preview

Effective Instruction For Six Years

Decent Essays

most state tests) in both English and Spanish after being enrolled in these programs for six years. In contrast, when ELLs attend ESL content classes without native language support, or transitional bilingual classes that only offer native language support for two or three years, the achievement gap is closed only half way on norm referenced tests and the remaining gap never gets close after ELLs are being exited into mainstream classrooms (Collier and Thomas, 2012). ELLs served through the ESL pullout program or English-only services under Proposition 227 in California, are among the lowest achievers that either finish high school at the tenth percentile or do not graduate (Collier and Thomas, 2009). ELLs whose parents refuse …show more content…

Research focused on effective instruction for ELLs indicates that success can be achieved when there is a consistent focus on content area language acquisition (Gibbons, 2002; Samway, 2006). According to Seidlitz (2010), this approach requires intentionally making content comprehensible to facilitate the development of academic language to ELLs. It is also required integrating academic language into all the content areas in order for teachers of ELLs to understand the importance of teaching both content and language (Seidlitz, 2010). The Texas Education Agency addresses the ELPS in chapter 74.4 regarding the curriculum for ELLs and states that effective instruction for ELLs involves opportunities for these students to listen, speak, read, and write at their current levels of development.
Krashen and Terrell (1983) authored the book “The Natural Approach” in which they identified the following five stages through which ELLs progress when learning English as a second language: preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advance fluency. Mora-Flores (2011) indicates that the way in which ELLs’ language development is monitored and labeled varies across the country. The most important aspect is the teachers’ understanding of what students bring to the classroom in terms of language since this allows teachers to build toward the following level in the student

Get Access