1. Introduction 1.1. Preliminaries The effects of classroom interaction on language learning have long been a focus of research for second and foreign language teachers and researchers (Allwright, 1984; Chaudron, 1988; Ellis, 1984; 1994; van Lier, 1988). They argue that language learning comes about as a consequence of the interplay of the factors created by the learners, the teacher, and the interaction among them (teacher-student, student-student). Allwright (1984) sees classroom interaction as "the fundamental fact of classroom pedagogy because everything that happens in the classroom happens through a process of live person-to-person interaction"(p. 156). Classroom interaction is indeed a complicated phenomenon. Teachers' perceptions of the nature of language learning, of classroom activities, and of norms for classroom participation often differ from those of their students, who have a wide variety of proficiency levels, linguistic background, culturally predisposed ways of learning, and individual motivations and objectives in studying the language. If ignored, these differences can cause misunderstandings and create a barrier to effective language learning and teaching during face to-face interaction within the classrooms (Johnson, 1995; Rivers, 1987). Several theorists have attempted to …show more content…
Affective factors: In this study, affective factors refer to emotional factors which influence learning. In the classroom, affective factors may be as important for successful language learning as the ability to learn. Teachers can reduce negative factors and develop positive ones by doing activities to build a positive group dynamic, by including students in deciding aspects of the course and choosing activities that are motivating for the age and interests of the learners. They can have a negative or positive effect and they derive from learners' feelings or emotional response aroused by the attempts to learn the target language (Ellis,
Many of their learning needs are similar to those of other children and young people learning in our schools. However, these learners also have distinct and different needs from other learners by virtue of the fact that they are learning in and through another language, and that they come from cultural backgrounds and communities with different understandings and expectations of education, language and learning”. (NALDIC, 1999).
When an educator walks into her classroom for the first time, she needs to be prepared to encounter students that come from a variety of backgrounds. The children will be in different stages of language development, and the educator must accommodate for each of these students. Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, and Matera (2013) state, “The US Census Bureau projects that by the 2030s, children whose home language is other than English will increase from roughly 22 percent to 40 percent of the school-age population” (p. 9). This increase in second language learners will cause the educator to accommodate for those needs. Second language learners “need teachers who welcome them and recognize their unique abilities, what they know, and what they need to learn” (Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, and Matera, 2013, p. 10).
All these strategies gives all students an equal opportunity to practice English, participation and involvement. ELLs students when it’s time to read or participate in class they may be reluctant to speak because of their lack of proficiency in English or feel uncomfortable in an environment where they have to share their ideas. ESL teachers must provide a positive and supportive environment that offers significant influence on student comfort level, success and participation that requiring ELLs to use the language in front of class without force them
1. How effective are CLT activities ( language games, role plays, problem-solving tasks, information gaps, and interviews) used in class on improving students’ communicative competence?
This practice allows teachers the opportunity to gauge how much practice ELL students actually receive with speaking English in “real life”. Teachers who have participated in Shadowing programs have noted an oral deficiency in ELLs’, but have also noted that ELLs sit silently through their classes, not interacting with other students or with their teachers. Soto, an associate professor of education at Whittier College in California indicates that English-language learners spend less than 2 percent of the school day improving their academic oral language, even though it’s a critical foundation of literacy (Soto, 2014). As indicated, based on the results of this pilot program, participating teachers will plan together, how to provide more opportunities for “academic talk”, to include ELL students, during classroom activities. School administrators will also tailor, teacher development training programs to instruct teachers on how to be more inclusive of all of their students during classroom discussions and to be sensitive as to whether ELL students would benefit most by practicing the language relating to particular content areas or whether the focus should be placed more on conversational English skills (Heitin, Liana 2011). Additionally, teachers will be instructed to ensure that needed practice occurs in settings which will best facilitate ELL learner’s individual needs (e.g., some ELLs may learn better in small group discussions and others may
She also notes the difference between academia language also known as CALPS: cognitive academic language proficiency and meaningful language - BICS: basic interpersonal communication skills. She mentions how academic language requires more comprehension of the language than interpersonal language; which is more informal and contextual. She also illustrates the importance of treating students for who they are going to become, not the by the fact that they are struggling. A methodology that is represented throughout the book that illustrates the ways teachers can accommodate their language learning students is with scaffolding. Scaffolding is a variety of instructional techniques that are used to assist students to move towards a better understanding of the content and towards independence when it comes to their learning processes. The teacher provides a form of temporary support that will assist the students reach increased levels of understanding and skills acquisition that would not be achievable without aid. All in all, this book will be great for all K-12 teachers and professors; but, I did not review this book because I already did a book review for this book in a different course and it would not widen my prospects of learning more about special
Much of the public is misinformed about the existence of nonstandard language varieties, regarding them as “improper” forms of English. AEMP aims to change these views, often held by teachers, by validating nonstandard language varieties, thereby placing pressure upon these teachers to change their attitudes toward the languages, those who speak the languages, and the culture of these speakers. Second-language theorist AEMP classrooms are designed to facilitate interactive communication among students and teachers through cooperative groups using the home language of these children. Put simply, “teachers should talk less (LeMoine, 1999, p. 67). And when teachers must communicate with students for instruction, it is imperative that they allow the children to express themselves in the way that is most comfortable to
The students that make up the school are mostly Latino, African American, West Indian and white. Language is the medium through which students gain access to the curriculum. (Tamara Lucas). For example, Maria was placed in a dual language classroom, since arriving from Mexico and when she entered middle school that was taken away. The teacher in her English class needs to realize it takes second language learners longer to develop fluency in academic English than in conversational English. (Tamara Lucas). Ms. O’reilly should take this inconsideration when it comes to the strategies used in the classroom. Social interaction will help Maria’s language development and a method that can be useful to promote social interaction is the use of group work. Using group work will allow Maria to not only expand her English skills but also learn from the other students. Tamara Lucas states; “Scaffolding learning for ELLs requires teachers to consider the relationship between students’ linguistic abilities and the tasks through which they are expected to learn”. Ms. O’reilly has set the goal of having all the students to be on the same level at the end of the school year, this might not be a realistic goal since each child comes from different backgrounds and learn at different speeds. Different scaffolding strategies should be use to accommodate the ELLs in her classroom. Group work, sharing about ones culture, knowing the child’s mother tongue and creating a comfortable environment where the students can raise their hand or ask questions without feeling dumb or like an
Over the past four years since John started school in Australia his level of English has improved a lot; especially his receptive use of the language. John is a talented language student and is achieving great results in both additional languages he is studying at the moment, English and Japanese. Due to his cultural background John does not volunteer to speak freely during class. This makes it hard for his teacher to find the degree of depth of his understanding of new concepts learned in class. However, he is a passionate language learner and his focus is to perfect his knowledge in both additional languages.
The two students in the study were shown to be given limited exposure to content knowledge. Although they were in mainstream classrooms with native English speakers, these ELL students were missing out on a lot of classroom instruction due to being taken away from the classroom for intervention. The author found that both students would be pulled away during the middle of one lesson and returned in the middle of another. She also discussed the ELL teacher’s viewpoint that the student should be really exposed to content area in social studies for the first grade, not fifth as she needs to “…put the language with that she is doing” (Somé-Guiébré.)
English Language Learners are children whose primary language is not English. This paper will include important topics such as: strategies for classroom teachers, How to adjust classroom instruction, and facilitating language learning. This will help guide new and existing teachers in the ELL process. I will discuss do and don’t with Ell’s and also different classroom strategies. It is not always easy to remember to be mindful of all students when planning instruction but this paper will help with all aspects of ELL learners and things that we must do when it comes to teaching these learners.
With the United States demographics changing rapidly, school systems are flooded with students from other countries. According to state and national guidelines, these students do not have the language skills necessary to be successful in general education classrooms. Teachers often face the dilemma of how to effectively reach these students. Traditional methods or strategies do not fully reach these students, so teachers question themselves as teachers or question the student’s intellectual ability. This frequently causes misconceptions about teaching ELL students. Knowing how a new language is acquired helps many teachers build success quickly, making learning and teaching
During this observation I was able to view Ms. Yanik Second grade English as a Second Language classroom. This specific classroom was a pullout instructional format and they were focusing on science weather lesson. In this classroom, there are six students, half of which were from Haiti and the other half were from two different Spanish speaking countries. Due to the fact that the students were not all from the same country the English proficiency varied from the beginner to some students who were considered at the intermediate level. In this classroom, there were two specific students that did not speak a word of English, but they could comprehend what was being said to them.
The article Principles and Practices of Sociocultural Assessment: Foundations for Effective Strategies for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms, is written to inform the readers about different types of practices that teachers can take into action when working with ESL students. In this article, it mentions how different principals help to accommodate the ESL students. One of the principals that was mentioned was is that learning is social. In the article, it was mentioned that learning is social because it helps students to understand and use interaction with others to share meaning in a social setting (Smith, Teemant, & Pinnegar, 2004, P. 39). In the article, another principal that helps ESL students is that teaching is assisting. The meaning
From the observation record, children’s engagement in the classrooms were taken based on the number of children that raised their hands and voluntary contributed. 6 out of 16 participants (37.5%) were engaged using current approaches, as seen in Fig. 9. 10 out