curriculum 2 that includes enrichment opportunities, not just remediation, and appropriate supports to improve students learning. Provide professional development to all educators about the needs of ELL students and how to support them. 3 English Language Learners (ELL) come from more than 400 different language and cultural backgrounds. Some districts have more than 100 different language groups, but most ELL students are born in this country. ELL students are the fastest growing segment of the public school population, and every school district, whether suburban, urban, or rural, is affected. Over the past 15 years, the number of ELL students in the United States has nearly doubled to about 5 million - with projections showing that by 2015, ELL enrollment will double again to 10 million. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Pennsylvania schools enroll approximately 42,500 ELL students. 4 Schools and districts must provide these students, regardless of their English language skills, with access to the curriculum in order to prevent them from falling behind academically while they are learning English. 34

2 ELL students need long-term, comprehensive accommodations Learning English (or any language) is a long-term process that takes time (at least four to seven years according to some researchers) 5 before a student reaches appropriate grade-level performance. 6 PSEA believes all students should have access to ESL and bilingual education according to their educational needs. The main goal of these programs should be to teach the curriculum while helping students achieve English proficiency, as well as provide support in Key Points Learning English is a long-term process Schools need to do a better job of diagnosing ELL learning needs Accommodations allow ELL students to demonstrate academic ability Instruction in students primary language aids their academic ability content areas and other disciplines for ELL and students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). To close the achievement gap between ELL students and their peers, the education system needs to do a better job of diagnosing their learning needs, supporting their learning, and assessing their progress. PSEA supports providing highquality professional development and in-service training on addressing, diagnosing, and teaching ELL students. Additionally, PSEA supports comprehensive accommodations that allow ELL students to demonstrate their academic knowledge. PSEA does not support relying on a single measure of academic achievement for making decisions about any student, especially ELL students. Standardized tests generally are not valid for ELL students, because they were constructed and normed for native language speakers and may not accurately gauge what ELL students know and are able to do. It is important to remember that proficiency in the English language is not the same as the mastery of the content taught. For many ELL students, they must learn English and master academic content at the same time, making their achievement of both more difficult. Even when they appear to have a mastery of English, it should not be assumed that they also have mastery of the academic content. The opposite is also true their struggles with the English language should not be viewed as struggles with the content. Thus, it is unfair to ELL students to make determinations about their academic abilities based on assessments that do not provide appropriate academic and language supports and accommodations. 7 PSEA supports instructional accommodations for ELL students, including: strategic use of primary language; extended explanations and practice; visual cues and physical gestures; identifying and clarifying difficult words in texts; and providing material with some degree of familiarity. 8 Several research studies have found that instruction in a student s primary language aids in his or her achievement. In fact, bilingual instruction has been shown to raise students achievement levels by 35

3 significant amounts, and students taught in bilingual settings outperformed in all subjects of those taught in monolingual environments. Furthermore, teaching reading skills in students first languages has been shown to be more effective at raising achievement in a second language than immersion in the second language. Researchers believe this is due to the fact that literacy and other skills and knowledge often transfer across languages. Individuals who have learned something in one language often know it or can more easily learn it in a second language. Additionally, many students fail to make progress learning English when they are isolated without the opportunity to interact with fluent English speakers. Through interaction with their teachers and other students, ELL students often develop strong academic skills in their second language. Therefore, students should have access to instruction in both their home language and English and should interact with fluent English speakers whenever possible. 9 Further, PSEA believes that educators must be involved in the development and implementation of programs to ensure the successful pursuit of the education of students, regardless of their native language, and also must have the support and resources needed from both state and local entities. Short-term, remedial programs for ELL students have been found to be less effective than longer programs focused on enrichment. A typical ELL program often lasts for two to three years, but research has shown that these programs can only close half of the achievement gap that exists between 36

4 ELL students and native English speakers. However, programs that last between four and seven years have been shown to decrease the achievement gap even more with many students attaining grade-level performance during that time.10 In successful programs, teachers have clear goals, objectives, and routines; promote active engagement and participation by all students; provide informative and timely feedback; model and practice the skills and knowledge they are teaching; offer opportunities for students to practice, apply, and transfer new knowledge; allow students to interact with each other; and frequently assess students and reteach as needed. Similarly, these programs attend to students developmental needs, including linguistic, academic, cognitive, emotional, social, and physical needs. In so doing, they create natural learning environments with numerous opportunities for students and teachers to engage in oral and written language. The curriculum remains challenging while also tapping into students interests and strengths.11 Not all ELL students are the same; they come to school with different backgrounds and English language preparation. All teachers must know their students strengths as well as their weaknesses and must be prepared to take into account the different experiences and needs of all of their students as they plan and teach. This is often not a simple task, but when teachers use their knowledge about the social, cultural, and language backgrounds of their students while planning and implementing instruction, the 37

5 academic achievements of students increase. The most successful teachers link their content to students experiences, believe all students can succeed, and use active and engaging strategies to teach. They also build a sense of community among their students and emphasize cooperation over competition. Teachers need to view their students as learners with worthwhile experiences and ideas to share and use home and community resources that can be built upon to help them master new knowledge and skills. ELL students can achieve more when they feel part of a community, engage in that community, and can learn from their peers, while having their own knowledge and skills respected. Therefore, teachers need to be prepared to teach a diverse body of students and be supported in their own development as teachers of ELL students. The language education of teachers needs to be integrated throughout their teacher education and professional development, including in courses and professional development focused on particular content areas, so that they can create the type of classrooms where ELL students and their peers can learn Hakuta, K. (2011). Educating language minority students and affirming their equal rights: Research and practical perspectives. Educational Researcher, 40(4), Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Retrieved from 5 Genesee, F., Lindholm-Leary, C., Saunders, W. M., & Christian, D. (Eds.). (2006). Educating english language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 6 Hakuta, K. (2011). Educating language minority students and affirming their equal rights: Research and practical perspectives. Educational Researcher, 40(4), Genesee, F., Lindholm-Leary, C., Saunders, W. M., & Christian, D. (Eds.). (2006). Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York: Cambridge University Press. 7 Hakuta, K. (2011). Educating language minority students and affirming their equal rights: Research and practical perspectives. Educational Researcher, 40(4), August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Discovering literacy in second-language learners: Report of the national literacy panel on language-minority children and youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Thomas, W., & Collier, V. (2001). A National study of school effectiveness for language minority students long-term academic 9 August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Discovering literacy in second-language learners: Report of the national literacy panel on language-minority children and youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 38

6 Thomas, W., & Collier, V. (2001). A National study of school effectiveness for language minority students long-term academic Valdes, G., Bunch, G., Snow, C., Lee, C., & Matos, L. (2005). Enhancing the development of students language(s). In Darling-Hammond, L. & Bransford, J. (Eds.) Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do ( ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Discovering literacy in second-language learners: Report of the national literacy panel on language-minority children and youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 12 Banks, J., Cochran-Smith, M., Moll, L., Richert, A., Zeichner, K., LePage,... McDonald, M. (2005). Teaching diverse learners. In Darling-Hammond L., & Bransford, J. (Eds.) Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do ( ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Valdes, G., Bunch, G., Snow, C., Lee, C., & Matos, L. (2005). Enhancing the development of students language(s). In Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do ( ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Revised January I 39